For many years, Adobe Flash was an important part of your web browsing experience. Adobe Flash was designed to animate and stream interactive content to web based media. It was used to stream video, audio, and enable Rich Internet Applications (RIA) on computers and other devices. Adobe Flash played a major role in providing interactive digital educational materials to students of all grade levels. Since the technology was ubiquitous in the early days of the web, Flash was an integral part of the development of tech-rich classroom environments in the early days of EdTech.
If this is starting to read like an obituary, that’s because in 2017 Adobe announced that it would stop updating and distributing Flash on December 31, 2020.
Adobe Flash was designed with PC desktop computers in mind, and it has never been supported by iOS mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. In fact, in April of 2010, Steve Jobs penned a letter entitled “Thoughts on Flash” detailing his reasons for not supporting the third-party application on Apple devices. The letter is a fascinating read if you are interested in the culture of Apple or tech history in general. Nearly ten years ago, Jobs outlined six reasons why Flash was not an ideal choice moving forward.
In order to access Flash-supported content, users of iOS devices have always needed an external app. The most popular of these was Puffin Academy, which has been used in Barrington 220 for a number of years.
In anticipation of the final death of Flash, the developers of Puffin Academy announced that as of July 1, 2019, users are no longer be able to download the app from the App Store. In addition, Google Chrome no longer supports web-based media requiring Flash on iOS devices. What this means to you is that there is effectively no way to access software that requires Adobe Flash on an iPad or iPhone.
The good news is that this transition has been anticipated for many years. Digital content creators that offer current and supported educational materials have been developing apps for students and teachers to use. One example of this is iCivics—a fun and interactive way for intermediate students to learn about government. iCivics depended on Flash in its early days, but has been app-based since 2016. In cases where digital content still relies on Flash, we have found that the publishers are no longer updating or supporting those materials because they are out of date and most likely in the process of being retired and/or replaced.
If you have materials in your curriculum that require Adobe Flash, you are encouraged to reach out to your LTAs and iDAL coaches to help identify alternatives. We are committed to providing the most current and impactful digital resources for our students. If you would like to request new software or apps, remember to visit bit.ly/220SARF to begin the process.
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