College students, get ready to battle! Today we are inviting you to show off your creative talent and stand out on campus by participating in the Adobe Creative Cloud Battle for the Band contest. Make a t-shirt, poster, backstage pass, video, or any other designs produced with Adobe tools for a chance to win an exclusive on campus concert, produced by Live Nation® and pop punk band – All Time Low.

To help you get a winning edge, download a free trial of Adobe Creative Cloud or take advantage of Adobe’s special price of $19.99 for a student membership. But you have to hurry! The contest ends on April 7.

Submissions will be judged between April 8 and April 11 and winners, selected by All Time Low, will be announced by mid-April. While the grand prize winner will receive an exclusive, on-campus performance by All Time Low, the second place winner will receive $1,000USD and all entrants will receive $20USD in Live Nation® Concert Cash© to be used for any concert tickets or merchandise.

Not ready to show off your creative skills? You can also enter the Rock Flight Sweepstakes for a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip for two to any Live Nation concert in the U.S. or Canada. In addition to reviewing submission guidelines and deadline information, contestants can gauge the competition, submit designs and vote for their favorite artwork on Adobe’s Battle for the Band Facebook page.

So what are you waiting for, go out there and show off your creative skills before it’s too late!

Here at Adobe we celebrate the creative student in many shapes and forms, and strive to help you continue to do what you love — create.

We want to hear from every student with a passion for creativity, a drive for design, a desire for honing your craft and the story behind it. To help celebrate our thirst for originality and creativity, we are launching the “#whyicreate” Twitter sweepstakes.

Give us a peek inside your creative process and share how you harness your inspiration with us on Twitter through photos or videos. If you send us an image or video and use hashtag #whyicreate, you’ll be entered to win a Panasonic GH2 camera — a tool that can help open up your creative world even more. All you have to do is shoot, tweet and tag for a chance to win. As always, creativity is encouraged!

Enter #whyicreate Sweepstakes February 20, 2013 – March 5, 2013.

Check out the official rules here.

Any questions, hit us up @AdobeStudents on Twitter or post in the comments below.

For inspiration, feel free to check out this video from David Cone here.  

Last year, we unveiled Adobe Creative Cloud, which we believe is the future of creative software from Adobe and the place where innovation will be delivered first. And we’ve had a deep commitment to education, providing our highest levels of discounts to this critical group of customers.

Starting today, we are offering a new promotion for Adobe Creative Cloud membership to students, teachers, faculty, and education staff at $19.99/month for the annual membership. This is a 60% discount off the commercial price in North America.  

For students and teachers who want to stay current with the latest creative software, Adobe Creative Cloud is the easiest and most affordable way forward. In North America, the promotion runs through March 11^th. Pricing for the traditional perpetual products will continue to have a significant discount relative to the commercial products.

We are living in fascinating times. Our current education system is being questioned as never before, and many wonder how institutions will evolve to accommodate the changing world of technology. New tools, data systems and communication vehicles have already converged to change how we play, work, learn and interact with one another. Dr. Clayton Christensen (2010) claims that by 2020, over half of the students in the U.S. will be learning online, and schools will reach a tipping point when tax payers will ask, do we still need classrooms? If schools and classrooms are to survive, then how do they need to be transformed to respond to the rapidly changing needs of today’s students?

To adapt to the overwhelming amounts of information, and continual interaction with visual media and game playing, researchers, Carter, R. (2009), Feinstein, S. (2004), Goldstein, (2007), Kandel, E. (2006), and Small, G., & Vorgon, G. (2008), tell us that the newest generation of K-12 students have neurologically changed their brains to try to keep pace. Kids today literally see and learn differently than their parents and grandparents, in that they see and remember visual images in place of text. The television is being replaced by computer screens, mobile devices and game consoles are primary sources of information and entertainment (Prensky, M, 2006). Today’s paper textbooks are about to be replaced by intelligent, colorful, multimedia response programs that fit on mobile devices such as iPads, Kindles, smart phones and other digital gadgets that students are bringing to school. Meanwhile, our schools, our classrooms and our curriculum have remained relatively the same.

Given real world tools like those found in the Adobe Creative Cloud, students can learn to work together seamlessly with both real and virtual partners to create and share novel digital solutions to complex problems. The combined factors of widespread access to technology, increasingly sophisticated tools, online resources such as Adobe Educational Exchange, and advances in understanding of how individuals learn, provide a stunning opportunity to transform classrooms and education worldwide. As we start 2013, this is a challenging opportunity that I, as a 21^st century educator, am looking forward to.

How do you think education should evolve to better prepare students for success? Join the conversation here or let me know what you think via my Twitter account.

Neon lights, gaming tables and vibrant nightlife may be the instantly recognizable icons of Las Vegas, but many do not realize that beyond the nightclubs and casinos is a community of more than 1.8 million residents and home to the fifth-largest school district in the United States. The areas of Clark County that surround the famous city include more than 350 traditional schools and specialized career and technical academies that serve over 306,000 K-12 students.

I’d like to shine the spotlight for a moment on Clark County’s career and technical academies, which offer intensive academic programs aimed at helping students develop highly marketable skills to use immediately upon graduation. For example, in addition to the hands-on classes, students attending the Southwest Career and Technical Academy (SWCTA) participate in a multitude of service-learning projects, job-shadowing, and internship opportunities where they can apply the skills learned in class, as well as take advantage of the ability to earn up to 21 college credits and a variety of CTE certifications.

Flora Shi, a fourth-year web design student at SWCTA offered this insight: “We’ve learned to use solutions such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Flash Professional and combine them with other code languages to create diverse, professional-grade mobile apps that have left clients speechless. Adobe software gives us a distinct advantage because we’re able to deliver creative, high-quality projects faster.”

In addition to marketable digital communication skills, the academies focus on helping students stay engaged and succeed. SWCTA students consistently scored above the district average for math assessments and 40% of the senior class achieved a GPA of 3.9 or higher. In addition, the school achieved an average daily attendance rate of nearly 99% while increasing its student retention rate to 89%. Clearly, they’re doing something (or, many things) right.

Highly focused Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculums have a tremendous impact on student achievement, as evidenced by the statistics I just quoted. These programs are successful largely because they provide the tools necessary to 1) foster a desire to learn and grow and 2) prepare students for today’s digital world and ever-changing workplace. I encourage you to learn more about how the Clark County School District helps students thrive. Read the full story here.

No doubt you’ve heard about Adobe Creative Cloud – still wondering what all the buzz is about? In a nutshell, it’s about having all the tools you’ll ever need for going from creative concept to production of A-grade visual projects, winning portfolios or stunning websites. With a special $19.99* monthly membership for students, you get access to all of the Creative Suite 6 tools, web hosting services, fonts, and cloud storage for syncing and sharing creative files. There are lots of reasons to love it:

• Get Noticed: Deliver powerful presentations, a personalized web portfolio or a unique Facebook cover photo that everyone is raving about. Because Creative Cloud membership allows access to every Creative Suite 6 tool, the possibilities are endless. Feel a bit overwhelmed? Check out this collection of tutorials to help you get started.
• Build Job-Ready Skills: According to a U.S. News & World Report article, one of five skills everyone needs to have on a resume is knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite. As you experiment and create eye-catching projects with Adobe solutions, you’re building experience with the latest industry-standard tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Now your resume will stand out from the crowd! Check out Adobe’s How-to Channel for more helpful videos and tutorials.
• Receive Instant Upgrades: No more annual upgrade purchases. Cloud members have access to exclusive updates from Adobe, at no additional cost. When a new release comes out, it is automatically available via the Cloud. For example, we recently added several new features to Illustrator CS6 and just included an iPad publishing service, Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition, for making digital editions of magazines and yearbooks.
• Enjoy a Great Value: Creative Cloud membership is now available for students at $19.99 per month – that’s less than a night out with friends! The CS6 Master Collection would cost you about $800!

 So what are you waiting for, check out Adobe Creative Cloud here!

*Limited time only, offer ends November 4, 2012

We just announced Adobe Acrobat XI, a powerful new solution that rises to today’s complex document challenges and offers an easier way to teach, collaborate, and boost productivity. New, much requested features include complete PDF editing and export to PowerPoint, as well as touch-friendly capability on tablets. Educators can do their jobs more efficiently and students have a more powerful way to showcase their academic achievements.

But don’t take my word for it – see what educators have to say:

“The new capabilities of Acrobat Pro XI make my life as a district-level Distance Learning Manager and training consultant to educators a lot easier. With the new PDF editing tools, teachers can now edit text and images, something they were not able to do before, and then combine course materials, including documents, photos, and videos into a single PDF, which keeps students interested and engaged.” Linda Dickeson, Adobe Education Leader, Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, NE

“Students at Carnegie Mellon University use a wide variety of platforms so distributing content in PDF is vital to making sure that everyone can use it. Adobe Acrobat XI makes it easy to convert any type of content into a PDF file, annotate it with custom headers and footers, and even make the resulting file interactive. As an educator, it is particularly useful to be able to combine class materials, such as slides, photos, screen captures, and links to videos and live web pages, into one PDF.”* Brad A. Myers, Professor, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

The new and improved features and functionality in Adobe Acrobat XI give educators and students the power to:

• Combine course materials in a single PDF—Easily assemble documents, spreadsheets, emails, web pages, photos, Adobe Flash Player compatible videos, and graphics in a single, organized PDF to share curricula, learning resources, and classroom assignments.
• Increase impact with interactive PDFs —Educators can use media-rich PDF documents or ePortfolios to easily track and assess students’ progress over time, as well as deliver feedback more quickly and clearly using text and audio PDF commenting tools. Students can include various mediums to create work that stands out and leaves a lasting impression on teachers and potential employers.
• Do more on the go—Fill in, sign, and save PDF forms and make comments on PDF files using free Adobe Reader software on your smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device.
•  Spend more time teaching, less time re-creating materials—Use intuitive PDF editing tools to update text and images within Acrobat XI Pro. Convert PDFs to Microsoft Word, Excel, and now PowerPoint formats, saving fonts, formatting, and time.
•  Create PDFs that anyone can view and sign—Share PDF files, forms, and ePortfolios with confidence, knowing that students, colleagues, and administrators can open and interact with them using free Adobe Reader software on their computer or mobile device.

We are thrilled with these new features and can’t wait to see what you do with them. Please send us your thoughts via the comments section or Twitter. Also, visit Adobe Education Exchange for new teaching resources and don’t forget to check out Adobe TV for free training videos.

* This statement reflects the opinion of Professor Brad Myers and is not intended to state or imply an endorsement by Carnegie Mellon University

This week at Adobe’s Create the Web event, we unveiled a new set of innovations called Adobe Edge Tools & Services. We think these announcements are really exciting for students who want to learn how to build killer apps and experiences for iOS, Android, Windows, WebOS, Blackberry and for the full range of today’s modern Web browsers. Importantly, Adobe is making this free to students and education institutions around the world. 

One of the most important tools is Adobe Edge Animate 1.0, which lets students easily create Web animations and interactive experiences. Built from the ground up using modern Web technologies, we think this is a terrific tool to help students learn the fundamentals of interactive design and animation across devices. It’s easy to use, so students can quickly go from “sketch-to-prototype” using the modern standards and approaches used by commercial design firms. And it allows you to create some really stunning experiences. A great example of this new modern Web is the site for the “Paranorman” movie, which looks awesome across both tablet as well as a browser.

The announcements this week also underscore our commitment to open standards, and the modern Web. We outlined a number of contributions made to the Web platform in cooperation with the standards and open source communities. From layout and foundational graphics to amazing cinematic effects (check out the CSS Custom Filters in Chrome Canary), we are focused on making the Web a more expressive platform overall.  

There’s a great deal of excitement in the education community around these announcements:

“Teaching complex subjects such as animation, interactivity, and responsive design has been difficult for a number of reasons; primary among these are the amount of prerequisite knowledge required to even approach these activities, and the sheer amount of unaided time and effort required. What Adobe is now doing with the Edge Tools and Services is astounding because they are introducing tools which address both of these issues. This allows the instructor to teach concepts and techniques using tangible assets and the student to freely express their vision in a much more direct and familiar way. In terms of emerging web technologies: Adobe has thrown open the doors to a renaissance!” Joseph Labrecque, Senior Interactive Software Engineer, Adjunct Professor, University of Denver

“Reflow is going to be a huge teaching tool when it comes to Responsive Web Design. I am also looking forward to playing with the Edge apps and discovering how they integrate with each other and the Creative Cloud apps in the context of workflow. This looks like it is going to be fun to discover…and then teach.” Tom Green, Professor of interactive Multimedia, Humber Institute of Technology

“As HTML5 continues to provide web designers new opportunities to create more complex web projects using animation, responsive layouts, and web fonts, Adobe has created Edge Tools and Services to make some of these complex techniques easier. Both designers, and especially students, can quickly get the opportunity to become familiar with these new tools and find how easily they enhance their web projects, especially with Adobe providing most of these tools for free. These new tools will allow designers the opportunity to become more efficient and effective in producing better quality web work for today’s changing web environment.” Matthew Leach, Director & Author, Adjunct Professor, Colorado Technical University, The Art Institute of Colorado, Westwood College, SUNY, International Academy of Design and Technology, Author for Wynn Press

“Rather than attempting to make one big super tool, Adobe is making smaller focused tools for specific tasks. This will allow folks to use the tooling where they are helpful, but not require a complete rethinking of how you are comfortable working today.” Jason Madsen, Department Chair, Full Sail Univeristy

Again, to make it easier for educators to introduce these modern tools into the classroom, Adobe is offering Edge tools and services for free for students, educators and education institutions. All of the Edge Tools and Services are of course part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. You can learn more about these announcements here. How would you use these tools in the classroom? Drop us a note in the comments section or follow us on Twitter.

Personal Branding: it’s hard to miss all the buzz on the topic, but you may still be wondering what it is and why you need to think about it.

Tom Peters, the author who first discussed the concept of personal branding, did a good job of summing it up when he wrote, “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc.”* Like a company that works to differentiate its brand and products, you, essentially, need to make you stand out. In an increasingly competitive, global economy, it makes sense that college applicants and job seekers who can distinguish themselves by effectively communicating their reputation, style, opinions, and skill will be those who rise above the noise.

So why should you care about personal branding? Every time you create a killer presentation for a classroom project, a poster to drive attendance to an important cause, or even a website for an entrepreneurial venture, it is a reflection on you and a step in building your personal brand. Your words and actions; your skills, knowledge, and experience; the things you’re passionate about and the manner in which you express that passion all contribute to the perception of who you are. Without a visibly unique value proposition and way to communicate it, you will simply blend in with everyone else. Or worse, due to the proliferation of publicly available data online, be viewed in a negative light.

Sound intimidating? You may think you don’t have the technology skills that support building a personal brand, but that is where Adobe can help. Visit “Adobe & You,” a site designed to provide all the tools necessary to experiment, refine and perfect your personal brand, starting with a collection of tutorials to get you from newbie to expert. You can learn how to create a logo that speaks to your interest and expertise, a t-shirt to promote your favorite club, an amazing Facebook cover photo and so much more. And what better way to highlight your capabilities than to actually demonstrate them with creative illustrations?

Test your skills right away by participating in the “Wear Your Heart on a T” contest for a chance to win $5,000 and a year-long Creative Cloud membership! Need inspiration? Check out the t-shirt gallery here or follow our student stories posted on Facebook.

Personal branding effectively communicates your skills and your passions and I challenge you to get creative and stand out! And, if you’re still not convinced, check out these posts from Forbes, Mashable and College Info Geek that talk about the importance of personal branding.

As always, we want to know your thoughts so please drop us a note here or through our Twitter or Facebook channels.

* Fast Company, Tom Peters, August 31, 1997: http://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you

The hits keep coming for Adobe Youth Voices. Today, the Adobe Foundation announced that it has joined forces with MTV, Dell and Samsung as supporting partners of the Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards.

Launched just this year, the Aspire Awards are a first-of-their-kind online youth media competition and festival showcasing creative media from teens ages 13-18 worldwide. The awards honor youth who creatively communicate a vision for change in their communities and lives through video, print and audio projects. 

We’re thrilled to have the support of MTV, Dell and Samsung for the inaugural AYV Aspire Awards. As part of its involvement, MTV is presenting a special award to recognize one young person whose exceptional video content leverages music, and provides a clear call to action for the audience. The recipient of this award will win a trip to MTV studios in New York City!

Students are invited to participate in partnership with an educator, who will submit media on behalf of their students in eight media categories ranging from documentaries to graphic design. Entries will be evaluated by a global panel of teen peers, youth media professionals, educators, media industry experts and filmmakers, including Neil Bennett, Sarah Kay, and Robert Kenner. MTV Act, which celebrates young people who take action to make things better, will feature Aspire Awards winners on the MTV Act website.

Submissions must be made by April 20^th and we’ll announce the semifinalists on May 4^th.  So spread the word to a creative student and visit our Aspire Awards website for more details.