Hi,
There has always been a lack of good interactive resources which not only engages students but also significantly improves their learning and understanding. Consequently, in April 2006 I decided to start a website focusing on teaching anyone in the education sector, or other enthusiasts, how to use Adobe Flash to create their own resources.
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 (IWB), 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’. This is the purpose of Flasheducation.net: to give teachers the opportunity to learn how to use Flash to create content for their own classes without having to learn the finer points of the whole software. Each tutorial will take between 15-30 minutes to complete and will give teachers the opportunity to create specific activities which they can easily adapt. Hopefully this might encourage more teachers to use Adobe Flash. Check back often as the tutorials change regularly, alternatively sign up for the mailing list to stay up-to-date of new and forthcoming tutorials and other Flash related resources!
Why should you use Flash enabled resources in teaching?
‘…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. The world has come along way since Commodore 64 with its basic graphics and pupils are now using hand held game consoles. Games for Commodore 64 could take up to 30 minutes to load and if we then failed the first level, then we had to endure another 30 minutes of waiting. We also had hand-held computer games, or at least in the late 1980s, with smash-hits such as Donkey Kong Jr, but these were simple and uninspiring. Thus, graphics were poor, game content weak and the interactive element limited. Children are now used to game characters with Artificial Intelligence, astounding graphics, professionally conducted music and game content which changes each time they play the game. If they already have certain expectations about, for example, interactivity and graphic quality then should not learning be pushed into that direction?
Many educational companies and sites have jumped on the bandwagon and are creating online tasks that attempt to meet these new needs. For example, BBC have various interactive activities available for pupils to access. Although many sites have potential, a lot of them lack one fundamental element, namely, ensuring that learning takes place. Would an activity such as this Drag and Drop task aid learning? Doubtful. If we are to use Flash well then we also need to think carefully about how we structure tasks. Creating fun games can serve a purpose but the likelihood of pupils remembering valuable information or extending their skills based on these kind of games are slim. Remembering how many opponents they punched, for example, is something they remember more easily. Tasks such as the Drag and Drop exercise above can aid learning and encourage pupils to work independently as long as these activities are created by teachers or other educators who understands how Flash can be used effectively. Take a look at the following two links below for examples of how to use Flash to encourage thinking and learning using a Drag & Drop task:
Instead of having items ‘snap into place’ when they are dragged and dropped, why not ensure that pupils have to think rather than randomly dropping until they are correct? Drag 2 encourages pupils to think about the question, consider what factors to add to each of the draggable icons and then evaluate each factor and where it needs to be placed. Their choices can then be discussed as a class or printed off and glued into their books. This activity can be used in various ways and easily adapted once created. Drag 3 is slightly more advanced as it requires pupils to use key points added by the teacher, evaluate these and, if needed, replace them with their own.
Anyway, enough of my ranting. I hope Flasheducation.net will help, and maybe even inspire, you to create your own Flash resources!
Kind regards,
Johannes Ahrenfelt
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