Hi Bob
Digital Animation is actually a combination of several disciplines - you will have animation theory, which explains how to make credible performances, this spans from pencil paper to rigging and morphing. 2nd - each software has their own tutorials that explains how the software itself handles it and techniques they use.
Most top schools, will train you with maya or 3DS max as those are today's hollywood standards, not necessarily the only softwares used in hollywood, but the most common.
Some of the most impressive 'student' work I've seen online with animation comes from
http://www.ringling.edu/who apparently has an online class.
☯🐉
"To define Tao is to defile it" - Lao Tzu