The Use of Adobe Flash as a New Technology in Teaching Essay

Writing

Yoga Pratama, Nurul Fitriani

Doctoral program Students in Universitas Negeri Jakarta and Lecturer at English Language and Culture Department,

Darma Persada University

Keywords: Adobe Flash, Writing, Essay, Technology, Teaching

Abstract: The development of information and technology has affected many aspects of life including education.

Essay writing has an important role in the language academic writing process. Technology also gives a

positive effect toward the students’ motivation in learning English, especially in essay writing. Nowadays, a

computer technology application is developing writing materials by using adobe flash professional. The

purpose of this research is to show that the role of technology today is very important in learning process

specifically in teaching essay writing, so that it can help teacher and students to make lots variations in

teaching. In the past, teaching writing only used conventional ways like books but nowadays teachers and

students can use multimedia technology like education interactive software, smartphone, and computer

which can make studying more effective and interactive. In this research the writers try to analyze and

demonstrate the new technology as a solution to the old problem of teaching essay writing.

1 INTRODUCTION

The twenty-first century is the age of globalization

and information technology. English is one of the

important tools in communication in the world, so it

is important to learn the language. As a result,

English language teaching has been one of the

important subjects in education.

In the conventional ways, teaching essay writing

skills and strategies are still poor and undeveloped.

The speech-dominated education employs a teacher-

centered, book-centered, grammar-translation

method and focuses more emphasis on rote memory

than other practicable skills. The development of

computer and the internet have brought the most

significant changes in the technology of writing.

Recent advances in computer technology allow

the delivery of digital video and audio in the same

interface as written text. Although writing is now

well recognized as critical dimension of language

learning, it still remains one of the least understood

processes. Technology may at first entered to the

language classroom in the form of the language

multimedia laboratory.

It is irrefutable that the development of

multimedia technology has great potential in

changing the educational system in Indonesia.

Multimedia also provides the opportunity for the

educators to develop learning technique to produce

the maximum result in teaching specifically in

teaching essay writing. And for the students with the

new technology in multimedia, they can easily

absorb the knowledge faster than using text book.

The use of multimedia that can present

visualization from the subject will be helpful not

only for the teachers in presenting the material but

also for the students as a learning subject. So that

learning objectives can be achieved. The use of

multimedia in teaching is in order to answer those

needs. Multimedia language laboratory enhances the

process of teaching and learning essay writing,

which is considered difficult to accomplish

2 MULTIMEDIA AND EDUCATION

2.1 What Is Multimedia?

Multimedia is important in our life. This is because

it is pack with various elements such as text,

graphic, sound, video and animation. All of this

element can be seen in our surrounding. The

Pratama, Y. and Fitriani, N.

The Use of Adobe Flash as a New Technology in Teaching Essay Writing.

DOI: 10.5220/0009002605110516

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Education, Language and Society (ICELS 2019), pages 511-516

ISBN: 978-989-758-405-3

 2020 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All r ights reserved

511

principle known as the “multimedia principle” states

that “people learn more deeply from words and

pictures than from words alone” (Mayer, p. 47). It is

also used in various fields such as in education,

training, business, games and science and

technology. This is a proof that multimedia is

important. In fact, multimedia is changing the ways

of learning itself. Instead of just limiting students

with a linear presentation such as reading text from a

book, adobe flash makes many improvements in

learning by bringing various elements in order to

make it more dynamic.

2.2 Multimedia Learning Environment

PM. Neo and T. K. Neo (2000) provides

“multimedia as a technology-based constructivist

learning environment where students are able to

solve a problem by means of self-explorations,

collaboration and active participation. Simulations,

models and media rich study materials like still and

animated graphics, video and audio integrated in a

structured manner facilitate the learning of new

knowledge much more effectively” (2009:254-266).

The interactive nature of multimedia provides the

room to enhance traditional "chalk-and-talk" method

of teaching with more flexibility to learners to adapt

to individual learning strategy. It enables both the

educators and learners to work together in an

informal setting. The role of educators and learners

are extended. Furthermore, it encourages and

enhances peer learning as well as individual

creativity and innovation. (2009:149-158).

3 ADOBE FLASH – BASED

INTERACTIVE LEARNING

MULTIMEDIA

Adobe Flash (formerly called Macromedia Flash and

Shockwave Flash) is a multimedia and software

platform used for creating vector graphics,

animation, browser games, internet applications,

desktop applications, mobile applications and

mobile games. Flash displays text, vector and raster

graphics to provide animations, video games and

applications.

Adobe Flash is open-source software that

primarily used to design graphics and animation, but

supports action scripting and debugging. In software

development, there is a standard process called

SDLC. (tutorialspoint.com, Software Development

Life Cycle (SDLC) Simply Easy Learning by

Tutorialspoint.com).

“Most people associate the term ‘language-

learning materials’ with course books because that

has been their main experience of using materials.

However, in this book the term is used to refer to

anything which is used by teachers or learners to

facilitate the learning of a language. Materials could

obviously be videos, DVDs, emails, YouTube,

dictionaries, grammar books, readers, workbooks or

photocopied exercises. They could also be

newspapers, food packages, photographs, and live

talks by invited native speakers, instructions given

by a teacher, tasks written on cards or discussions

between learners. In other words, they can be

anything which is deliberately used to increase the

learners’ knowledge and/or experience of the

language.” (Tomlinson, 2011:2).

Multimedia is important in our life. This is

because it is pack with various elements such as text,

graphic, sound, video and animation. All of this

element can be seen in our surrounding. It is also

used in various fields such as in education, training,

business, games and science and technology. This is

a proof that multimedia is important. In fact,

multimedia is changing the ways of learning itself.

Instead of just limiting you with a linear presentation

such as reading text from a book, Adobe Flash

software application technology makes many

improvements in learning by bringing various

elements in order to make it more dynamic and

attractive.

K.V. Madhavi (2015) on his journal states:

“Computer-assisted language Learning is often

considered as an approach to language teaching and

learning in which the computer is used as an aid to

the production, substantiation and evaluation of

material to be learned, usually including a

significant interactive element. Learners are given

freedom over their own learning process so that they

can decide when to repeat the questions, exercises or

sequences based on their own progress. Grammar

practice, communication activities and vocabulary

enhancement can be acquired with ease and

enthusiasm.”

Education courses and instructional design, skills

and knowledge are often taught in a context. To

overcome this, the use of multimedia as an education

tools help to provide a real-world example using a

computer with high quality content. The various

type of software available on the market can also

help to provide a friendly interactive method of

learning. Multimedia and tool such as the internet

can provide teacher an instant excess to millions of

ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society

512

resources available. These materials can help the

teacher to provide the students with cooperative

learning, critical thinking, discussion, and problem

solving. So, multimedia language laboratory

approach in education provide many advantages

over the traditional teaching method.

4 DEFINITION OF ESSAY

WRITING

Essay is writing that explains what a term means.

Some terms have definite, concrete meanings, such

as glass, book, or tree. Terms such as honesty,

honor, or love are abstract and depend more on a

person's point of view. Essays are used to assess

your understanding of specific ideas and your ability

to explain these in your own words.

Essays are usually written in a discursive style,

bringing together ideas, evidence and arguments to

address a specific problem or question.

Brown (year) brings up the complexity of teaching

writing: “Just as there are non-swimmers, poor

swimmers and excellent swimmers, so it is for

writers. Why isn’t everyone an excellent writer?”

(2001:334) This is a relevant question for us to ask

since we hope to meet ways of working with writing

that can take the poor writers to the next level; the

opposite to some of our experiences of writing in

school that has restrained students’ development in

writing.

“A simplistic view of writing would assume that

written language is simply the graphic representation

of spoken language…” (Brown, 2001:335). Writing

is more complex than this; hence writing pedagogy

is important, as Brown states by claiming that

writing is “as different from speaking as swimming

is from walking”.

“Writing is an expression of logic that is the

product of thinking. Thus, the writing that you

produce is a reflection of your intellectual abilities.

It puts into words your knowledge and your

conceptual understanding and shows evidence of

your critical thinking.” (McMillan & Weyers,

2007:6).

“Writing an essay or assignment is a challenging

and fulfilling activity. It brings together all your

relevant knowledge and understanding of a topic in

response to a particular task – but it is more than

that. From writing tasks, you will gain both an

adroitness in use of language and effective

communication skills. In addition, you will carry the

associated critical thinking skills with you into your

professional life after university” (Don Shiach

2007:1)

5 THE ADVANTAGES OF USING

ADOBE FLASH AS A NEW

TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING

ESSAY WRITING

As the multimedia technology becomes more readily

available to all of us, it seems appropriate that the

language teachers should integrate it into their lesson

and assessment planning in the same way they have

been doing with video, film and computer assisted

learning strategies. The students are surrounded by

technology and this technology can provide

interesting and new approaches to language teaching

because "the use of technology for teaching and

learning is moving their institution in the right

direction" (Healey, 2008:17). In this way, the

teachers of English can take full advantage of

technology. The following are some of the important

advantages of the use of multimedia language

laboratory technology in teaching essay writing:

5.1 Motivating Students to Learn Essay

Writing

Moreno and Mayer (2007, p. 310) note that

“motivational factors mediate learning by increasing

or decreasing cognitive engagement” and

“metacognitive factors mediate learning by

regulating cognitive processing and affect.” The

traditional teaching methods are unpopular and less

effective in the English language classrooms. Now,

multimedia adobe flash technology, with the help of

audio, visual and animation effects, motivates the

students to learn English essay writing quickly and

effectively. It makes an easy access to information

regarding the culture of the target language. With

such features as abundant-information and crossing

time and space, multimedia creates a real-life or

native speaking country context for teaching writing,

which greatly cultivates students’ interest and

motivation in learning the lesson.

5.2 Improving Teaching Efficiency

Using multimedia language laboratory technology in

the essay writing learning improves teaching

contents and makes the best of class time. It breaks

the teacher-centered traditional teaching method and

fundamentally improves the teachers teaching

The Use of Adobe Flash as a New Technology in Teaching Essay Writing

513

efficiency and has become "central to language

practice" (Motteram, 2013:5). For large classes, it is

difficult for the students to have speaking

communication, but the utilization of multi-media

sound laboratory materializes the face-to-face

teaching. The traditional teaching techniques only

emphasize on teachers’ instruction and provide

limited information to the students. But multimedia

technology goes beyond time and space and creates

more real-life environment for English teaching. It

stimulates students’ initiatives and economizes class

time, providing more information to the students.

5.3 Enhancing Interaction among

Students and between Teachers and

Students

Gary Motteram is one of the scholars to work on the

effectiveness of technological use in the language

classrooms. He says that it is still "the case that most

teachers work in physical classrooms and looking at

ways that these spaces can be augmented with

digital technologies is a very good starting point"

(Motteram, 2013:7). In fact, multimedia technology

in teaching focuses on the active participation of

students and enhances the importance of interaction

among students and between teachers and students.

One of the main uses of multimedia technology in

the classrooms is to improve students’ ability to

listen and speak, and thereby develop their

communicative competence. In this process, the

teacher’s role as a facilitator is particularly

prominent. The utilization of multimedia technology

can create a context for the exchange of information

among students and between teachers and students,

emphasizing "student engagement in authentic,

meaningful interaction" (Warschauer, 2009:2). This

media has improved the traditional classroom

teaching model. So, the teachers in the multimedia

language laboratory no longer force the students to

receive the information passively.

5.4 Creating a Conducive Teaching

Environment in the Classrooms

The use of adobe flash as a new multimedia

technology creates a favorable environment for

language teaching. Highlighting the importance of

its use, Healey et.al. Say, "Bad teaching will not

disappear with the addition of even the most

advanced technology; good teaching will benefit

from appropriate use of technology to help learners

achieve their goals" (Healey, 2008:17). This

technique makes the language class lively and

interesting, motivating the students to participate in

the classroom activities. Multimedia technology has

its own features such as visibility and liveliness that

produce special effects on the participants. While

teaching English language through it, the sounds and

pictures can be set together that enhance the active

participation of both teachers and students.

The teachers can show pictures and images of

kind of essay to enrich the sharing of information

effectively. They also imagine different contexts

while preparing for the lesson. In the similar way,

using the multimedia language laboratory

technology, the students in the class can receive

abundant information about the language clearly.

Thus, using adobe flash technology in English

language teaching is effective in cultivating

students’ interest in learning, improving the

teachers’ interest in teaching essay writing.

6 DISADVANTAGES OF USING

ADOBE FLASH AS A NEW

TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING

ESSAY WRITING

There are many disadvantages of using multimedia

technology in in teaching English essay writing

despite it has facilitated the language teachers to

improve their efficiency in teaching. These are some

of the disadvantages that this study has found in the

context:

6.1 Emphasis on the Supplementary of

effective Teaching

The use of multimedia language laboratory

technology is a supplementary tool for teaching

essay writing, not an end in itself as the blackboard

is "supplemented by the overhead projector, another

excellent medium for the teacher-dominated

classroom, as well as by early computer software

programs" (Warschauer,2009:2). If the teachers are

totally dependent on multimedia devices during their

teaching, they may turn into slaves to multimedia

technology and cannot play the key role as a

facilitator to the students. In practice, many teachers

are active in using multimedia technology, but they

are not proficient enough to handle it properly.

If the teachers stand by the computer all the time

and students are just concentrating on the screen, the

teachers cannot have the direct eye contact with the

students. The development of multimedia

technology in the language classrooms is considered

ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society

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effective and many benefits of the traditional

teaching model have been forgotten. Therefore, the

teachers should understand that the multimedia

technology should be used as a supplementary

instrument rather than a target. For example,

"Electronic communication within a single class

might be viewed as an artificial substitute for face-

to-face communication" (Warschauer, 2009:4). It

should be considered and used as a tool for effective

teaching and learning.

6.2 Limited Social Interaction

A common disadvantage of online education is

limited social interaction. While online students

often engage peers in online discussions and interact

with teachers via e-mail, this doesn't replicate the

face-to-face experiences in a traditional classroom.

6.3 Lack of Structure

Self-disciplined students can benefit from the

flexibility and convenience of online classes, but the

lack of formal structure can be a pitfall for

undisciplined or unmotivated students.

7 RECOMMENDATIONS

Multimedia technology and language teaching have

been hand in hand for a long time, and have

contributed as teaching tools in the language

teaching specifically in essay writing. However, the

use multimedia language laboratory technology is

still full of fears and insecurities by many teachers

everywhere around the world despite the latest

developments applicable to teaching essay writing

such as websites, blogs, online journals, and so on.

The application of multimedia technology to

teaching can make improvements in English

language teaching and at the same time has enabled

"teachers to re-think what they are doing"

(Motteram, 2013:7). However, the teachers should

play the leading role even if they use multimedia

technology. Their position should not be replaced by

the computers and other devices. For example, when

each lesson is introduced and spoken English is

taught, the students can easily improve their

listening and speaking skills which the multimedia

technology cannot do. Even, the teachers'

interpretation during the language teaching should

not be overlooked. In principle, English should be

used frequently in the language classes in order to

improve the students’ communicative

8 CONCLUSIONS

The main purpose of using adobe flash as a new

multimedia technology in language teaching

specifically in teaching essay writing is to help

raising students’ motivation and learning interest in

studying how to write essay writing.

In conclusion, the utilization of adobe flash as a new

multimedia technology can fully improve the

students’ thinking and practical language skills. This

will ensure and full fill an effective result of

teaching how to write an essay writing. Despite

some disadvantages of using multimedia.

Using the technology of adobe flash software in

teaching essay writing is one of the best alternative

to make the learning process become more effective

and attractive to improve student’s ability in

studying essay writing.

REFERENCES

D. H. Brown, “Principles of Language Learning &

Teaching”. Fourth edition, longman 2000. New York

D. H. Brown, (2001). Teaching by Principles: Interactive

Approach to Language. Pedagogy. New York: San

Francisco State University.

Healey, Deborah et. al. TESOL Technology Standards

Framework. Virginia: Teachers of English to Speakers

of Other Language, Inc., 2008. Print.

K.V. Madhavi. “Computer Assisted Language Learning

(CALL): Developing Writing skills using Study Skills

Success software. “Journal of Technology for English

Language Teaching”. (year of publication). (ELTAI).,

Vol 4 no 21. Available in

Onlinehttps://sites.google.com/site/journaloftechnolog

yforelt/archive/vol-4-no-2-1/1.

Motteram, Gary. "Introduction." Innovations in Learning

Technologies for English Language Teaching. Ed.

Gary Motteram. London: the British Council, 2013. 5-

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Ren, Ying, Mark Warschauer, Sonja Lind and Louise

Jennewine. "Technology and English Language

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PM. Neo and T. K. Neo, (2009). Engaging students in

multimedia-mediated Constructivist learning –

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Available: http://www.ifets.info/journals/12_2/18.pdf

Tutorialspoint.com, Software Development Life Cycle

(SDLC) Simply Easy Learning by Tutorialspoint.com

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Wikipedia “adobe flash”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash Tuesday,

may 08th, 2019 at 02.00 WIB

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