In today's entertainment-oriented culture, encouraging students to become active participants in the learning process can be a major challenge.

At Highland Middle School in Bellevue, Washington, computer teacher Peggy Strauss uses Adobe Photoshop Elements software to unleash students' creativity and help them proactively build problem-solving skills. Since Strauss began teaching Photoshop Elements software at the middle school, the outpouring of student creativity and enthusiasm has been so impressive that Bellevue School District has now adopted the software district-wide.

"Incredible things happen when you put Photoshop Elements into the hands of students," says Strauss, who is also the instructional technology curriculum developer for the district. "My students look at photos differently now, knowing that they can alter them or combine different things into one picture. With Photoshop Elements, students are definitely using their creativity and learning to solve problems on their own."

Beyond image optimization

Initially, Strauss was searching for a tool that would enable students to convert files to an optimal file size and format for posting on the Internet, with the goal of freeing up the school's limited bandwidth. Her first inclination was to purchase a simple graphic converter program, but then she found Photoshop Elements.

"We looked at the pricing and all of the capabilities of Photoshop Elements and realized it was hands-down the best option," says Strauss.

While Photoshop Elements has been helpful in limiting file sizes on the school's servers, Strauss and her students discovered that Photoshop Elements offers much more in the way of high end, yet intuitive features. Students quickly learned how to modify and crop photographs. Then they began applying filters in Photoshop Elements to create visual effects. For one project, students eagerly took digital photos of willing teachers then contorted the teachers' faces using Photoshop Elements filters. They posted the results in the hallway, so students and teachers could guess which teacher was in each picture. The whole school enjoyed the exercise immensely; as a result, there's not enough room for all the students who want to take Strauss's Advanced Computing Skills class next year.

Integral to the learning process

Students are now wielding their newfound photo-editing skills for social studies classes. To accompany written histories of different geographical areas, students develop an imaginary, one-week family vacation to one of the areas they're studying, including an image-rich trip itinerary with key landmarks to explore. The students superimpose digital photos of themselves on tourist sites in each country and even add animated GIFs of the trip. In addition to advancing their image-manipulation skills, the exercise helps students become more immersed in the learning experience and explore different parts of the world in new and exciting ways.

Other hands-on Photoshop Elements projects include using the software to eliminate red-eye, poor shading, and other problems with photos in the school yearbook. According to Strauss, one of the most beneficial aspects of integrating Photoshop Elements into the learning environment is that it helps students learn how to address real-world problems using technology.

Making complex concepts intuitive

Students have even grasped more complex image-editing concepts such as layers, thanks in part to the intuitive tutorials provided with Photoshop Elements. "I want my students to solve problems, to look at something and think about it logically," says Strauss. "The accessibility of Photoshop Elements itself and the excellent tutorials provided help make students successful in learning relatively complex concepts."

Strauss's students agree. One eighth-grade student comments, "The cool thing about Photoshop Elements is that it's one of a kind, and it has everything you need to do anything you want. I like using layers because I can stack pictures and make one picture out of a lot of littler pictures. I've done everything with Photoshop Elements that you can imagine. I know the layers effect and even how to create an animation!"

Embracing Photoshop Elements

Due to the success of the software in Strauss' classrooms, use of Photoshop Elements has expanded across Bellevue School District. Art teachers are integrating the software into student art classes, and Photoshop Elements is also being used in high school computer labs and for adult training. According to Strauss, the district appreciates the fact that Adobe is great to work with and offers excellent pricing. "Every school in the district is adopting Photoshop Elements because it is so fabulous and reasonably priced," concludes Strauss.

From Adobe.com

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