What is Flash?
It is difficult to define Adobe Flash. Doing a quick search for a definition provides us with a myriad of explanations, from very simplistic: ‘a technology that allows for animation or moving graphics on a website.’ Gravitate Design, to Adobe’s own:
‘…[the] industry's most advanced authoring environment for creating interactive websites [and] digital experiences… design and author interactive content rich with video, graphics, and animation for truly unique, engaging websites, presentations or mobile content’ Adobe.com.
In the past Flash was often used in the development of e-Learning by Flash experts well-established in the world of hard coding. The learning curve has always been steep and the use of Flash by the average person has been rare. But this has changed recently as the development of e-Learning in Flash has been made a little easier, more insightful and, most importantly, more accessible to teachers. This is partly due to Macromedia’s new features, for example templates and components such as learning interactions. However, the biggest progress made thus far in encouraging educators to use the software has been due to the insistence by many training institutions to focus on ICT and individual teachers continuing to develop on their own. There are now also numerous sites devoted to spreading the usage of Flash (see part four for a brief list of some of these sites). More recently, companies have started to create software where teachers produce their on educational material e.g. Contentgenerator.net Fireflylearning.com.
In the context of education, one could suggest that Flash is an open canvas where teachers create the content. This means producing interactive, engaging and pedagogical resources for their pupils. In the past, Flash-produced resources used to be primarily for delivering content for the Internet, but the practice has developed significantly since then, something which will be examined in further detail in part two. Unlike other e-learning development tools, Flash does offer its users the opportunity to create online content. This presents major benefits for several reasons. Firstly, as it uses a plug-in it can run on most platforms and can therefore be used by everyone. Secondly, as bandwidth is still an issue particularly if you want to include audio or video, flash files are small compared to other authoring tools, even if you include video files, which makes it a perfect tool for creating activities for the web.
Why should it be used by teachers and pupils?
View video 1
‘…students want an education that serves their needs. For many that means an education that is convenient, accessible and most importantly, relevant.’ (Macromedia Whitepaper 2004)
Children have different expectations about the role of technology in their lives and if teachers do not eventually meet these expectations then it could become difficult to ensure that learning is maintained for every pupil.
Flash gives pupils great opportunities to extend their skills. I recently finished an Enterprise Project where a group of pupils produced a CD-ROM with interactive activities which they created for local primary schools. This project highlighted the potential for developing children’s skills and how quickly they progressed whilst working with the software. Some of these included:
* Problem solving (View video 2)
- involving discussion, analysis of what is being explored and how to express the information effectively.
* Planning and Organisation
- Flash is a complicated instrument which starts with a ‘blank stage’ and requires the pupils to think clearly about what they want to achieve. The pupils also have to consider the intricacies of the software itself whilst thinking about for example purpose and audience.
* Showing understanding
- pupils can use the software to explain e.g. change - how Law and Order changed from 1450 – 1900.
* Motivation
- with Flash, students set themselves challenges to accomplish. This approach produces high levels of motivation as the challenges have been created by them and are generally suited to their ability.
* Independent learning
- placing the pupil in charge of the project and only use the teacher as facilitator encourages children to work independently and creates a positive learning environment where they take the lead.
* Reflection and evaluation
- the evaluation of the result is generally led by the pupils themselves or their peers. At the start of each session, pupils were asked to place their newly created files in a shared folder. A few of the files were then viewed on the IWB and the class commented on the work, for example, its usability, layout, and questions were asked about how it was created and how they would change it to suit a different audience.
* Communication and teamwork (View video 3)
- encourages the children to work collaboratively on a project where a number of smaller jobs are given out to individual team members. These tasks could include e.g. creating a layout, script to control movement, assessment opportunities to check understanding and project managing. When all smaller tasks have been completed they are added to the main project file. This process is demanding and challenges the team to work through a detailed plan before commencing and encourages them to set long, medium and short-term targets to support the team’s performance.
What are the problems with Adobe Flash?
Adobe Flash is complex, challenging, expensive and time consuming to learn. Nevertheless, Flash is the future, or at least the beginning of a new wave of tools for creating educational activities and online experiences. We once had to learn Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, and later digital video editing, IWB software and some even took the step to learn Dreamweaver and other more complex programmes. Many argue that Flash is too time consuming, yet we spend hours reading literature on pedagogy and how to use ICT effectively in the classroom. If teachers had the opportunity to learn just what they need from Flash to create resources for their own pupils then more would be interested in learning the software. This way it would become manageable and purposeful, saving teachers the need to learn hard coding and every aspect of Flash.
If we are to target pupils from where they learn and meet their expectations, then Flash is a good starting point. In the age of Interactive Whiteboards, Flash has opened up new opportunities to engage and challenge pupils. There are now many companies and individuals who specialise in creating content for the IWB for all subjects and some offer ways into Flash - some better than others. Numerous sites give tutorials on how to use Flash but are limited as they focus on teaching ‘How to use Flash’ rather than ‘How teachers can use flash’.
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