CSU+Adobe for All Digital Literacy Summit

April 21-22, 2026

We're excited for You to join us at san josé state university for the digital literacy summit.

SJSU's 7th St. Paseo

Preparing for the Summit

Our objectives for the Summit are to develop some shared goals and understandings, build community, and get ourselves in a good position to launch CSU + Adobe for All projects as soon as we head back to our individual campuses. We hope you'll have chances to learn new things, see potential models, experience some of what your students will experience, and walk away with new ideas and fresh excitement!

Travel to San José

If you are flying, San josé international airport (sjc) is your best bet.

Other local airports, including SFO and OAK are at least a 45-60 minute drive from San José State University.

You can also arrive by amtrak or cal-train to diridon station. bart services san josé's Berryessa / North San Jose station.

Diridon Station is approximately 1.6 miles from SJSU's campus. The Berryessa / North San Jose BART station is approximately 3 miles. The Rapid 500 bus travels from the BART station to SJSU in approximately 20 minutes.

driving is another option. however, it will be significantly harder to arrive by ocean liner, hot air balloon, or pack animal (owing to parking restrictions).

Google Map to SJSU Interactive Campus Map

Parking

Our hotel recommendations are all theoretically within walking distance of both SJSU and Adobe, but we realize walking is not an option for everyone. If you plan to drive and park either day, we recommend planning your parking in advance to ensure a smooth arrival to the summit. At Adobe Detailed information for parking at Adobe will be provided through email. On-campus at SJSU Limited parking is available on campus for attendees. For rates, locations, and purchasing daily permits, please visit the San José State University Parking Services page. Please allow extra time to locate parking and walk to the event venue. Off-campus near SJSU Additional public parking is available throughout downtown San José. You can explore nearby garages, lots, and real-time availability using the City of San José’s parking resources. Tips

Arrive early to secure a spot, especially during peak hours
Check posted signage for restrictions and time limits
Check public transportation agencies as many provide service to SJSU

Recommended Hotels

Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown

Hotel Website Average Nightly Room Rate: $208 - $269 6 Minute Walk to Campus

The Westin San Jose

Hotel Website Average Nightly Room Rate: $239 - $269 6 Minute Walk to Campus

San Jose Marriott

Hotel Website Average Nightly Room Rate: $364 - $429 8 Minute Walk to Campus

Signia by Hilton San Jose

Hotel Website Average Nightly Room Rate: $348 - $436 9 Minute Walk to Campus

Hyatt Place San Jose/Downtown

Hotel Website Average Nightly Room Rate: $169 - $206 16 Minute Walk to Campus

Hotel De Anza

Hotel Website Average Nightly Room Rate: $220 - $250 18 Minute Walk to Campus

Things to See

Panoramic view of Silicon Valley from the hiking trail at Mission Peak.

Our official time together will be pretty tightly scheduled, but if you arrive early, leave late, or find yourself with some free time in San José, below are some local favorites.

Tourist destinations

Food and Drink

Culture

A word of awareness about Downtown san josé

San José is one of the safest major cities in the country, but it’s still a major metropolitan area with all the affordances and potential risks of any city center. We don’t recommend that you navigate the city with fear or trepidation, but we do recommend care and attention.

Summit Pre-Work

All the pre-work—including prompts, directions, and tutorials—can be accessed at this link. All told, it shouldn't take you more than 2 hours, at the most. Unless you get hooked, in which case, there's no telling how long you'll be gone. :)

Step 1: Software confirmation

(required)

step 2: Event badge

(very important)

step 3: Aspiration webpage

(highly recommended)

step 4: Animated video

(optional but encouraged)

Pre-work

Agenda

Day 0: Apr. 20

San José State University Digital Humanities Center MLK, Jr. Library, 1st floor (Room 113) 150 E San Fernando St, San Jose, CA 95112

5:30-7:00pm Welcome Reception Come as you are, stay as long or as little as you like. We'll provide light food, drink, and sparkling conversation.

Day 1: Apr. 21

Adobe World HQ East Tower 321 Park Ave. San Jose, CA 95110

8:00a Breakfast 9:00a Summit welcome Ryan Skinnell (ACE Director, SJSU) Vincent Del Casino (Provost & Sr. Vice President of Academic Affairs, SJSU) Leslie Kennedy (Asst. Vice Chancellor of Academic Technology Services, Chancellor's Office) 9:30a Conocimiento Magdalena L. Barrera (Sr. Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, SJSU) 10:30a Break 10:45a Session I: Aspiration Todd Taylor (Pedagogical Evangelist, Adobe) 12:00n Lunch / Plenary Angela Laflen (Associate Professor & Writing Center Coordinator, Sacramento State) 1:30p Session II: Adaptation Artie Patel (MA candidate in English, SJSU) Radha Aravamudhan (ACE Assessment Coordinator) 3:00p Break 3:15p Session III: Alignment Liliana Castrellon, Lucy Headrick, Bianca Hinojosa, Tina Korani, Lyla Luo, Matthew Maguire, Nick Szydlowski, & Karen D. Wang (ACE Faculty Fellows, SJSU) 4:45p Debrief / Notes to your future self 5:00p Happy Hour / Reception (Gather Social Room, Adobe)

Day 2: Apr. 22

San José State University Diaz Compean Student Union, Mtg. Room 4A&B 211 South 9th St. San Jose, CA 95112

8:00a Breakfast 9:00a President’s welcome Cynthia Teniente-Matson (President, SJSU) 9:15a Session IV: Re-Alignment Ryan Skinnell 9:45a Session V: Action Ryan Skinnell, Todd Taylor, ACE Faculty Fellows 11:45a Closing remarks 12:00n Lunch / disband 12:30p (optional) Focus group on academic technology Todd Taylor 2:00p (optional) Individual meetings with ACE/Adobe representatives

Plenary

Designing for Risk: Putting Relationships at the Center of Technology Integration

Dr. Angela Laflen Assoc. Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, & Technology in the Department of English, Director of the Univ. Writing Center, Sacramento State University

Adobe tools, multimodal assignments, and digital storytelling initiatives promise to expand what students can create and how they can think. These projects invite experimentation and reward creativity. But creativity requires risk, and risk requires trust. In this keynote, Angela Laflen argues that technology cannot produce transformation on its own. Drawing on qualitative research with 270 students navigating emerging technologies, this talk explores how new technologies can intensify faculty–student tensions rather than relieve them. If overwhelmed faculty default to policing rather than coaching, students can retreat into strategic silence. The success of any technology initiative depends on cultivating the relational conditions that make risk feel possible. Laflen offers practical strategies for building pedagogical trust and invites attendees to consider how prioritizing relationships might strengthen their own projects. Technology intensifies the existing relational climate in a classroom. This keynote is an invitation to ensure the foundation we design is one worth building on.

Summit Leadership Team

CSU + Adobe Center for Excellence @ SJSU

Key Contacts

For questions about the CSU + Adobe for All program or curriculum, please contact Ryan Skinnell (ryan.skinnell@sjsu.edu). For questions about Adobe, please contact Todd Taylor (ttaylor@adobe.com). For questions about the transfer, organization, and spending of funds from the CSU to your home campus, please contact Leslie Kennedy (lkennedy@calstate.edu).

Assessment Questions

Part 1

1. What is your central idea or theme? How is your idea evolving as you create your zine? 2. What story, message, or argument is your zine communicating? 3. How are images, layout, or visual elements contributing to meaning in your zine? 4. What design decisions (e.g., format, structure) are you making, and why? 5. In what ways might your zine be considered a success? In what ways might it not live up to your vision? 6. If you were going to revise your zine, what would you identify as key areas on which you’d want to focus? Concept, content, design, creation, others?

part 2

1. What did you change when moving from a physical zine to a webpage? Why? 2. How did your audience or purpose shift? 3. What did the digital format allow you to do differently? 4. If you were assessing this project (your own or someone else’s), what would you value most?

Credits:

Created with images by Daniel Prudek - "Ama Dablam on the way to Everest Base Camp" • valiantsin - "Agenda word on yellow background with copy space for text." • nose - "a whimsical arrangement of origami stars and a crescent moon against a dark background" • Nicholas - "white city skyline paper sculpture long panorama background layout." • Alexey - "Panoramic View of Silicon Valley., Hiking Trail at Mission Peak."