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June 5, 2009

Adobe CS4 Deployment Resources

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Adobe CS4 Mnemonic

One of the goals of the Adobe Education Technologies blog is to provide access to Adobe resources in a concise form. Adobe.com has many great resources to help education IT departments deploy Adobe Creative Suite 4 across their enterprise, yet this information is not consolidated. So here you go:

Adobe Creative Suite Help and Support Home Page
http://www.adobe.com/support/creativesuite/

Adobe Creative Suite Forums
http://forums.adobe.com/community/creativesuites

Adobe Installation and Licensing Blog
http://blogs.adobe.com/OOBE/

Adobe Support Advisor
http://www.adobe.com/support/loganalyzer/

Adobe CS4 Deployment Toolkit and Guide
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/creativesuite/

Adobe CS4 Enterprise Manual Deployment Guide
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/openoptions/pdfs/manualenterprisedeployment_cs4_help.pdf

 

Happy Installing!

June 1, 2009

New Adobe Professional Development Offer

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Adobe, in partnership with Knowledge Network Solutions (KNS), is offering expert, instructor-led workshops that focus on integration of Adobe tools into all academic curriculum. The curriculum integration workshops include the use of Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Digital School Collection software for innovative teaching of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics as they relate across the academic curriculum. A staff development workshop addresses the use of Adobe Acrobat Connect and Adobe Presenter software to create and deliver your own rich, interactive staff development to widely dispersed educators. To learn more about this new offer along with terms and conditions please review our professional development web page and datasheet.

April 5, 2009

Quickly Fix Common Photo Issues with Adobe Photoshop Elements

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Adobe Photoshop Elements Icon

After importing photos into the Adobe Photoshop Elements Organizer you may need to make adjustments to ensure your photos look their best. You can quickly and effectively resolve common photo issues with a single click of a button. Simply choose the purple Fix tab located in the upper-right of your screen.

Continue reading "Quickly Fix Common Photo Issues with Adobe Photoshop Elements" »

March 30, 2009

The Adobe Configurator for Photoshop CS4

We, at the Adobe Technologies blog had the good fortune to attend Photoshop World in Boston (link to the Photoshop World website) last week (sorry Rick!), and it was fantastic! Scott and the rest of the NAPP crew did a fantastic job of bringing together thousands of passionate Photoshop users and partners. However, I digress. Russel brown showed off a new tool that I really think can help you out if you teach (or use for that matter) Photoshop CS4. Get the Configurator at the Labs website http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/configurator. Read on to see more:

Continue reading "The Adobe Configurator for Photoshop CS4" »

March 2, 2009

Photo Compositing Made Easy with Adobe Photoshop Elements

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Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 application icon

Just in case you aren't familiar with photo compositing, this technique combines two or more photos into a single new photo. Some examples where this technique would be useful are:

  • combining multiple photos to create a more expansive (panoramic) final photo
  • creating the perfect group photo from multiple photos
  • creating the perfect scenic photo from multiple photos eliminating unwanted elements (like people)

Adobe Photoshop Elements offers powerful, yet easy-to-use Photomerge technology to make these difficult and time-consuming tasks a snap. Here are three Photomerge tutorials (note 5-10 sec pause at the beginning for buffering):

Try Photomerge for yourself. If you don't currently own Adobe Photoshop Elements, download the latest trial version from Adobe's website!

Regards,
Patrick Koster
Senior Solution Engineer, Adobe Education

February 27, 2009

Green = Green

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.

February 3, 2009

Use Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro to Create and Share Multimedia Experiences

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Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro PDF Portfolio Content Fusion

With Adobe Flash Player integration within the new Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro and Adobe Reader 9, PDF files can become far more than static documents and forms. PDF portfolios (which are special types of PDF files) can be created to deliver a wide range of engaging multimedia content to include music, photos, movies, Flash (SWF and FLV) content, 3D content, and much more. The interface used to experience the PDF portfolio content is a Flash-based navigator with different layouts. Steve Adler (Adobe Acrobat Specialist for Education) has a fantastic blog article explaining how to create PDF portfolios and their possible uses in K-12 and Higher Education environments. Below I have provided five PDF portfolio examples which you can download and view offline using the free Adobe Reader 9 or a trial version of Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. Examples include:

Once you have viewed these PDF portfolios, try creating one yourself using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. You can use Steve Adler's blog article as a guide or watch a recorded webinar. Also, there are new PDF portfolio navigator layouts you can download and start using for your projects.

January 5, 2009

New Year and New Funding Information for You

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Teacher working with students in computer lab

Happy New Year to everyone!

The purpose of this Adobe technologies in education article is to bring to your attention federal (United States) funding resources for educational technology software and curriculum-related integration for K-12 schools and districts. With schools and districts facing severe budget cuts, these government programs may be an alternative way to secure funding for Adobe technology to provide faculty professional development and prepare students with a 21st century skillset.

Visit the Adobe funding resources for education page to learn more about the various government funding programs and which Adobe solutions are eligible for one or more of these funding sources.

December 26, 2008

In the spirit of giving: Connect resources for you!

Person tangled in a variety of eLearning tools

We here at the Adobe Education Technologies blog are in full Holiday swing! To celebrate this season of giving, we wanted to share with you a great Connect Professional resource that Adobe offers to our Connect customers, the Connect Pro Resource Center. This is a web site with a variety of excellent resources for you to get the most from your online class, meeting, presentation, or portal built with Adobe Acrobat Connect.

Read on . . .

Continue reading "In the spirit of giving: Connect resources for you!" »

December 3, 2008

CS4 Print Guide is now available!

Hey folks. The people in the Creative Suite marketing unit have completed the CS4 Print Guide. This is a good, solid resource to help you understand how to successfully print from the CS4 applications (or at least create file that will print). We at the Adobe Education Technologies blog thought you might want to give it a look-see. Check it out by following this link: Link to the CS4 Print Guide.

November 30, 2008

XFL: Bringing Designers and Developers Together Since 2008

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In a previous Adobe Education Technologies blog article we examined how to use Adobe InDesign CS4 to create a visually rich layout, add interactivity with hyperlinks, buttons, and page transitions, and then export to SWF. We were able to do all of this without using Adobe Flash Professional and Actionscript programming. The downside of this direct-to-SWF export is that there isn't an easy way to edit the SWF file should we want to further modify it.

Now, Adobe InDesign CS4 allows designers to create multi-page layouts and then export to the new XFL (XML for Flash) file format. The XFL file can be opened directly in Adobe Flash CS4 Professional preserving layout and typographic fidelity. Then developers can enhance the file with animation, interactivity, and video. Let's take a look at the workflow:

Continue reading "XFL: Bringing Designers and Developers Together Since 2008" »

October 2, 2008

Adobe Acrobat 9 for Education eSeminar Series

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The Adobe Education SE Team hosted a series of education-focused sessions covering various Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro and Pro Extended features and workflows. If you missed the live sessions or want to see them again, take a look at the recordings listed below:


September 30, 2008

Connect-Blackboard integration recording

Hey folks! If you missed John Schuman's Connect session about the integration between Adobe Connect Professional and Blackboard (Advertised in a previous blog post), you can watch the recording of the event. The original event was held on September 23rd. If you would like to grab the integration building block at no cost, you can download it from the Connect Users community web site. The site also has an installation guide that will help you get it set up.

September 24, 2008

Creative Suite 4 - How to Find Out More

Photo of Creative Suite 4 product boxes

I am almost as excited as Steve Martin's character in The Jerk, when he danced around gleefully screaming, "The new phone books are here, the new phone books are here!" For those of you who don't share my taste in fine cinema - this is exciting! There are way too many fun, new toys to cover in a single post, but rest assured the team will be blogging about the wonders of CS4 soon. Till then I'll leave you with some fantastic resources on Adobe.com to get you acquainted with the new release;

Ciao.

September 15, 2008

Successful VoIP in Connect Pro

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP is rapidly becoming a good option for many internet users over standard Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). I myself use a variant provided by my cable/internet service provider, and it works quite well. However, it is still a young technology. Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional includes it as a way to communicate with meeting attendees, and it works well. However, there are many, many variables that can erode the quality of the experience for either the presenter or the participant. The following 12 steps to success should help you to have the best meeting you can.

Continue reading "Successful VoIP in Connect Pro" »

September 10, 2008

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro and Blackboard

I will be presenting a free Adobe Education eSeminar on the topic of Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro and Blackboard Integration on September 23, 2008. If you use Blackboard and have ever considered using a virtual classroom technology, you will want to see this one. Here is the official description of the presentation...

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:00 A.M. PDT
Extend the reach and scope of your online learning experience by using the advanced communication features of Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro within the Blackboard learning environment. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro offers an ideal platform for virtual classrooms or meetings and generally requires no additional software on end-user computers by employing Adobe Flash Player to enable the virtual meeting room. This complete solution for integrating Blackboard software (Release 7.3 and higher) with Adobe Connect Pro is now available for free to Blackboard or Adobe Connect Pro Administrators.

Click here to register for this event.

To learn more about the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro and Blackboard Integration solution, please go to the Acrobat Connect Community Website Blackboard Integration FAQ.

You can also download the Blackboard integration solution brief or the LMS primer from the Adobe Acrobat Connect 7 education page.

TIP: The Adobe Connect User Community Website is a great resource for learning more about Adobe Acrobat Connect and/or virtual classroom technology.

September 8, 2008

Clearing the Haze with Photoshop and Lightroom's Histogram, Bonus: Free Lightroom Pop Quiz

Photograph cleaned up in Lightroom and Photoshop

You know that little graph in Photoshop, Lightroom, and on your digital camera called the Histogram? What does it tell you, and how can you use to rescue a boring photo? Watch my tutorial. We will cover this and check out some new features in Lightroom 2.0. Whoa, what about the FREE Lightroom pop quiz? Read on...

Continue reading "Clearing the Haze with Photoshop and Lightroom's Histogram, Bonus: Free Lightroom Pop Quiz" »

August 29, 2008

Training Resources for Adobe Acrobat 9

Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro and Pro Extended Banner

A great training resource is worth its weight in gold whether you are a novice user or a seasoned veteran working with an application. And Adobe Acrobat 9 is one of those programs so chocked full of feature goodness that many have yet to tap into the true potential of this "Swiss Army knife of Adobe software!" So time and again I am asked for a list of great Adobe Acrobat 9 resources and I have compiled some of the best in this article. My recommendation is to copy the links below into a MS Word document, save it to your computer, and explore at your leisure.

Continue reading "Training Resources for Adobe Acrobat 9" »

August 27, 2008

It's twins! New versions of Photoshop and Premiere Elements due soon

Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Element 7 box picture

Announced on 8/26/08, Adobe will be shipping updated versions of its consumer-focused image editing and video applications, Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Elements 7. They can be purchase separately or bundled together. You can pre-order your own copies on Adobe's website, or check with your reseller if you are buying for your school.

Continue reading "It's twins! New versions of Photoshop and Premiere Elements due soon" »

Flash Based eLearning

How to Create Flash eLearning without Major Programming

You love Flash and would like to create some cool eLearning quizzes with it, but aren’t ready to dive into learning Flash’s deep ActionScript programming language for your quizzes? Well guess what, you don’t have to be an ActionScript guru to create compelling Flash eLearning! Flash has a series of little known built-in eLearning “interactions” which you can create in no time without deep programming knowledge. Other than a few simple timeline stop frame actions, everything you do is drag, drop, and typing in your courseware questions and answers; there are even built-in buttons to check for the correct answers and also allow you to move on to the next quiz.

So how does this all work?

Continue reading "Flash Based eLearning" »

August 26, 2008

Adobe Presenter 7 quiz issue

For those using Adobe Presenter 7 (if you are not familiar with Presenter, check out our previous blog entry Presenter Cards), you may have noticed an issue with quizzes.

Let's start with what you can do. In Presenter, you can build a quiz into your project to assess the students' attainment of the information. Each question in a quiz can be weighted and count towards an overall score. Based on that score, you can allow a user to pass or fail the quiz, and by choosing a behavior, have them jump to a particular slide in the presentation or to a URL. Often the URL is either another Presenter project (moving them to the next level of material) or the URL of the project with the quiz the userfailed to make them review the material. Either way, it is useful to employ the behaviors as instant feedback and action based on the results of a quiz. See an example by clicking on the following link: Quiz Example. Attached to the quiz is the PowerPoint project file (I didn't use any audio to keep the file small. Feel free to experiment with it).

Continue reading "Adobe Presenter 7 quiz issue" »

August 11, 2008

Education resources for educators

Whether you need to find curricula, lessons and activities, White papers, and other resources to help you teach, Adobe Education has what you’re looking for.

For yearlong, project-based curricula that develop career and communication skills, please check out the following:
Visual design: Foundations of design and print production.
For a year-long, project-based curriculum that develops ICT, career, and communication skills in print and graphic design using Adobe tools. You can use the Visual Design curriculum in career and technical education courses and in courses involving photography, graphic design, and English/language arts.

Digital design: foundations of web design.
Digital Design is a year-long curriculum guide that develops ICT skills in web design and production using Adobe web tools. You can use Digital Design in career and technical education courses as well as general web design classes.

Digital video: Foundations of video design and production.
The Digital Video project-based curriculum develops career and communication skills in video production, using Adobe tools. You can use the Digital Video curriculum in career and technical education courses as well as courses involving video use in academic courses.

Rich Internet application (RIA) teaching resources.
These resources provide a combination of online workshop modules for self-study, course projects to apply the skills learned, and book recommendations to put together a course on RIA design and development.

For educational White Papers dealing with issues such as eLearning, digital communication, Electronic Thesis and Dissertation solutions, Visual literacy, and more, please check out Adobe in Education White Papers.

For educational articles on a variety of topics, please check out Adobe in Education Articles.

Cheers!
Rick Miller

August 6, 2008

Adobe Presenter 7 "Connect Cards"

Adobe Education Leader (AEL) Dave Forrester from Olympia High School in Washington State has the most unique web based business card I've ever seen an educator use, and he made it entirely with Adobe's Presenter 7 software - a simple and inexpensive Power Point plug-in.

Dave also uses Adobe's Acrobat Connect Pro to share his Connect Card with his education associates and colleagues around the globe but do note, you don't even have to have an Acrobat Connect Pro account to host your Connect Card; a link to the actual file will do just fine since your card is simply a .SWF file (Adobe Flash).

Dave's Connect Card has a picture of Dave, email link, his bio, a streaming audio overview, his contact information, his school's URL, several blog links, Adobe, web, training resources and much more.

To learn more about Adobe Presenter 7, Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, and our awesome AELs (Adobe Education Leaders program) including Dave Forrester, click on any of the links here. To see an example of my Connect Card, check it out here.

Warmest,

Richard John Jenkins

July 31, 2008

An Exciting New Way to Share and Collaborate

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Acrobat.com

Adobe recently made available a collection of online services for file storage and sharing, collaborative document authoring, and web conferencing. Best of all, anyone can sign up for a free account at www.acrobat.com!

My Files

Once you create an Acrobat.com account you can easily upload a wide variety of files to include Microsoft Office documents and presentations, PDF files and portfolios, images, and ZIP files. Your account allows up to 5GB of online storage which you can easily access from any internet-connected computer.

Share

Acrobat.com provides a better way for sharing your files. Select content stored on your account and share a link instead of emailing large file attachments. You can define access to your online files as private, for specific recipients, or available to anyone with the link. Recipients can preview the files and download when needed.

Adobe Buzzword

This new online word processor is creating quite a buzz! You get all the functionality of a desktop application with the added advantage of creating and storing your documents online. As an author you can invite others to join you as a co-author or reviewer. Each contributor's changes are saved into document history and you can revert to a previous version anytime. When you are finished with your document you can export and share as a TXT, RTF, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, Open Office, or HTML file.

Adobe ConnectNow

Communicate and collaborate with up to two other particpants using your own personal online meeting room. You can be as interactive and productive as an in-person meeting using screen sharing, whiteboard overlays, notes, text chat, audio, video, and file sharing. You can even take control of a participant's desktop with their permission. This is a great solution for impromptu meetings, student tutoring, and parent/faculty sessions.

Call to Action

Acrobat.com provides many exciting ways for faculty, students, and parents to share, create, and collaborate. Since the services are online the constraints of time, location, and travel are mitigated. Feel free to share your experiences and best practices by adding comments to this article - we value your feedback!

 

Best Regards,
Patrick Koster