Flash I: Mastering the Tools


Full Description
Welcome to our Flash I: Mastering the Tools course. Flash MX is a multimedia application that will allow you to create powerful and eye-catching applications, presentations, animations, and Web sites by integrating images, drawings, audio, video, and text. It is capable of producing dazzling animations that will attract users and keep them captivated. Through animations, you are also able to illustrate your ideas, designs, instructional materials, etc. much more effectively.

Our Flash I course is geared towards those who have little or no background in Flash animation design. It teaches you how to use the many powerful tools that are part of the Flash production environment. You are taken from basics, such as creating and saving new documents, to more advanced features such as the use of panels, frames, strokes, layers, timeline effects, movie clips, etc. By the end of the course, you will be able to create your own animations for your own CD's, Web sites, etc. You will be amazed at the creative power that will be unleashed from within you! The teacher of this course has over 20 years of teaching, animation and Web site/CD creation experience.

You will also be provided with six comprehensive and expertly designed online units, followed by a comprehensive learning project. Through this learning project, practical assignments, and interaction with other students in online forums, you will be given feedback about how to maximize the effectiveness of your work and you will be provided with insights into how other people are using the course skills. You will be astounded by how much you will be able to learn from other students and from your expert instructor. Due to the skills that you will be learning, you will be able to take your online business to the next level, you will be much more employable in today's job market, and you will receive a great deal of enjoyment in creating animations of your own design.


COMMON QUESTIONS: How long will it take me to complete the course? The amount of time it takes to complete the course is dependent upon the time you are able to spend in study. Some students are able to complete the course in as little as one month. However, most students take at least two months to finish the course. The course is entirely self-directed; you may take as much time as you need. Will I be able to work at my own pace? Yes. The modular format of the instruction method allows you to proceed according to your own pace. Your personal schedule governs your completion time. Do I require a textbook? Yes. the textbook that is required for this course is Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Training From the Source by Jen Dehaan, Macromedia Press, 2004. This textbook comes with a free 30-day trial version of the Flash MX 2004 program. If you plan to take more than 30 days to complete this course and you do not already have the Flash MX 2004 program, you can download an educational version of the software from http://macromedia.com. Will I be provided with instructor feedback? Yes. At the end of each self-paced unit, you will complete a unit assignment that you will submit to your instructor. The instructor then marks your work, offers advice on how it can be improved, and provides important feedback. Also, the course culminates in a comprehensive course project that you will submit to the instructor. Again, you will be provided with expert feedback. Will I be able to interact with other students? Yes. This course is designed to encourage student interaction because it is well known that students often "feed off of" the ideas of other students. At the end of each unit, you will be asked to respond to a discussion question that is based on that unit's materials and you will be able to respond to the discussion threads of other students.



Outcomes:
Outcomes and Assessment
Students will be able to perform the following tasks with Flash MX 2004 upon the successful completion of this course:

1. Creating and saving new documents
2. Modifying document settings
3. Working with panels
4. Using and modifying frames and layers on the timeline
5. Using layers
6. Setting preferences
7. Testing the FLA
8. Using Help features
9. Navigating the tools in the tool panel
10. Drawing graphics by using tools
11. Using guides and snapping symbols to them
12. Creating and using mask layers
13. Creating and modifying strokes
14. Using the Library and organizing items within it
15. Importing bitmaps and vector drawings into Flash
16. Performing more advanced operations with colors and fills
17. Modifying existing graphics on the stage
18. Using the Text Tool to add text to the FLA
19. Embedding characters in an SWF
20. Changing text properties using the Property Inspector
21. Adding a Timeline Effect to a static text field
22. Spell checking a document
23. Understanding text-based components and dynamic text fields
24. Understanding graphic, movie clip, and button symbols
25. Creating buttons and hit areas
26. Changing the hit area on a text button
27. Building an invisible button
28. Assembling movie clip symbols
29. Nesting symbols within other symbols
30. Creating movie clip buttons
31. Duplicating symbols in the library




Assessment:

In this course, the student will be expected to work through the lessons and will be expected to participate in regular discussions that are based on these lessons. A unit assignment will be completed at the end of each unit. At the end of the course, the student will be expected to complete the Course Project. His/her grade will be determined by the sum of the grades on the discussions, unit assignments and Course Project with the following marks breakdown:

PARTICIPATION IN DISCUSSIONS: 24%
UNIT ASSIGNMENTS: 60%
COURSE PROJECT: 16%

Contact Hours: 100