After exploring many Flash Projects, I found three that I thought might have some educational value: Flash Animation for Physics, Visual Calculus, and Flash Quizzes for English Study.
Flash Project 1: Flash Animation for Physics
URL: http://faraday.physics.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/Flash/
Flash Creator: David M. Harrison, Department of Physics at the University of Toronto
Audience: Students learning Physics (both at the college and high school level)
Operating System and Web Browser: Microsoft Office XP and Internet Explorer 6.0
Version of Flash Plug-in recommended and used: Website requires Flash 5 or 6, and I used version 7.
Date of Evaluation: May 13, 2006
Evaluation
This Physic's website has over 80 different Flash animations that illustrate different concepts related to Physics. The Flash animations are organized in a chart by category (Physics concepts). Each animation is given a title and description. After viewing over twenty of the Flash animations at this website, I noticed some were more complex and interactive than other animations. The animations did a great job of illustrating the different concepts. There is a green play button that needs to be clicked to start each illustration, and sometimes the user can predict findings, change speeds and positions of objects.
I think the use of Flash in this project provided an excellent visual representation of different concepts related to Physics. Without the use of Flash, these examples would not be as effective. The overall project is easy to navigate and the author welcomes users to view his animations and contact him. The purpose of this project is clear because the author provides an introduction and table of contents. There is not much color or design on this website, but the Flash animations have a colorful and visually appealing design. I think the author uses an appropriate use of fonts, which only helps enhance each Flash animation. I think that students both at the high school and college level could use these animations in their Physics classes.
The intent of this website is to teach and instruct. I thought the author did a good job of providing useful and relevant content. The author works for the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto , which provides reliability and authority to the project. The information was updated in the last month, which shows this website is kept current. The project contains a mix of formats which include text, graphics, and audio.
The author does a good job of providing technical information. There is a link to macromedia so a person can download Flash. The author also provides technical notes on how he created his Flash animations. Also, each Flash animation says how large the file is and which Flash version the user needs to play it.
Changes
Some changes I would make to this website may include:
Educational/Library Use
This project could be used by Physics teachers in the classroom to illustrate concepts. The visual aspect of this project can only add to the understanding of a topic such as vectors or sound waves. These animations could also be used for a project done by a student in order to illustrate an idea. I could also see some of these animations being used in some college level math classes.
Flash Project 2: Visual Calculus
URL: http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/
Flash Creator: Lawrence S. Husch , Mathematics Department at the University of Tennessee , Knoxville
Audience: Originally intended for instructors to show how technology can be used to teach mathematics and Students wanting more information on pre-calculus and calculus concepts
Operating System and Web Browser: Microsoft Office XP and Internet Explorer 6.0
Version of Flash Plug-in recommended and used: Website requires Flash 4 or higher, and I used version 7.
Date of Evaluation: May 14, 2006
Evaluation
This Visual Calculus website provides tutorials that incorporate the use of Flash and Live Math. The topics that are covered on this website include Pre-Calculus, Limits and Continuity, Derivatives, Applications of Differentiation, Integration, Applications of Integration, and sequences and series. The Flash animations are organized within each math concept, but there is so much other information at this site that the Flash files are hard to find. After looking at the Flash tutorials, I found that they were not interactive. Instead they were intended to explain a concept such as using a graphing calculator or illustrate how to do an indefinite integral. It was used more like a PowerPoint presentation, than an interactive tool. This website requires a variety of plug-ins that could end up confusing a user. In order to use this Visual Calculus Project, it requires the user to understand the difference between the plug-ins and how to download them. I found the “HELP” page very useful for listing the different technology used for this project.
I think the use of Flash in this project provided good examples of mathematic concepts. However, I do not think Flash was used to its maximum potential. I think the authors could have made the Flash more interactive. The purpose of this project is clear and can be found on the HELP page. I found the color and design very appealing and the diagrams and animations helped to enhance the concepts.
The intent of this website is to provide teachers with information that will assist with instructing students. I thought the author did a good job of providing useful and relevant content. The author works for the Mathematics Department at the University of Tennessee , Knoxville , which provides reliability and authority to the project. This website also won two awards, the NAWEB and the Blue Web'n Learning Applications Library awards. I don't know how up-to-date this information is kept, since I only found a copyright date of 2001. The project contains a mix of formats which include text, graphics, and pictures.
The author provides some technical information. There is a link provided to macromedia so a person can download Flash along with other plug-ins on the Help webpage.
Changes
Some changes I would make to this website may include:
Educational/Library Use
This project could be used by teachers for math classes that are studying pre-calc and calculus. The examples and technology at this website can help students understand these calculus topics.
Flash Project 3: Flash Quizzes for English Study
Flash Creator: The Internet TESL Journal
Audience: Intended to be used by teachers and people who are studying English as a Second Language
Operating System and Web Browser: Microsoft Office XP and Internet Explorer 6.0
Version of Flash Plug-in recommended and used: Website requires Flash 4 or higher, and I used version 7.
Date of Evaluation: May 14, 2006
Evaluation
This Flash Quizzes for English Study website provides quizzes related to grammar and vocabulary for students who are studying English as a Second Language. The Flash quizzes are organized by topics and then by difficulty. After looking at and taking some of the Flash quizzes, I found that they were easy to use and interactive. This website provides a variety of information created with HTML, Flash, and JavaScript.
I think the use of Flash in this project is very good because of how interactive it makes the quizzes. After taking a Flash quiz it will display how well a user did. It will give the number of correct answers, the number of wrong answers, the time, and the number of points you scored. The overall project is easy to navigate and the quizzes are separated by the software tool used to create them, so all of the quizzes created with Flash are compiled on one webpage. The purpose of this project is clear, which is to provide quizzes and activities for students who are learning English as a Second Language. I found the color and design unappealing.
The intent of this website is to provide teachers with information that will assist with instructing. I thought the author did a good job of providing useful and relevant content. The author of this project is the The Internet TESL Journal , which is a monthly web journal for teachers of English as a Second Language. The journal provides some authority to the project. I don't know how up-to-date this information is kept, since I only found a copyright date of 2004. The project does not contain a mix of formats, mostly text.
The author provides some technical information. There is a link provided to macromedia so a person can download Flash. The website says that each quiz should be 25 Kb and 30 Kb.
Changes
Some changes I would make to this website may include:
Educational/Library Use
This project could be used by teachers for who teach English as a Second Language and by students who are learning English. I could also see English teachers using this in the classroom for learning grammar usage and vocabulary.
Comparing the Three Flash Projects
Comparison done: May 15, 2006
Each of the three Flash projects has their strengths and weaknesses. Below is the Comparison of the Flash projects: