BP13_Flash Training Update

After completing Lynda.com's course on Flash CS4 Professional Getting Started, I realized there is going to be quite a bit of work involved in setting up a Flash interface to deliver content to my students. Since I only completed the getting started course I first will move onto the essentials course since that will get into far more detail that I will require to develop the interface. However, the overview that I did get of Flash was very helpful in give me some basic ideas to work with. I would like to highlight those ideas and discuss how they will play a part in my interface for the remainder of this blog post.

The first thing I realized is I will have to create some graphics, sound and video to import into the Flash interface. So there will be much assets creation to make this happen. So the biggest focus will be on creating the interface to handle all of them. The areas I need to focus on are symbol creation, buttons and the action script in the timeline in order to make the navigation of the interface easy for students to use.

So with symbol creation I need to create visuals for the subjects that I am offering. I will need to break up the interface into easily identifiable areas that are consistent with all of the subjects I teach so that once the learning curve of using the interface has been mastered, students will be able to learn any subject using it. Also I see the need to create tabs that will offer various methods of instruction so that students have options on how their instruction in delivered to the multiple intelligence that they prefer.

The buttons that I require will be the controls for starting, stopping and moving to a specific area of instruction. Also there will be the selection lists for all the lessons and the problems within the lessons. Once these are worked out then a major part of the interface will be in place.

The most difficult part of the whole project will be writing the action script for managing the navigation for all the versatility that I want to be available to the student. I will need to develop some flow charts to keep this under control and make sure a logical process is developed. Once the logic and structure is designed I can then write the code I will use. I think the use of Gliffy will be helpful at this point.

Overall, I think Flash has a lot to offer but there is a big learning curve. My next post will focus on the beginning look of the interface.