Chapter 21. Working with Learning Interactions

Okay everyone, it's time to go back to school! In addition to the three regular smart clips that come with Flash 5, there are six Learning Interactions, which are also smart clips. Learning Interactions are a series of smart clips that let you build Web-based learning applications. If you've ever used CourseBuilder for Dreamweaver, these Learning Interactions will look very familiar.

Like CourseBuilder for Dreamweaver, the Flash Learning Interactions are set up to transfer data to any server running Learning Management System (LMS) or Computer-Managed Instruction (CMI) software that complies with the Automatic Incoming Call Connection (AICC) standard. Do you have to have LMS/CMI software running to use these Learning Interactions? No. You can extract any information you need from any of the six interactions. In this chapter, you learn how to do the following:

• Use the Learning Interactions. Adding a Learning Interaction to your movie is just like adding a smart clip ”drag-and-drop. Modifying the graphics and the parameters is a bit more challenging.

• Extract data from a Learning Interaction. Before you can begin to extract information from a Learning Interaction, you have to know what data is being collected and how to find it.

• Modify the code in a Learning Interaction. By modifying the code in a Learning Interaction, you can use the data it collects, even if you don't have access to an LMS.

After you understand how the Learning Interactions are set up and how they can be modified, you'll find that they really are both useful and fun to work with.

Note

The Learning Interactions that come with Flash have actually been updated. The updated version includes the source files for the customer user interface (Parameters pane) and some bug fixes. You can get the most recent version from the Flash Exchange at http://www.macromedia.com/exchange/flash. You'll also need to download and install the Extension Manager.