The best program to use is the official Adobe Flash... you can buy it for 700 dollars, but if you are a student you can get it for only 200 dollars. If you can find it, however, I would suggest using the no longer in production Macromedia Flash 8.
As for animating tips, you'll have to find your own style. And by that, I mean drawing style. Find a niche; stick with that. Once you have that down pat, look at the Flash Tutorials NG supplies. I believe EJR Productions posted a link. Well, I hope I've been a help.