2021 Sessions
Here's a look at the sessions that were held in 2021 as part of Digital U...
Calendar of Events
Explore the 2021 Digital U Events below.
Adobe | Blackboard | Other
Past Adobe Events
Discover the possibilities with Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is the most complete PDF solution designed for today's multi-device world. PDF files are one of the most ubiquitous means of communication on the internet, its easy to see why we utilise PDF’s for everything, from brochures, technical manuals to everything in between!
During this one hour workshop, attendees learned the tips and tricks to navigate Adobe Acrobat.
Blurring the lines between physical and digital experiences with Adobe Aero
During Digital U’s latest one hour workshop, staff learned the tips and tricks to navigate Aero efficiently and create AR experiences using existing content.
www.adobe.com (opens in a new window)
Build engaging and exciting eLearning content with Adobe Captivate!
During this one hour workshop, staff learned the tips and tricks to navigate the Captivate efficiently and bring their eLearning content to life.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Drawing and painting without the mess with Fresco!
During this one hour workshop, staff looked at the tips and tricks to navigate the platform efficiently, enhance the quality of your artwork and unleash the creative in you through your drawings and paintings.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Taking Photography to the next level with Lightroom
During this one hour workshop, staff learned the basics of Lightroom and some cool tips & tricks to take your photography to the next stage.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Advanced Layout and content design using InDesign
In this workshop, staff learned the basics of InDesign and some cool tips & tricks to take their design and layouts to the next stage.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Making Great Vector Art with Adobe Illustrator
The industry-standard vector graphics software lets you create everything from web and mobile graphics to logos, icons, book illustrations, product packaging and billboards. And now, experience the freedom and flexibility of Illustrator across desktop and iPad.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Adobe Spark Page and Video
Adobe Spark, or web and mobile, makes it fast and easy to create social graphics, web pages and video stories anywhere for free. You can have stunning stories in a matter of minutes.
The online workshop, held by one of Adobe’s experts, explored:
- Simply pick a design template, add your photo and text and quickly resize your creation to fit your favourite social media site or blog
- Using Spark Page, transform words, images and videos into dynamic web stories with Spark
- Put a unique twist on anything — a book report, weekly newsletter or your latest travel adventure
- Simple and fast video sharing via Spark.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Photoshop Tips & Tricks for Teaching in all Curriculums
Photoshop is Adobe's the world’s best imaging and graphic design software, and is usually at the core of just about every creative project, including photo editing and compositing to digital painting, animation, and graphic design. By understanding how to use this software can both empower individuals and help them produce more compelling images.
During this online workshop, Adobe introduced tips and tricks to help in any setting, including teaching:
- Photoshop Tips & Tricks for teachers in all curriculum areas
- What’s new with Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Photoshop and integrations
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Photoshop feature summary (opens in a new window)
Take a deep dive into Photoshop with Adobe Evangelist Terry White with an expanded demo of the platform.
- Demo Deep Dive: Adobe Photoshop (opens in a new window)
Explore new features and performance enhancements that make Photoshop even more powerful along with some easier ways to accomplish common tasks.
- What's New in Photoshop? Features, Time-Saving Tools, and More (opens in a new window)
Unlock your creativity
Creativity is considered one of the most important skills required to thrive in the workplace in the next 20 years. Having skills in creativity, collaboration and complex problem solving is a great way to prepare for the future. Adobe is a world leader in digital creativity and enabling digital literacy.
Premiere Rush CC is Adobe's new all-in-one video editing tool for desktop and mobile providing video creators with a modern all-in-one video editing solution that allows them to quickly edit a video and publish it on platforms like YouTube and other social networks.
This online workshop in October 2020 looked at:
- How to tell a story
- Camera techniques
- How to shoot on mobile and edit on desktop
- Exporting
Adobe keynote Lunch & Learn showcased how to unlock your creativity using Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
Dr Tim Kitchen, Adobe’s Senior Education Specialist for APAC, focused on some of the research behind the importance of creativity. Tim also shared how and why Adobe Creative Cloud is making a positive difference and enhancing creativity in education institutions all over the globe.
This session covered:
- Importance of Digital literacy and Education Initiatives Keynote with Dr Tim Kitchen.
- WSU and partnership with Adobe.
- Adobe Creative Cloud 2019 – Services and Storage.
Past Blackboard Events
Blackboard Collaborate Deep Dive: Using Polls
Polls are a great way to engage your students and keep them interested. They can help you to increase and sustain participation, reduce learner anxiety including breaking the ice, uncover learning gaps and also provide feedback.
The webinar covered using polls in a virtual classroom and the steps required to prepare for a session using Blackboard Collaborate as well as looking at some new features.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Join the Blackboard Community (opens in a new window)
Find the help you need on Blackboard products (opens in a new window)
Blackboard Ally: Improving the student experience through inclusive design
This session looked at building a more inclusive learning environment and improving the student experience by helping students take clear control of course content with usability, accessibility and quality in mind.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Blackboard Collaborate Tips & Tricks for engaging with your students online
This session had an educator focus, demonstrating how to get the most out of the Blackboard Collaborate toolkit for teaching and learning.
It covered how to setup and use:
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Polls to give your students opportunities to participate and provide feedback
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Breakout Groups to facilitate small group collaboration
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Sharing content including adding files, sharing applications and using a Virtual Whiteboard to interact with students in real-time
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Backend sessions/recordings management within Learn integration:
- How to change a recording availability status from Private to public
- How to download polls
- Available reports
- Closed captioning
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Educator Insights (opens in a new window)
Other Past Events
Assistive Technology (AT) Collab:
Accelerate your work practices with Read&Write
Read&Write is an easy to use toolbar with over 25 different tools that can be used to personalise your engagement with digital content. These tools can also assist you in the creation of accessible materials, supporting Universal Design for Learning principles.
During Digital U & AT’s latest collab, attendees explored the Read&Write toolbar with Ben Dyer from TextHelp and AT Specialists Sally Leggo and Natalie McLaughlin, learning how to improve their digital experience.
Driving your Development with LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning, a subsidiary of LinkedIn, is a website offering video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills. Through this powerful offering, staff can harness the power of the LinkedIn professional network to provide learners with individualised elearning on various topics. It will help to empower staff to discover and learn about different types of content they need to build the right skills. All staff at Western can use this tool for free, using their WSU credentials.
The session looked at a deeper dive into topics and curating a collection that can be shared, exploring new features to drive development and enhance the learning experience, learning tips and tricks to navigate the platform efficiently and looking at the platform roadmap to review trending and upcoming content.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Explore photo editing alternatives with 'Gimp' and 'Darktable'
Darktable allows you to catalogue and manage your digital photographs, and also includes a comprehensive set of tools that you can use to enhance your images. Gimp is an image editing software that provides any amateur or professional photographer, graphic designer or illustrator with sophisticated tools to create images or to enhance their digital images.
During this one hour workshop, participants navigated these two platforms with Paul Hardaker, Associate Director Academic and Campus Experience, learning the tips and tricks to navigate these platforms efficiently, enhancing the quality of images and unleashing creativity through open source software.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window)
Making the most out of LinkedIn Learning at Western
LinkedIn Learning, a subsidiary of LinkedIn, is a website offering video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills. Through this powerful offering, staff can harness the power of the LinkedIn professional network to provide learners with individualised elearning on various topics. It will help to empower staff to discover and learn about different types of content they need to build the right skills. All staff at Western can use this tool for free, using their WSU credentials.
The session offered tips and tricks to navigate the platform efficiently, experience the personalised learning, update with new features and offerings to expand your learning experience.
Watch the presentation (opens in a new window) [Passcode: 9JP#EjCe]
Presentation [PDF] (opens in a new window)
Take a look at these course recommendations:
- How to use LinkedIn Learning (opens in a new window)
- The Six morning habits of high performers (opens in a new window)
- Redesigning How we work in 2021 (opens in a new window)
- Building Relationships while working from home (opens in a new window)
Technology in the Workplace
Citrix, a company that focuses on people-centric solutions will be visiting Western Sydney University on 25 July 2019. We will hold a one hour workshop demonstrating the possibilities of using Citrix, with afternoon tea being provided afterwards and a chance to interact with some of their products and talk to their experts.
This session covered:
- Security: Be secure in the knowledge that your information and privacy is protected.
- Accessible: Believe in choice and being accessible anywhere, anytime.
- Increased Collaboration: The key to success and being able to collaborate seamlessly and transparently with your colleagues.
- User experience: Should be positive and second to none.