FREE: How to Use Adobe Products in Schools

Posted by LisaHill - 09/11/09 at 05:11 pm

Subject Matter: Adobe Digital School Collection, Using Technology in School classrooms, Media Technology, Marketing, Story Telling
Grades: K-12

Adobe Offers More Than Great Software
Every day, new media products come online providing students and teachers different tools to excel. When paper and pencils were introduced, these tools were a breakthrough in technology. Now, today’s schools incorporate computers and technology, yet it can be difficult to keep up with all the changes. Young minds absorb new media technology as if they were born with the skills. Teachers are expected to understand, and incorporate e-Learning solutions in various lesson plans, but trying to find the time for training, teaching and developing material is….well, time consuming!

Adobe’s Digital School Collection offers a cornucopia of teacher resources to incorporate digital media into daily classroom curriculum. Adobe listens to administrative staff, students, parents and teachers, integrating their requests to develop numerous online activities, lessons, projects and tutorial services.

The Adobe Digital School Collection includes the following software product line:

• Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 – edits, enhances, crops, organizes and share images
• Adobe Premeire Elements 8 – edit and share video
• Adobe Soundbooth CS4 – edit audio, prepare podcasts, customize music, add sound effects
• Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro – simplifies creating and sharing documents, graphs, media rich lessons, assignments and project material
• Adobe Contribute CS4 – add content, images, edit web content

What’s Offered in the Collection
Let’s say you want to develop a lesson plan, or project that incorporates digital storytelling using storyboard techniques, video clips, digital photography, podcasting and publishing the finished results on a website.  Where do you begin?  What lesson strand are you following?  Is this project to be cross curriculum and collaborated by teamwork, shared by exporting to other classes or schools, or constructed on different computers? Whether teaching elementary school subjects, middle school history or high school media classes Adobe offers some great resources.

First, the full product line (Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, Premiere Elements 9, Soundbooth CS4, Acrobat 9 Pro, Contribute CS4) is $149 for volume licensing, a definite savings over purchasing individual software programs.   Second, there are numerous, detailed lesson plans prepared by teachers and specialists that demonstrate how to use these programs, as well as incorporation into classroom curriculum.  Additional content is provided in Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 9. Students (and teachers) learn by collaborating, sharing knowledge, teamwork, problem solving and discussion.

Here are samples of prepared lesson plans at in math, science, language arts, history/social studies, visual and performing arts at the Adobe Teacher Resources:

• Geometric Concepts (ages 8-10)
• Patterns (ages 6-8)
• Dolch Word Practice (ages 5-7)
• Volcano Eruption (ages 9-13)
• Visual Dictionary (ages 11-17)
• Pioneers of Music (ages 11-17)
• A Person in Time Online (ages 11-17)

Each lesson provides supporting guides (U.S. and British version), sample final project, media assets or website templates.

And There’s More Free Support
Now, you’ve found a lesson plan that you can incorporate, or follow to use for a similar project. Yet, what if additional assistance is required? No problem.
Click on K-12 Teachers and Administrators to explore online events, cross curricular resources (digital storytelling, teacher resources, workshops, e-portfolios and assessments). Adobe TV offers basic to advanced lessons for free. Many shows are offered especially for Adobe Digital School Collection. Click on Channels to view a variety of tutorials.

The Adobe Education Leaders blog shares thoughts and advice from Adobe Education Leaders.

And if that’s not enough, students and teachers can access e-portfolio workshops and support from Atomic Learning . For podcasting, Adobe has collaborated with Podbean.com for free podcasting.

As I keep perusing Adobe’s Digital School Collection, resources, I keep uncovering additional online, or pdf material. When purchasing the Digital School Collection, schools and teachers receive a Teacher Resource CD highlighting many of these resources:

• Lesson Plans
• Digital Portfolio
• Technical Guides
• Tips and Tricks
• Image and Video Gallery
• Teaching Process and Assessment

Netbooks are supported by Photoshop Elements 8, and Adobe is working on developing additional application to support netbooks.

To reach 21st century students, teachers have to apply 21st skills. And Adobe delivers these skills and more.  No teacher left behind is Adobe’s motto.

System Requirements: Windows XP; check individual software programs for additional system requirements
Contact: Adobe Education K-12
Cost: Volume licensing at $149 US.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Animation, Art, Foreign Languages, Free Programs, Geography, Homework Help, Math, Media, Music, Photography/Video, Reading, Science, Social Studies, Special Education, Spelling, Teacher Programs, Virtual Schools, Writing. The entry is tagged under Adobe curriculum, Adobe Digital School Collection, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, Adobe Premeir Elements 8, Adobe Premier Elements, Adobe.com, e-learning, elearning. 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.