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Author: kbeddes

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This year we've used the Jordan Portrait of a Graduate as our focus for our updates each month. As a district, we are committed to developing graduates who are curious thinkers, creative problem solvers, engaged citizens, empathetic communicators, resilient lifelong learners and responsible teammates. As the digital teaching and learning department, we support educators in facilitating the effective use of technology to enhance student learning. Throughout this year, we've shared ways that you can use Adobe to help your students practice these different skills.

Curious Thinker: Have students hone their observational skills by choosing an everyday object and using Adobe Express to illustrate some details and descriptors for that object. Use this lesson plan from Adobe Education Exchange to have the students practice mind-mapping and drawing connections between ideas: https://edex.adobe.com/teaching-resources/finding-evidence-joy-of-creativity

Creative Problem Solver: Check out this short video that discusses how Creative Problem Solving is less about being "artistic creative" and more about thinking outside of the box, especially when facing real-life problems.

Engaged Citizen: This "PRODUCE A BLOG FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT" project will allow you to reflect on your own social justice knowledge in your community will help you better tackle real-world problems by examining current and historical problems from multiple perspectives resulting in authentic dialogues about change. Adobe Express allows you to instantly compose verbal and visual elements into published web pages making documenting and journaling your experiences accessible, fun and easy. Check out the lesson plan here on Adobe Education Exchange: https://edex.adobe.com/teaching-resources/produce-a-blog-for-social-justice-and-community-engagement

Empathetic Communicator: Level up your communication game by using the multimedia and video features in Adobe Express to share your ideas quickly & creatively. Adobe Express makes it easy to create graphics, videos, and web pages to share your message far and wide with the click of a button. Check out this video here:

Resilient Lifelong Learner: Help students keep their Adobe Express and other Creative Cloud files after graduation or when they transfer to another school!

Ensure your students can transfer their Adobe Express and other Creative Cloud files to a personal account using Adobe Student File Transfer service, so they can continue accessing their creative work, no matter where they are. https://graduation.adobe.com/

Responsible Teammate: In this video, you'll hear from expert educators and learn how to create an environment where learners feel comfortable to ask questions, explore ideas, take risks and engage with each other to create collaboratively. Check out the full, free, self-paced course, you’ll learn strategies to support your students’ creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. You’ll learn from expert teachers and access over 100 FREE lesson plans, activities, and projects that combine Khan Academy content and engaging Adobe tools here: https://edex.adobe.com/professional-learning/self-paced-course/teach-creativity-with-adobe-and-khan-academy

There are a million ways to use Adobe Express to build your students skills, both inside and outside of the classroom. What have been your favorite project this year?

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The "Responsible Teammate" skill is part of our commitment to helping students work well with others. It encourages kids to be reliable and to contribute positively when they work in groups. This skill is important because it helps students learn how to collaborate, compromise, and support each other, which are valuable skills both in school and in their future careers. Using the "Responsible Teammate" skill can help students learn how to communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, and achieve shared goals, which enhances their learning experience and prepares them for real-world situations.

This month, we are using this Creative Challenge from Adobe to help students illustrate how they see themselves as individuals, beyond their grades and test scores. In this "More than a Score" challenge, students and educators design a graphic in Adobe Express to capture the diverse and unique qualities they (or their students) possess beyond their academic acumen.

Creative Challenge Student Example

Students will be able to:

  • Evaluate evidence of personal project work and/or personal skills development.
  • Communicate effectively with their peers and/or audience.
  • Use the design process to generate useful or imaginative solutions for problems.

Check out this quick tutorial on how to use the student-friendly template:

Ready to get creative? Click the link here to access the remixable template in Adobe Express and start designing!

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resilient lifelong learner

This month, we celebrate the theme of the Resilient Lifelong Learner. As resilient lifelong learners, we remain committed to achieving our goals despite challenges, mistakes, and setbacks, viewing adversity as an opportunity for growth. Our focus is on nurturing these qualities in our students, equipping them to navigate life's challenges with persistence and adaptability.

Building Resilience with Adobe Express

Make a web page framing mistakes as opportunities

To support this theme, we’re excited to introduce a new project utilizing Adobe Express, developed in collaboration with Khan Academy. This lesson plan encourages students to view mistakes as valuable learning opportunities. Through this project, students will create a web page that tells a personal story of turning a mistake into an opportunity for growth.

Project Highlights:

  • Reflective Exploration: Students start by exploring resources that highlight how mistakes can lead to personal and intellectual growth.
  • Personal Reflection: They'll reflect on their own experiences, identifying past mistakes and the lessons learned.
  • Creative Expression: Using Adobe Express, students will craft a web page to illustrate their journey, embedding text, images, and other media to enhance storytelling.

This project not only develops digital literacy and media skills but also reinforces the growth mindset, encouraging students to see setbacks as stepping stones to success. By engaging in this creative process, students learn to articulate their experiences clearly and with conviction, embodying the empathetic communicator aspect of the Portrait of a Graduate.

We hope this project will inspire your students to embrace resilience and view challenges as opportunities for growth. For more details, refer to the lesson plan and resources available on Adobe's Education Exchange (sign in using your Jordan District email).

Come back next month for more updates and resources to support your teaching journey!

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UCET 2025 conference logo, the theme "authentic intelligence" and the adobe logo together in an image

Get ready to enhance your teaching toolkit with three exciting Adobe sessions at the upcoming UCET conference. These sessions, led by experienced educators, will introduce you to innovative ways to integrate Adobe tools into your classroom.

  1. Amplify Classroom Voices with Adobe Podcast
    • Date & Time: February 25, 2025, 10:15am - 11:15am MST
    • Description: Learn how to create engaging audio content with Adobe Podcast. This session, led by Rob Bentley, will cover everything from recording to editing, perfect for boosting student engagement.
  2. Adobe for Primary Grades
    • Date & Time: February 25, 2025, 1:30pm - 3:30pm MST
    • Description: Join Taunya James to explore Adobe Express and discover how primary students can use digital media tools to tell stories and express ideas across all subjects.
  3. What's New and Exciting in Adobe Express?
    • Date & Time: February 25, 2025, 11:30am - 12:30pm MST
    • Description: Rob Bentley will showcase the latest features in Adobe Express, including new integrations and tools to enhance your digital classroom activities.

Don't miss these sessions to learn how Adobe can transform your classroom and inspire your students! Adobe will also have several sessions from some of their featured presenters, so lots to choose from at UCET 2025.

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The week of Sept 16th, 2024, Adobe changed the way teachers and students in our district sign in to their Adobe products. The good news is that we still have the statewide Adobe contract that gives free premium access to all of the Adobe apps for all teachers and students. We just have to do the following steps to reconnect your account to the Jordan license.

Step 1: First close any Adobe apps you are trying to use and open whatever default web browser you have and navigate to www.adobe.com and sign out of your account. Click the profile icon in the upper right corner and click "sign out".

Do the same steps for the Creative Cloud application installed on your computer. You have to sign out of both the browser and the desktop versions. The installed app should look like this:

Close both the browser and the Creative Cloud application.

Step 2: Next open a new browser window again and navigate back to www.adobe.com and click the sign in button in the upper right corner.

On the sign in screen, DO NOT USE THE GOOGLE BUTTON to sign in. Simply type your school email address, press continue and on the next screen it should direct you to login to your Google account by typing your Jordan district email address.

If you see a prompt asking if it’s a "Personal" or "Company or School Account", click the option that says school account.

Step 3: Once you've successfully logged into your Adobe account again, you should see that your apps have a button below them that says "Request Access". Click on the "Request Access" button and it will quickly flash that access was granted and it should allow you to use your apps again.

If you still cannot login, please contact Kiera Beddes for further support.

📄 PDF Instructions