Rather than a tutorial or standard Pointer and Clicker article,
this issue we will look at how a particular piece of technology is being
used on the Web in an educationally effective manner. One of the hottest
trends on the Web is the use of Flash (1) animations to liven up a Web
site. The Flash program is becoming a commonly installed feature on most
computer systems across various platforms including Windows/PC and Apple/MacIntosh.
Flash allows one to quickly add dynamic animations with audio to a Web
page without large file size downloads. These animations can even be interactive
and as this article will address educational. Thus, this article will
outline the various educational uses of Flash on the Web and point out
some of the exemplary sites already available.
Note that there are many uses of Flash, but herein we will
focus primarily on educational uses only. The review of educational Flash
use will be divided by the following categories. The final category is
presented as a handy reference wherein you can find multitudes of information
on Flash and tutorials on how to make use of the program. With each section
a brief explanation of a few reasons are given for why the links provided
are considered exemplary by this author.
Hopefully as you view these examples, you will begin to see the power that
Flash offers the educator and the possible pitfalls. These examples are
shown to both give you ideas and to show you what the potential is for your
own multimedia productions. Enjoy.
(1) According to Macromedia, "Macromedia Flash MX
is the fastest way to create rich Internet content and applications
with a better return on investment. Powerful video, multimedia and
application development features allow the creation of rich user interfaces,
online advertising, eLearning courses and enterprise application front-ends." http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/,
2002
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