Flash I: Mastering the Tools

Training Provided by Online Training Directory Produce exciting Web and multimedia presentations with Flash, the industry standard software for animation on the Web. In this intensive course, you will learn how to create the various graphic, button, and movie clip symbols that you will place in your SWF files. You will be taught by an experienced multimedia specialist, teacher, and instructional designer. Comprehensive learning modules will be supplied, packed wth practical applications and exercises so that you will be ready to produce your own animations when you are finished this course. You will be able to interact with other students in online forums so that you can learn from the ideas and insights of others. Welcome to our Flash I: Mastering the Tools course 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.

Flash I: Mastering the Tools 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%

Complete Course Outline

All units in this course are comprised of the lesson material, followed by student discussion, followed by a unit assignment. At the end of the course, the student will submit a final project for the teacher to evaluate and grade.

Text to augment instruction: Text Title: Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Training From the Source Publisher: Macromedia Press ISBN# 0-321-21342-4Hardware and Software Required (Windows or Macintosh can be used): Windows: 600 MHz Intel Pentium III Processor or equivalent | Macintosh: 500 MHz Power PC G3 Processor Flash MX 2004 and Microsoft Word or another Word Processor capable of saving files in Word .doc format. Windows: Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, or Windows XP | Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.2.6

Online Course Units:

Contact Hours: 100 Unit 1: Basic Operations With Flash MX 2004 In this unit, the student will review how to perform the following functions with Flash MX 2004:

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

Unit 2: Using Flash MX 2004 to Create Graphics Part 1

In this unit, the student will review how to perform the following functions with Flash MX 2004:

1. Navigating the tools in the Tools panel. 2. Drawing graphics by using tools. 3. Using guides and snapping symbols to them. 4. Creating and using mask layers. 5. Creating and modifying strokes.

Unit 3: Using Flash MX 2004 to Create Graphics Part 1

In this unit, the student will review how to perform the following functions with Flash MX 2004:

1. Using the Library and organizing items within it. 2. Importing bitmaps and vector drawings into Flash. 3. Performing more advanced operations with colors and fills. 4. Modifying existing graphics on the stage.

Unit 4: Working With Text in Flash MX 2004

In this unit, the student will review how to perform the following functions with Flash MX 2004:

1. Using the Text tool to add text to the FLA file. 2. Embedding characters in an SWF. 3. Changing text properties using the Property Inspector. 4. Adding a Timeline Effect to a static text field. 5. Spell checking a document. 6. Understanding text-based components and dynamic text fields.

Unit 5: Symbols in Flash MX 2004 Part 1 In this unit, the student will review how to perform the following functions with Flash MX 2004:

1. Understanding graphic, movie clip, and button symbols. 2. Creating buttons and hit areas. 3. Changing the hit area on a text button. 4. Building an invisible button.

Unit 6: Symbols in Flash MX 2004 Part 1

In this unit, the student will review how to perform the following functions with Flash MX 2004:

1. Assembling movie clip symbols 2. Nesting symbols within other symbols. 3. Creating movie clip buttons. 4. Duplicating symbols in the Library.

COURSE PROJECT At this time, your course project will be due.

As your course project, you are to use your creativity to construct a working swf using the skills that you learned in the course. You will be marked on the quality and creativeness of your swf document in addition to the number of elements of this part of the course that you have incorporated.

As part of this project, you are to include a short paper in Microsoft Word format explaining the purpose of your swf, the intended audience, which design elements you have included and how.

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