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Make the switch to Adobe Premiere Pro

Posted on August 1, 2011 by jessiet

I wanted to pass on some of Adobe’s perspective and resources in reference to the massive shifts that has been happening in the video industry over the past week. Jim Guerard, Adobe vice president and general manager of professional video, recently video blogged about the video industry and how Adobe is responding through rapid innovation and the company’s pillars of focus moving forward.

Highlights include:

- 22% year over year growth in Adobe pro video sales

-45% growth on Mac

- Growth from less than 1 million seats in 2006 to 2.3 million in 2010

- 30% increase in unit sales from CS4 to CS5

Digital filmmaking has transformed the way film schools teach and many leading schools worldwide, including University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Southern California (USC) and Ball State University, have successfully adopted Adobe Premiere Pro to better equip student filmmakers. Additionally, through working with faculty from leading film schools and universities, Adobe has created free projects  and curriculums for teaching video production skills to students at all levels, giving students an edge when they start work in the digital filmmaking industry.

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Medical education & digital communication skills

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

I believe that effective digital communication can and should be used in all walks of learning, particularly as these skills are now expected of most professionals, regardless of their field.

Adobe has recently produced an interesting white paper relating to this topic. It examines how medical education has been profoundly changed by the use of digital technologies in instruction. For example, with today’s imaging technologies, it’s possible to accurately illustrate highly complex physical systems using photographs, video and data models.

Things like 3D visual tools and resources like VH Dissector also mean students can explore and examine human physical systems in a way that was only ever possible before with cadavers in the lab. The potential for this technology to assist and support traditional learning is limitless!

It’s a really interesting and thought-provoking read if you have a bit of time to spare: http://www.adobe.com/uk/special/wp_medicaled/

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The importance of digital stories

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

I wanted to share with you a new Adobe whitepaper that is based on the recent debate around the development of digital communication skills in higher education.

It talks about current expectations of and opportunities for digital communication to become more relevant for more disciplines and not limited to traditional creative industries such as graphics and visual arts, videography, and web design.

The fact is that the explosion of multiple devices and platforms in recent years, means that technology is ingrained into every aspect of our society – both professionally and on a personal level. Given that digital is now part of people’s day to day lives, it’s never been more important for those same skills to be more integrated into education.

This whitepaper is split into two sections – the first looks at how people are able to use digital tools to visually share their ideas, and secondly the importance of both students and staff to be able to use these tools to bring to life projects they are working on.

It’s definitely worth a read in a quieter moment –http://www.adobe.com/uk/special/wp_crossdisciplines/

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Digital publishing on campus

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

Earlier this month John Schuman, the Adobe Worldwide Education senior product manager, held a presentation exploring how Higher Education  institutions are creating engaging learning experiences through digital publishing via the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.

John will share some great examples of how the Digital Publishing Suite is already being used to produce content such as branded communications for students, faculty and alumni in the form of e-magazines and scholarly publications. It’s also being used as a learning opportunity to teach design students and help them develop competitive skills that they’ll need in the workplace.

Check out the eSeminar if you want to find out more – it’s well worth a visit: http://www.adobe.com/uk/special/webinar1

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Giving students a competitive edge through the Adobe Certified Associate

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

Once again it’s that time of year when university students hand in their final projects, complete exams and prepare to enter the world of work.  I must say I don’t envy them in the slightest!

It’s no secret that graduates are in for a tough ride – combine increased competition for jobs with employer uncertainty and you have a highly competitive and volatile job market. All this considered, it’s more important than ever that universities help students get additional skills under their belt to give them that competitive edge.

One university which has the right idea and is well worth its Centre of Excellence status is London Metropolitan University.  It offers both internal and external students the chance to take Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) courses in Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash- a recognised qualification within industry.  The courses are run through a number of modules and evening courses, aiming to give students a deeper understanding of digital skills, which they can build upon over their university years.

So what are the benefits of taking the ACA? Students leave university equipped with valuable digital skills and they get the added bonus of having the recognised ACA qualification on their CV for that all important foot in the door!

Check out for yourself this video for more information on how London Met is delivering the course:

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To upgrade or not to upgrade, that is the question!

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

According to Greg Notess, the well-known writer and speaker on this subject of upgrades, ‘upgrades are a part of computing life… the IT economy revolves around the frequent-update’. This is something that businesses the world over are all too familiar with!  But with purse strings tightening across the board, IT and business decision makers are naturally scrutinising whether upgrades can be avoided to save on spending.

I recently came across an interesting paper from Indiana University of Pennsylvania on this very topic. The paper argues that institutions need to get the right balance of updating industry-standard technology with free and open source software.  The paper notes that with upgrades comes real benefits – new features, enhanced speed as well as an enhanced image for the organisation. It is well worth a read if you’ve ever struggled to get budget to support an upgrade or if you’re in two minds about whether it is worth the spend.

It also provides a great best practice case study of how the Technology Support and Training (TST) department put forward the argument for the need to invest in an upgrade to Creative Suite 5. By mapping the product benefits clearly against the course objectives, the department was able to demonstrate the value and impact of the upgrade and secure funding.  Click here to read the paper.

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Digital creativity beyond art and design

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

For today’s blog post I thought I’d talk about an interesting eSeminar that Adobe has made accessible for students and university staff, which explores the impact of digital skills in higher education.   The thing I found the most surprising from the seminar is that digital competency is no longer just expected from the IT technicians, artists and designers of the world, it is now taken as a given that everyone should be digitally expressive – including professionals in disciplines as diverse as chemistry, marketing and medicine!

So what does this mean for universities? Well the seminar explains that a new trend is emerging whereby universities are stepping away from telling students to use a set programme to write, say, a journalistic article, to giving students the tools to tell more rich and compelling stories in a variety of different ways. This could mean using video and multi-media to present back ideas or using digital imagery to visualise data.

The seminar also gives some great examples of different ways universities are using digital tools across subjects – some real food for thought for lecturers looking for inspiration on how to integrate digital tools into projects.  For example, one university challenged its dental students to create scientifically accurate visual dental information through digital imaging software Adobe Photoshop.  This is certainly a far cry away from when I was at university and the only way of presenting back work was via a flip chart!

If you want to view this eSeminar yourself you can do so at http://www.adobe.com/uk/special/webinar/- it’s definitely worth a watch!

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The Silent Transformation

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

At Adobe we’re passionate about the potential digital tools have to support students across a whole wealth of different study areas. No longer are digital tools such as Adobe Flash limited to Art & Design, just as digital skills such as design, videography or web design are no longer limited to just a select few creative jobs.

As businesses evolve the way they communicate, we’re seeing these skills in demand from industries as diverse as journalism, education and medicine. The potential for students’ with these skills is really exciting.

I wanted to share with you an interesting white paper from Adobe on this topic – it looks at the evolution of digital communication skills in post-secondary educational institutions around the world and is a great summary of this shift in demand.

Download The Silent Transformation here

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Welcome to our new blog

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Liz Wilkins

Just a few short months since we launched our Schools blog, we’re introducing a brand new blog dedicated entirely to our higher education audience.

The Adobe Schools blog has proved a great place for us and our Education Leaders to share opinions and showcase best practice. Now we’re looking to do the same for Higher Education.

It’s a period of intense change for higher education institutions and practitioners with an ever-shifting landscape which makes it a very exciting – but also for many a quite daunting – time. We firmly believe that, used in the right way, technology can help UK institutions remain at the forefront of education.

On this blog, the higher education team at Adobe along with guest bloggers operating in the sector, will be uploading and sharing content about the potential for institutions to create ‘digital campuses’ where technology is used to the great benefit of both students and staff. We hope you enjoy it and, as always, welcome your thoughts and ideas.

Happy reading!

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