Adobe unveiled the findings of its study, ‘Creative Classrooms Through Strong Digital Partnerships’, at the Adobe Education Leaders Seminar 2016 taking place today in Hong Kong. More than 1,300 educators across Asia Pacific (APAC) were surveyed for the research report, with the aim of assessing the importance of digital resources in learning and its role in driving communications, building communities and creating a learning culture in classrooms.

With the arrival of the digital era, employees of today and tomorrow need a vastly different skillset than that of the generation preceding them. Educational institutions are being challenged to deliver success-oriented, digital skills building programs which provide rich learning experiences to equip graduates to cope with the changes brought about by technology advances such as multiscreen devices, and Internet of Things (IoT). To keep up with this digital transformation, preparing students with the digital skills needed for success was seen by 80 percent of respondents as most critical.

Educational institutions also need to cater to the “digital native” upbringing of today’s students. In this regard, the implementation of digital communication tools that enable students, faculty and staff to create and deliver powerful, meaningful experiences across a complete range of media channels and platforms, will help with engaging, recruiting and retaining the best students. Creating such a learning environment, however, requires collaboration with the right partners. The study reveals 74 percent of educators in Asia Pacific believe that a strong digital partnership is key to connect with students and make learning more immersive and fun. The study also highlighted the top concerns and barriers to digital enrichment in educational institutions. Across Asia Pacific, educators felt that developing blended programs for critical thinking and creative problem solving (75 percent) and building engaging and interactive learning content (74 percent) were the top two crucial areas to overcome in order to develop an effective digital learning program.

“Digital businesses are driving large scale technical innovations and technology trends,” said Tony Katsabaris, Senior Director for Education & Government, Adobe Asia Pacific. “It has become imperative for educational institutions to modernise, stay relevant and provide students with skills that are necessary for success after graduation. Moreover, education institutions are facing pressures to provide an adequate infrastructure, one that can only be realised through consistent training, updated technology resources and relevant course applications. Enabling success through enhanced digital experiences as part of the learning process is identified as a critical driver for educators across Asia Pacific, and 65 percent of those surveyed look to Adobe to provide the instructional resource and curriculum necessary for that.”

“As a first-class professional software provider, Adobe gives excellent support to its customers. Since 2010, the Chinese Foundation Secondary School has adopted Adobe’s software to support its Creative Media and ICT subjects. Currently, the school continues to use different functions within Adobe Creative Cloud, equipping our students with key skills for the future, and helping implement the STEAM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics Education) mission for our school,” said Jimmy Lam, Head of Information Technology Department, the Chinese Foundation Secondary School.

Over the next three years, APAC educators will be focusing on creating rich learning experiences that improve student outcomes and measuring it, as well as preparing their students with the digital skills they need to be successful.

The survey findings are a testament to education’s current needs, especially the importance of addressing the classroom of the future; inspiring and empowering students, other educators and institutions with the digital tools and curriculae that promote creativity; and equipping them with digital technologies and digital literacy skills to improve student outcomes and prepare them for career success.

The detailed survey report and infographics can be downloaded at:http://www.adobe-eduseminar.com/MY/?TEMPLATEID=SC_DOWNLOAD&F=MIE

REGIONAL ANALYSIS FOR GREATER CHINA

·As for key concerns of Educators in Greater China, they rank the importance of creating collaborative platforms for students to work together higher than the regional average - 76% compared to 68%. They are also less concerned about a nurturing environment being critical to success, ranking it at 71% compared to the regional average of 88%. 68% of respondents in Greater China place less importance in building engaging and interactive learning content when compared to the APAC average of 74%.

·With regard to the priority areas for the next 3 years, in a competitive education landscape like Greater China, there is pressure to differentiate institutions and curriculae. Respondents accordingly ranked this higher than the regional average - 65% compared to 54%. Creating rich learning experiences that improve student outcomes and measuring it is a lower priority at 73%, among the lowest in APAC (83%).