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In a recent post we looked at ways to build interactive elearning even if using PowerPoint to build the courses. One of the demos I shared prompted lots of questions. So in today’s post I’ll show you how I created the PowerPoint interaction. This lets us look at some essential production tips when using PowerPoint to build interactive elearning. PowerPoint Tutorials ...
The irony of Labor Day is that many of us celebrate it by taking the day off. That means one less day to create elearning templates. No worries because we’ve got you covered. To help you relax and enjoy the last few days of summer, I’ve included a free tab-themed elearning template. It’s a good one for business policy and compliance courses. Glassy Blue Template ...
When building courses, many of you are in the role of instructional designer AND graphic designer. This can be a challenge when you don’t have the graphic design skills. An easy way to get around that is to look for places in your organization where they’ve hired graphic designers. Then use their work as a guide to inspire yours. This post on how to build an elearning template offers some good tips on where ...
When building rapid elearning with PowerPoint it can be a challenge to get away from linear courses. For one, PowerPoint’s original intent is creating presentations. And they are usually linear. On top of that, many of us have limited time and resources. So building linear, info-centric courses tends to be an easier way to get the projects out the door. The good thing is that PowerPoint isn’t limited to linear elearning. Building interactive elearning is just ...
I get a lot of questions about how to move past the PowerPoint look when building rapid elearning courses. My first suggestion if you’re working with PowerPoint is to step away from the original content. Start with a blank screen and then based on the context of the course, build the look and feel that’s appropriate for the content. With that said, sometimes you can get away with a pre-built template. A good example is with office-themed templates. They work ...
In an earlier post we looked at how to build branched scenarios for interactive elearning courses. Branched scenarios are great for simulating the types of real-world decisions a learner needs to make on the job. As noted in the earlier post, it’s not always easy to create a branched scenario if you’re not the content expert. The main reason is that decision-making scenarios depend on a nuanced understanding of the subject matter so that you can guide the learner through ...
Screenshots and elearning go hand-in-hand. I use them for a lot of my software training. I also use them almost daily for project reviews. It’s easy to create a quick screen grab and then add a few notes. I also use screenshots when I run across a template or idea that I may want to use in a future elearning course. Just grab an image and save it in my ideas folder for later. If you do a search you’ll find that there are ...
This past week I was in Nashville where we discussed building interactive scenarios. Part of the discussion revolved around designing some simple scenario strategies to move the projects away from linear elearning and towards meaningful interactivity. The ultimate goal is transitioning from a push model where we just provide information and move to a more interactive model where the learner makes the same types of decisions she’d make in a real-world environment. These decision-making activities are used to reinforce ...
Who doesn’t want free PowerPoint templates? If you build rapid elearning courses, they can save time. And if you’re challenged for ideas or graphic design skills they also help bring a consistent and clean look to your rapid elearning courses so that you avoid the Frankencourse. It doesn’t mean that relying on templates is always a good thing. In fact, I have mixed feelings about templates. They're great for beginners and subject matter experts to help ...
A common frustration for many rapid elearning developers is wanting to build elearning courses that look good but not having the graphic design expertise or resources to make it happen. Today, we’ll look at a simple way to solve that problem. I call it the “quick template” technique. It’s a trick I share in many of my workshops. In a previous post we reviewed how to design an elearning course on a budget. It’s a good overview of what ...
In a previous post we reviewed how to avoid the Frankencourse. These are courses that look like a bunch of modules that are cobbled together rather a single course. They’re also courses where the design of the course is all over the place and inconsistent. One way to avoid the Frankencourse is to come up with a consistent design that is used throughout the course. For example, title fonts are all the same and the colors used in ...
A while back I got an email from a blog reader who was excited about her first elearning project. She said that she had used every single tip I ever shared on the blog. Sure enough, she did. In fact, her product was less elearning course more Rapid E-Learning Blog museum. I mention this because something she did in her course was common to many of the courses I see. It’s what I like to call the Frankencourse. ...
The Rapid E-Learning Blog shares practical tips and tricks to help you become a rapid elearning pro.
It is hosted by Tom Kuhlmann who has over 15 years of hands-on experience in the training industry and currently runs the community at Articulate.
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