I’m working in the Australian education system as a Flash developer. Recently I’ve been reviewing the processes that we go through when planning and developing a Flash application. Education projects have quite a few differences to commercial work, and generally in education the development process takes a lot longer than it should. Improving the overall schedule and process would not only would it benefit the development team, but it would also have benefit the end user (resources become available in a more timely manner to teachers, students get to learn with better educational resources).

One of the big areas that could be improved is the Instructional Design phase.

The Instructional Design phase

At the start of an educational project, running in conjunction with the writing/content creation, is the Instructional Design phase. The Instructional Design phase is basically looking at the drafts of the materials, working with the client/writer to structure the content to fit the web, and looking for areas and opportunities to enhance the learning value of the product with interactivity.

During the Instructional Design phase you communicate a lot with the client/writer of the content for the project, and is generally a back-and-forward process, instructing the client on areas that can be improved/changed, and looking for opportunities to enhance the educational value of the production.

This process is very cyclic, and has a lot of communication with the client. The two main draw backs being that the client rarely gives you accurate deadlines for when the content will be finalised, and that there is lots of correspondence. Most clients on these types of projects are normally slow replying to emails, usually only work part-time on the project, and are generally ‘hard to find’.

Although it may be beneficial to spend extra time at the start of the project ‘getting it right’, it usually results in the development being rushed, which can result in quick and cheap looking products. As a Flash developer, I’d really like to see a longer development time, to give a chance to properly establish code libraries, properly review the application, and optimise code. As it stands, these things usually get squeezed out of the process.

Some things that I think that could assist in the Instructional Design process, and to streamline development of Flash applications include:

• Prototyping a module of content while the content is still being developed. If you can get the client to deliver one module of the content, in a somewhat finalised state, then you’d be able to get this to the developers sooner, giving them a chance to build the HTML templates, and research any new technologies that may be necessary.
• Screen designs sooner - Most of the time the designing is left until after the content is finalised. I think it could improve the development process if a graphic designer was involved earlier in the project as part of the instructional design. Getting a graphical designer to develop screen designs of the learning objects, educational tools, and rest of the content, would mean that the client will be tied down to a concept sooner, the designs can be signed off quicker, and the client would have a more realistic expectations for the final product.
• When building Flash for large projects I personally find it easier to either focus on the interface or the code. Although I enjoy doing both, it usually a lot easier if someone else has already come up with the designs. If the screen designs were completed and signed off during the instructional design phase, it would mean that the Flash developer could get a jump on developing the ActionScript, and give them more time to plan and develop code libraries, and generally produce a better product.

Filed under: Discussion, Education, Flash