This paper shows computer animation as a teaching and learning instrument in technical education. Our aim is to show good practice in creating computer animations. The paper includes an example, which can serve as a practical guide for teachers of technical subjects

Jirsa, J.

Vaněček, D.

English

D. Vaněček

J. Jirsa

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Acta Polytechnica

Practical Implementation of Animation for Students of Pedagogical Studies at MIAS CTU in Prague

CTU Open Journal Systems (Czech Technical University, Prague / České vysoké učení technické v Praze)

Acta Polytechnica Vol. 51 No. 3/2011Practical Implementation of Animation for Students of PedagogicalStudies at MIAS CTU in PragueD. Vaněček, J. JirsaAbstractThis paper shows computer animation as a teaching and learning instrument in technical education. Our aim is to showgood practice in creating computer animations. The paper includes an example, which can serve as a practical guide forteachers of technical subjects.Keywords: computer animation, education, e-learning.IntroductionThe main goal of this paper is to present didacticaspects of producing computer animations for use ineducation, to categorize types of animations and pro-vide examples.A secondary goal is to show an approach to cre-ating an educational animation by means of a simpleexample. The authors prefer a systematic approachto the creation of interactive components, which theyconsider to be an eﬀective way of achieving the de-sired results. The ﬁrst part of the paper will intro-duce the concept and will explain each step. Speciﬁcexamples will be shown in the second part.Creating educationalanimation — design approachIn the same way that we need to prepare before teach-ing a class, we need to have a method and to thinkthings out before we can create the educational an-imations. If we are in too great a hurry, thinkingonly about creating an animation of some kind, theoutcome is not likely to be truly eﬀective. Trial-and-error usually leads to unpleasantly inconsistent re-sults. We should therefore study proven methods,and approach the general process of creating anima-tion as a project divided into several stages. Theproject can be broken down into the following basicphases:• Analysis• Concept• Realization• Piloting• Completion• TestingNote that these phases are very similar to the prin-ciples and approaches used in any systematic humanactivity.Analytical phaseIn the preparation stage, we usually consider the con-cept and display of the problem that is to be pre-sented. We decide which parts of the topic would besuitable for an animated display. In other words, weconsider how the subject should be presented in or-der for students to understand it easily and be ableto remember the important facts. The course de-scription is usually a useful starting point. We askourselves fundamental questions: whether the ani-mation should be just demonstrative, or whether itshould be interactive with direct student participa-tion. A demonstrative animation enables the learnerjust to observe the issue under discussion, and onthis basis to form an idea and acquire knowledge.We also consider the choice of an appropriate tech-nology, whether it is available, or whether it is ﬁrstnecessary to acquire it and learn how to use it.At this stage it is worth investigating whethersomething similar does not already exist. In this way,we can avoid making unnecessary eﬀorts. Nowadays,a great number of ready animations can be found onthe internet, in various forms. Time spent on makinga search is deﬁnitely not wasted.ConceptIn the concept phase, our ideas should gain a moreprecise form. We should set basic forms of parts ofanimations, consider speciﬁc animated features, theirproperties and location in accordance with didacticprinciples. On the basis of the outputs of our analy-sis, we should choose an appropriate software productfor creating the animations. [1]The concept phase includes setting a detailedtimetable for creating the animation. It is also neces-sary to decide on the process, and on who will createa speciﬁc animated situation, when and how. Thisproven approach is especially suitable when dealing66Acta Polytechnica Vol. 51 No. 3/2011with a broad subject, which usually requires time-consuming processing. We also should consider whenand how to incorporate the animation into a class orlecture (e.g., use diagnostic animations for recapitu-lation). Of course, if we want to present an anima-tion during a lecture, it is necessary to ensure thatthe classroom has appropriate equipment. This maynot always be easy.RealizationThe realization stage involves actually creating theanimation. With the selected SW tool we create spe-ciﬁc objects, models and scenes according to our re-quirements and needs. However, even at this stage itis necessary to take into account the properties andcapabilities of the software product. Depending onthe possibilities, we can choose either to create theanimation gradually, from the beginning to the end,or to create individual parts separately and then as-semble them into the ﬁnal product.PilotingBefore using the animation in the classroom, it is ad-visable to do some so-called piloting, i.e. initial test-ing of the product. Piloting is a notion drawn frompreparing examinations — see [2]. Animations aresubmitted for criticism by a colleague (or by severalcolleagues) who did not participate in creating theanimation. Another option is to test the animationwith the help of senior students who have already en-countered the problem that is to be presented, andare thus able to share their impressions and opinions.After piloting, deﬁciencies that had not been pickedup, or that had been overlooked, can be removed.CompletionThe completion stage involves publishing the anima-tion. This can be done in various ways. In mostcases, the product is published on the internet viawebpages integrated into an electronic learning sys-tem (LSM) run by the school. This method is con-venient if we want the product to be accessible onlyto a certain number of students with an access pass-word, and not to the general public. If no e-learningsystem is available to us, we can try to create a sim-ple webpage and publish it. There are many toolsavailable that can export an animation into a formthat is relatively easily incorporated into webpages.TestingThe last step should be to test our work. Initialtesting is usually conducted with colleagues who canpoint out major deﬁciencies from the outset. Af-ter making corrections, we can proceed to piloting,where we test our project on a group of students.After piloting the pages with animations, we pro-ceed to the evaluation stage, which takes the formof a discussion or a questionnaire. On the basis ofthe results, we again make appropriate adjustmentsand changes. Now it might seem that everything isready. However, this would be a wrong assumption.We must realize that as the world around us changes,the students also change. Thus we are faced withthe task of re-checking the suitability of our createdanimation, in professional terms and in pedagogicalterms — see [3].The process of creating ananimationIn this second part of the paper, we will present aspeciﬁc example of creating an educational anima-tion. For illustrative purposes, we will present a sim-ple animation of the principle of the operation of apaternoster elevator. This animation might be usedin mechanical engineering classes for high-school stu-dents. We will follow the steps listed in part one,with minor simpliﬁcations.AnalysisLet us consider the following model situation:We are teaching a course on engineering and ma-chinery at a technical high school with an engineer-ing or electro-technical specialization. The audiencethat the animation is designed for consists of secondand third grade students. The students are proﬁcientwith computer technology and the internet, and haveaccess to a school computer network. They can alsolog into a school intranet via a web interface. If someof the students do not have an internet connectionat home, the animation can be copied to a CDROMand given to the students.Before the era of e-learning, we used only text-books with pictures and photos as didactic tools, to-gether with regular blackboard and chalk, and for afew topics we had a videotape of a program from apublic media broadcast. We also used to enrich theclass with samples of machine parts, e.g. bearings,cog-wheels, etc.In order to enhance students’ education and in-crease their interest in the topic, we decided to usean animation of a complicated piece of machinery.A check showed that there is no available edu-cational CDROM meeting our expectations on themarket. An internet search also did not reveal anysources where the topic was presented using anima-tions. We therefore decided to ﬁll the void and tocreate an animation of our own.67Acta Polytechnica Vol. 51 No. 3/2011Fig. 1: Sketch for an intended animationWe can use ordinary computer technology ownedby the school to create the animation. We will as-sume that the school has bought Adobe Flash soft-ware — see [4]. We chose this product on the basisof our previous positive experience.ConceptLet us consider a simple animation, which will re-ﬂect the essential features of the functioning of thepaternoster lift. We will not go into much detail. Theconstituents in the animation will be relatively simplesymbols, so that students can understand easily andwill later be able to explain the principle and draw ascheme of the lift — see Figure 1. If we should ﬁndout later (e.g. during piloting) that the animationcould be more detailed, it will not be a problem toupdate it and go into greater detail.For a simple representation of this kind, it wouldnot be advisable to attempt to make the animationthree-dimensional, because the work would be muchmore time-consuming. We would like to create theanimation in a relatively short time, and with mini-mum eﬀort. This is why we chose Adobe Flash. Itscontrols are similar to the controls of other graphictools that are widely used in computers. In addition,it is not diﬃcult to understand the elementary princi-ples for creating an animation, and a fairly computer-literate person should be able to master them. More-over, Flash contains several tutorials through whicheven a beginner can ﬁnd out the possibilities and op-tions.In an animation we distinguish between staticcomponents, which do not change during the anima-tion, and dynamic components, which show certainchanges, e.g.:• Motion (Motion Tween)• Shift• Rotation• Curved motion• Shape change (Shape Tween)• Color change• A combination of the previous optionsAdobe Flash supports this distinction between staticand dynamic symbols, and oﬀers three basic types ofsymbols to the user [4]:1. for static symbols it oﬀers the Graphic type,which can contain both graphics drawn by theuser and inserted raster images and photos,2. for dynamic symbols it introduces the MovieClip type,3. for creating buttons it oﬀers the Button type.68Acta Polytechnica Vol. 51 No. 3/2011In our case, we will use only the ﬁrst two types, be-cause we want to create a demonstrative animationwithout any interaction with the user. Our symbolsfrom Figure 1 can thus be divided according to thefollowing table:Table 1: Choice of type for individual symbolsSymbol Type of symbol in Adobe FlashRotor GraphicAnimated rotor Movie clipCabin GraphicCables Without type (line) / GraphicsLet it be added for clariﬁcation that the symbolof the animated rotor contains a symbol for the ro-tor itself. The Movie Clip type is therefore usuallycomposed of individual static symbols of the Graphictype. We can also see that the cables do not haveto be represented by a symbol, but can be drawncompletely freely with a line.The next step in our consideration of the designconcepts for the paternoster animation should be toallocate the individual symbols to sub-layers. This istherefore a logical separation of symbols with a diﬀer-ent meaning. However, there are also graphic reasonsfor this separation. We usually use it when we needto emphasize the correct order of the symbols on thescreen, or for animations in which the symbols aresupposed to overlie in a speciﬁc way. Adobe Flashfully supports layers, and even oﬀers several diﬀerenttypes of layers. Four layers of the following types aresuﬃcient for our animation:• two layers of the Normal type for the symbolsfor animated rotors and cables,• a layer of the Guide type for the invisible line onwhich the cabin will move,• a layer of the Guide type for the cabin which willmove on the line from the previous layer.The names of the individual layers and the order ofthe layers will be described in the following section.ImplementationThe implementation is the process of creation, whenwe gradually create the sub-components with theuse of Adobe Flash. Then we compose the sub-components into the ﬁnal animation. The repetitivemotif of the rotor can be used to our advantage, sincewe need to draw and animate it only once, and thenuse it four times. For better orientation, we can fol-low the sketch presented above.In the previous section, we generally indicated thetypes of symbols that would be appropriate for ourcomponents. We also allocate the symbols approxi-mately into layers so that they will make sense andwill correspond with our ideas. The creation of thepaternoster elevator is thus divided into the followingimplementation steps:1. Customize IDE (Integrated Development Envi-ronment)2. Draw the symbol for the rotor3. Create the animated rotor — see Figure 24. Draw the symbol for the cabin — see Figure 35. Arrange the symbols into layers and distributethem on the canvas6. Draw the guiding cables — see Figure 47. Create the line for the movement of the cabin8. Create the animation of the cabin on the line9. Export the animation into a format displayableon the webpage — see Figure 5Fig. 2: Animation of the rotorFig. 3: Motif of the cabinAll these steps will be implemented in the IDE ofAdobe Flash. In this way, we will not need any othersoftware tools.PilotingAt this stage, the animation is already complete.Next, we should carry out initial testing and presentthe results of our work to someone who is unbiased,but who has knowledge of the topic and can oﬀerobjective criticism. We therefore ask a colleague toevaluate a demonstration of the animation. It is also69Acta Polytechnica Vol. 51 No. 3/2011Fig. 4: Drawing of the guiding cablesFig. 5: Example of an export into an appropriate formatgood to approach some senior students, show themthe animation and ask for their informal but impor-tant opinions. In both cases, we should consider theirsuggestions and make any necessary changes. Theopinions will probably not be the same. However, weconsider that both groups of evaluators are impor-tant, and neither should be omitted.CompletionThe work on the animation project will be completedas explained above. We will modify our presentationin Flash for publication on the internet by saving itin an appropriate format. With the permission of theschool network administrator, we will place it on theschool intranet system where it will be accessible forthe students. If there is a student who is unable toconnect to the network from home (which will be-come highly improbable in future years), we can alsosave the animation on a CDROM. A CDROM canalso serve as a backup.TestingThe last stage is to test our animation and ﬁnd outhow useful the students consider it. In this step, thetargeted group of students will discuss the anima-tion or respond to a questionnaire to let us knowwhether it was useful and whether it helped them tounderstand the topic better. After the evaluation wecan make further adjustments. As was already men-tioned above, we must not assume that our task isnow over. After some time we should revise all theanimations that we have created and consider theirvalidity and purpose. In this way we can ensure thatwe are keeping up with the latest didactic and pro-fessional standards.ConclusionThe goal of this paper was to acquaint readers fromthe professional public with the topic of creating ed-ucational animations. This problem has not beendealt with theoretically before (the authors were un-successful in their eﬀorts to ﬁnd any relevant refer-ences). We have noted that many animations arebeing created without taking didactic considerationssuﬃciently into account. In our opinion, this is not asatisfactory approach. We have therefore attemptedto bring some theoretical order into the issue of mak-ing animations for e-learning. This could form a basisfor further research on the theoretical bases for cre-ating educational animations. The paper ended witha practical implementation of our theoretical prin-ciples. The topic is extensive, and it is obvious thatthe set of three papers presented here cannot deal ex-haustively with the whole topic. With the availability70Acta Polytechnica Vol. 51 No. 3/2011of user-friendly software, educational animations arenow widely used, and will be used even more in thefuture. They deserve much greater attention thanthey have received until now.References[1] Jirsa, J.: Tvorba počítačové animace pro potřebyvýuky technických předmětů, BP MU´VS ČVUT,Praha, 2009, ved. práce D. Vaněček.[2] Svoboda, E., Bečková, V., Švercl, J.: Kapi-toly z didaktiky odborných předmětů. 1. vyd.Praha : Vydavatelství ČVUT, 2004. 156 s.ISBN 80-01-02928-X.[3] Drahovzal, J., Kilián, O., Kouhoutek, R. Didak-tika odborných předmětů. Brno : Paido, 1997.156 s. ISBN 80-85931-35-4.[4] Adobe Flash Professional [online]. 2009[cit. 2009–04–20]. Dostupný z WWW:http://www.adobe.com/products/ﬂash/Ing. Paed. IGIP. David Vaněček, Ph.D.E-mail: david.vanecek@muvs.cvut.czCzech Technical University in PragueMasaryk Institute of Advanced StudiesDepartment of Engineering PedagogyHorska´ 3, 128 00 Praha 2, Czech RepublicIng. Bc. Jan JirsaE-mail: jirsaj@fel.cvut.czCzech Technical University in PragueFaculty of Electrical EngineeringTechnicka´ 2, 166 27 Praha 6, Czech Republic71

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Practical Implementation of Animation for Students of Pedagogical Studies at MIAS CTU in Prague

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