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Week 10: March 18
 
 

This Week's
Hot Topic

Multimedia

Multimedia is a term often used and interchanged with other terms such as hypermedia or hypertext.  This week we are going to take a look at multimedia terms and distinguish them from one another.  Multimedia is the present and the future.  What progress and direction it might take in the future is not completely clear.  As programmers and developers discover and create newer ways to develop multimedia products that involve the use of all senses in the multimedia experience, such as in virtual reality, what we now understand as multimedia may change considerably. 

Multimedia is a very broad term encompassing a wide variety of programs and products.  If you are considering a career in Instructional Technology, design and development of multimedia products is likely to be in your future.  High-quality multimedia, however, does not stand alone.  Within the development of multimedia that is valuable for information transmission or instructional goals, a variety of skills and knowledge are necessary.  These include instructional design, graphic design, page layout, navigation, and animation among other things.  Often multimedia design and development is a team effort with individuals performing the tasks within their area of specialty. As multimedia development software packages have become more inexpensive and more user friendly, many individuals have taken on the task of an entire team.  Many of the software tools we discuss this week will become familiar to you as you continue through future courses if you are in the IT program.

During the next 2 weeks we will look at multimedia terms and software packages that are most frequently used within different settings.  As we continue on with future hot topics in later weeks, the different software packages will be singled out according to different capabilities they possess.

PLEASE, PLEASE make special note of the due dates for these different drills.  Some things are due this week while others you will have 2 weeks to complete.

 
 
  1-Alarm Drill

Multimedia Terms

So, what is multimedia?  Check out these web sites to get a handle on the term and distinguish it from other common terms used within this topic.

For most computer users, multimedia is where it's at!  The combination of graphics, sound, animation, text and video controlled by the computer fascinates and motivates people to utilize computer-based technology. I hope that you will ultimately view the next few weeks of class as the most fun you had all semester! I love building multimedia applications using a variety of software tools, mostly because I get to play with the "toys" and be creative.  However, such an activity can consume you.  I can get involved in a project and not come out to eat for days.  For those of you who are first timers with multimedia, relax, it really is fun! 

In the field of Instructional Technology we most often talk about multimedia in terms of its abilities to provide great instruction that brings about efficient and effective learning. There are certainly many forms multimedia can take.  For example, the living books series on CD-ROM are multimedia/hypermedia applications and provide an avenue by which young children can hear a story read to them and explore the different aspects of the illustrations. There are all sorts of virtual gaming applications that place users in a virtual environment to complete a task or mission and compete against others.

The forms of multimedia we are most occupied with in Instructional Technology are those that have the purpose of instruction.  These multimedia  environments are designed with an instructional or learning goal as the target and provide activities, experiences, and information using multiple forms of media towards achieving the learning goal. The final form of these multimedia environments is usually on a CD-ROM or online via a web browser.

To accomplish our goal of providing instructional multimedia we most often have the goal of making it interactive.  As you should have noted in the links above, interactive multimedia is that which allows user input and then uses this input to provide further instruction, feedback, correction, etc.  As you become more familiar with the instructional/curriculum design process through other courses you will take in this program, you will learn the importance of providing learners with opportunities for directing their own learning, choosing their own learning path, practicing and applying their new skills and knowledge with feedback, and assessing their learning.  In order to do any of these things, it is necessary to include interaction within your multimedia environment.

Multimedia Elements

When designing a multimedia instructional lesson, you can choose to incorporate:

  • textual elements
  • sound
  • graphics & clip art
  • video
  • animation
  • or some combination of elements

How in the world do you select the best element to convey the message you are trying to send?

Most people utilize and prefer more than one modality when learning.  However, you may prefer visual information to audio, or vice versa. When designing for other learners you must be very aware of for whom you are designing.  Not everyone prefers learning the same way you do. By utilizing multiple strategies for presenting information to learners, research suggests there is a better chance that learning will occur.

If you were trying to show motion to a learner, you might use video or animation to suggest the motion. For example, consider a multimedia presentation of the heart.  You could demonstrate how the heart pumps blood through either video or through animation and achieve somewhat the same learning outcome.

Text can be very effective in multimedia presentations, however it should be used sparingly and according to the target audience and instructional goal. For example, on a PowerPoint slide, don't fill it up with text! Provide some text with a supporting graphic, animation, or video! Too much text can be tiresome to read on a computer monitor (I am sure that is why many of you print these pages out each week rather than reading them from your browser).. 

Consider audio. Most adult learners would not prefer  having someone just read to them!  However, if you have early or non-readers, audio is very important. If you are giving an online presentation (like we do in class), audio is an excellent way to deliver information.

Take a few moments to ponder the following question: When do you think text, graphics, and sound are necessary to promote learning?

Screen Design

There are so many things that can be discussed when talking about features of screen design!  There is screen design for computer-based instruction (that is produced offline) and for online instruction which has web browser issues and features.  Generally, heuristics for screen design have been generated out of the desktop publishing literature and follow some general patterns.   For example:

  1. Use plenty of white space on each screen.
  2. Use complementary colors.
  3. Use a consistent layout.
  4. Use consistent navigation.
  5. Determine an appropriate theme or metaphor to guide users through instruction.
  6. Use graphics that complement the instruction.  Using non-complementary graphics may deter from the instructional elements and cause some competing messages to occur. 
  7. Use video, wild graphics, sounds, etc. sparingly.
  8. Design for balance, harmony, and unity.  Essentially this means to use fonts consistent with the topic, backgrounds that make sense, etc. 

Can you imagine how miserable you would be in this course if every week the navigation buttons changed? the theme changed?  the colors changed? the font changed? the layout changed? You might would cringe every time you logged in just wondering whether or not you would be able to find your way around each week.  I am sure you may have felt a little lost the first few weeks as you became accustomed to the course site, but now I am sure you navigate through each week with hardly a thought.  This is one of the main goals of screen design within multimedia environments.

I am sure you have, by now, all been to a poorly designed web site.  One where you could never figure out what was actually available.  One where you easily became lost and could not find your way back to the home page from where you began.  One that had so much graphics and animations that you could not even focus on the content of the site.  Such problems are rampant throughout web pages as well as other multimedia environments. In a few weeks as you begin designing your own web site, we will be looking at some of the major flukes designers make related to screen design so that you will not make them when you design your web site. Screen design is often just as important as the instruction you design.  Even if your instruction is the best in the world, poor screen design can ruin its instructional value.

Multimedia Authoring

Authoring is the use of a software tool (such as HyperStudio) to create an instructional program or lesson. Not so long ago, authoring tools were for those who did not know programming languages.  Now, even those who know programming languages use these software tools. Authoring is a set of processes in which you add graphics, sounds, animations, and text to an interactive instructional lesson. Authoring allows designers to make a complex and detailed lesson through the implementation of multimedia, this in turns helps to motivate learners. Authoring tools also help designers build self-paced and learner-controlled programs. Rather than the learner just sitting back and watching a lesson, the learner actually takes part in the instruction and can choose his or her own direction and control the progress of the lesson (if the program is so designed). Authoring can be simple or complex depending on how you create the lesson. Most authoring tools are becoming more and more user friendly for those who do not know any programming languages. However, they are usually even more powerful in the hands of those who know the programming languages that underlie them because they are then able to customize the product and extend the capabilities of the product that are not available through use of the pull down menus and other user friendly tools available.  Check out the Multimedia Authoring Web Resource for even more information.

There are several types of authoring tools that one can choose from when deciding to do multimedia authoring. An authoring tool popular in K-12 settings which allows teachers to build their own interactive multimedia applications is HyperStudio.  A popular use of HyperStudio is to allow the students to create their own instruction - an instructional technique that research proposes requires higher level problem solving and thinking skills and promotes learning.  Typically, authoring tools other than HyperStudio are used  in the military and business and industry. They usually require more sophisticated programs because they create and support large multimedia development efforts. Some authoring programs such as Macromedia Director allow you to deploy your product on the Web. Typically, these applications also have sophisticated testing functions embedded within the program. Toolbook and Macromedia Authorware are two popular applications for multimedia authoring for the military and business community.   

Multimedia Examples

The military and business world use authoring tools to design and develop computer-based multimedia instruction. This is because in some cases it is more efficient or cost-effective to deliver instruction using computers and networks rather than having people go to a central location to receive training. Multimedia training is a common strategy for training adult learners. Training exists for everything from how to develop better interpersonal communications skills to the best way to deploy on a top-secret mission.

For years, multimedia instruction has proven to be a successful way for people to learn. The major benefits of using multimedia include:

  • consistency of course materials
  • the ability to provide multiple media forms including text, sound,  graphics, and video to accommodate individual learning styles and preferences
  • the ability to customize instruction based on user responses to test items embedded within the lesson.
  • the ability to track a user's progress through a lesson
  • motivation for an "MTV generation" of learners that may expect lots of action, glitz, and adventure!

Nowhere Road is an example of the struggles one Professor, Dr. Lloyd Reiber from the University of Georgia, had in developing a multimedia project using Authorware. Check it out if you want to learn more about creating multimedia  for the web. Those of you that think you want to build a career in this area will find this very interesting.

Another example application of multimedia is the Adam Project.  Medical students can actually simulate making an incision or assessing a patient's medical condition without ever actually touching a real patient! Using multimedia, the human body can be simulated from outside to inside. Graphics and animations of the heart chambers and other organs can be realistically simulated. Building a simulated experience, one where clear visuals are available, provides the opportunity to realistically practice a dangerous procedure without having to "practice" on a real patient!

An example of this concept used in biology classrooms across the country is Net Frog -- where you can actually dissect a Frog, online! Think of all the smells you don't have to endure, all the frogs that don't get killed, and the realistic visuals that are still available for everyone! Check it out!

In the military, simulators are used all the time to simulate flight, maintenance and actual warfare. There are very sophisticated simulators for helicopter and aircraft flight training. The simulators are high-tech  multimedia at its finest in an immersive environment where the inside actually looks like a helicopter, with real control panels, and the flight movement is simulated by large hydraulic "legs" that look like something from a Star Wars movie! You get the feeling that you are bouncing around, moving up or down, all the while seeing a large projection in the window area of taking off from Whiting Field, flying over Pensacola, and landing on what looks like an aircraft carrier. All very realistic. Pilots log many hours on simulators as part of their training.  What a great way to practice!

Drill

Please note that you have 2 weeks to complete this drill.  You will have no new activities next week.  All I will be posting are reminders for the drills that are due.

This drill is multi-faceted just as multimedia is.  In the threaded discussion I would like for you to:

  • Discuss when you think text, graphics, motion, and sound are necessary to promote learning?

  • Review the examples noted above

  • Find an instructional multimedia example of your own on the web, provide the URL, and note how the different media elements are used, how they help or hinder learning, and what else could/should be done to promote learning

  • Identify whether your multimedia is interactive and give a summary of how it allows for user input and what it does with this input. If possible identify the authoring tool(s) used for the development of this multimedia.

NOTE:  You have 2 weeks to complete the above drill.  It is due on Wednesday, Nov 12 at 5 PM.

 
 
  2-Alarm Drill

Fire Marshal Badge: Saving Your PowerPoint Lecture as a Web Page and FTPing it to your web server space.

Possible tutorials to use:

Drill

This drill is due on Wednesday, Nov 5 at 5 PM

  • Create a folder on your C: drive called "powerpointweb"
  • Open your PowerPoint file you turned in last week with the slide notes.
  • Save your PowerPoint with the slide notes as a web page to that folder (powerpointweb) using the following directions (these may vary slightly depending on your version so if you have trouble please email the tech mentor.)
    • Go to the File Menu and select "Save as Web Page" or "Save as HTML"
    • Name your file whatever your topic is. REMEMBER: DO NOT use spaces in your file name.
    • Choose to save your file in your "powerpointweb" folder on your C: drive.
    • For PowerPoint 2002 users:
      Select "web page" (not "single web page") from the box labeled "save as type".
      Click the "publish" button and a window will appear to select different options.  Make sure you choose to save the "complete presentation" and to "display speaker notes".  Other options are available for you to use by clicking the "web options" button. Here you should make sure that you include slide navigation controls (usually a default).
    • For PowerPoint 97 users: A wizard will come up to assist you in selecting the appropriate options for your PowerPoint to the web conversion. On the screen where you select the navigation buttons you can select the option to include slide notes in pages.  Make sure this option is checked.
    • Once you have successfully saved your PowerPoint you should notice that you have numerous files in your "powerpointweb" folder.  Some are in other folders.  ALL of these files are necessary for someone to view and navigate your Powerpoint via the web.  DO NOT change any names or delete any files or move them around in the folders.
    • NOW - Use the same FTP instructions you used before (except, this time you are going to transfer your "powerpointweb" folder to your space on the web server). 
    • Send me and the rescue chief the URL of your presentation on the Web server.  If you encounter difficulties, contact the rescue chief and/or use the fire extinguisher linked below.

      If you encounter a fire during this drill, click the fire extinguisher.  It links to a Word document that contains information for troubleshooting typical problems (e.g., strange characters appearing where bullets should be).

 

 
 
  3-Alarm Drill

Graphics Tools

When designing and developing your own interactive instructional multimedia, you often use software tools specialized for different media.  You might use a particular graphics program to develop your graphics and/or buttons, an animation program for motion, a video editing program for video, a sound editing program for audio, a web authoring tool for web sites.  You might then combine these different elements using a multimedia authoring tool for computer-based or online environments.  Our mission in this course is for everyone to get an overview of the tools that exist and to work with a few of these tools in order to facilitate developing your web site that you will begin in a few weeks. In this drill we are going to take a look at some of the graphics tools available and in the next drill some of the vendor-based software packages that provide a suite of tools for you to use to accomplish different aspects of a multimedia project.

There are thousands of Web sites that contain collections of graphics available for your use.  You will want to read the details on these sites very carefully to make sure that you are using them under the guidelines specified by the site.  For example, some Web sites will allow unrestricted use of graphics as long as a reference of where the graphics were found exists somewhere on your site or program.  Other sites restrict all use (I  wouldn't use those! - remember our ethics from a previous week).

This week, I will provide some web sites with web graphics for you to actually download to your machine.  Then beyond the list that I provide, you can continue to search for graphics that may be useful to you!

Create a graphics folder on your computer!
The first step in managing graphic files is to create a folder on your computer where you will store your web graphics.  I usually create a graphics folders for each project that I work on since I have so many!  For this exercise, just label a new folder, "graphics."  If you already have an idea of what your web site is going to be for this course then you may want to begin looking for graphics you can use for that.  So, if you are going to create a web site on fishing, you may want to call your folder "fishgraphics."  What you name it is up to you.  The important thing is that you save them all to one place so they are easy to find later when you begin creating your web site.

Now, let's search!

The links above are those that I use occasionally.  However, if I am looking for a specific graphic, I may use a search engine (like Google) and enter for example "space shuttle gif".  If I use that search strategy, I will locate web pages that may show the space shuttle on the site (it may not be a dedicated clip art site). If I use that approach, then I check closely the copyright guidelines for the page before I proceed.

Did you find other good clip art sites that you think are useful to others? If so, send an email along with the URL to the listserv.

Save your graphics
Find something you like? Well, the next step is to actually save the clip art to your computer (in the graphics folder that you created).  To do that:

  1. locate the graphic on the Web page
  2. Click the right mouse button on it  (Windows) or click and hold (Mac)
  3. Select "save image (or picture) as..."
  4. The dialog box with your folders  will be displayed.
  5. Locate your "graphics" folder, then give the graphic a name that is easy for you to remember.  Save your graphic.

The graphics that you select on the web will either be in GIF or JPEG format. Both file format types are compressed so that they can be more quickly downloaded or displayed on your screen.

The graphics that you have selected can be used for future projects such as your web site.

Create your own graphic or modify an existing graphic
Once a graphic is selected from a clip art library, web site, CD-ROM or elsewhere, you may want to customize it for your use. You can use graphics tools to create backgrounds, cutout pictures, lighten or darken the color, modify the colors, and more. 

There are lots of graphics software programs for creating images, and you may already be familiar with one or more. Examples include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe PhotoDeluxe, Paint Shop Pro, CorelDraw, Fireworks, ClarisWorks (AppleWorks). Also programs like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel have drawing capabilities built in and Inspiration is another one I know you are familiar with.  If you do a little Web searching at places like tucows.com,  shareware.com and download.com you can find free or very inexpensive graphics programs.

Let's try a few techniques!  First, do you already have a graphics program like Paintshop Pro, Adobe PhotoDeluxe or even ClairsWorks/AppleWorks on your computer? If so, utilize it for this activity. If not you will need to acquire a graphics application. You can find one at one of the download sites above or use one suggested below.  The decision is yours.

PLEASE read things carefully though because some versions of the shareware do not allow you to save!

PC users:

Option 1: If you have a high-speed Internet connection, you may want to consider downloading PhotoPlus, which a free program for image and photo editing. (Note: Since the download file is 19.4 MB, this option is not recommended if you have a low-speed Internet connection.)

Option 2: If you have a low-speed Internet connection, you may want to consider downloading an older but free 21-day demo version of LView Pro. Don't forget, you must install the software on your PC after download is complete. LView Pro is a powerful program. Check out Frequently Asked Questions about LView Pro for help with using this graphic's application.

Option 3: Download and install one of the free, demo, or shareware image-editing programs available at PC World.

Mac users: One option is to download the free GraphicConverter program. It is an all-purpose image-editing program that opens and saves images in almost any graphics format. The program includes high-end editing tools for graphics manipulation. I use this program frequently. (Note: The size of the download file for version 5.7 is 7.61 MB. If you are using a low-speed Internet connection, it will take a long time to download the file.)

An interesting plug-in download: Plug-ins are mini-programs that you can download to add features to your Web browser.  One such plug-in is called IPIX, and it allows you to view photos as a  360 degree panorama. (Note: Installing this plug-in requires downloading an ActiveX control. If you are working from a school or work computer, keep in mind that your system administrator may have restrictions in place that limit the types of software and plug-ins you can download and install.)

Check out the CNN John Glenn return to space mission in 360 degree panoramic view!  This is just for fun, so if you detest downloading one more thing to your computer (or if you are crashing!), just look at the main site without downloading the IPIX plug-in!

Want a challenge?  For all of you who are old hat at graphics try your hand at animation using Swish.  This software has free 15-day trial and does everything and more than Flash does but easier and only costs $100 if you decide to buy.  Check it out at swishzone.com. (Note: The size of the download file is 9.27MB. If you are using a low-speed Internet connection, it will take a long time to download the file.)

Drill

Please note that you have 2 weeks to complete this drill. It is due on Nov 12.  You will have no new activities next week.  All I will be posting are reminders for the drills that are due.

Complete the following activity:

Use the graphics program of your choice to learn more about graphics programs.  Locate an image/graphic you wish to use from clip art, the web, etc. Try to modify the image to create a new image of your own.  OR, create your own graphic from scratch. This can be as simple or as complex as your skill will allow. If you want to challenge yourself animate your graphic in some way.  Save your graphic in the GIF or JPEG file format (or another format readable by a web browser if necessary). Then e-mail your graphic to me.  Tell me what program you used to create it and how you will use it in your future web site.

 
 
   4-Alarm Drill Multimedia Authoring Packages

As I stated earlier there are a huge variety of authoring software and packages that allow you to create a variety of multimedia products. Some of these are directed towards the K-12 market while others are used in business, industry, and higher education.  Below are a few of the major packages that you should become familiar with as you will frequently hear about them throughout your program of study.  Many of these are "families" of products all created by the same company.  Such families are created to provide specific high-end software programs that have a specialized performance (animation, graphics, web management, instructional multimedia, etc.) but that also are compatible with one another so importing and exporting files among these programs is easy.  The Macromedia family of products are the ones you will most likely encounter in courses at UWF and have become one of the more popular families which has recently been acquired by another family, the Adobe suite of products. Other tools stand alone as powerful authoring tools but are still able to import and export in a variety of delivery formats. 

Below are some of the more commonly used packages and links to their web sites for you to learn more about them. 

HyperStudio (Knowledge Adventure)

You won't believe how many things you can do with HyperStudio! For those of you who are classroom teachers, you can:

  • create short lessons for students that include video, sound, graphics, animation, and text.  Examples may include a short lesson on Bees, Animals, or Space.
  • create scrapbooks in class with students. In early grades, have students create "I am Me!" scrapbooks by taking pictures of themselves with digital cameras, scanning baby pictures in, and even scanning hand-drawn pictures and inserting them  into HyperStudio.
  • Make ABC or 123 books
  • Older students may want to do heritage stacks or multimedia book reports.

HyperStudio isn't quite a simulator ride but it is a multimedia authoring tool. It is one of the quickest to learn and it actually has a good bit of power to play video, animation and more.  It also has a built-in testing function that facilitates the calculation of correct and incorrect responses. 

HyperStudio is a "card-based" authoring program that allows users to create several CARDS (individual screens) that are joined together by hyperlinks and buttons to make stacks.  A good analogy is that of notecards to describe the program. Individual notecards are "cards" and if they are all placed one on top of another, it would be considered a "stack" of notecards.  HyperStudio follows the same analogy in the design of a program. 

For classroom use, HyperStudio is a winner.  Students can learn to use it, it is available in many school districts, and it is inexpensive and cross-platform (Mac and PC)! The down-side of HyperStudio is that it usually begins to have trouble if the individual "stacks" get too large.   It's not really designed to support large multimedia development but works great for young students who want to create their own multimedia instruction..

For those of you that have never dealt with authoring programs, think about how you navigate on this web site for the course. There are buttons at the bottom of the pages that will take you to the next page, the previous page, or home (main course page). There are also hyperlinks that will take you to other locations on the web.

In creating this course, you are experiencing two navigational strategies: 1) linear -- moving from screen to screen. 2) webbed, with non-linear access to a variety of places on the web.  HyperStudio can do the same thing. By creating individual "cards" and joining them together, you can create a "stack" that can serve as a lesson, an informational piece, marketing information, a presentation or almost anything that your imagination can dream up!

Macromedia Family

You name it they have it - these are the HOT software tools to know these days.  The software is expensive but they have good package deals and academic pricing.  They have free seminars around the country that you can go to and learn all you want.  I have been to some and they are good.  UWF is actually considering becoming a Macromedia certification site so students can become certified - talk about a great way to get a job.  Perusing this family of products is worth your time.  You will learn many of them throughout other courses.  They have a graphics and animation program that you may even want to use for your graphics drill below.  Here is a brief list of the different programs they provide but you will need to visit their site to get even more info.

  • Flash - web graphics
  • Fireworks - animations
  • Freehand - vector illustrations
  • Dreamweaver - web site development
  • Director - multimedia authoring
  • Authorware - multimedia authoring for instruction

Adobe Family

Another suite of products that compete with Macromedia are the Adobe line of products.  Again, you will need to go to their web site to learn more about each of the products.

  • Illustrator - vector graphics
  • Photoshop - image editing
  • GoLive - web site development
  • LiveMotion - animation
  • Premiere - digital video

Toolbook II from Click2Learn (Asymetrix)

Toolbook is one of the most frequently used authoring tools within the military.  If you plan on working for the military or contracting with a company who does, check Toolbook out.  Its competitors are Authorware, CourseBuilder, and DazzlerMax.

CourseBuilder from Discovery Systems

CourseBuilder is another competitor in the field of instructional multimedia authoring tools.

DazzlerMax from MaxIT

DazzlerMax is relatively new to the market but has a good reputation for being easy to use.

If you are wondering about the utility of some of these tools for creating instructional products, check out the sites listed below. There are a variety of demonstrations of how media can enhance instruction:

  • Demo of a child's reflexive behavior (used to show students examples of a baby's reflexes); used in a Psychology course at Penn State
  • Animated lectures and other examples of using media to demonstrate how the senses work: Penn State - Psychology
    (Note: Some of the demos require you to download and install a multimedia player. A link to the page where you can download the corresponding tool is provided on the page.)
  • Interactive lesson about protein synthesis: Wisconsin Online Resource Center

Drill

Please note that you have 2 weeks to complete this drill. It will be due on Nov 12.  You will have no new activities next week.  All I will be posting are reminders for the drills that are due. DO NOT wait until next week to begin this drill.  You will need 2 weeks - that is why I am giving you 2 weeks.

Choose one of the following activities to complete after reviewing the different authoring tools above

Option 1:

Choose 2 competing products (2 that propose to do the same thing).  Learn what you can about their capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, cost, user friendliness, etc. Download them both if possible and play around with them using the different tutorials or quick start guides they provide or talk to people that use these tools and see what they have to say.  Write up a comparison report of the 2 products and which one you would choose and why.  Point to urls and other resources you used for your evaluation of these 2 products. (Do not copy someone else's evaluation from the web - read these evaluations if you find them and compile your own report given what you have learned) If you were able to download and use them provide a comparison of your experience with this as well. Post your report to the threaded discussion

Option 2:

Most of the above authoring tools have downloadable trial versions available along with small quick start projects, videos or tutorials.  Choose one of the tools and learn what you can about it.  Download it and create a small scale product (animation, instruction, graphic, etc. - whatever is appropriate given the program you choose).  You can choose to simply complete one of the quick start projects or products you create within one of the tutorials or come up with one on your own. My recommendations for this would be Flash, Fireworks, Director, Swish, or LiveMotion. Send me your creation!

 
 
  411/911 Need Help?  Have a question but can't find the answer? Here are some options:

 
   
 

Now let's take a look at the Chief's
Inspection List for this week!
 
   
 
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  Copyright 2003 by L. K. Curda. All rights reserved. Updated on January 7, 2009