The 2024 Adobe Educators’ Conference kicked off at RMIT in Melbourne on 30th September and 1st October. This was the beginning of a four day conference event in Melbourne and Sydney registered by about 800 teachers for both the in-person and online experience with an aim to empower tomorrow’s creators with Adobe Express and ethically safe generative artificial intelligence.

Professor Simone White, Dean of the School of Education at RMIT officially opened the event prior to an introduction outlining all the conference presentation opportunities.

The first of over 60 (in-person & online) workshop options took place including the following topics:

• Intro to Express with Al Briggs
• New Gen AI features in Photoshop & Illustrator with Craig Daalmeijer-Power
• Adobe Express in the Primary Classroom with Craig Nicholls
• Drawing when you can’t Draw – Engaging the Disengaged with Adobe Fresco with Joel Aarons
• Editing images in Adobe Express – How far can you take it with Ben Eyles
• Creativity in the Round: Collaborative Student/Teacher Group Projects in Adobe Express with Erin Raethke
• Intro to Adobe Express (online) with Eden Carey
• Teaching & learning prompt engineering with Adobe Firefly (online) with Ross Johnson
• Your Voice is Your Superpower! Animate from Audio Projects in Adobe Express (online) with Jason Lane
• Adobe Creative Educator Level 1 course with Eric Drew
• Enhancing writing with Adobe Express with Juliette Bentley
• Multi-modal assessments in Adobe Express with Molly Turner and Craig Daalmeijer-Power
• Making as a teaching and learning methodology in curriculum with Clare Dyson & RMIT Coaches
• Making animated gifs and stickers with Photoshop or Fresco with Kev Lavery
• Create shareable editable branded video (youtube) intros and outros in Adobe Express with Mark Christie
• Introduction to Adobe Express (online) with Jason Lane
• What’s new in Adobe Express for Educators (online) with Rollan Bañez
• Adobe Express Video production workflow (online) with Jason Eddie

The main plenary session commenced with a welcome from RMIT’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education & VP, Professor Sherman Young.

Molly Turner & Eric Drew from the Adobe Education Team acted out the first of two sets of Teacher Features focused on a range of practical uses of Adobe Express for teachers and students.

The first of eight Creative Catalyst Talks over all four days of the conference commenced with Juliette Bentley presenting the topic Beyond the Classroom Walls: Global Collaboration with Adobe Express.

The keynote presenter for the Melbourne conference was Pip Cleaves (Associate Principal – Global Village Learning) with the topic AI in Education – How I see it. How I use it.

Following a break, Mark Christie (Director Digital Initiatives at Department of Education Northern Territory)did the next Creative Catalyst Talk titled Fair Smoothies.

Al Briggs (Adobe’s Strategy Development Manager for Higher Education) hosted a panel session titled Curly Questions involving:

• Dr Timothy Wiley – Lecturer, School of Computing Technologies (RMIT)
• Dr Thembi Mason – Lecturer, School of Education (RMIT)
• Virginia McNab – Masters student at RMIT School of Education
• Juliette Bentley – Classroom teacher and Adobe Creative Educator Innovator, Adobe Education Leader/Master Teacher
• Rob Flavell – President of VINE (Victorian ICT Network for Education) and Director of Digital Transformation at Loreto Toorak
• Mark Christie – Director Digital Initiatives, Department of Education Northern Territory, Adobe Creative Educator – Innovator

The curly questions were:

• Do you think relying on Gen AI for assignments compromises students’ ability to develop critical thinking and creativity?
• In your opinion, what is the most important thing teachers need to know about the safe and ethical use of AI in the classroom?
• Do you worry that Gen AI might replace teachers in the future?
• How do you envision using Gen AI to enhance student learning and engagement in the future, and what challenges do you anticipate?
• With AI already influencing many industries, what would you say to critics who argue that schools are lagging in preparing students for an AI-driven world?
• How important do you think it is for students to learn about Gen AI, and how should schools incorporate this learning into the curriculum?

Day 2

The second of the conference was for members of the Adobe Creative Educator Community.

It commences with a welcome from Associate Professor Clare Dyson from RMIT

Then we connected with the Global Adobe Education team as well as Adobe Product managers in the USA including:

• Ben Forta (Senior Director of Education Initiatives)
• Will Hsiao (Director, Community Engagement)
• Gail Hammer (Education Community Program Manager)
• Mary Cherng (Director of Product, Creative Cloud Education)
• Dr Brian Johnsrud (Director, Education Learning & Advocacy)
• Tanya Avrith (Education Community Manager)
• Claudio Zavala Jr. (Education Evangelist)

The third Creative Catalyst Talk for the conference was run by Craig Daalmeijer-Power (Head Teacher – Photography, Screen & Media / Games Development at TAFE NSW) titled Being creative with purpose.

Associate Professor Max Schleser conducted the next Creative Catalyst Talk titled ImaginAItion

The next part of the day involved the ACEs partnering up for an Adobe Express Collaborative Activity that involved using Adobe Express to create a (no more than) 30 sec video clip that outlines an example of how Adobe Express has been or can be helpful for you and/or your students in the teaching & learning process.

We then had a discussion led by the following presenters and topics …

• Drawing when you can’t Draw – Engaging the Disengaged with Adobe Fresco with Joel Aarons
• New Gen AI features in Photoshop & Illustrator with Craig Daalmeijer-Power
• Editing images in Adobe Express – How far can you take it? with Ben Eyles

Feedback comments

Highlights

• Learning about Adobe products and how to utilise them in multimodal assessment
• The workshops
• Pip Cleaves Keynote was extremely interesting and insightful
• Discussion about AI use in schools
• The keynote speaker Pip
• Learning about Adobe beyond a PDF reader
• Skills which were immediately actionable in the classroom
• Liked the content and activities on AI and Adobe Express.
• Pip Cleaves’ keynote and curly questions
• The event was great with the workshops and q and a.
• I gained a good overview of Adobe product and AI potential
• Curly questions
• The practical learning especially how to construct webpages
• The demos by Drew and Molly were great.
• A key highlight of the conference was its direct relevance to my professional development, particularly in keeping up with the latest AI technology trends. The sessions offered in-depth insights and practical knowledge that not only supported my upskilling but also provided actionable strategies to bring into the classroom, enhancing both personal growth and teaching practice. Similarly, Adobe Express shows great promise as a classroom tool, allowing students to easily create visually engaging projects such as presentations and social media content, fostering creativity, digital literacy, and multimedia storytelling.
• Fantastic that the conference is both free and during holidays so it’s accessible
• A good investment of my time
• The conference was thoroughly engaging, featuring an impressive lineup of speakers who were not only experts in their respective fields but also skilled at delivering complex topics in an accessible and inspiring way. What I appreciated most was the flexibility of the conference format. Whether attending face-to-face or online, the hybrid model ensured that I could fully participate according to my preferences and schedule. This adaptability enhanced my experience, allowing me to connect with thought leaders and peers while gaining the cutting-edge knowledge I sought.

Images from the amazing Ben Eyles

I was invited to represent Adobe at the opening of the National Communication Museum (NCM) in Melbourne on 20th September. The first museum to open in Melbourne for the last 25 years, the NCM is based in a historic 1930s exchange building in Hawthorn adjacent Swinburne University.

NCM offers an inviting environment to explore and discuss complex issues in a rapidly changing technological world. It highlights both the history and the future of the technologies that enable us to communicate and connect with each other with a focus on inclusion and Australian inventors.

One of the highlights of the opening was listen to a keynote presentation by ‘Sophia’ the world’s first robot citizen and the first robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program.

Here are some of the artifacts on display at NCM …

On Thursday 19th September, I was invited by the RMIT College of Busness & Law to present an Adobe Express workshop to help enhance students presentation skills for the RMIT Business Global Innovation Challenge. This was a hybrid event connecting with students from around Victoria and into Vietnam.

The RMIT Business Global Innovation Challenge is all about co-creating with industry to create innovation, sustainable , and scalable solutions that will have a positive impact on the world.

As an Adobe Creative Campus, RMIT has provided full premium access to Adobe Express for all students and teachers.

On Tuesday 10th September 2024, about 25 students from Kingswood High School NSW visited the Adobe Sydney office for an ABCN Tech Careers Expo.

The ABCN Tech Careers Expo takes place over four weeks with about 20 ABCN member companies like Adobe from diverse industries to address the tech talent gap. Each company delivers a technology career showcase, designed to raise awareness and stimulate interest in the diversity of Tech careers and the different pathways into them.

The day involved an amazing panel of Adobe representatives, interaction with some wonderful Adobe mentors, a tour of the office and an Adobe Express workshop.

I would like to thank Olivia (Liv) Yeates for all her work behind the scenes as well as all the Adobe employees who made up the panel and took on the role of mentor for the day.

On Monday 2nd September 2024, I was invited to work with the entire teaching staff at Strathcona Girls Grammar School in Melbourne and guide them through the Adobe Creative Educator Level 1 course.

Strathcona holds a very special place in my heart. I taught there for 13 years prior to working at Adobe and was their Director of Learning Technologies. My wife & I also sent my daughter Talana to Strathcona for her secondary schooling, where she ended up as the Deputy School Captain in 2019. And my sister Lisa Mason (Kitchen) went their as a students and also taught there.

The Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) program is all about nurturing and celebrating education professionals in their work to guide the next generation to become life-long creators.

I would like to thank Kara Baxter (Strathcona’s Dean of Teaching and Learning) and her team for organising this opportunity for her colleagues.

On Monday 2nd Sept 2024, Strathcona Grammar School very kindly hosted the Melbourne book launch for my new book.

I had the pleasure of working at Strathcona for 13 years followed by being a Strathcona parent for 6 years. It is a very special school and I was very pleased when they opened their doors for this Melbourne book launch event.

My wonderful daughter Talana Bonello (a teacher in her first year) hosted the evening and did a great job introducing an esteemed set of presenters.

We were honoured to have the Strathcona Principal Lora Beegan welcome everyone and shared a bit about the school. I was impressed with the research she discovered about my history at the school and the passion she has for encouraging creativity within the school community that she leads.

Brett Salakas beamed in from Sydney for this event. Among many hats he wears professionally, Brett is the founder of Mammoth Learning and my publisher. Following many years as a teacher in Sydney, Brett has been working with HP & Intel on the Reinvent the classroom project around Australia & New Zealand. Earlier this year, Brett was the sole Aussie listed in the top 100 educators by illustrious international District Administration Leadership Institute and more recently he was named by Educator Magazine amongst the Most Influential Educators in Australia for 2024!

Ross Phillips is the Associate Head of Research, Innovation and Professional Practice at St Michael’s Grammar. With over 30 years of experience as an educator, Ross began his career in the same year as me and at the same school, Kingswood College. We also taught together for many years at Strathcona where Ross was Dean of Studies, and also Talana’s VCE Physics teacher. In 2022, Ross received ‘The Educator’ most Influential Educators Award. He is currently doing his PhD in the sociology of education and is a recognised Textbook author and conference presenter, with expertise in teaching Science and Mathematics.

Michelle Dennis is the Head of Digital at Haileybury, the largest independent school in Australia. She was formerly Head of Digital Learning and Innovation at Strathcona, where she was also a student. Michelle is an Adobe Creative Educator Innovator, the highest level of Adobe Edu Community program that I lead for the APAC region. She is recognised as a prominent thought leader in Australian education and shared her thoughts about where Gen AI is and is heading as a factor in the education system in Australian schools.

Rev Tim Costello is one of Australia’s most respected community leaders and a sought after voice on social justice issues, leadership and ethics.  But most significantly, in 1979 he married Merridie Kitchen and commenced a lifetime commitment to being my uncle and mentor in many aspects of life and faith.

Tim provided a number of references to the history & importance of education and the links to creativity. He also talked about God as the ultimate creator and the significance of all of us being made in the likeness of God and what that means in terms of how we creativity look after each other and our planet in a Gen AI world.

It was quite overwhelming hearing from all these amazing presenters sharing the value of my book and I really appreciated the time, energy and creativity they all displayed during this launch event.

It was such a joy to have people from all aspects of my life in the room sharing this event with me.

Images from Strathcona

A number of Year 9 students from Traneit P-9 College visited the Adobe Melbourne office on Thursday 29th August for a Tech Careers Expo event as part of the ABCN mentoring program.

The Tech Careers Expo takes place over four weeks. It brings together 20 ABCN member companies such as Adobe to help address the tech talent gap. Each company delivers a technology career showcase, designed to raise awareness and stimulate interest in the diversity of Tech careers and the different pathways into them.

The Adobe mentors included Helen Lacey, David Huynh, Jon Barrie, Zoran Nikolovski, Christina Fletcher and Tim Kitchen.

The students came with some great questions for the panel of experts and then worked through a series of activities involving the use of a range of Adobe applications.

I would like to thank Susan Short and Catherine Morris from ABCN, the Adobe mentors as well as the wonderful teachers and students from Tarneit P-9 College for making this such a success.

This week in Singapore, I was invited to work with a very special place called Northlight School, a specialised institution designed to cater to students who face academic challenges in the mainstream education system.

Established in 2006, NorthLight School provides a nurturing and supportive environment for students who do not perform well in the Singapore Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and are unable to progress to secondary school.

The school places a strong emphasis on vocational training, offering courses in areas such as hospitality, retail, facility services, and mechanical servicing. It has strong partnerships with a range of industries who employ their graduates because of the great training provided. I was given a tour of the purpose built classrooms that help provide the students with the best opportunity to develop practical skills, experience and future employment.

The sessions I ran for the students over two mornings introduced them to Adobe Express as a tool to help them develop video literacy skills as well as a tool to help them build a portfolio and resume skills for future employment. I found that most of the students picked up the application with ease and enjoyed what it could help them create. I was told by the teachers that they generally had a low attention span but we were all surprised at how engaged they were during each of the two hours sessions that I ran.

It goes to show that when you set high expectations as a teacher, often students will come to the party if they are given the opportunity and the resources.

NorthLight School serves as a crucial bridge for students who struggle academically, offering them a chance to succeed through a tailored educational experience that focuses on practical skills, character development, and holistic support.

Find out more about Adobe Express for education here.

Join us online or in-person at the 2024 Adobe Educators Conference events on Sept 30 and Oct 10.

The Adobe Singapore office was the venue for a series of engagements with students from a number of schools from the 20th – 22nd August, 2024. The focus of these sessions was on encouraging the students to brand themselves in creatives ways with the help of Adobe Express to help prepare them for future resume and portfolio building.

This was a unique opportunity for the students to interact with a number of Adobe staff and get an experience of what it can be like working for a large multi-national company like Adobe.

Just about all the students were new to Adobe Express. Some had experience with a number of other Adobe applications but many were entire new to what Adobe can offer them.

In total about 100 students from 5 different schools took part in this opportunity from Adobe.

I would like to thank Saravanan Vaithilingam from the Singapore Ministry of Education as well as Titu Minhas and Sue Ho from the Adobe Singapore for helping to make these sessions possible.

Click here to out more about Adobe Express in Education.

Get involved in the free online & in-person 2024 Adobe Educators’ Conference events on Sept 30 & Oct 10.

On Monday 19th August it was my pleasure to be invited to Victoria School, one of the oldest and most well respected boys school in Singapore.

Some of the boys new a lot about Adobe Creative Cloud applications and were using a number of them as part of their school work and leisure. Many of them didn’t realise they had access to Adobe applications and this session opened their eyes to what is possible.

They were all new to Adobe Character Animator and were pleasantly surprised at potential of creating quick video animation in real-time.

They were also new to Adobe Express and didn’t realise that they has access to such a useful and accessible tool to make graphics, videos, animation, web pages and much more.

I would like to thank Careers teacher Kho Yee Lin who helped to manage this engagement. I met Kho in April 2024 when I spoke at a Singapore Ministry of Educator Careers event and was very pleased to be able to spend some quality time at her school.

Singapore was just waking up as I was driven to the school.