Adobe has announced the latest update to Adobe Express for Education, a tool designed to be safe for classrooms, utilising responsible generative AI to enhance student engagement and communication.
This tool is freely available for K-12 teachers and students globally and integrates Adobe's leading creativity technologies to improve learning outcomes.
Significant enhancements in this update include Firefly-powered features that allow students to generate templates for posters, flyers, brochures, and original colouring pages using simple text prompts. New multimedia presentation and animation capabilities, as well as a new iPad experience, are aimed at making teaching and learning more impactful.
"Adobe Express for Education is built by and with teachers, with AI that is designed to be safe for the classroom," said Mala Sharma, VP and general manager for creators and education in Adobe's Digital Media Business. "For more than three decades, Adobe has been creating technologies to help students succeed in the classroom and in the job market, and we're excited to bring our responsible AI approach to this next chapter."
The company claims that Adobe Express for Education is reaching millions of students and teachers around the world. It has facilitated over 150,000 teacher courses and 200,000 certifications, supported by a comprehensive library of high-quality templates and activities that align with core and responsible AI curriculum.
Teachers using creative activities in the classroom have seen an 82% increase in student engagement, according to an Adobe survey of K-12 educators. Adobe Express for Education provides industry-leading creative tools that help make learning more engaging and effective. The new features include enhanced presentations that allow users to incorporate music, videos, animations, and data charts. Additionally, Google Slides presentations can be enhanced using Adobe Express tools.
Students can now animate characters' faces and bodies, incorporating these animations into Adobe Express presentations and videos. An upcoming iPad experience will enable students and teachers to use Firefly generative AI, Quick Actions, presentations, and charts on iPads. Video projects can also be enhanced with templates, animations, and automatic captions in over 100 languages. Simple web pages for essays, reports, newsletters, and field trip journals can be created quickly. Teachers will also benefit from PDF Quick Actions to update documents easily and auto-translate features that support 45 languages.
Adobe Express for Education is provided free to K-12 students and teachers, with additional support to help educators integrate the tool, including AI features, into their curriculum. Professional development resources, badging, and certifications are also available. The comprehensive library of K-12 resources offers subject-specific guidance, templates, and activities that teach key visual creativity and communication skills across various subjects.
"For today's K-12 educators, it's critical that we integrate AI into our classroom curriculum, but simply having access to AI tools isn't enough," said Christine Morgan, a teacher at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD at Hairgrove Elementary. "Adobe's team of educators-turned-technologists offers a comprehensive approach—from their responsible AI technologies to professional development to curriculum—they know what it takes to help teachers and students succeed in the classroom and beyond."
The new AI features in Adobe Express for Education are designed to support student creativity and critical thinking. Features include appropriate result filters, a "your data is your data" privacy policy, and governance controls that let administrators manage AI feature settings. The curriculum also includes responsible AI and media literacy components, developed in collaboration with education experts as part of the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative.
Several new features are set to launch soon, such as the ability for students to generate their own colouring pages. Most of the other new features are already available to teachers, students, admins, schools, and districts worldwide. Administrators have additional setup options, including a self-service wizard for deploying Adobe Express to entire districts. The tool can be seamlessly integrated into existing portals and LMS systems like Clever, ClassLink, Canvas, Google Classroom, and Schoology.
