Create an Interactive CD-Rom with Flash MX

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Create an Interactive CD-Rom with Flash MX

• By Brian Dino
• Computer Magnet Program
• North High School
• Denver, CO

TIE Conference2004 Contact Brian_Dino_at_dpsk12.org
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Session Focus

• Learn how to create an interactive CD-rom that
  promotes your school, program, or project. By
  using FlashMX, you'll learn how to combine text,
  graphics, audio, video, and internet into an
  interactive CD-rom presentation.

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Flash MX Features
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Learning FlashMX

• FlashMX has a steep learning curve
• Now, in case you think that an authoring program
  with this many capabilities is a flash to learn,
  think again. Macromedia Flash does have a
  significant learning curve for the groovy stuff,
  but it's not out of reach for instructional
  designers and developers. My QuickBooks program,
  for instance, is harder to understand. Developing
  decent Macromedia Flash learning content
  (non-linear and interactive) requires some study
  and practice. But if you're worried that
  Macromedia Flash is too hard for the average Joe
  to learn, check out this math quiz developed by a
  seven-year-old.
• Patti Shank is an instructional technology
  consultant (and faculty member). She can be
  reached through her website http//www.learningpe
  aks.com.

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Learning resources for FlashMX

• Many avenues to learn FlashMX
• Use the built-in Help files in FlashMX
• Animated tutorials on flashkit.com
• Numerous books from Macromedia and others
• Printed guide From Macromedia Digital Narrative
  Project (15)
• Nice, step-by-step tutorial on building a Flash
  Narrative Best method use tutorials and learn
  from existing FlashMX file
• Programming needed? Yes, but reuse of
  Actionscript (code) simplifies effort
• If you cant master programming
  buttons/navigation, use the FlashMX 2004
  templates with built in navigation

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Good FlashMX websites

• Flashkit.com-great tutorials and sample projects,
  code, music
• Great user community at Flashkit.com
• www.Derekfranklin.com
• Some good tutorials for newbies (search for
  these titles on the flashkit.com tutorial page)
• Building Buttons
• Using Layers
• Perfect Newbie starter tutorial
• Introduction to flash usability
• FlashMX Scrollpane component

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Flash MX 2004 New Features

• For the first time Flash is offering a collection
  of templates to simplify the production of
  standard Web documents such as ads, slide shows,
  and tutorials. In addition, the templates are
  smart for example, a photo album template
  includes all the programming necessary for a
  photo slideshow.
• A lot of UI components, like scroll bars, check
  boxes, and list boxes, that previously had to be
  laboriously created, are now included in Flash
  MX. The appropriate behaviors are built into
  these objects, so adding functional interface
  elements to an application is a simple
  drag-and-drop operation.
• One of the biggest changes in Flash MX is the
  integration of video. The integrated video
  support, provided by the Sorenson Spark codec,
  can import standard video formats, such as AVI,
  MPEG, or QuickTime, and convert them to a
  streaming format that is displayed natively by
  the Flash MX player. The import filter can also
  resize the video or sync the frame rate to the
  Flash movie when converting a file.

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Flash Examples

• Student Examples
• http//www.briandino.com/flash/
• Backup location http//66.241.226.215/Magnet/stud
  ent_autobios.htm (north high student work)
• http//www.denvernorth.org/alumni/home/index.html
  (under featured links)
• Real World Examples
• www.macromedia.com
• http//www.benjerry.com/fun_stuff/cow_to_cone/
• www.flashkit.com

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Putting Flash File on CD-Rom

• You must create an Autorun for your .exe
  Projectors
• This tutorial will show you, step by step, how to
  create an autorun for your .exe projector when
  distributed on cd-rom.
• In order to do this
• Open up windows Notepad and type in
• autorun openintro.exe iconicon.ico
  Replace 'intro.exe' with the file name of your
  .exe movie, and 'icon.ico' with the name of your
  custom icon if you have one. If not remove the
  line 'iconicon.ico'.
• Save type as an "All Files (.)" with the
  filename autorun.inf.
• Burn your cd with the autorun.inf, icon.ico (if
  any), and projector .exe in the root directory of
  the cd. When you enter the cd into the drive, it
  will automatically run your .exe file.

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Session Evaluation

• Please let each of your session attendees know
  that conference and session evaluations as well
  as session handouts are available on the TIE
  website http//www.tie-online.org/2004