Adobe Education Technologies

In my last tutorial I showed you how to take an image and apply that image to a 3D object in Photoshop. In this tutorial I will show you how to publish a 3D layer to PDF.  Anybody with Acrobat Reader will then be able to interact with your 3D object.

1. Create a 3D object in Photoshop (tutorial here)
2. Right click on the 3D layer
3. Select Export 3D layer
   
4. Name the file and select U3D from the Format dropdown menu
   
5. Click the Save button
6. The 3D Export Options dialogue box will open.
   
7. Make sure that JPEG is selected from the Texture Format dropdown
8. Use ECMA1  for the U3D Options

The steps above exported the Photoshop layer to a U3D file.  The U3D file can now be published to PDF.

1. Open Adobe Acrobat X
2. Select File>Created PDF>From File
3. Browse to the U3D file you saved earlier
4. An Insert 3D dialogue box will open.  Select OK (You may want to check out the “Advanced” options by clicking on the Show Advanced Options check box.  There are some neat options to play around with).
5. Click on your 3D object to interact with it.  Also notice the 3D tool bar that appears.
   

Cool!  Now anybody with Acrobat Reader can view your 3D content!

In Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro we introduced PDF portfolios with which you were able to create a welcome screen as well as a banner at the top of the navigation screen for a portfolio title, contact information, head shot, etc. With Adobe Acrobat X Pro we made changes to the layout options which removed these features. Well the good news is that Joel Geraci, Adobe Acrobat technical evangelist, has created an Adobe Acrobat X billboard layout adding these features back in. Check out Joel’s blog and download the file!

In recent years, the Education community has focusing increasingly on making all web content accessible to individual individuals with disabilities. Adobe® is an industry leader in accessibility and supports the creation of outstanding web experiences by encouraging web developers to produce rich, engaging content that is accessible to all. Adobe has also been focusing on this important task by improving and facilitating accessible content creation and consumption with its powerful design applications and productivity tools.

The information below references resources on our website that can help educators and authors understand the need for creating accessible content for an increasing diversity of users and screens. Not only will content creators learn more about how to optimize their workflows and effectively design a document that not only looks good, but they can also improve the experience as all users on a variety of screens and devices.

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility involves two key issues: first, how users with disabilities access electronic information, and second, how web content designers and developers enable web pages to function with assistive devices used by individuals with disabilities.

For the user with a disability, the challenge is to identify tools that provide the most convenient access to web-based and other electronic information. For the web content designer/developer, the challenge is to remove the obstacles that prevent accessibility tools from functioning effectively. In many cases, these challenges are relatively simple to overcome, but sometimes the solutions require some additional thought and effort.

For more information on Accessibility visit: http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/gettingstarted/accessibility.html

I have heard of Section 508 and the 508 standards. What are they?

Accessibility policies vary from country to country, but most countries, including those in the European Union, have adopted standards based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). In the United States, Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act mandates that web content maintained by the federal government be made accessible to people with disabilities. This law is based on W3C Priority One checkpoints. Find more information at: http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/508standards.html

Where can I find the latest information about Adobe products and accessibility?

A great start to find out the latest information on Accessibility at Adobe is http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/. There you will find links and resources to examples compliance news, blogs, case studies, tips and tricks and more.

I have heard that Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader are very useful for working with and reading accessible content. Is that true?

Yes, unlike other PDF tools, Adobe® Acrobat® 9 and Reader® 9 software continue the tradition of providing strong accessibility support for Adobe PDF documents and forms. Acrobat 9 features a number of built-in accommodations for people with disabilities as well as support for users of assistive technologies.

Where can I find more detailed information about Adobe Acrobat and Reader’s roles in facilitating the creation and displaying of Accessible documents?

• The Adobe site for Acrobat and accessibility lists many examples, tutorials, guides, and resources at: http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat/
• The accessibility link on AcrobatUsers.com is a good resource in addition to all things Acrobat related. http://acrobatusers.com/topics/accessibility

Are there any Adobe blogs that focus on Accessibility news and events?

Yes, visit the Adobe accessibility blog and join the discussion at: http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/

Which Adobe products support and encourage authors and developers in the production of accessible content?

Adobe seeks to provide products that support and encourage authors and developers in the production of accessible content. The latest information on these products can be found by clicking on these links.

• Acrobat®
• Flash®
• Adobe Connect™
• Adobe Creative Suite®
• Adobe Flex®
• Adobe LiveCycle® ES

Where can I find information on other Adobe applications and accessibility?

For information on additional applications please visit the Adobe Accessibility website at: http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/

Acrobat,Adobe Reader,cloud computing,eSignatures,ePortfolios,Education

Adobe’s new cloud-based eSignature Service was announced recently as a convenient way to get verifiable digital signatures on PDF documents quickly, securely, and conveniently. This service is based on our LiveCycle server-side technology that supports digital signatures and workflows.

The Service is easy to set up and use. All you need is a free Adobe ID. If you already have one or an Acrobat.com account, you are ready to use the service.

This new service has great potential for improving efficiencies and providing certified documents for a wide number of Education-specific requirements. Read more on the Acrobat In Education blog.

An advantage of working with PDFs is reducing our dependence on the printed paper which is costly and not environmentally friendly. However, there are times when you’ll need to print your PDF document and that is as easy as clicking the Print icon in Acrobat or Reader. But what if you’d like to batch print PDFs and other files from Acrobat? No problem, Adobe’s Rick Borstein has a blog (Acrobat for Legal Professionals) that outlines batch printing PDFs (and other files) using Acrobat 9.

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro,Adobe Acrobat Pro,PDF,web conferencing,collaboration,e-learning

In case you haven’t heard there is a new version of Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. "Connect" is a cornerstone of Adobe’s K-12 and higher education solutions for web conferencing, online collaboration, and e-learning. Previously, in a meeting room Share pod you were able to upload and deliver SWF, JPEG, MP3, FLV, and PPT content. Support for PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and later) was spotty and if you wanted to share other types of files – say a Word document or a PDF file – you had to share your desktop.

Good news! The current version of "Connect" supports both PPTX and PDF in a Share pod. Since you can convert pretty much any file type to PDF, you can now upload and share it live or make it available on-demand in a meeting room. When you share a PDF you can flip though multiple pages, zoom in/out, move around within a magnified document, rotate, and even initiate a Whiteboard session using the file as a backdrop.

Every navigation option you choose within the shared PDF will be synchronized on attendees’ screens. What’s even better is that you can "unsynch" the file and attendees can interact with it independently on their computers. They even have the option to download the PDF locally to their computer. One last thing – the PDF files you share will not only maintain visual fidelity, but also preserve any web hyperlinks that were added.

Adobe Digital School Collection,ADSC,Photoshop Elements,Premiere Elements,teacher resources,curriculum,lesson plans,netbooks

The lesson plans on the Adobe Digital School Collection teacher resources web page have been updated to include sample project assets and technical guides for the new release of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Adobe Premiere Elements 8. There is also a new resource page tailored for Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and netbooks. Finally, the Adobe Education SE team is hard at work creating video tutorials taking you through some of the lesson plans/projects. These can be found on Adobe TV.

Adobe Education Technologies,Adobe TV,AdobeTV,video tutorials,tips and tricks,Adobe CS4,Adobe Creative Suite,ADSC,Adobe Digital School Collection

If you’ve never visited Adobe TV before or haven’t been back for awhile, I highly suggest checking it out. Adobe TV is your “one stop shop” for free Adobe tutorials, demos, tips & tricks, and general design inspiration. There are various channels which are comprised of different programs, each with multiple episodes (short videos) to choose from – most are less than 5 minutes in length.

Continue reading…

Hello all,

The Acrobat 9.1 updater is now available, and I would suggest that you grab it and install it if you haven’t already done so. Form the Acrobat team:

"Product updates for Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9 that patch the recent security vulnerability are immediately available for download. They are currently available for Windows and Macintosh and several language versions. This updates the products to version 9.1."

For more information and to download the updater, please read the tech note:

Link to the tech note.

OK. Let’s face it. Money is in short supply. As we face one of the most significant economic challenges we as a country have ever faced, we need to look beyond hoping things get better so we can just get back to business as usual. Moving to electronic workflows seems like an attractive option, but the key is your workflow–not just the fact that you are using something electronic. Remember, electrons cost money and use power as you corral them for your use. Have a look at the enterprise sustainabililty white paper co-produced by the Institute for Sustainable Communication. Link to the white-paper landing page.