ADOBE EXPRES THINK-PAIR-MAKE-Share & Webpages

This guide details a Think-Pair-Make-Share (TPMS) active learning strategy using Adobe Express and provides guides to creating an Adobe Express webpage (including student examples).

Think-Pair-Make-Share

Think-Pair-Share is a popular Active Learning strategy used in classrooms across Indiana University. Below is a modification of that strategy that includes "making" as a key component and then uses what participants make as a means to guide/facilitate engagement.

30-second Overview:

• Participants will be asked to spend a minute thinking of responses to a key prompts.
• Participants then pair up and spend a few minutes discussing the prompts / responses - generating key take-aways / core concepts from that discussion (typically written in sentence form).
• Participants then work on their own to make an image creation (combining image and text) that represents/conveys one "take-away".
• Finally, participants share their creations with the larger group.

Step 1 | Think

In 1-2 minutes, jot down some ideas / responses to either (or both) of the following questions:

• What is digital literacy?
• What does it look like in your field/discipline?
• Why is digital literacy important for student today?

Be sure to write down or type out your responses. While sentences are preferred, these can be in note form at this juncture.

Step 2 | Pair

Step 2.1 - Partner up & Discuss

Locate a workshop parter (or two) and take 2-3 minutes to discuss your responses.

Step 2.2 - Write down a key take-away

Identify and write down (type out) a key take-away from your group conversation.

Step 3 | Make

Working individually (or in pairs), use Adobe Express to create an image (social media style, meme creation, etc.) that represents/expresses one of the key takeaways.

Step 4 | Share

Share with Group / Class

Once completed, send the URL to me at hodgson@indiana.edu

• NOTE: You will be asked to share insights on the content, design, intent, and creation experience of your image(s).

Guide for Step 3

3.1 Sign-in to Adobe Express

3.2 Create New Project

Click the "+" button (green arrow) to create a new project

Choose "Custom size graphic" (green arrow)

Select "Social Post" (green arrow), "LinkedIn blog post" (blue arrow), and click "Next" button (purple arrow).

This launches the basic interface, with a quick guide for menu options

• Left menu (yellow rectangle) is used for adding elements to your canvas
• Right menu (orange rectangle) is used for editing those elements and/or overall design
• Click "Ok, got it" button to continue

3.3 Add Image

In left menu, select “Photos” (green arrow), type in image search term in search bar (blue arrow), select preferred image (purple arrow). This will add selected image onto the project canvas.

Adjust image: Click newly added image and then, in the Edit menu, toggle the “Add to background” button (green arrow) to fill canvas with image. Alternately, manually resize by clicking on image and then clicking and dragging the circular transform controls (blue arrow) at the edges of the image.

3.4 Add Text

In the left menu, select “Text” (green arrow), click “+ Add your text” button (blue arrow), and type in your text in the Edit Text menu text box (purple arrow).

• Use the editing menu options to Edit/adjust the design, size, font, and effects as you desire.
• The “Find a new style” button (orange box) will apply a range of present font, size, color, and effects choices.

3.5 Download Image

Once you are done editing the image and text, download the image by clicking the “Download” button (green arrow) at the top of the window. In the submenu, choose your file format (e.g., PNG) and click “Start download” button (blue arrow)

In addition to downloading the image as a PNG, JPG, or PDF, users can also share the image creation via a designated URL. To generate a URL for the image creation, click the "Share" button next to the "Download" button.

Creating a Webpage

Adobe Express allows students to quickly and easily create scrolling digital webpages, embedding image and video assets in their writing, along with text, hyperlinks, and the like. I use the webpage function in just about every class where I have students doing writing, as it just puts more digital affordances in front of them as writers.

Example Student Project

Mental Health Awareness on College Campuses by Carolyn Ciolfi (IUB)

• Assignment Guide for Example

How to create a webpage?

• Visual Guide (Google Doc)