CHIJ Katong Convent, an all-girls secondary school in Singapore, uses Adobe Creative Suite software to teach digital communication skills and enhance design/multimedia abilities. The art teacher uses Photoshop and Illustrator to teach design principles, and the school's Infocomm Club provides additional technology training. Students have succeeded in competitions using skills developed from Adobe software. The school obtained a K-12 Site License for Adobe Creative Suite to equip computer labs and ensure students have industry-standard tools.

1. Success Story
CHIJ Katong Convent, Singapore
Innovative secondary school in Singapore uses Adobe® Creative Suite® to help young
students master digital communication skills
CHIJ Katong Convent
www.chijkatongconvent.moe.edu.sg
Industry
Education, K-12
Challenges
• Stimulate new learning opportunities.
• Prepare young students to thrive with 21st
Century digital literacy.
Solution
• Introducing Adobe software in school’s art
classes and Infocomm Club
Results
• Established new levels of digital interactivity
and literary among students.
• Created a technology driven teaching and
learning environment.
• Access to professional creative and design
tools.
Enhancing design and multimedia skills
In the 21st century, schools must advance beyond a focus on basic competency in core subjects to
promoting the understanding of academic content at much higher levels by weaving 21st century
interdisciplinary themes into core subjects. This includes the teaching of essential design and
multimedia computer skills required for today’s digital natives – youths bred on computers and
handheld devices - to thrive in the careers of tomorrow.
Established in 1930, CHIJ Katong Convent, is an autonomous all-girls Catholic secondary school
in Singapore. The school offers a strong academic programme with an emphasis on literature,
mathematics and science, with rich opportunities for aesthetics development, as well as a broad
range of co-curricular activities to girls between the ages of 13 to 17 years. Approximately 1,200
students are enrolled at the school.
Using Adobe to teach basic elements and principles of design
Design elements and principles are the basic visual toolbox of design tactics in every visual
design discipline. The elements form the basic vocabulary of visual design, while the principles
constitute the broader structural aspects of the composition. The elements of design consist of
line, texture, shape, tone and colour.
A teacher’s mission is to invest skills and knowledge in students which can help them express
themselves as well as achieve their personal and academic goals. Software which makes it easier
to achieve these goals is highly desirable.
Mr Sim Buan Heng is an art teacher in the Aesthetics department at Katong Convent.
Responsible for the Digital Art Programme in school as well as incorporating Information
Communications Technology (ICT), Mr Sim said, “The reason I chose Adobe software as a tool
to teach students the concepts of art and design is the ease of use of the application. Students
who are less proficient in composition find navigating around Adobe products easy to manage,
plus application integration also makes it easier for students to become efficient in all software
tools faster, rather than learning entirely new navigation, short cuts and drop down menus.”
“Students not only have the right, industry-leading, tools to create excellent creative projects but I
find my students are happier and more engaged in the classroom.”
Leveraging Adobe technology in after school activities
Blending Adobe technology into their art classes and through the Infocomm Club, a co-curricular
activity (CCA), to provide extraordinary learning opportunities for students, is an emphasis of the
school. For Infocomm, IT Training and Art, students learn basic Adobe Photoshop for a semester at
the lower secondary level, followed by a semester of advanced elements of Photoshop or of Illustrator,
depending on how advanced the class is.
The Infocomm Club is an initiative of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and aims
to initiate students into the world of digital design and multimedia. The Infocomm Club in Katong
Convent focuses on digital design aspects. The club started in 2006 and has approximately 40 members.
“The Infocomm Club not only enables me to go further into Adobe software with my
students, but creates a technology-driven environment for students to pick up essential skills
for use in their future careers,” said Mr Sim.

2. The creative edge from CHIJ Katong Convent students
Students using the Adobe products to create major works have fared well in several competitions.
Some of the projects Mr Sim’s students have created over past terms include:
• Janice Phua and Samantha Sim created posters for the Katong Convent Manga Society during an
ICT lesson. In this lesson, a group of 15-year old Secondary Three students used Adobe Photoshop
to design posters for a recruitment drive.
• Mobilephone wallpapers were created by a group of Secondary Three students using Adobe
Photoshop for an anti-drugs mobilephone wallpaper design competition.
• Carrie Lee, Kelly-Anne De Souza and Venus Lee, three graduating students used Adobe Photoshop
as a tool to juxtapose their drawings into meaningful compositions. This was accepted by students
as a more efficient method to compose a work of art.
Maximising software budgets with Adobe’s educational K-12 Site License
Katong Convent has several large computer labs for students to use and access. Faced with the
challenge of equipping the labs efficiently, Katong Convent also needed to carefully consider the costs.
The school decided to take a K-12 Site License for Adobe’s Creative Suite® 3 Web Premium to keep
costs down and to ensure access to the latest Adobe technologies. Currently all the PCs in the
computer labs are installed with Adobe software.
The K-12 Site License is a flexible licensing solution specifically for use in primary and secondary
schools. It provides access to Adobe software for teachers and students in the school with a cost-
effective single license purchase.
Adobe® Creative Suite® 3 Web Premium (includes Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, Photoshop® CS3
Extended, Adobe Flash CS3, and Acrobat 8 Professional) is a set of essential creative tools for web and
mobile design and development with enhanced integration and workflows throughout the edition,
including design tools.
Mr Sim said, “By integrating Adobe solutions into our art classes, we will be able to significantly
enhance innovation and creativity among our students.”
For More Information
www.adobe.com/ap/products/creativesuite
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Systems At A Glance
• Adobe®
Creative Suite 3 Master
Collection
• Adobe®
Premiere Pro
• Adobe®
Photoshop CS3
• Adobe®
Illustrator CS3
• Adobe®
Acrobat 8 Professional
• Adobe®
Web Premium CS3
Left poster created by Janice Phua; Right poster created
by Samantha Sim for a recruitment drive for the Katong
Convent Manga Society.
Regalia by Carrie LeeSightseers by Venus Lee Contours by Kelly-Anne de Souza
Mobilephone wallpapers were created by a group of secondary three students using Adobe
Photoshop for an anti-drugs mobilephone wallpaper design competition.