Unconference: Creating iPad Compatible Learning Games for Students with Canva AI

This post is a follow up to an Unconference session I hosted at the Apple Education Community Summit in 2026.

As educators, we are continually discovering new ways that AI can support teaching and learning. The Apple Education Community Summit alone introduced me to several creative applications of generative AI that I hadn't previously considered. The strategy I am sharing in this post came from a different source, but I have found it particularly valuable, and thought other educators might too. Using Canva AI to create subject-specific, iPad-compatible learning games has become a quick and effective way to develop engaging revision activities for students of all ages.

Before exploring how to craft an effective prompt, it is worth considering where these games fit within a lesson. We know that technology has the greatest impact when students use it to communicate, create and solve problems. These digital games are not intended to replace those rich learning experiences. Instead, I use them for a very small part of a lesson, typically the final five minutes of a one-hour session, after students have already explored and applied the learning through authentic, hands-on activities. In this context, the games become a quick and engaging way for students to practise or revise key concepts.

The Importance of a Detailed Prompt

The quality of the game depends largely on the quality of the prompt. Regardless of the subject area, one detail I have found to be essential is explicitly stating that the game must be touch screen compatible. Without this instruction, the resulting game often relies on mouse interactions that do not work well on an iPad. Here is an example prompt for a Year 5 and 6 Digital Technologies lesson:

Create a digital game for Year 5 and 6 students to practise translating 8-bit binary numbers to decimal numbers. Make the game include 5 levels, each increasingly more difficult than the last. The first and second levels should have place value headings above the bits to show the numbers they represent (e.g. 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1), but do not include these headings on levels three to five. All elements of the game should fit the screen without the use of scroll bars. Make the game touch screen compatible (for iPad).

Like any AI generated resource, you will likely need to work through multiple iterations of the game to achieve the desired output. You may choose to refine the layout, colour or design of the game, or provide further instructions to improve the accuracy of the content.

Sharing Your Game

Once satisfied with the output, select the following buttons to generate an embed code to add your game to your preferred learning platform.

• Select Use in Design
• Choose Website
• Select Share
• Choose See All
• Select Embed
• Select Embed again
• Click Copy, next to the HTML code or Smart Link
• Add your game to a platform of your choice (e.g. Freeform, SharePoint, Canvas)

Join the Conversation

I would love to hear how others are using Generative AI to create learning experiences for their students. Please share your ideas by replying to this post!