Re: FLASH: A teacher wonders why ActionScript tutorials "bite"

[peter hagerty]

At 12:41 AM 1/21/00 -0500, you wrote:

>I had lunch today with a fellow member of this list and it quickly

>degenerated into a whining session regarding ActionScrpt tutorials.

>

>The bottom line was : Why are actionscript tutorials are generally

>written for geeks by geeks?


Geeks have been reading and writing computer language(s) for a long time,

and because most people don't understand these technical languages, the

geek has become the contemporary scribe. 


For reasons of efficiency, the multi-media industry work flow further

separates the work of the geeks from the rest (graphics). Hence geek speaks

more often to geek, in a language largely incomprehensibe to most of us. 


But things are getting better, because modern computer languages are now

easier to read and write. 


Why Flash is so... cool is that it allows novices and geeks to enter and

use the programme at different levels. If the learning pattern follows that

of Director, then lots of artists will learn code, but it is unlikely that

the geeks will ever use a stylus.


Your question is I think, the pressing issue for Flash education. There are

lots of books on using the interface and drawing, but there are no

dedicated "How to develop actionscript routines." for people not familiar

with higher level languages. 


There are many online tutorials, and while excellent, the variety of

presentation, uneveness of description and lack of serial development make

them very hard work.


What we (I) need is an old fashioned book format "actionscript from the

bottom up". Only a geek can write this, but the combination of someone who

has the patience  to write; "a string is..."," a variable is..."  and also

capable of developig this into a lucid explanation (and demonstration!) of

"Recurrsion, simulated, multi-threading, and data structures", as it

applies to F4, is a special geek.


Is this a commercial opportunity going begging? 


peterhagerty

                         

		Peter Hagerty

		   Liverpool 

		     

		 *~ arklo ~*

	http://www.merseyworld.com/hagerty/


	        


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