A lot of rapid elearning hinges on PowerPoint.  That means your success building courses is influenced by how well you know PowerPoint.  To help you learn more about PowerPoint I pulled together a solid list of PowerPoint resources.

From The Rapid E-Learning Blog

Here are a few posts that cover some of the essentials tips and tricks required for successful PowerPoint-based rapid elearning.

• 5 PowerPoint tips essential for effective rapid elearning.
• Dozens of PowerPoint tips and tricks.
• More than 200 tutorials (most demonstrating excellent PowerPoint tips).

From the PowerPoint Team Blog

One of the best places to go for help with PowerPoint is from the makers of PowerPoint.  Many don’t know it, but Microsoft has a number of really good PowerPoint resources starting with their PowerPoint Blog.

Of course, many of the tips on the blog are specific to the product and not necessarily relevant to rapid elearning.  So I went through the blog posts and pulled out the ones that I think provide the most relevant content for building elearning courses. 

Tips on Presentations & Organizing Content

There are a lot of similarities between creating content for presentations and elearning courses.  The following tips provide ideas on organizing your content and connecting with those who look at the slides (or elearning screens).

• 5 Tips on Getting PowerPoint to Sing!
• 12 Tips for Creating Better PowerPoint Presentations
• 2 Steps to Change the World with PowerPoint
• 3 Ways to Make Your Picture Fit Your Slide
• 3 Presentation Secrets for Nonprofits
• 5 Ways to Avoid Irritating Your Audience
• 3 Tips for Making Powerful Presentations to the Government
• Moving Beyond Bullet Points with Cliff Atkinson

Tips on Using PowerPoint

The more you know about PowerPoint, the better you’ll be at creating your courses.  Here are some tips to help you learn more about the PowerPoint features you’ll need for successful rapid elearning.  Even if you don’t use the specific tips in the posts, you will learn more about some of the PowerPoint features, so it’s worth a look.

• Faster Design with the Layout Button
• Office Themes: The Infinite Variety Generator – Part 1 and Part 2
• Choose Slide Colors Like a Pro
• Create a Table with Nifty Rounded Corners
• Trouble Aligning Objects on Your Slides? Use Drawing Guides
• Better, Faster, Slicker PowerPoint Presentations with Keyboard Shortcuts
• A Picture + 1000 Words…
• Create Sexy Curved Lines in Your Slides

More Resources and Free Templates

Free PowerPoint Templates

• Templates from the PowerPoint team
• Templates from the Rapid E-Learning Blog
• Free templates & downloads from the E-Learning Heroes community
• Microsoft’s PowerPoint Templates

Good PowerPoint Books

• Beyond Bullet Points: What Cliff Atkinson shares for presentations is just as relevant for elearning courses.  He addresses some of the same multimedia design principles as Ruth Clark does in her book, e-Learning & the Science of Instruction and provides a solid blueprint for applying them.
• Better Than Bullet Points: Jane Bozarth shares a lot of practical tips and tricks to help you get the most out of PowerPoint.
• Speaking PowerPoint: To be honest, I haven’t read the book yet.  However the author, Bruce Gabrielle, shares a lot of good practical tips in the PowerPoint blog.  So I am going to assume the book offers the same approach.

PowerPoint Resources

• PowerPoint MVPs: A great resource for PowerPoint tips and help.  The PowerPoint MVPs usually have blogs with all sorts of tips and tutorials.

• Microsoft’s PowerPoint Forum: Get specific answers to PowerPoint questions from the makers of PowerPoint.

• PowerPoint Online Help: Microsoft updated the Office Online site and offers all sorts of tips and tricks.

PowerPoint’s been around for a long time, so there are all sorts of free resources and help available online.  The secret is to take advantage of them and soon you’ll be a PowerPoint pro, too.

Tidbits:

I’m in Atlanta this week.  You can learn more from the link below.  If you’re at the ASTD event check out one of the sessions or swing by the Articulate booth.

Also doing a free jam session in Atlanta on August 17.  Click here for details.  The jam session has a sign up list so that I know how many will attend. 

Here’s a list of upcoming conferences and presentations:

• August 16: Atlanta, GA—ASTD: I’ll be doing two sessions, a pre-conference workshop on elearning (3 hours) and the other on elearning graphics.  Click here for details. Also doing a free jam session on the 17th.
• September 15: Lincoln, NE (ASTD)—Become a Rapid E-Learning Pro. $80 for an all day workshop is a good value and worth the trip if you’re close to Nebraska. I’m also doing a free Articulate jam session while in town.  
• October 16-19: Las Vegas, NV (CUNA)—Experience Learning Live!  I’ll be presenting on building communities and how to build elearning courses with limited resources.
• October 25: Baton Rouge, LA (ASTD)—Webinar. PowerPoint’s No Longer a Slide Show Freak. Learn tips and tricks that help you rethink PowerPoint’s role in your elearning.
• November 1: Las Vegas, NV (Elearning Guild)—Devlearn. Doing a pre-conference workshop and presentation at the conference.
• November 12: Los Angeles, CA (ISPI)—Articulate Workshop. Details to follow.
• November 14: Minneapolis, MN (ASTD)—Articulate Workshop: Build Interactive E-Learning…Rapidly. Click here for updates.
• December 8: Charlotte, NC (ASTD)—Rapid E-Learning Design.  I’ll also be doing a free Articulate jam session while in town.  If you want to attend let me know and I’ll send the details as I get them.

2012 is just around the corner.  If you’re interested in having me present, now’s a good time to connect with me since my schedule fills quickly.