Adobe just updated their Digital School Collection for K-12 Classrooms.

The Digital School Collection bundle  “includes the new Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 8 and Adobe Premiere® Elements 8 for Windows® which offer new photo, video and podcasting capabilities that enable students to creatively express ideas through classroom projects. Along with other tools in the collection – Adobe Contribute® CS4, Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro and Adobe Soundbooth® CS4 – educators can inspire students to develop the problem solving, critical thinking, digital literacy and collaboration skills needed to succeed beyond the classroom and in the future workforce. Additionally, for the first time, Adobe takes advantage of new technologies used in 21st century classrooms by offering netbook compatibility support for Photoshop Elements 8 (Windows) and Adobe Photoshop Elements for the Mac platform.”

Bob Regan, director of worldwide K-12 for Adobe, points out that Adobe’s goals are to ensure K-12 students graduate with competitive skills in the global workforce. Adobe understands the challenges budget-constraint districts face each day.

“We think it’s imperative to deliver affordable solutions like the Digital School Collection that not only inspire students to stay connected to their classroom, but also encourage 21st century and project-based learning.”

Keeping Students And Teachers Equipped With The Right Tools
Free Teacher Resource DVDs are provided incorporating K-12 lesson plans, creative ideas and quick tutorials for implement projects. Find these free teaching resources online at www.adobe.com/education/instruction/adsc .

“Additionally, Adobe and Knowledge Network Solutions Inc. (KNS) together offer professional development courses that help teachers use the new version of Adobe Digital School Collection across academic disciplines.”

PodBean – Free Podcasting Site
Adobe offers Podbean, a free podcasting site on the Adobe website that allows 21st century classrooms to provide syndication publishing for audio/video content distribution.

“With Acrobat 9 Pro, Contribute CS4 and Soundbooth CS4, students have the the ability to integrate multimedia design, video, audio, animation and Web design into projects and ePortfolios that build necessary technology and critical thinking skills for future success.”

Education Pricing Information (US$)
The Adobe Digital School Collection will be available on Oct. 1, 2009.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 (Win): $69
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 (Mac): $69
Adobe Premiere Elements 8 (Win): $69
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere Elements 8 (Win): $119
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere Elements 8 (Win) K-12 Student Licensing: $99
Adobe Digital School Collection (Win) Volume Licensing only: $149

Individual pricing information can be found at: Adobe Education Pricing.

Volume licensing information is available at: Adobe Education Licensing.

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4; Windows XP; Intel or 1.6 GHz processor; 1 GB RAM; 2 GB Hard drive space; 1024 X 576 Monitor; DVD-ROM drive; Internet connection (Firefox 1.5, Explorer 6)
Contact: Adobe.com

Subject Matter: Science

Grades: Kindergarten through Fifth Grade

Well Designed Online Curriculum
Learning.com offers Aha!Science and Aha!Math.  For grades K-5, Aha!Science provides good science coverage on:

• Earth and Space
• Physical
• Life

For many elementary teachers, science isn’t something they’ve been required to teach in classrooms.  Many states now require science testing in 5th grade, with teachers scrambling for science content.

Learning.com offers an online well organized, conceptual program for teachers and students.  With a modular design, teachers have multiple choices how to present material to the whole class, or in small groups.  Or students can go online, and learn self-paced.

What’s Offered
Learning.com organizes its science modules into:

• Instruction
• Lessons
• Games
• Simulations
• Activities
• Journals
• Quizzes

The short videos are colorful, with good detail helping to reinforce various topics.  Journaling offers a cross-curriculum tool, helping students to understand the scientific method.

There are many different programs to explore and incorporate, but take a look at Aha!Science.  It’s obvious the material was well thought out, and easy to incorporate into the classroom.

System Requirements: Mac OS X; Windows 98/2000; web browser (Internet Explorer 6.0, Safari 2.0, Mozilla Firefox 1.0); Adobe Flash 7.0; Adobe Reader 7.0, Bandwidth of 64 kb/s per student
Contact: Learning.com
Cost: $120 for Starter Kits w/Teacher Account (1-10 Students); $60 for Expanson Pack (5 Extra Students, includes Starter Kits); Adaptive Curriculum for Aha!Math (6-8th grade) and EasyTech (K-5th and 6-8th grades) link to Learning.com Store.

Good Advice From a Teacher:
A couple weeks ago, I received an email from a math tutor asking advice on the Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet.

“I want to be able to write the equations on the tablet and then somehow embed them in a Word Document or some means to send via Email. I can write the equations using the Journal feature of the Bamboo, but now I do not know how to embed it in something I can Email.”

I suggested using Adobe Illustrator, or searching on Google for Drawing or Graphing software. I also suggested contacting Wacom Support.

Wacom Support came through quickly and efficiently. Here’s my reply email from the math teacher:

“I do have some Corel software that I believe will do what your Adobe product does.

Also, as you suggested, I called the Wacom support team and they showed me a way to write equations directly into Microsoft Word. Should you want to do that, you just open Word either 2003 or 2007 and find the feature under the document Review tab that allows you to start inking on the open document. It really is a slick way to enter equations with your Tablet and Pen, and save it as a Word Document that easily can be Emailed. In this way all your commentary about the problem can be typed in as well as the supporting equations. ”

Mulling over my answer the night before, I was thinking Word might work, but Wacom efficiently and quickly helped this teacher.

When considering a pen tablet, contact Wacom.

Contact: Wacom.com

Ruminate on Education I’m probably not the only educator that has stumbled onto this site. It’s hosted by Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D. Dr. McCleod is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University. He also is the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. He’s also co-creator of the popular video, Did You Know? (Shift Happens).

Help Wanted – The Push for Science, Math….(fill in the blank)
Right now Dr. McCleod is organizing a list of relevant blogs on various education topics. Here’s the link: Help Wanted: The Push Begins.

If you can help, please do so.

Subject Matter: Digital Media Education for Students, Teachers, Administrative Personnel, Digital Technicians
Grades: Elementary to College, Businesses, Marketing, NonProfit Organizations

Learn From These Teachers
I’ve enjoyed interviewing four different teachers who use different Adobe curricula in their elementary to college marketing classrooms. Adobe offers two curriculum levels: K-12 and Upper Education for College & Technical Training. Adobe’s education portals are at K-12 Education Solutions, and Adobe Higher Education. Both students and teachers learn and lead from each other as they surf the digital media wave of technology.

All four teachers tell different stories how they use Adobe products, yet they clearly tell the same message. All the material offered follows various state standards for various cross-curriculum programs.  Today, it’s not important to be an expert in one Adobe software product, but to know how to find the tools within different applications to complete a project, tell a story, or communicate with clients. Let me introduce these teachers.

Linda Ferguson: Whiz Elementary Teacher
Linda Ferguson is a teacher and Tech Site Coordinator for the San Juan Unified School District, California. Since 1985, Linda has been using Adobe products (when it was Macromedia). In 2000, she helped found the GeoLiteracy Foundation (American River Watershed). And from 2004, her education programs have been winning various awards and competitions (ISTE, Edutopia). In 2005, Linda developed the district wide program “Healthy Watershed, Healthy Community”. This program guides students to better understand the environmental issues impacting California’s watershed. The overreaching question applied is “In what ways do our rivers effect, or shape the communities that rely on them?”

Linda usese Acrobat Pro, Connect, Dreamweaver, Flash, Premier Element and InDesign with her 4th-6th grade students.  Through field studies, the students journey through the water cycle investigating and understanding factors affecting watersheds, water quality and habitat protection. From 4th grade and on, students brainstorm together learning to investigate, and apply the inquiry method. They collect data, field notes of their observations and analysis, photos and then the digital fun begins. Using Connect they facilitate and present data online sharing with other classes and schools. With Premier Elements, pictures are uploaded onto the website built with Dreamweaver. Remember, these are 4th-6th grade students doing all the work. InDesign also allows the students to create digital journals and portfolios, which Flash transforms into digital stories.

Linda recommends Joe Dockery’s Tutorials. And she’s used Lucy Calkin’s Writing Workshops. Throughout this program, Linda sees students become more self-motivated, and providing their own incentive to complete their work.  To students, this is “brain candy”, and they thrive on the digital challenges.

Laurie Burruss: Expert in Marketing
Laurie Burruss is the Director for the Pasadena College Digital Media Center (Pasadena College 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. 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 to a diversified audience with different computer platforms, languages, levels of expertise and varying viewpoints. Laurie recommends Adobe Development Center for training and tutorials. And she has used Adobe TV, and additional lessons from Lynda.com.

T.J. Fletcher – Stretching Science
T.J. Fletcher taught Honors Chemistry at Eagan High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Students used Flash 7 and Acrobat 9 developing a Calorimetry simulation, and then in the last trimester, produced a video clip on a chemistry subject. Check out the video clips at Multimedia Showcase.

Here are Mr. Fletcher’s comments, the Calorimetry Simulator and video tutorials: Using Adobe Flash in Chemistry. Students not only learned how to incorporate technology with chemistry and math, they applied trouble shooting skills, working together, and problem based analysis. He is now an Education Technology Coordinator for the TIES consortium of 38 Minnesota school districts, teaching teachers, media specialists, technical coordinators and administrative staff how to utilize different applications.

Sara Martin – Media & English Together
Sara Martin is a middle school teacher (5th-8th grade) at the Hart-Ransom School in Modesto, CA. She asks the students to stretch their potential, by using media projects in history, literature, science, and English. Sara taught computer literacy and worked with core teachers to incorporate their subject matter into different projects. Some of her student projects involved digital storytelling, creating a news magazine and advertising pamphlets, making historical subject video clips, and producing slide show of still photos.

Sara provides teaching tutorials at Photoshop Elements & Tutorials. Besides learning about chemistry, language arts and history, all these different projects teach the students important skills in planning, narration, speaking, preparation, listening, working in groups, oral and visual communications.

Beyond The Basics
These teachers offer a wide variety of experience and resources not only for students and teachers, but parents, administrative personnel, technology training, and marketing. The beauty of Adobe is all their products work well together to complete a storytelling masterpiece.

For additional links to teacher resources, link to: Adobe Curriculum K-12, Part A and Adobe Curriculum Higher Education, Part B.

System Requirements: Mac OS X, Windows, Universal, Web based browser
Contact: Adobe.com
Cost: Adobe Curriculum is free.

Zip Through Videos, Lectures and Lessons
Tired of trying to get through videos to view content? Or is the video running so fast it’s difficult to listen to all the material, and comprehend the content? Increase Flash video speed by 5X, or slow down to 1/3 the original speed.

Try MySpeed by Enounce. MySpeed allows the user to speed up, or slow down videos from lectures, business meetings, YouTube.com, etc. There is no loss of audio quality.

Review the demo, and try the MySpeed 7-day free trial period.

Pretty easy to use, and saves time.

System Requirements: Windows XP; Explorer 6, Firefox 2, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari; Flash 9.0
Contact: Enounce.com
Cost: $29.99

Learning and Moving
VTech offers electronic toys that keep the young ones moving and learning at the same time. Hand held electronic toys provide active curriculum while playing. Youngsters are moving, not sitting, as they’re learning.

VSmile Motion is a wireless, handheld gaming system with web connectivity. Young ones hold the handheld game board with joystick to play learning games. These games help young students build on their knowledge, getting kids on their feet playing games as they practice letters, math facts, spelling, science, music and vocabulary. Activities are available on different cartridges that insert into the handheld gaming system.

The monitors are colorful, graphics are clear and the games engage the students in different learning practices.

Directions are provided on a .pdf file that can be downloaded.

Check out their other products for ages 1 month to 36 months.

System Requirements: Television, VCR, Windows or Mac
Contact: VTechKids.com
Cost: $59.99