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Preparing for and Participating in the 3/26/26 Test Kitchen

Building Reusable Teaching Templates That Save Time!

Topic: Building Reusable Teaching Templates That Save Time! 3/26

We are thrilled that you will be joining us on the March 26, 2026 for a new, collaborative adventure--the UTA Technology Test Kitchen in the lobby of Trinity Hall/Trinity 112, or Trinity 105, at your designated time between 1:00-2:30 pm.

NOTE: Please review the pre-work below before the session! Description: This faculty‑friendly session supports instructors in transforming dense or complex information into visually clear posters and infographics using Adobe Express. Create assignments for students that support research and summary graphics using Adobe Express. With hands‑on guidance in the Test Kitchen, faculty will explore practical design principles that strengthen student digital literacy and AI Literacy. Join us in being creative with teaching as an Adobe Creative Campus! Faculty will leave with: • Techniques for creating remixable assignments using Adobe Express and ideas gained from the Adobe Education Exchange. • Reusable/remixable templates from Adobe Express for research communication and student projects *If you cannot participate in the Technology Test Kitchen you can still participate on your own by reading through these tasks and completing them on your own! Please take a close look at these preparation instructions. Please complete these steps no later than March 26, 2026 if you are attending the test kitchen event in person. Visit the CRTLE Adobe Resources page (recommended pre‑read).

STEP 1: Hardware, Wifi, and Software Prep (5-15 minutes)

  • Prepare and bring a laptop computer with a power charger and WiFi connectivity. The UTA Technology Test Kitchen will have essential hands-on moments throughout. A laptop is highly preferable to a tablet. Laptops can be checked out of the UTA Central Libraries:  Laptops | UTA Libraries. We will also have access to computers at the Test Kitchen but these are limited. Please make sure you can access UTA wifi once you are on campus:  Wireless Network – Office of Information Technology – The University of Texas at Arlington.
  • Triple-check to ensure you have rock-solid access to Adobe Express through your campus log-in protocol. In other words, use your campus SSO to confirm that you can access Adobe Express. You can click this URL to test: http://express.adobe.com
  • If you would like you can also re‑enable your Adobe Creative Cloud license (recommended) through: 🔗 go.uta.edu/adobe-opt-in

STEP 2: Pre-work: Explore the Adobe Education Exchange

Look for for "one" creative teaching idea ior assignment idea *(inspiration only). (5–10 minutes total)

Please complete this short pre‑work before our March 26 Technology Test Kitchen: Building Reusable Teaching Templates That Save Time. The goal is to arrive with one teaching idea and one draft template—no polishing required.

Visit the Adobe Education Exchange and browse for one teaching idea or assignment that sparks your interest. This might be something you already do (or want to do), such as:

  • A weekly module overview
  • An assignment prompt
  • A reflection activity
  • A student showcase or portfolio
  • An infographic or explainer video

👉 Adobe Education Exchange (Higher Ed teaching ideas): https://edex.adobe.com/ Specific teaching ideas (filter-able) are here: Search for Projects & Teaching Resources | Adobe Education Exchange Tip: You’re not adopting the whole lesson—just borrowing the idea.

STEP 3: Identify the Adobe Express format that fits

Think about what kind of artifact students (or you) would create for that idea:

  • One‑page visual (infographic, checklist, handout)
  • Short video or announcement
  • Web page (module intro, assignment overview)
  • Reusable document or template

Then open Adobe Express and choose a template type that matches. 👉 Adobe Express templates library: https://www.adobe.com/express/templates/

Step 4: Create a simple reusable template in Adobe Express

  • Pick a template or start from scratch
  • Replace placeholder text with generic course language (e.g., “Week X,” “Assignment Title,” “Instructions go here”)
  • Keep it intentionally generic and reusable

This will become a template you can use again. 👉 Open Adobe Express (UTA login): https://new.express.adobe.com/ [adobe.com]

Step 5: Turn it into a “Remix this” template

Use Adobe Express’s sharing options to make your template remixable:

  • Name your file clearly (e.g., “Weekly Module Template – Remix”)
  • Be ready to share the link during the session

Step‑by‑step: Remixing made simple

  1. Open your design in Adobe Express Log in with your UTA credentials and open the template you created.
  2. Clean it up for reuse
  3. Rename the file clearly Use a name like: Weekly Module Overview – Remix or Reusable Assignment Template – Remix
  4. Share it as a remixable template
  5. Test the remix (optional but helpful) Open the link yourself in a new tab to confirm it opens as a copy, not the original.

That’s it—you’ve created a remixable template.

Optional (Preview before the session)

If you want a quick preview of what “remixable templates” look like:

What to bring to the session

✅ One teaching idea for an assignment ✅ A charged laptop and access to Adobe Express ✅ A willingness to experiment and iterate That’s it—we’ll do the rest together.

If you’ve never used Adobe Express, you may wish to briefly visit it ahead of time:

Publish! Preview then Publish your Portfolio. Select share -> Publish to Web -> Create link, then copy your shareable link.

Helpful Teaching Tips

Adobe Express Quick Tips for Posters & Infographics

  • Start with a template, then customize content—not layout (replace text/images before changing structure).
  • Use text boxes strategically: keep body text under ~20–30 words per section; split longer ideas across blocks.
  • Leverage built‑in icons, shapes, and charts instead of screenshots or pasted graphics.
  • Add alt text and check contrast before exporting (especially for PDFs shared in Canvas or email).

STEP 4 (Optional): Preview the Recipe Cards and the Adobe Firefly Prompting Tips

If you cannot attend the live session, review the prompting tips for Adobe Firefly (Generative AI) and the recipe cards to try on your own! Be sure to join the Chef's Challenge Teams area to earn recognition and prizes! Click here to join the Chef's Challenge Team! General | The Chef's Challenge Team | Microsoft Teams About the Chef's Challenge: Chef’s Challenge and Faculty Recognition - CRTLE - The University of Texas at Arlington

Additional Resources for this Session:

Adobe Express Tutorial Videos on YouTube: Adobe Express - YouTube

General Links

Credits:

Created with an image by Watcharapon - "Distant blur of colorful scientific posters and diagrams , education, research, innovation, learning, technology"