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Category: Adobe

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As we head into the final weeks of the school year, our classrooms are buzzing with collaborative energy. This month, we are focusing on a vital characteristic of our district’s Portrait of a Graduate: Responsible Teammate.

The Definition: "As responsible teammates, we demonstrate dependability through positive collaboration with others and a commitment to diligence in our everyday actions."

Being a responsible teammate goes beyond just "helping out"—it’s about being a person others can count on to show up, do the work, and celebrate the collective success of the group.

Feature Spotlight: Classroom Gallery Walls

To support this commitment to collaboration, we are spotlighting the Classroom Gallery feature in Adobe Express. This tool creates a shared digital space where student work lives together, fostering a sense of community and mutual respect.

How it works for your classroom:

  1. Create a Shared Space: Teachers can create a "Gallery" for a specific project or unit.
  2. Collaborative Contribution: Students add their own Adobe Express designs, videos, or pages to the gallery with a single click.
  3. Real-Time Updates: As students refine their work and resubmit, the gallery updates automatically, showing the progress of the entire team.

Try it Today!

Ready to build your first digital wall? Head to the Classrooms tab in Adobe Express and select "Create Gallery." Whether you’re showcasing end-of-year digital yearbooks, science fair posters, or creative writing portfolios, use the gallery to celebrate the hard work and responsibility your students have shown all year long.

For more info, check out this Big 6 in 60 video:

Or this Adobe help page: https://helpx.adobe.com/express/web/adobe-express-for-education/for-educators/create-and-manage-classroom-galleries.html

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As we move into the final stretch of the school year, our focus shifts toward empowering students to take ownership of their growth. This month, we are highlighting the Resilient Lifelong Learner — a Resilient Lifelong Learner isn’t just someone who gets the right answer; they are students who embrace challenges, learn from setbacks, and remain curious in an ever-changing world. To support this mindset, we are thrilled to spotlight a new feature in Adobe Express.

Adobe Express has just released a new beta feature designed to bridge the gap between curriculum standards and creative student output. Teachers can now generate high-quality, engaging classroom activities in a matter of seconds.

How it works:

  • Input Your Goal: Simply type in a specific topic (e.g., "The Water Cycle"), a learning objective, or a state standard.
  • Instant Generation: The AI engine builds a complete classroom activity tailored to your prompt.
  • Student-Ready Instructions: It doesn't just create the "what"—it creates the "how," providing clear, step-by-step instructions for students to follow.
  • Teacher Refinement: Once the materials and instructions have been generated, teachers can change any part of the template or instructions to fine-tune it for your classroom before sharing it with students.

By automating the initial scaffolding, teachers can spend more time facilitating "productive struggle." Students get clear guardrails that allow them to experiment, fail safely, and iterate on their creative projects—the very heart of being a resilient learner.

Log in to your district Adobe Express account and look for the "Generate Activities" box under the “Teach” tab. Give it a standard you’re teaching next week and watch the magic happen.

a screenshot of the "generate classroom activities" box in Adobe Express

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This month’s focus is on Digital Access. Adobe Express is designed with the philosophy that creativity should be accessible to everyone, regardless of physical ability or technical expertise. For educators, this means the platform provides several built-in "guardrails" and tools that ensure student-created content is inclusive from the start.

Key Accessibility Features

  • Alt-Text for Images: Users can add alternative text descriptions to images. This is essential for screen readers, allowing students who are blind or have low vision to understand the visual context of a project.
  • Auto-Captioning for Video: Adobe Express can automatically generate synchronized captions for video projects. This not only supports students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing but also improves comprehension for English Language Learners (ELL).
  • Accessible PDF Export: When students create documents or flyers, Adobe Express supports exporting to PDF with basic tagging structures. This makes the final file more navigable for assistive technologies.

By integrating these tools into the creative process, teachers can move beyond simply teaching accessibility to making it a standard part of every digital assignment.

Watch this short video for some great tips for keeping your digital projects accessible: https://youtu.be/2jN2zeGtFs4?si=1AKPRSnrY6Z5IUu9 

 

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This month, our Adobe Express spotlight is on becoming an Empathetic Communicator. In an era of digital noise, helping students bridge the gap between their internal feelings and their impact on others is essential. To bring this theme to life, we are highlighting a powerful project from educator Ramona Abraham-Coley: Student Identity Short Videos.

Cover images of three different student short video projects

She shares three easy-to-implement short video projects where students have to practice empathy and communication in a variety of ways.

  1. Students celebrate their voice, heritage, and community with The Sound of My Name video template.
  2. Students explore the locations around the world that influenced their identity with this Global Me storytelling video template.
  3. Students showcase a significant clothing item that reflects their heritage, religion, identity, or family narrative with this Threads of Me video template.

Bridging the Gap with Adobe Express

Empathetic communication begins with self-awareness. When students understand their own "why," they can more effectively share their stories with others. Using the intuitive video tools in Adobe Express, Ramona’s project encourages students to create short, punchy narratives that explore their unique backgrounds, values, and emotions.

How it works in the classroom:

  • Identify the Feeling: Students start by reflecting on an aspect of their identity that is often "invisible" to others.

  • Create the Connection: Using Adobe Express Video, students combine personal clips, icons, and voiceovers. This process forces them to consider how their creative choices—like music and pacing—affect the viewer's emotional response.

  • Measure the Impact: By sharing these videos, students receive immediate feedback on how their peers perceived their message, helping them "close the loop" on communication.

Start Creating

By practicing vulnerability through video, students learn that their voices have the power to build bridges rather than walls. You can find Ramona Abraham-Coley’s full tutorial and more inspiration here: https://express.adobe.com/learn/tutorial/express%2Fedu%2Fedu-creator-ramona-abraham-coley?source=learn-main-page&playlist=playlist%2Fexpress%2Feducator-collections.

Text on a comic book style background "embrace challenges"

Challenge: Have your students create a 30-second "Identity Short" this week to practice sharing their perspective with empathy and clarity!