Educational Software

Many people who work in creative jobs like web and print design are very familiar with the Adobe Photoshop software. It can be used to create amazing documents and advertisements for magazines, newspapers, websites and other mediums. Files can be animated. Images can be altered to create special effects.

But most people working with Photoshop today gain the skills through training or perhaps in a college course. Very few had the opportunity to learn such a powerful tool at the young age that is possible today.

At first glance it might be hard to imagine how elementary, junior or senior high school students could benefit from a specialized program for designers. But that is exactly the key word - imagine. Photoshop is a powerful way to engage students in learning about the core subjects. Any subject can be enhances and presented in ways that captivate the students. And captivating young minds is what education is all about.

Adobe Photoshop software will allow students to visually explore topics in a high-tech version of the poster board presentations of years gone by. Adobe wants to make the learning process easy and accessible for students and teachers and they offer a wide selection of lesson plans on their website.

For example a history class could explore A Person in Time. This is a computer-based research project where the student or a group of students selects a historical person. They use the Internet to research important information about the person. Then they use the Adobe software programs to design a web page to present this person. Today's students will look at designing a web page with the same degree of comfort as a term paper.

More advanced classrooms may even have their own class website. They can take class projects and post them as pages on the website. This is a great way to showcase the work to proud parents and grandparents - especially those who live far away.

Adobe Photoshop can be used in science class in a dynamic study of the atom. The design abilities of the software will allow students to craft a very precise visual model of the atom. With animation features the atom can "come alive" with moving protons, neutrons and electrons. For many students, these visual demonstrations will be more relevant that flat, static information in a text book.

The options for presentations in Adobe are nearly endless. A social science class can take on a video production to highlight a particular social topic. They can interview people on both sides of the issue and create a documentary.

Adobe software challenges students to learn new technology as they learn traditional subjects. It also challenges teachers to stay up-to-date on technology and use it as a teaching tool. Features in the Adobe package allow teachers to provide interactive feedback to the students. This is a long way from the stereotypical red ink pen.

Not only can teachers use the Adobe software to track the students' progress, students can use it to create a portfolio more powerful than any in the past. Using a Photoshop presentation as part of a college admissions submission isn't that far-fetched at all.

Working with this advanced software at an early age could likely inspire students to pursue a career in design where they could utilize this software to make their own creative ads and documents.