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The photo in the header was finished 100% in Lightroom Mobile, including selective filters, like the Radial Filter shown here.

Education is changing in big ways with new technology, and Google’s Chromebooks have been helping it along. Many schools across the world are using Chromebooks–computers that run Google’s Android operating system–which allow students to learn with an immediacy and intimacy I could only dream of as a kid. Oh, and there are computers available to purchase for less than most of us pay for our cell phones each month.

Well, now Adobe has stepped up and adapted some of their most powerful mobile apps so they now function on Chromebook. Here are the first apps ready for Chromebook:

I use Lightroom Mobile on my phone and iPad daily, and the others frequently. If you have a smartphone, you should go download these–they’re all free. While these apps are free, some of their functionality isn’t available unless you also subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Cloud. Lightroom Mobile, for instance, is capable of syncing with your Lightroom catalog on your computer, which is wonderful. But if you don’t have Lightroom on your computer then that’s naturally not available to you. You’ll probably also miss out on Adobe’s online storage and syncing with other Adobe apps on your computer.

Why Is This Exciting?

I mentioned above that as a child I couldn’t even imagine all the ways to interact with knowledge and resources that students now make use of all day. I use Adobe’s apps to create and I love it, but I didn’t start until I was nearly 30 years old. What things will these kids imagine and realize as a result of tools like these in their hands from primary school? This is what it means to stand on the shoulders of giants: they won’t have the impediments to creation that I had, and that means they’ll be that much more ready to make something wonderful.

I’m excited, and I’m glad Adobe and Google are making technology to create accessible.

Official Press Release

London, England — Jan. 24, 2017 (BUSINESS WIRE) — In advance of Bett, Europe’s largest exhibition for technology in education, Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) today announced the release of updated Android applications optimized for Chromebooks to help students harness their creativity. Starting today, Adobe Creative Cloud apps are available for free download, giving the millions of students using Chromebooks the tools they need to be more creative. Using the classroom environment to learn how to problem solve and develop creative skills by using technology is more important than ever for the future workforce, per results of a global study by Adobe on student and teacher learning perspectives.

Over the past year, the use of Chromebooks has steadily grown in education – sales are flourishing in Europe, and they are now a market leader in North America. Chromebook users can download the creativity apps from the Google Play Store on Chromebooks that support Play Store apps and can expect the next wave of apps to be launched later this year.

“The popularity of Chromebooks in the classroom has exploded, and we’re thrilled to offer students access to Adobe tools on these devices, allowing them to learn the way they do best – by doing and creating,” said Mark Rupert, Senior Director of Education at Adobe. “As a company, our goal is to empower every student to be a lifelong creator and having our free mobile apps on Chromebooks helps us reach millions more students who can bring their ideas to life.”

Today’s announcement underscores Adobe’s dedication to enabling creativity in the classroom and delivering software and solutions across devices. Students and teachers agree that technology provides more digital tools and outlets for creativity, according to the Adobe study “Gen Z in the Classroom: Creating the Future.”[1] The research found that 78 percent of students between the ages of 11 and 17 from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Germany and 88 percent of their teachers see creativity as essential to students’ future careers. A staggering 90 percent of students and 76 percent of teachers view technology as key to their career preparedness. In addition, 90 percent of Gen Z students say they are better prepared for the future given how well they understand technology.

To support the importance of creativity and technology in the classroom, Adobe is releasing the updated Creative Cloud apps that capitalize on Chromebook’s strengths – speed, simplicity and security – making these devices ideal for students to use in and out of the classroom. The family of applications launched today includes:

“Having access to free creative tools like Adobe’s on Chromebooks allows for much more creative freedom for students with different learning styles or talents to shine,” said Nicole Dalesio, Teacher and Teacher on Special Assignment (ToSA) for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, CA. “It gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their learning in a much more powerful way. Now all students can get the skills they need to create and share in a digital world.”

Adobe and Google will showcase the range of products running on Chromebooks at Bett in the Adobe booth (#C118) and Google booth (#C230).

The full findings from Adobe’s survey, Gen Z in the Classroom: Creating the Future, are available for download at www.adobeeducate.com/genz.

About Adobe

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.