The Story Behind This Course

Introduction to Macromedia's Flash
by Marcia Ganeles
Foothill College

Overachiever personified - an accurate portrayal of Marcia P. Ganeles, online instructor of multimedia software applications at Foothill College. Marcia is an attentive and involved instructor who makes it a point to respond to her students within hours if not instantly. She embodies the principles of Chickering's Best Practices. One never feels isolated as a participant in Marcia's online environment.

A web design instructor and graphic artist who uses Flash professionally, the progression from face-to-face instruction to online was a natural one. "Flash is one of the most exciting applications for animation and user interface design and interactivity," said Marcia. "My motivation for teaching the course was the sheer delight of the program." Teaching a dynamic, evolving, cutting edge application for four years has also meant significant revisions each time a new version of the program is released. "Teaching the course was a way to learn the software better and share the knowledge with learners of web development."

Project-Based Learning is the core of the course, emphasized by real-world projects and authentic assessments. "My approach and philosophy to teaching and learning is based on constructivism. I believe that learning is student-centered. Therefore, I create learning environments that foster the development of skills and application of active-learning, self-discipline and time management." Sample solutions are provided and code reviews and peer assessment are to reflect the team work protocol that is the standard in the web, multimedia, and graphics industries. "I believe in perfection-based grading so everyone who applies themselves has the opportunity to learn the material at an 'A' grade level," Marcia admits.

The course allows students to discover and build knowledge based on experience, group participation, research, and creative analysis. Students are advised to complete each lesson and related activities in order as they form a foundation for the next. In addition to learning Flash, successful students acquire the skills necessary to work in a professional web-design environment where collaboration is the norm, and designers are assigned to teams, happy for the assistance of code-checks partners. "Students are often intimidated by the requirement to use buddies to review code and share assessments, but then remark at the end that the collaborative aspect of the course is one of the most valuable course components," Marcia explains.

The success of the course is evident from the impressive final projects, which become part of a dynamic electronic portfolio for graphic and web design learners. "What excites me most about this course are the weekly projects that are submitted by students. I learn so much by seeing their work," Marcia admits. "I am enthused and amazed by the diversity of students' uses of Flash. It's magical." Marcia recalls a student emailing her a year after the course: "I'm so grateful for everything I've learned from you. Thank you so much for all your knowledge and encouragement. I still can't believe I'm going to be able to do this stuff for a living!"

The biggest challenges for Marcia? Developing interactive tutorials that showcase Flash: "I have nearly a thousand screen captures and many animations - some requiring user input - to demonstrate the use of Flash." These obviously need to be updated periodically to reflect current versions of the software. "I am most proud of the interactive demos," said Marcia, who looks forward to designing more of her own learning activities as well as linking to the abundance of free open-source Flash code tutorials and downloads available on the Internet.

For faculty thinking about using this course, Marcia explains that Internet resources are provided with each lesson. "Faculty can use any textbook or eliminate the textbook and link to available open-source Flash resources on the web." A practical word of advice to potential adopters: "Work through the course and do all the lessons yourself before teaching it." This advice is obvious to Marcia, a lifelong learner who acknowledges the work of Vivian Sinou, Dave Megill, and Don Megill in the Cyber Teachers' Institute offered by Foothill Global Access as integral in shaping her student-centered learning philosophy. Other influences and inspirations include Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction and the ideology of Parker Palmer who wrote: "Teachers are encouraged to turn their inquiring minds inward--developing a deeper understanding of what it means to fulfill the spiritual calling of teaching" (The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher 's Life). Marcia is a frequent and passionate participant in online learning, taking courses to experience diversity in teaching styles and integrate the best practices of her colleagues into her courses.

Marcia is deeply introspective about sound web-based learning. "I want to model a software applications course which reflects effective teaching and learning principles," Marcia explains. "I hope that more educators will feel compelled to share their materials after seeing the immense quality work the founding contributors have donated to this exciting global project."

-  -  -  -  -  -  -

Marcia Ganeles is a faculty member in the CTIS Division at Foothill College where she teaches Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Multimedia Projects online. Marcia completed her MS in Education at California State University, Hayward, and teaches Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning in their Graduate School of Education. She earned her BA in Fine Arts at Metropolitan State College in Denver, CO. Marcia trains Community College faculty to teach online through Foothill Global Access and the California Virtual Campus workshops. An accomplished online educator, Marcia has also trained hundreds of California Community College instructors in the effective use of the ETUDES course management system.

Back to Top