Adobe Commits $300M-Plus in Software, Teacher Training to President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative

SAN JOSE, CA—February 28, 2014—Adobe today announced it is answering President Barack Obama’s challenge to bring technology education and teacher training to American schools by committing over $300 million in software and professional development to the White House’s ConnectED initiative. This commitment is among the largest to date, bringing the collective total of private sector donations to over $1 billion.

Adobe’s $300 million commitment consists of software for students and educators, including: creative products Adobe Photoshop Elements, and Adobe Premiere Elements which includes complimentary access to technologies from Dolby Laboratories; Adobe Presenter and Adobe Captivate for e-Learning curricula; and Adobe EchoSign electronic signature software for improving schools’ administrative processes. In addition, Adobe’s Education division and the Adobe Foundation are providing a range of teacher training resources from the company’s Education Exchange program and the Adobe Youth Voices initiative. The commitment is aligned with the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which recommends that media skills be integrated throughout core curricula.

Adobe is presenting its commitment to ConnectED during the first White House Student Film Festival on Friday, Feb. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET in the East Room.

“We believe in the power of media creation as a way for youth to express their creativity and build their skills for future success,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO, Adobe. “We’re proud to contribute to the President’s ConnectED initiative, and look forward to seeing the benefits that our technology brings to both students and educators."

For the past 20 years, Adobe has helped K-12 schools integrate creativity and digital literacy into curriculums through programs such as Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) and the Adobe Education Exchange.

• The Adobe Education Exchange is the largest online community of creative educators. 127,000 teachers from across the globe connect with each other, access free professional development tools, and explore standards-based resources.
• Adobe Youth Voices is the Adobe Foundation’s global initiative to ignite young people’s creativity through the power of storytelling with digital media. Like the films submitted at today’s student film festival at the White House, AYV teaches youth how to develop original media that highlights an issue they care about, identify solutions, and in the process, foster critical creative skills and a passion to make a difference. Since the program’s launch, more than 5,000 educators and 150,000 youth from over 58 countries have developed original, thought-provoking digital media.

According to a 2013 study conducted by Adobe, parents and educators in the United States identified three key requirements needed to promote and foster creativity in education: provide tools and training to educators to enable creativity, make creativity integral to the curriculum, and reduce mandates that hinder creativity. In supporting the ConnectED initiative, Adobe addresses all three by providing access to quality software and resources that will foster students’ creative thinking and expression, and equip teachers to help students confidently communicate their ideas through media.

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Source: Adobe.