http://www.multiplication.com/interactive/quickflash/flash/index.html

It was interesting to find there are a multiple of sites that use flash to teach different subjects for people of all ages. I work with kids in the summer and I’m always looking for new interesting and fun ways to teach kids. The site above I found is a site that uses a simple quick flash design to teach kids their multiplication. The design choices were simple enough to work with the audience they were aiming to attract. Kids would have no problem being able to focus on their multiplication and have fun at the same time. Although I felt as kids respond better with simplicity, throwing in an interactive character and some music would add to a more friendly/inviting atmosphere. And possibly adding a little more spunk to it would encourage kids to try harder.

The differences between a flash for an ad and a flash for education looks different in their focus. The flash, if its trying to sell something, it will advertise and focus on its product, whereas the educational flash focuses on the user–such as the Flash for FIT, its inviting you to desire something. The Multiplication flash is invites you to interact with it from which you learn something from using it.

I was amazed to find a site completely dedicated to help users at any level work on projects using Flash CS3, Flash CS4 and even Flash 8. The website provides a free tutorial of working with Flash CS4 to create 3 dimentional objects. It provides a 30 minute video tutorial, source files and ActionScript notes to follow along while viewing the tutorial. I thought that the design was minimal with the shades of gray. The main text that says FREE FLASH TUTORIALS CS3/CS4 looked like a futuristic font and I liked that it was reflected at the bottom. There is nothing really that stands out except the 3D graphic that comes on as soon as you log on to the page. I clicked on the link that says View Graphic Option 2 and though that this should have been the main graphic for the page because the red flash symbols stand out against the gray background. Scrolling down, I think that the Screen Shot from Tutorial that says LET IT SNOW should have actually been a movie so that it would draw the attention of the user. Seeing the actual finished product would do a better job of engaging the user than a screen shot. I did not watch the entire tutorial but for the first few minutes, the instructor was very helpful in explaining all the steps in getting started to create the 3D object. The movie was set up so that a user can work alongside it and be able to follow the steps as the instructor is teaching using the source files that are provided on the website.

This teaching animation is not one that would hold the attention of a viewer like an animation to sell a product. Unless the viewer has an interest in the subject of CS4, only then will that person sit through the 30 minute tutorial to improve his/her skills. I much prefer the selling animation because much more effort goes into it in terms of layout, colors, music and everything else that will attract the attention of a viewer.

Truthaboutbooze.com is a site about the effects of alcohol abuse amongst college students. I think it’s a very user friendly site for college students. Colors are bold and striking, making it more likely that the target audience will look at the site longer. Images are of young adults who are sharing their stories of alcohol abuse. Interactions are simple and asthetically pleasing to the eye.

I find this site incredibly different from a site that is selling something because I find a site that is selling something to be very complex and slightly complicated. Informative sites are rather simple, with simple animations, pictures, and colors. For example, last week someone posted the Snapple site – Snapple created that site in the mindset of selling the brand of Snapple in the form of a very complicated (yet fun) flash design site. In truthaboutbooze.com – a more serious matter than Snapple, uses a more serious tone yet appealing to it’s target which is college students.

In today’s world sitting down in front of a television four hours while munching on food is not an ideal way to spend ones time. This website teaches you a new way of viewing television — on the web! Joost has a database of many mainstream television shows, but what I appreciate more is their vast collection of rare and informative documentaries, that range from the land of Egpy to the history of Jazz music.

The website uses flash technology to creatively make use of the browser space, since it isn’t really like viewing a television screen. I like that there is freedom in watching Joost, because you can pause and continue to finish that hard project due @ computer animation class this week, while catching up on that episode of the Real Housewives (not).

I encourage you guys to check out the site, and learn how you can experience TV in another format.

Think Green is a waste management website that teaches about recycling and what can we do to help protect our environment. It make me want to learn more about recycling and how effective it is when each and one of us participate in it. The flash animation was guiding me each step of the way by using sound as the background environment with a tour guide who spoke along as I am reading the facts. The gray stage color was used perfectly. I like how they use the light effect shining on the pear. The pear also changes every time you click on the new facts to show the process of decomposing the pear.

The educational animation actually have many facts to support what they said as I mention before that they used tour guide to teach and guide you along with graphic image and movie clip in the animation. You can also learn about the positive and negative side of the topic. In which, it is different from selling animation because they will probably just show the best of what their product will offer you. For example, in the Pepsi’s website, the company will design movie clip for specific group of consumer who will purchase their product.

Most of all, I think this is a great website to learn about the environment. Especially, this is a place we are all living on.

Once again I come to you with another site of Japanese origins, except this time you have the option of seeing it in english. The flash starts once choose either english or Japanese as your language, and frankly this site is quite beautiful. The purpose of Forests Forever is to spread awareness of the forests located aorund world by providing information. According to FujiFilm the creator of the site their goal is to “create an occasion and an opportunity and a stage for people around the world who share an abiding interest in forests to exchange thoughts and nurture their dreams, together forming a vibrant image of forests for the future.” Through the use of beautiful animation the site allows the user to study the history of the planet as well as other topics that relate to the planet.

This website is flash based and teaches you how to do cartoons with adobe programs but mainly flash. This site caught my eye and has very nice animations. It was very easy to navigate through and if you didnt have to pay for the tutorials they would be a good way to learn more about flash. Even though the site lacked sounds, the links to different tutorials have a slight movement when you hover over the links. Some parts of the website have little animations that loop. I believe that this website has a simple look to it but has more than meets the eye.

This website teaches about various subjects ranging from science, math, art and music, to technology. The layout is very simple and easy to follow. As I clicked on the site, my attention was directed right away to the center of the page, the big box filled with many different small rectangles. The color used is very bright and eye catching. Green is the main color theme of the homepage but as you click onto different subjects the color of the whole page changes. Since this website is intended to educate children, the images used are fun to look at and the messages or the information provided are very consistent and easy to understand. I think having simple visuals attached to the ideas and information is a good way to really help students remember about the facts explained.

This website is also very interactive. Students can click on the subject they want to learn more about and once they select a subject, a list of sub categories will allow students to further explore the website and understand about the topics covered. One thing I found the website should do more is to have sounds or music accompanying different pages. It became a little boring when I was browsing though the website with no background music or any kind of sound effects. I think the website would be more engaging if some sound effects are added.

This website is very different from the past commercial websites I saw. The images used are different, and the way things are laid out are also different. In this educational site, the goal is probably to provide information to users where as when compared with commercial websites companies are always promoting for their products.

Flash Animations. I came across this site when I was browsing on google. This site has many small flash videos that teaches you on various topics from outerspace to water pollution to origami. The site itself is really simple and not eye catching at all, but the videos are pretty good. For example, this hurricane video I just saw uses an animation figure to explain what hurricane is while visuals such as maps also appear while he’s talking. I think that this provide an interesting way to teach a subject and it makes it easier to learn. People tend to remember visual items they see. This site is not as flashy and as colorful as the commercial sites. It is just simple text with simple background.

       Kbears is a cool educational flash website for kids that teaches about different subjects such as, dinosaurs, science, animals, geography, and music. The website uses cute animated bear characters for each subject. Each character has its own sound and look. For example, the science bear resembles Einstein, talks like him, and his name is Albert. Each subject has an engaging interactive learning environment. The user can click on different things and learn more about them. For example, in the Science World environment, if you click on the microscope, you get different items you can click and you see an enlargement of them, as if they were under a microscope. You also get more information about each of them.

               The website seems to be designed perfectly for children. The san serif fonts, the bright colors, the spaceship shape, and the talking bears are all very attractive to kids. I think the website is designed nicely in a way that encourages learning. All the animation and the colors create a very friendly environment that encourages the child to click on different things. While doing so the child gains knowledge about different subjects – anything from animals to geography. For example, in the farm environment the child can click on different animals and get more information about them, hear their sound, and look at different photos. He/she can also print the information.

               But the website is not perfect. Some of the pages are still under constructions. Also, in different environments, it seems like the designer didn’t think it all the way through. Different options have a totally different design, as if you left the website. For example, when you go to the farm environment and click on the dog. In the dog screen you have different options; if you click on the pictures you get an ugly html page. Also, the navigation is a bit confusing. For example, in the farm, after one clicks on some animal and gets to the animal page, the user can to go to the home page, but it’s hard to see the tiny icon on the top left page.

               I think the differences between a sales oriented website and an educational one depend on the websites themselves. There could be many differences, for example, if I compare this website to the Pepsi one. The Pepsi site has just its product, and not much interaction. But if I compare this site to the Got Milk? website, both have lots of interactions like mini games, and information about the subjects that are being taught (i.e the importance of drinking milk, or subjects such as science in this website). The main difference though is that an educational website will have more objective information and fun ways to learn it, especially if it is for kids, while a sales website will have subjective information regarding a brand or product.

So I am surfing the web the other day and I find this website. It’s pretty interesting, to people that like science anyway, and teaches you about DNA and other genetics related stuff in flash. While its not the most exquisite use of flash, I like how it uses flash to teach science in a fun way.

Check it out here.

Baruch’s Chemistry Lab Tutorial website is effective in teaching people about lab safety. It is divided into 6 sections: an introduction, exploring the lab, what to wear, safe lab practices, emergency scenarios, and a practice quiz. I like this website because I can jump around to different sections instead of watching all of the tutorials. I also have the option of skipping slides or replaying them. Another feature of this website is that I can read the text or listen to the audio. It’s a good idea to have the text because it’s easy to miss some of the things in the audio. The slides also have pop ups of important points. In addition, in the emergency scenarios section, I can click on objects in the virtual lab and in the what to wear section, I can pick out a person’s clothes. These interactions help make this educational site a little fun.

The design of the website is much simpler than a website that is trying to sell a product. It has simple shapes and is not cluttered. The color scheme mainly consists of yellow and orange, but it’s not too bright. I think these colors were used so that the tutorial is not as boring. Overall, there is nothing “wow” about this website, but it’s clear and easy to understand.

http://actonco2.direct.gov.uk/index.html

While browsing I found this interesting flash animation educating people in the UK about CO2 gases. It provides information on how to calculate one’s CO2 footprint and provides steps to help decrease climate change locally and globally. The interface poses a 3-dimensional image that looks as if the viewer were gazing through a fish eye lens. It shows a neighborhood  of houses composed of electrical appliances that contribute to global warming. There are options to calculate “your home”, “your appliances”, and “your travel”, each option  allows the user to enter his typical usage and the amount of CO2 that person is emitting to the atmosphere. It then shows simple ways to bring reform to the environment.  Overall the site is aesthetically pleasing and its easy to use interface allows access to just about anyone who has access to the internet.

I did however noticed some faults in the animation. The lower left corner shows a duck swimming in grass, or there isn’t much contrast between a pond and the grass beyond it.

I believe this website works well in informing the public of environmental issues occurring locally and perhaps even internationally due to the interest it can stimulate just by having people view the cartoon like world and realize the relation it has with the world we live in.

http://www.trydrugs.net/

It wasn’t easy to search for a flash website that “teaches” but I found this website where you get to learn about about different drugs and the best part was you get to experience the side effects of the drugs through the interactive flash interface without having to actually do the drugs. The layout is fairly simple. There is really bold typography as well as plain text. The supporting sounds for the drugs was relative to the interaction of the website. The sounds gave an easy but dazed out feeling similar to which one would go through while using drugs I presume.  For each drug there is unique flash animation and supporting images as well informative reading. The smoke from marijuana and the lines of coke were raw and in your face. The site is very successful in giving viewers a taste of the damaging side effects of drugs. I tried a couple of drugs and I felt the interaction worked well. I did get slightly annoyed because my mouse was scrolling all over the place but I suppose that the message the site was trying to teach is drugs can screw you over.

I personally have a unusually big interest in cars, so I’m often browsing through car sites. A while ago, I came across the new BMW website. It’s always changing. I’m well aware that this blog is supposed to be of a flash teaching site, and not on a flash site that sells. This site, not only sells, but it also guides you through all the aspects and business of BMW’s corporation. The site opens to a page with four options. Or rather, you can just sit there and stare at the beautiful flash background. Four options are self-explanatory. One cool thing about the main page is that the site would go to its “energy saving” mode when it’s not in use, and makes this cool “shut down” sound. Try it, leave the main page alone for a few, and it’ll turn to its energy-saving mode. When you click on BMW USA, which is what I would click to check out what’s in stock here or what types of cars there are, another window would open up. On this page, you’ll find a “Build Your Own” link on the bottom, and other options. All of these options each have its own purposes and teaches the customer steps to getting what they want or what they’re looking for. The colors are fresh, mainly blue and white. Also good to the eyes. The sounds vary. I particularly like the energy-saving sound, because that came out of nowhere. The flash images are cleverly spaced out and also, its timelines are all in harmony with one another. This is site is cool. Check it out.

The site for L’Oreal Paris includes many interesting flash applications which help you to choose the right makeup, hairstyle, and even hair color. I clicked on the one for hair coloring. The application was meant to help you find the right, or dream, shade of color for your hair. I personally color my hair and also use the hair dyes from L’Oreal so I thought this one might be useful to me. Going through the ‘Find Your Shade’ application there were many instances where they asked questions about your hair and what type of color you may want. So it seemed like I was doing a survey. Clicking through the whole application and ending up in the end with the shade that they called my ‘dream shade.’ After that was done I was able to click into other applications which actually gave tips on what to do to help improve your hair color or what you can do to make coloring your hair a better experience. Through flash, the site gave useful tips on what to do to prepare your hair so that it would be in a better condition to color it and not be as damaging. Even though this site is meant for trying to introduce their products to consumers but many of the things that they teach you about hair coloring don’t necessarily try to sell you one of their prodcuts. Through the tips that are given from the flash applications you can learn a lot about coloring your hair. The flash was done very well throughout L’Oreal’s website. There were very nice images and everything seemed to go together in a fashionable way. Clicking through the site was a very smooth experience and they always had a screen pop up when you would click on a button. This screen would show at what percentage the page is up to until the whole page is loaded successfully. I specifically like it when websites have that feature because I think its a creative idea and also it allows you to know how much more time you have to wait before your page fully loads. I also liked the drop-down menu feature the website has. Whenever you roll over the tabs on the top of the website a drop-down menu will appear and the rest of the site will have a tinted effect and the colors will appear to have a grey film covering them.