ANALYSIS DOCUMENTS
Needs
Analysis
Introduction
o
Macromedia
Flash has been known for creating animations and interactivity for education
content. With its intuitive interface and easy-to-use functionality, it no
wonder why so many educators are using this software. Although this is a popular tool, the
majority of students and faculty at the Instructional Psychology and Technology
(IPT) department at the University of Oklahoma have hardly ever used Flash.
Following are a few of the features that would benefit IPT students and
faculty:
ß
Export as
extremely small file-sizes
ß
Over 98% of
all internet uses can view Flash content.
ß
An excellent
support team from Macromedia (tutorials, articles, documentation, source files,
etc.)
ß
Much easier
to use than other programs (Java, VB, ImageReady, etc.).
ß
Inexpensive
($99 for educational version)
As seen above, there are a lot of benefits that IPT students and
faculty can benefit from. Having
educational content thatís effectively animated and interactive can increase
the learnerís attention and motivation.
Stakeholders
o
Instructional
Psychology and Technology faculty members
o
Instructional
Psychology and Technology (IPT) students
o
Educational
Psychology board/faculty members
o
Education
Department
Groups That Design Must Consider
o
Instructional
Psychology and Technology faculty members
o
Instructional
Psychology and Technology (IPT) students
Educational Gaps
o
The
majority of the IPT students and faculty are not familiar with using Flash MX.
o
IPT students
and faculty do not understand the Timeline or the Stage that are part of the
Flash MX interface.
o
IPT students
and faculty do not have the knowledge to build animations in Flash MX.
o
IPT students
and faculty are not familiar with the file type formats that Flash MX
generates.
o
IPT students
and faculty do not have the knowledge to build interactivity in Flash MX.
o
IPT
professors are currently not teaching students how to use Flash MX
Gap That Will Be Addressed
o
IPT
students do not understand the main components that are part of the Flash MX
interface.
o
IPT
students and faculty are not familiar with the file type formats that Flash MX
generates.
Obtaining Further Information
o
Macromedia
Flash MX resource site
o
Using
Flash Help
o
Foundation
Flash MX (textbook)
Task
Analysis
Learning Goal
Learners will identify and describe the Timeline and the Stage that
are part of the Flash MX interface.
Objectives
o
Given a
list of components that are part of the Flash MX interface, learners will be
able to identify the Timeline and the Stage correctly.
o
Given an
image of the Flash MX timeline, learners will describe the functions of the
timeline in their own words.
o
Given an
image of the Flash MX stage, learners will describe the function of the stage
in their own words.
o
Given a
diagram of the Flash MX timeline, learners will be able to correctly name at
least 80% of the assets that are part of the timeline.
o
Given a
diagram of the Flash MX stage, learners will be able to correctly name at least
75% of the assets that are part of the stage.
Hierarchy of Content
1.
Introduction
to Flash MX
a.
What is
Flash MX:
ß
For Designers
ß
For
Developers
ß
For Educators
b.
Different
Formats that Flash MX produces
ß
.fla
ß
.swf
ß
.html
ß
.gif
ß
.exe
ß
.hqx
2.
Timeline
a.
Functions
of the timeline
b.
Layers
ß
Defining
layers
ß
Layer folder
c.
Playhead
d.
Frame-View
menu
e.
Elapse
time indicator
f.
Current
frame indicator
g.
Frame rate
indicator
h.
Frames
ß
Keyframes
ß
Blank
Keyframes
i.
Information
viewer
3.
Stage
a.
Work Space
b.
Work Area
c.
Grids
d.
Guides
e.
Rulers
Learner
Analysis
Cognitive Characteristics
General Characteristics
The majority of EIPT students and faculty speak very well
English and has a strong background in education and psychology. Their reading
level is at college level.
Although most EIPT students are educators, there are quite a few that
have a different set of background knowledge such as programming, engineering, multimedia
design, MIS, languages, networking, etc.
Specific Prior Knowledge
The majority of EIPT students and faculty are familiar with at
least one authoring tool (ToolBook, Authorware, Quest, HyperStudio, HyperCard,
etc.). Although they are familiar with the tool, many lack the expertise. In other words, they understand how to
use it for a particular project, but do not have a broad or expertise knowledge
to know the ins and the outs of the authoring program.
Physiological Characteristics
Although most of the EIPT students and faculty are not suffering
form serious health problems, they do have other minor health problems. A great percentage wears corrective
lens, whether it may be glasses or contact lens. The age range of EIPT students
range from their 20ís to their 50ís (years old). The majority of students fall in the 20ís category. EIPT professors range from their 40ís
to their 60ís (years old).
Context
Analysis
Characteristics
of the Teachers/Trainers That Will Use the Materials
Teachers/trainers that use these instructions must be somewhat
technology savvy and have some background with using Flash MX. They must also
have a positive feeling towards teaching/training with computers and authoring
programs.
Existing Curricula in Which This Piece of Instruction Must
Fit
In order for this instruction to fit into existing curricula,
EIPT students and faculty members must have some basic computer experience
(Windows 98, Mac OS, MS Word, etc.).
Although it is not required that they have any experience with Flash MX
or any other authoring tools, having those skills will help a great deal.
Hardware Availability in the Potential Learning Environment
Computer workstations are available in the learning environment.
The computers are both PC-based as well as Apple-based. The majority of computers are equipped
with Flash MX. All of the computers are connect to a local area network (LAN),
and have high-speed internet connections. Overhead projectors are also
available in the learning environment.
Characteristics of the Classes and Facilities
There will be around 20-25 computers. All of the computers that
are equipped with Flash MX will be used. There will also be a chalkboard and a LCD projector for
displaying content.
Other Environmental Factors
Other environmental factors that are important could include
cell phones, pagers, and people talking in the hallway. Disabling these devices
during instructions will allow EIPT students and faculty to listen and
understand more effectively.
DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, &
IMPLEMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS
Environment/Media Specs
Computer workstations are available in the learning environment.
The computers are both PC-based as well as Apple-based. The majority of computers are equipped
with Flash MX. All of the computers are connect to a local area network (LAN),
and have high-speed internet connections. Overhead projectors are also
available in the learning environment. There will be around 20-25 computers.
All of the computers that are equipped with Flash MX will be used. There will also be a chalkboard and a
LCD projector for displaying content.
Event Scripts/Sequence
Time: The length of this lesson will be
approximately one hour.
Sequence: The first topic must be presented first.
The second and third topic can be presented in any sequential order.
Topic 1: Introduction to Flash MX (10
minutes)
o What is Flash MX?
o Flash MX is a program with many different
faces. For a designer, it allows the capability of creating vector graphics and
animations, importing video and audio files, building interactive navigation
controls, and animated logos and artwork. For a developer, Flash allows the capability
of building rich internet applications. With the powerful object-oriented
language actionscript, Flash MX has the capability of building chat rooms,
video/audio conferencing, database interactivity, customized websites, and an
online shopping cart. For an
educator, Flash allows the capability of gaining studentís attention by giving
them effective animations and interactivity. Also, with the power of streaming video and audio files,
students can view flash content very quickly through the web.
o What are the different formats that
flash produces?
o .Fla ‚ This format allows you to re-edit your flash
content. It is essentially your
source file in which if you need updating or revising. It would be similar to a
ì.PSDî file in Photoshop.
o .swf ‚ This format is what you will normally see in a website
that has flash content. This format packages all of your flash content and
compresses it to a small file size that is viewable through the web. You are not able to revise or update
this file.
o .html ‚ In order for you to view ì.swfî file through the web, it
must be embedded inside an .html file.
o .gif ‚ Flash allows you to export your animations as a animated
gif file. Although there is animation, all of the interactivity and scripting
will not show.
o .exe ‚ You can also export your file as a standalone projector.
Having your file product as a projector allows all Windows OS to view your
flash content, which means that they donít need any kind of plug-in. This can
be very useful for a presentation or CD-ROM package.
o .hqx ‚ The works the same as the ì.exeî file but in this case,
all Macintosh OS will be able to view your content. This can also be very useful for presentations and CD-ROM
packages.
Topic 2: The Stage (15 minutes)
o What is the Stage?
o The Stage is the visual representation of
your project. Everything that is displayed on the stage will be viewable when you
export and publish your file.
o What is the Work Area?
o The work area is the outside regions of the
stage (the gray area). The work area allows to you place your objects on the
stage without the user seeing the object.
o This can be used to display a moving car.
You could first place the car on the left side of the work area where it will
be hidden. As the car starts to move onto the right side of the stage, you will
be able to see coming in slowly from the left of the stage.
o What are ruler, guides, and grids?
o Rulers allow you to measure or determine
the size of your documents.
o Guides allow you to align your object by
placing vertical and horizontal lines onto the stage. You can snap your object to a grid as
well. The default color for guides is green.
o The grid also allows you to align and snap
your objects. The colors of the
grids are black and it stretches throughout the vertical and horizontal areas
of your stage. By default, the
space between each grid is 18 units or pixels. You can adjust the settings to
meet your needs.
Topic 3: The Timeline (30 minutes)
o
What is
the Timeline?
o
The timeline
allows you to control your flash content.
It gives you flexibility to only show certain parts of your project
while showing other parts of it at a later time. This can give you the illusion
that an animation is occurring when in reality, it is made up of different
sequence of objects placed one after the other in the timeline.
o
The timeline
consists of several components, such as layers, frames, keyframes, playhead,
current frame indicator, frame rate indicator, and elapse time indicator, which
give you flexibility to control and manage your movie.
o
What are
the different components of the timeline?
o
Layers ‚ Layers give you depth and separation
from different object on your stage. You can thing of layers as transparent
sheets of paper stacked on top of each other. You can draw and edit object on one layer without effecting
objects on another layer. You can
also have more layers to organize your objects, animations, audio, and other
elements in your document. If you have too many layers, you can organize them
by storing them in layer folders.
This is very similar to the way you would manage layers in Photoshop.
o
Frames ‚ Frames allow you to display different
items on the timeline such as keyframes, audio, and actions.
o
Keyframes ‚ A keyframes is a frame that allows you to
define a change in an animation or include frame actions to modify your movie.
Keyframes give you the option to extend it by adding frames or tweening it. A blank keyframe is a keyframe that has
no items in it.
o
Playhead ‚ The playhead moves through the timeline
to indicate the current frame displayed on the stage. To display
a frame on the Stage, you would move the playhead to the frame in the Timeline.
o
Frame-View
menu ‚ The frame-view menu
give you the option to change the size of your frames in the timeline. You can
also display sequences of frames with or without tinted cells.
o
Current
frame indicator ‚ The
current frame indicator allows you to view the current frame you are on. In
other words, what ever frame your playhead is on, the current frame indicator
will display that frame number.
o
Frame-rate
indicator ‚ The frame-rate
indicator allow you to view the speed of your flash movie. For example, ì12 fpsî would mean that
it will take 12 frames to equal one second of animation in real life. By
default, your fps is at 12.
o
Elapse-time
indicator ‚ The elapse-
time indicator shows you how much time has passed in your movie. So, if your
movie is running at 12 fps and you were on frame 6, then half a second (or
0.5s) would be displayed.
Topic 4: Quiz
o
Nature of Quiz ‚ There
will be 10 questions. Here is where it will break down.
o Multiple-choice (4)
o Matching (3)
o Fill-in-the-blank/Short Answer (3)
Materials/Job Aid Sample
Handouts
o Students will be given a handout of a
picture that provides detailed information about the stage and the timeline. Each picture will provide labels of each
important part of the picture.
o Students will also be given a handout
that lists and describes all of the different file types that flash produces.
This handout will have images to show what the format will look like and
briefly describe its functions.
Rationales
Sequencing
o The reason that I sequenced the
instructions this way is because of clarity of information. Learners should first know the
capabilities of Flash MX before jumping into the program. They should also be
aware of the different file types as well. Once they get a big picture of
Flash, they can then start on learning its interface. The Stage and Timeline can be presented in any sequential
order, because one is not dependent on the other. But I would highly recommend
instructors to cover the Stage first and then cover the Timeline. The stage is usually the easier concept
to grasp, because it has fewer components and it pretty intuitive. The timeline
will usually take the learners some time to grasp these concepts if theyíve
never messed with any programs that involve timelines. There are also more
components and some of the terms are new while other terms are similar to
Photoshop.
Handouts
o Having handouts are extremely helpful to
students. It allows them review the content that was covered if they should
ever get confused. It also gives them a certain area to study on, so they wonít
get cluttered or confused with other components in the Flash MX interface.
EVALUATION SPECIFICATIONS
& TOOLS
Formative Evaluations
o Design Review ‚ Students in my EIPT 6163 class and
EIPT faculty members can review my designs. I will hand them some of my stages
of design and they will review the content and give me any necessary feedback.
o Expert Review ‚ I have a few friends in Lawton and in
other states that have a high-expertise in Flash MX and can review the lesson
content to see if the content is accurate and complete.
o Learner Validation ‚ Since EIPT students and faculty
members are very busy doing research and assignments, I will only have time for
one-to-one evaluation. I could get a few students from my other EIPT classes
and a couple of EIPT professors that Iíve had to view the instructional
materials. I will then ask them questions to see if they understand the
instructions or if they can read all of the textual and visual materials.
o Ongoing Evaluation ‚ After the instruction has been
implemented, I will continue to gather data and see if the existing instruction
is still valid or if learners are still learning from the content. This is very critical because of the
topic. There are new versions of Flash about every year, so keeping the content
up to date and evaluating it after the implementation is crucial.
Summative Evaluations
Overview
o After the instructional material have
been implemented to EIPT students and faculty members, data will need to be
obtained immediately. I will have to somehow see if students and faculty
members are actually using Flash or finding the tool useful. Since technology
is such a fast growing and changing environment, evaluations will need to be
collected every semester. If new
technology emerges or students and faculty members are not finding Flash
useful, then the instructional materials may need to be changed or just not
implemented.
Samples of Job Aid
o Below are two examples of job aids that
will be used in the lesson.
