Unfortunately, there are only a few tools with which animations can be programmed well. Adobe does offer Adobe Animate for CreateJS animations, but both Adobe Animate and CreateJS can now be considered outdated.
For this reason, the Open Animation Lab was developed. It is intended to avoid typical hurdles that quickly cost time when programming animations:
- no setup required
- results are immediately visible
- export of an animation with a mouse click
- template function for lecturers as a structuring aid
- completely open source, free of charge and without registration
Why a custom class model helps
A dedicated class model was provided that is specifically intended for didactic animations.
A class model is a structure of prepared classes (that is, reusable building blocks in the code). This means that standard things do not have to be programmed from scratch every time.
An example: Anyone who wants to create a simple arrow quickly faces a task that can take half an hour. Often, one then builds up a personal collection of code snippets.
This also includes UI elements such as buttons, checkboxes or sliders. UI (user interface) means the user interface – that is, everything you click or control in the tool. Such elements require a lot of attention and testing.
Templates: interesting for teaching
The template function makes the tool particularly interesting for teaching. As a teacher, you can prepare tasks and sample code and structure them by categories.
This creates a clear structure – and learners can focus more strongly on the content instead of on setup or recurring technical details.