Adobe Project Rome Brings Multimedia Authoring to Education

Adobe has launched a new multimedia authoring tool for education. Dubbed Project Rome, the hosted service (also available as a desktop AIR app) went into public preview Sunday morning. Adobe said it's looking for schools to participate in pilot programs using the software, especially those schools that have adopted Google's Apps for Education or the open source learning management system Moodle.

Project Rome for Education is designed to allow students and educators to create multimedia presentations that include text, video, audio, images, animation, and interactivity. Its layout engine, which resembles the one found in Adobe's professional page layout tool, InDesign, provides a full range of typeface and formatting controls, as well as paragraph controls, text flow from one text box to another, and text wrap for automatically wrapping copy around images and other page elements.

It also offers drawing tools and a Flash-like timeline for animating elements based on various parameters, such as opacity, position, rotation, and other transformations.


The hosted version of Project Rome for Education running in Safari.

Some other features include:

  • Support for embedding videos from YouTube;
  • Templates for creating presentations (as well as support for creating projects from scratch);
  • Output to print, PDF, Flash, JPEG, interactive PDF, and other formats; and
  • Cross-platform collaborative workflows and file sharing via Moodle and Google.

Two versions of Project Rome are being previewed currently. The education edition is designed to integrate with Moodle and Google Apps. It supports federated login and "Internet content protection" and is also designed to satisfy schools' "IT infrastructure requirements," according to Adobe.

Project Rome for Education is currently up and running as a public preview as both a hosted application and a desktop application. A release date for the final version has not yet been set. Adobe also said it has not finalized pricing, but the final release is expected to be available on a subscription basis for individuals and institutions. Further information can be found here.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • digital illustration of Estonia with glowing neural network-like connections spreading across the map

    Estonia to Roll Out ChatGPT Edu for all Secondary Schools

    In a nationwide artificial intelligence program dubbed "AI Leap 2025," the country of Estonia plans to provide free access to leading AI applications for all secondary school students and teachers. The initiative will launch with a rollout of ChatGPT Edu to 20,000 high school students in grades 10-11 and their 3,000 teachers, beginning Sept. 1.

  • A child surrounded by glowing, fluid virtual patterns and holographic shapes, illuminated in a dark gradient environment of blue, purple, and pink.

    ClassVR Gets Expanded VR/AR Content Library

    Avantis Education has announced a new content library for its ClassVR virtual and augmented reality platform. Dubbed Eduverse+, the library features four content suites — EduverseAI, WildWorld, STEAM3D, and CareerHub — that can be tailored to suit a variety of educational levels.

  • elementary school teacher with students

    Traditional Procurement Processes Stand in the Way of Progress

    K–12 schools and districts can streamline procurement and gain agility without having the rewrite purchasing requirements.

  • school building split in half, with one side collapsing into a dark hole

    Office of Educational Technology, National Center for Education Statistics Fall Victim to ED Cuts

    The U.S. Department of Education has announced cuts of nearly half of its staff, numbering more than 1,300 workers, according to AP reporting. While official details on the cuts are not available, early commentary on LinkedIn has revealed drastic cuts in the areas of educational technology and data.