FREE – Adobe Curriculum Higher Ed, Part B

Posted by LisaHill - 01/06/09 at 04:06 pm

Subject Matter: Interactive design, digital media, & communication curriculum meeting Industry standards

Grade: High School, College, University, Administrative, Business, NonProfits
Telling A Digital Story
Storytelling is not confined to narrating a fictional tale, or writing a newspaper article. Everyone has a story to tell, whether they’re involved in businesses, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, charities, journalism or academic institutions. 

Across the world, communication now involves interactive digital media that incorporates digital illustration, video, print, web design, podcasting, blogs, sharing information online, and virtual conferencing. Today,  digital communication specialists must learn how to tell their story on different computer platforms, with varying levels of expertise and viewpoints.  Oh,  and don’t forget technology changes too.

Adobe Delivers
To get the job done, the key is not to be an expert with one digital tool, but to have the knowledge and experience in various communication tools. Adobe does a good job providing a wide variety of digital communication applications for the changing world. And Adobe offers great curriculum support for teachers to help students develop critical thinking, and problem solving skills to communicate effectively, and productively.

Adobe’s education portal is at K-12 Education Solutions. Click on the Higher Education link, and Adobe features Instructional resources for Adobe Creative Suite 4 (web design, print, video), preparing future professionals with career skills, eLearning solutions, and using Acrobat 9 for streamlining work flow. Inside these programs, Adobe provides lesson plans and assessments, real-life examples, technology integration, flexible online staff training solutions, and paths to career preparation.

Adobe’s Commitment to Clients
It’s pretty obvious Adobe is committed to digital designers, academia, and businesses by providing flexible applications that allow individuals to create and design digital communication solutions.

I interviewed Laurie Burruss from the Pasadena Community College Digital Media Center (Pasadena Digital Media Center)). With Adobe, Laurie explained “It’s not the tool that pops up, but the creation that’s revealed”.  Laurie is able to teach her students how to become creative, communication problem solvers utilizing different features in Adobe software.

Laurie incorporates many Adobe applications (Acrobat, After Effects, DreamWeaver, Flash, Illustrator, PhotoShop, etc.) to teach her students Interactive Design – interweaving different features and functions to tell a digital story, without the hassle of writing code. Digital communication requires a mix of digital media, writing, problem solving and creative thinking skills to tell a client’s story. Adobe media engineers even come into her classroom, watch students work, ask questions, and incorporate how teachers and students learn digital communication skills to meet industrial standards, and then incorporate this knowledge back into Adobe applications.

Adobe offers many different pdf and video lesson plans, plus tutorials to find the right tool. Laurie recommends Adobe Development Center for training and tutorials. And she has used Adobe TV, and additional lessons from Lynda.com.

Direct Links to Adobe Curriculum & Resources
The video Teaching Digital Communication Skills sums up Adobe’s goal to providing free, professional curriculum to teachers and students.

Various curriculum links are  also listed below.
Communication & Collaboration Resource Center
Cross-curricular Teaching Resources
Digital Careers
Electronic Portfolios, Digital Assessment, and Lesson Planning
Online Professional Development Resource Center
Rich Internet Application Teaching Resources

Learning and Leading in Communication
In addition, here are a few of Adobe’s success stories.
Braes High School
New York University
Lincoln Public Schools
Utah Education Network

Yes, There’s More Information
Additional articles are provided that discuss Adobe curriculum.
With Adobe Creative Suite 4, Adobe Introduces New Education Curriculum and Licensing Programs
Adobe Expands Horizons for Students and Educators with Creative Suite 4

Adobe provides flexible tools to communicate that key story, and meet critical professional standards.

System Requirements: Mac OS X; Windows, Universal, Web based browser
Contact: Adobe.com
Cost: Free

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Animation, Free Programs, Homework Help, Media, Photography/Video, Writing. The entry is tagged under Adobe, Adobe curriculum, AP, college, digital communication, digital industry standards, digital learning, digital media, digital storytelling, elearning, grads, high school, Higher Education, interactive design, interactive media, school, secondary education, storytelling, teacher, university. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.