SAN JOSE, Calif., — April 12, 2010 — To help K-12 and higher education institutions stay competitive and prepare today’s technology-driven workforce, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the Adobe® Creative Suite® 5 product family (see separate releases) and its supporting educational resources. The company is offering new curricula, a certification program and learning resources to better train students and faculty in the digital communication and collaboration skills vital to 21st century employment. For the first time, Adobe is extending significant software discounts for home usage with the new Creative Suite 5 Student and Teacher Editions along with the more affordable educational license pricing offered to institutions.
“Being able to creatively express an idea using compelling facts and visuals is imperative in any profession. This process involves technology literacy, creativity, communication, critical thinking and collaboration skills,” said Peter Isaacson, vice president of worldwide education for Adobe. “With the launch of Creative Suite 5, we’re giving institutions, students and faculty the ability to learn these skills and use the tools wherever they are – in the classroom, at home or online.”
Creative Suite 5 products enable students and faculty to more easily create print, Web, video, audio and mobile content and incorporate it into their assignments. It allows them to work faster, craft great stories, collaborate more efficiently and visually communicate their ideas. For example, with the new Adobe Flash® Catalyst™ component, building interactive content can be done without writing code. And integration with Adobe CS Live online services provides new ways to work together online and streamline the way projects get done (CS Live Services are complimentary for a limited time).*
“With Creative Suite 5, Adobe continues to deliver innovative tools that make teaching cross-media skills easier than ever,” said Brett Forsyth, head of digital design, Vancouver Film School. “With Adobe Creative Suite 5 software, students learnindustry-standard tools to expand their creative skills – giving them a head start toward successful careers.”
Research shows that today’s students are producers, not just consumers of digital media. Creating and sharing ideas, photos and videos on social networks and personal blogs are part of their daily lives. It is how they communicate socially, and they want to incorporate these elements into their school work. Adobe Creative Suite 5 software, and its accompanying educational training and pricing, gives students and faculty the opportunity to learn how to effectively use Creative Suite 5 and create compelling projects that express their ideas.
“Adobe solutions are a critical part of the digital media platform for Lee County schools and are integral to our technical certification programs,” said Jana Hambruch, project director, Office of Zone and Attractor Programs and Technical, Career and Adult Education, Lee County Public Schools in Florida. “Using Adobe software, students are graduating with the competitive skills required in today’s workplace. Certification programs combined with industry-leading software like Adobe Creative Suite 5 will continue to better engage students in learning to achieve higher grades and standardized test scores.”
New Educational Resources
To complement Creative Suite 5 software, Adobe will offer new educational resources including curricula, associate and expert certification for students and faculty, and faculty professional development.
Adobe has developed three different CS5 curricula designed to help teachers implement design, Web and video programs. These focus on the technical skills and design theory students need to be successful communicators in their fields: Digital Design: Foundations of Web Design; Visual Design: Foundations of Design and Print Production; and Digital Video: Foundations of Video Design and Production. The year-long curriculum guides will be available for free from Adobe, and will align to the standards set by The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) NETS for Students.
Educators and students can get certified for both entry-level skills as an Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) and professional-level skills as an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE). Developed and deployed by Certiport® and Adobe, these certifications validate a broad range of technical and communication skills when entering post-secondary schools or the workforce.
Adobe will also offer CS5 online training from Total Training™ and on-site, instructor-led workshops through Knowledge Network Solutions.
What’s Included in Creative Suite 5
The Creative Suite 5 line-up includes Creative Suite 5 Master Collection, Creative Suite 5 Design Premium, Creative Suite 5 Web Premium, Creative Suite 5 Production Premium andCreative Suite 5 Design Standard, as well as 15 point products, associated technologies and integration with Adobe CS Live services.* Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection includes all of Adobe’s Creative Suite tools with full version upgrades of stand-alone applications, including Photoshop® CS5 (see separate release), Illustrator® CS5, InDesign® CS5 (see separate release), Flash Catalyst CS5 (see separate release), Flash Professional CS5, Dreamweaver® CS5, Adobe Premiere Pro® CS5 and After Effects® CS5. These tools are available separately or in one of the five Creative Suite editions.
The Adobe CS5 product family also enables the creation of content and applications for the much-anticipated releases of Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR® 2, which are optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device capabilities for a richer, more immersive user experience.
For more detailed information about features, please visit: www.adobe.com/education/products/creativesuite
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Creative Suite 5 and its associated point products are scheduled to ship within 30 days with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers, the Adobe Store and Adobe Direct Sales. Education pricing is available. For more information, visit: www.adobe.com/education/products/creativesuite.
For the education market, Adobe offers flexible volume licensing programs and low pricing, making Creative Suite 5 more affordable for institutions of all sizes. The new Creative Suite 5 Student and Teacher Editions for individual home-use are expected to start at US $299. For more detailed information about educational upgrade policies and pricing, please visit: www.adobe.com/education/purchasing.
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
