Do you have Adobe Flash videos in your courses?

Flash video technology may not work in the near future as Adobe has announced that it will stop development and support in December 2020. In addition, Flash videos do not function on mobile devices, so any content using Flash is not available to many students.

To determine if your courses contain Flash videos, you can disable Flash in your browser and review your course and videos. Flash videos will not function or play properly when Flash is disabled in browsers. You can also right-click on the video and the file name can indicate if it is a Flash video (Flash file names end in .flv, .f4v, .f4p, .f4a, and .f4b).

If you use Flash videos in your teaching, we encourage you to take proactive measures to ensure your students continue accessing that content after support ends. Consider the following options:

1. Flash videos, which are not interactive, could be converted to mp4 and streamed via Panopto, UIC’s video streaming platform that is available at no cost to faculty. This process can be time consuming, but does not require redesign. You can request support to convert those videos from LTS at LTS@uic.edu. Please include the course CRN and the exact location of the content that needs to be converted.
   
2. Flash videos designed as online interactive lessons, such as Softchalk lessons or SCORM files, have to be rebuilt with alternative software and will require instructor attention. In some cases, the interactive Flash videos can be simplified to view-only screencasts. This means that the content of the video would be available to students, but any quizzes or interactions would become view-only simulations. If your flash content is interactive, you can request a consultation with a multimedia specialist from LTS to discuss your options. There are no fees for a consultation, and you can schedule an appointment here: http://go.uic.edu/MultimediaOfficeHours.

You can take advantage of this technology change to redesign your content to better meet your students’ needs and your course objectives. Alternatively, if your videos are not in use currently, the best action will be to simply remove the links or embedded videos.

Learning Technology Solutions can provide instructors with consultation or support with their Flash videos. Please contact LTS@uic.edu with any questions or to request help.