Again this spring we worked with students at ACU’s campus in Leipzig, Germany, as well as with on-site faculty Derek and Rachel Brown to take digital storytelling overseas. Students spent two days in workshops developing scripts, recording audio, and editing stories on iPads or laptops.
This group of students as well as the Oxford group were also incredibly generous in showing us around their host cities as we collected footage for a Study Abroad film we’ll release this summer.
For the last few years access to Adobe software like Photoshop and Illustrator has been limited to a handful of computers on campus. This summer that will change as the university signs a campus license for all software packages in Adobe Creative Cloud. Students and faculty wanting to learn advanced video editing on Premiere or photo editing in Lightroom will now have much wider access.
The Creative Cloud for Enterprise license includes the following software packages
• Photoshop CC – image editing
• Illustrator CC – illustration/drawing
• InDesign CC – page design/layout
• Acrobat Pro – PDF creation
• Premiere Pro CC – video editing
• After Effects CC – motion graphics
• Lightroom CC – photo editing
• Dreamweaver CC – web design
To celebrate the arrival of Adobe CC to campus, the Learning Studio is highlighting two ways you can get started with the Adobe design and media collection.
Lynda.com – If you have some time this summer and want a quick introduction to an Adobe title taught by professionals, Lynda.com is a great place to start. Visit (and bookmark) www.lynda.com/portal/acu and search for courses on the CC or Creative Cloud title you’re interested in.
Most major titles have an extensive introduction course, often called “Essential Training” that provides detail on most any feature, or you might look for courses focused on an area of interest: “Photoshop for Photographers” or “Photoshop for Designers.”
Another option is to look for short, practical tutorials that do something you want to do like colorizing a photograph or enhancing a sunset photo, though these quick tips often assume you know your away around the main tools.
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LS workshops – This summer and fall the Learning Studio will also offer hands-on workshops introducing key Adobe titles. If you’re familiar with the basics of photo or video editing and are ready to work with advanced tools, we’ll lead a variety of half-day workshops that get you creating quickly.
So that we can focus our initial workshops around faculty interest, fill out the following Google Form to let us know what software you’d like to work with first.
DISCLAIMER: Adobe’s creative tools are industry standards in the fields of web and print design, video editing and production, and like any new tool they will take time and practice to arrive at any level of proficiency.
That said, Lynda.com and Learning Studio can help. We’re very much looking forward to seeing what the ACU community can create with these new tools.
Those of us in the library monitoring ebooks closely wanted to share some details as many of you begin making textbook decisions for the fall. By now the majority of students on the ACU campus have access to an iPad, presenting ACU faculty with a unique opportunity to offer cost-savings on textbook purchases in 2014-15. Here are some of the providers you might consider.
iBooks – The standard ebook reader for iOS is Apple’s iBooks app (free). Most trade titles you teach are available on the iBookstore as well as a number of interactive textbooks from some of their publishing partners that include media. In addition to highlighting/annotation, the iBooks app allows students to turn their notes into notecards for later review.
You can also open and store PDF and ePub files in iBooks, whether you digitize an article or share a digital copy of your syllabus. The iBooks Author application for Mac also allows teachers to produce custom content with interactive maps and media.
Kindle – Amazon has Kindle reader apps for the iPad and iPhone as well as most mobile and desktop platforms. They offer Kindle versions for many trade titles you already teach on amazon.com that now include Xray which they describe as a “smart glossary” pointing to related content. Students buy the Kindle book and it syncs directly to the Kindle app for iPad (free), and they’re saving money.
Recently Amazon has also worked with textbook companies to offer rental options for Kindle where students are allowed to rent some textbook titles. The main point is that students don’t need to own a Kindle device to read Kindle books on their iPad.
Last fall we had a chance to work with a number of students from the Honors College taking HON 401: Short Film Production. Wanted to make sure we took the opportunity to share the remarkable work, produced in teams within a short 5-week semester. They tackled technical challenges using LS checkout equipment, many of them for the first time. At the same time they kept their eye on the the shape of compelling stories. Really proud of their work.
A few weeks ago we enjoyed sitting down with Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker, associate professor of Psychology and director of faculty enrichment in the Adams Center to talk about her work with undergraduate research.
Her study investigates gendered marketing of Lego blocks and possible implications for attitudes toward STEM in young girls. Dr. Shewmaker reflects on working with Caitlyn Spain, a marketing major, on a human subjects study in the Adams Center’s new Learning Research Lab.
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Pursuit is a quality enhancement program at ACU focused on developing energy around undergraduate research and creative expression. Dr. Shewmaker’s was just one of a dozen projects over the last two years that provided mentoring and research experience in departments across campus.
For the last few years access to Adobe software like Photoshop and Illustrator has been limited to a handful of computers on campus. This summer that will change as the university signs a campus license for all software packages in Adobe Creative Cloud. Students and faculty wanting to learn advanced video editing on Premiere or photo editing in Lightroom will now have much wider access.