The aim of this conference was about exploring innovative research partnerships between schools and universities. Lead by Dr Fred Osman and Dr Keith Heggart the highlights of this event for me included hearing from the followng educators and hearing about their research:
Brett Salakas, HP Education Ambassador
Laureate Professor Jenny Gore, University of Newcastle
Associate Professor Penny Van Bergen, SFHEA, Macquarie University
Professor Michele Simons, University of Western Sydney
Dr Nicole Archard, Loreto Kirribilli
Ros Moore, University of Technology Sydney
Nadene O’Neill, Trinity Grammar Preparatory School
Karen Yager, The Hills Grammar School
Dr Bronwen Wade-Leeuwen, Macquarie University / Boston University Sydney
It was great to be back at the Gold Coast Big Day In event at Griffith University with about 300 high school students on Thursday 14th August.
The event was opened by Mr Rob Molhoek MP, State Member for Southport, QLD. He shared insights about his journey into politics and encouraged the students to actively seek out opportunities, develop a diverse set of skills, and work diligently to achieve success.
This link explains more about Big Day In events –
It was a pleasure to complement Mr Molhoek by sharing an analysis of the most common top skills required to thrive according to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Reports since 2016.
For all the teachers involved, it was their first time using Adobe Express. It was a pleasure to see these teachers light up with a sense of what is possible with Adobe Express to engage students in History lessons and help inspire life-long love of historic discoveries.
I showed them how simple it is to create a great looking history video documentary with Adobe Express using animation and lots of relevant stock images, videos and audio files. I also showed them a number of History activities and curriculum resources built into the Adobe Express for Education application.
Due to popularity of this workshop, the HTAV have supported a free webinar version of this workshop that we are planning for 11th Sept at 4 pm (AEST). Click here to register.
On Tuesday 5th August, I was invited to meet with all teaching staff at Maroochydore State High School to share the value of Adobe Express as a digital creativity tool for every subject area.
I also had the opportunity to work with a number of Year 7 and Year 10 students doing a workshop with the Animation features of Adobe Express and introducing Adobe Podcast.
It was great to see a whole school, from the Principal (David Samaha) down, interested in finding out more about Adobe Express as a tool to help teaching and learning.
The Big Day In event on the Sunshine Coast was held on Tuesday 5th August with about 360 QLD students. It was originally to be held in March but due to Cyclone Alfred, it was postponed.
This link explains more about Big Day In events –
Mayor Rosanna Natoli, the Mayor of the Sunshine Coast, opened the event by encouraging the students to take onboard all the sessions, ask lots of questions and make the most of this unique opportunity to engage with a range of experts from various IT focused industries.
On Monday 4th August, 2025 I was invited to run some Adobe workshops at Mountain Creek State High School on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The focus for the students Adobe Express and Adobe Podcast as a tool for making creative presentations. The focus for the teaching staff was the Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) Level 1 micro-credential.
Almost 100 km north of Brisbane and just 4 km from surf beaches at Mooloolaba, Mountain Creek State High School was established in 1994 on the former Mooloolaba Airport site to serve a growing coastal community, it has grown into one of the largest high schools in Queensland, with around 2,200 students enrolled from Years 7 to 12.
Newly appointed Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) – Leader Mel Muller organised for over 20 teachers from a range of faculty areas completed the ACE micro-credential.
More information about the Adobe Creative Educator program can be found here.
On Tuesday 29th July, I had the great pleasure to spend the day with Kororoit Creek Primary School (KCPS) Year 6 classes as well as a number of the teaching staff for an Adobe Day.
With over 1,300 students from Prep to Year 6, KCPS is one of Victoria’s largest primary schools. The school is a fully authorised International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) school, delivering inquiry‑driven learning framed through the Victorian Curriculum and designed to develop internationally minded, creative, and engaged young learners.
With a strong focus on evidence-based teaching, moderation of assessments, personalised feedback, and whole-school approaches to wellbeing, inclusion, and engagement, the school has earned a positive reputation for delivering high-quality, holistic education in a supportive environment.
The PYP is a globally recognised curriculum framework designed for students aged 3 to 12. It focuses on developing the whole child—academically, socially, emotionally, and physically—through inquiry-based learning and international-mindedness.
The PYP encourages students to explore big ideas across subject areas, ask questions, and take ownership of their learning. It promotes key skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and reflection, while nurturing values like respect, empathy, and responsibility.
The aim of this Adobe Day was to give the students an introduction to Adobe Express as a tool for the exhibition stage of of the PYP where students are required to present their learnings.
After school I worked about 25 teachers from KCPS and helped them to achieve the internationally recognised Adobe Creative Educator micro-credential.
I would like to thank Assistant Principal Leesa Cilia and Acting Learning Specialist Clayton Bonello for making this day a possibility.
The 2025 Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) Innovator Summit was held in San Francisco from July 16 to 18. It involved about 100 ACE Innovators (in-person) from the US & Japan as well as members of the Adobe Education Team and also included about 30 other ACE-Innovators from around the globe live online.
The 2025 ACE Innovators are members of the wider Adobe Creative Educator community who are prominent influences in K-12 education within their district, state and country. Find out more about the ACE-Innovators here.
This clip was filmed when everyone gathered together for the open reception event with many of the ACE-Innovators sharing what they were most looking forward to at the Summit.
This clip was filmed during the first full day of the Summit with the ACE-Innovators sharing some of their highlights.
Quotes from the Innovators …
… it was so heartwarming and fantastic to see all of the things that Adobe is doing to make sure that their products are meeting the needs of teachers.
One of my favorite highlights of today was getting to do the updates with the product developers and actually having them listen to real teachers and letting us voice our opinions–that is really great.
This conference has the heart. Other conference events do not have that feel.
The way we’ve been treated so well and been elevated– and this is making me think of how I can use my library ambassadors as teenage evangelists and showcase their amazing work.
So for me today listening to Charlie Miller and specifically when he said ‘lowering the floor while raising the ceiling,’ was very impactful as an ESL learner. I work with a lot of English language students and to be able to use these tools to lower the floor so that they can actually succeed to be able to raise the ceiling for them.
On Saturday 5th July I had the pleasure of running three Adobe Express workshops for teens at risk in Vietnam involving about 125 participants. This is the 6th year I’ve been involved with this program called Camp Connect, organised by the Pacific Links Foundation.
With the assistance of Ann, a fantastic translator and a previous participant in my workshops, the participants were encouraged to use the free version of Adobe Express. Together, we explored the process of animating a character and creating a video story about how we can make the world a better place for everyone.
Comments from participants
Through this workshop, I discovered Adobe — an incredibly useful and exciting tool where I can freely express my creativity and create amazing products. I’ll definitely share this app with my friends and those around me. A big thank you to Mr. Tim!
A memorable moment was when I asked the instructor to create a cat character for me, and he made an incredibly cute one. I felt so happy and surprised.
I remember most how to create animated characters and add voiceovers for them. It was super fun and cute, and I really want to try making more videos like that in the future.
One of the goals of Camp Connect is to inspire and up-skill the participants, providing them with opportunities to apply and further develop their skills, potentially leading to future employment opportunities.
The Pacific Links Foundation (PALS) is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization founded in 2001, dedicated to combating human trafficking and supporting vulnerable youth and women in Vietnam. It focuses on prevention, protection, and reintegration efforts to address the root causes of trafficking.
A cornerstone of PALS’s work is its education and scholarship programs, which provide at-risk girls aged 11–18 with the resources to stay in school. By covering costs such as tuition, supplies, and uniforms, these programs aim to reduce the likelihood of girls dropping out and becoming vulnerable to trafficking. Vocational training and job placement services further equip young women with skills for stable employment, enhancing their economic independence.
The Camp Connect program by the Pacific Links Foundation is a transformative initiative aimed at empowering disadvantaged youth in Vietnam, particularly girls aged 14 to 18. These participants are often scholarship recipients from the foundation’s GEMS and SEEDS programs, residing in areas vulnerable to human trafficking. Held virtually, Camp Connect provides a safe and supportive environment where over 1,200 students engage in workshops led by more than 150 volunteer professionals from diverse fields and time zones. The program focuses on developing life skills, self-awareness, and career exploration, equipping participants with the tools to thrive academically and professionally.
In essence, Camp Connect is more than just a summer camp; it’s a pivotal step in the Pacific Links Foundation’s mission to break the cycle of exploitation by investing in the potential of Vietnam’s youth.
Dr Tim Kitchen 