On Thursday 13th June, about 400 students from a variety of South Australian schools took part in the 2024 Big Day In event at The University of Adelaide. I was delighted to be back at this event as the opening keynote presenter after not being involved since 2019.

Professor David Lewis, Acting Executive Dean, Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology – University of Adelaide welcomed the students and opened the event. The printed description of my presentation was …

Chances are, you’ll experience a variety of jobs throughout your life & ideally, some of them will be
your dream jobs at different points. Regardless of the shape your future career takes, there are
essential skills crucial for achieving success. Dr. Tim Kitchen, who has held various dream jobs
such as being a teacher, school administrator, university lecturer, author & consultant, currently
serves as Adobe’s Education Specialist for the Asia Pacific region. In this session, he will delve into
research on the most critical skills for thriving & guide you on developing these skills using the free
Adobe applications accessible to all K-12 schools worldwide.

On 12th June 2024, my colleague Eric Drew and I ran an Adobe Day at Norwood International High School in Adelaide. The focus of this event was Adobe Express, Character Animator and Premiere Pro for about 80 Year 9, 10 & 11 media students.

The students were new to Adobe Express and learned how to use it to create a quick video stinger to introduce a more lengthy video project that they could be working on with Premiere Pro. They were also shown how to ethically and effectively use Adobe Express as a way of obtaining Adobe Stock assets and create Gen AI enhanced images. They were also introduced to Character Animator as a way of creating quick and effective video content.

Most of the students were experienced with Premiere Pro, so I spent some time with them sharing tips and tricks that are used by professional video editors.

I would like to thank Norwood International High School Teacher David Fawcett for organsing this event.

The very impressive Adelaide Botanic High in the heart of the CBD and Scotch College at the base of the Adelaide hills hosted two opportunities for South Australian Teachers to do the Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) level 1 course this week.

Since the commencement of the special ANZ version of the ACE course in May 2023, 618 teachers have complete this version of level 1. The course is about the importance of creativity in all areas of the curriculum. It provides teachers with an opportunity to hear from experts in this area from around the globe as well as use Adobe Express to create a digital portfolio and poster to document what they learn.

The ACE level 1 course can be completed on-demand through the Adobe Education Exchange course – Creativity for All but it takes about 3 hours. If you would like to do a more condensed version that has localised content, click here to register for the next in-person or online opportunity.

I would like to thank my colleague Eric Drew for helping me with these events.

On Tuesday 11th June, 2024 my colleague Eric Drew and I spent most of the day with the delightful Year 4 to 6 students from Seaton Park Primary School in Adelaide. Deputy Principal Esther Williams heard that I was visiting South Australia that week as asked if I was available to visit her school to help introduce Adobe Express to her students and staff.

I gave the students a challenge to work in a small group to help promote one of the 17 United Nations Sustainability Development Goals in a short video using a variety if Adobe Express tools.

The students worked really well, especially considering the software was new to them. It was great seeing their collaboration, problem solving & creativity skills in action throughout the day. Here are some of the stories they came up with using their Chromebooks & Adobe Express …

On Friday 7th June, 13 Year 10 design students and 2 teachers from Braybrook College visited the Adobe Melbourne office as part of an ABCN My Career Rules program.

Adobe has been partnering with ABCN for about three years to help them with their vision for all young Australians to reach their potential in the future world of work, regardless of socio-economic background.

Jon Barrie, David Huynh and I were the industry mentors and we were asked a number of great questions from the students about how we got into working for Adobe and what other jobs have we done in the past.

The My Career Rules program gives students the opportunity to prepare questions and interact with a professionals from specific jobs and industries, opening their minds to careers that reflect the current workplace. Providing a link between classroom learning and the real world of work, it aims to reinforce messages about the skills and mindsets needed to make a successful career in the future workplace. 

The students also enjoyed working with a few of the Adobe Creative Cloud applications that they have access to thanks to an enterprise agreement between Adobe and the Victorian Department of Education.

I would like to thank Catherine Morris from ABCN as well as Braybrook College teachers Loc Nguten and Rolando Garay-Matziaris for organising this event.

In its first year of existence, Brinbeal Secondary College is one of the newest schools run by the Victorian Department of Education. Being its inaugural year, it just has Year 7 students this year with lots of enrollments booked in for 2025 and beyond.

I had the pleasure of meeting all the Year 7s throughout the day and most of the teachers after school. The focus for the students was Adobe Character Animator as a creative way to enhance presentations and Photoshop to help develop their digital literacy and communication skills.

After school, I worked with most of the school staff and introduce them to Adobe Express which we are hoping will soon be back available for all Victorian Department of Education students.

I would like to thank Assistant Principal Angela Roberts for organising this day of digital creativity.