Conference Report by Lionel Caron
Event: Flashforward 2007 Conference, Boston
Date of Event: 9/18/07-9/23/07
Event: Flashforward 2007 Conference, Boston
Date of Event: 9/18/07-9/23/07
In 1997, I introduced to Orange Coast College a new program called Flash, and
we were one of the first schools in the country to teach this program. In the
interim, Flash has become a dominant program for web animation and web
design. The Flashforward Conference is a yearly event I attend to get the most
up-to-date information on Flash and its scripting language, Actionscript. It
features the top speakers in the industry including Flash developers, artists, web
designers, and educators.
we were one of the first schools in the country to teach this program. In the
interim, Flash has become a dominant program for web animation and web
design. The Flashforward Conference is a yearly event I attend to get the most
up-to-date information on Flash and its scripting language, Actionscript. It
features the top speakers in the industry including Flash developers, artists, web
designers, and educators.
The Flashforward 2007 Conference is Boston was especially helpful, and it
completely changed the direction of my teaching, both during the fall 2007 and
spring 2008 semesters. Because Adobe had overhauled the scripting language
for the software, I had to reinvent all the coding models that I had developed over
the last 10 years. Where the Conference helped me most was to point to the
resources that I absolutely needed, the strategies to use, the ones to avoid, and
the inspiration to not quit in the face of all the problems associated with this
overhaul.
completely changed the direction of my teaching, both during the fall 2007 and
spring 2008 semesters. Because Adobe had overhauled the scripting language
for the software, I had to reinvent all the coding models that I had developed over
the last 10 years. Where the Conference helped me most was to point to the
resources that I absolutely needed, the strategies to use, the ones to avoid, and
the inspiration to not quit in the face of all the problems associated with this
overhaul.
I remember quite vividly the first session on the first day. In a session called
“Actionscript 3.0 for Designers”, the speaker and author of a forthcoming book
boldly asked: “Do you want to hear the good, the bad, or the ugly?” The bad and
ugly — none of the code prior to the new version would work or communicate
with the newer code. They could not be mixed. One had to decidedly start anew
and forget the old. The good – everybody was in the same boat. The new
version was a higher level programming language that was more difficult,
required more code, but was more consistent and faster.
“Actionscript 3.0 for Designers”, the speaker and author of a forthcoming book
boldly asked: “Do you want to hear the good, the bad, or the ugly?” The bad and
ugly — none of the code prior to the new version would work or communicate
with the newer code. They could not be mixed. One had to decidedly start anew
and forget the old. The good – everybody was in the same boat. The new
version was a higher level programming language that was more difficult,
required more code, but was more consistent and faster.
Although the current version of the software supports using one code or the
other, the handwriting was on the wall. It is a matter of time before the older
version is deprecated. So knowing very little how to swim, I jumped into the
water. It’s been a difficult two semesters but worth having gone to that
conference. Now I know that the direction I was taking was the right one.
My apologies for not submitting an earlier report, but I was swamped just trying to
keep my head above water. My thanks to the Union and District for funding my
attendance to this event, and hopefully my lateness does not diminish my
changes to get future funding for another conference.
other, the handwriting was on the wall. It is a matter of time before the older
version is deprecated. So knowing very little how to swim, I jumped into the
water. It’s been a difficult two semesters but worth having gone to that
conference. Now I know that the direction I was taking was the right one.
My apologies for not submitting an earlier report, but I was swamped just trying to
keep my head above water. My thanks to the Union and District for funding my
attendance to this event, and hopefully my lateness does not diminish my
changes to get future funding for another conference.
Sincerely and always looking to put OCC in the best light,
Lionel Caron