Coral Presenter Blog

Here’s an offer that’s hard to refuse: free training videos for PowerPoint users available online from CBT Nuggets!

The videos are full-length and each one deals with a specific topic in depth. According to CBT Nuggets:

Want to create PowerPoint presentations that knock the socks off your coworkers - and more importantly, your boss? These training videos show you the ins and outs of PowerPoint, so you can give your presentations the “sizzle” that keeps people interested and sells your ideas.

The following titles are available for free from the CBT Nuggets website:

• PowerPoint 2003 Work Area Fundamentals
  from the MOS Series: PowerPoint 2003 series
• Powerful PowerPoint Presentations - LIVE
  from the MOS Series: PowerPoint 2003 series
• Customizing a Presentation
  from the MOS Series: PowerPoint 2000 series
• Adding Content — Tables & Charts
  from the MCAS Series: Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 series

Free videos are also available on a range of other topics such as Word, Excel, Vista and more technical subjects.

I’m currently reading Better Than Bullet Points: Creating Engaging e-Learning with PowerPoint by Jane Bozarth. Bozarth proposes and then answers a very good question:

With PowerPoint so familiar, intuitive and easy to use, why would a trainer choose to buy an expensive authoring tool?

She lists the following reasons:

• PowerPoint allows for rapid development and deployment of e-learning
• PowerPoint provides for easy addition of graphics and simple animation
• Many organizations have libraries of PowerPoint presentations originally developed for classroom use which can be republished as e-learning
• Motion path animation gives PowerPoint users animation options previously only available in high-end graphics programs
• Even novice PowerPoint users will find the learning curve shorter than that associated with other tools
• Many other tools involve licencing fees or per-user costs
• Most trainers already own a copy of PowerPoint

All together they make a compelling case in favor of using PowerPoint with an e-learning “enabler” such as Coral Presenter to produce new e-learning and re-publish existing materials for online deployment. Her book does suggest a number of practical ways to make the materials more engaging which will hopefully improve learner acceptance of e-learning as well as raising the effectiveness of the learning process.

In the training world, many people are moving away from PowerPoint. Some completely abstain, while others are occasional users. The biggest critics say PowerPoint is the death of training. It appears, however, that no one asked the learners what they thought. In our study, the inclusion of PowerPoint presentations increased learner enjoyment by 25 percent.

PowerPoint makes it easier for people to follow along. It also keeps people focused, employing a message or image that relates to the topic. If minds do wander, PowerPoint is a reminder to get back in the game. And for visual learners, seeing a representation of information is key to their understanding.

So while much maligned and at times overused, PowerPoint should not be dismissed summarily—at least from the learner’s perspective.

via Everything DiSC Pulse: The Method Makes the Difference.

The number of trainers and teachers using PowerPoint to develop e-learning is still increasing and it’s interesting to see some empirical data showing that learner enjoyment increased (although we have not been told what it was being compared against — Excel perhaps?)

I’ve always loved reading Dilbert and one of my favorite characters is Dogbert who pulls no punches and does not suffer fools gladly. Here’s a beauty in full color and even animated!

I wish I could draw as well as this! What engaging e-learning I could create!

A handy reference guide for Microsoft PowerPoint is available from itbusinessedge.com.

PowerPoint Quick Reference Card

The guide includes an introduction to the basics of PowerPoint, a list of useful PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts and tips on using formatting, graphics and animations in your presentation.

It’s probably most useful for new users of PowerPoint and those who have just upgraded to PowerPoint 2007. It’s free! So download it, print it out on both sides of a piece of paper and if you have a laminator handy you have just got yourself a reference guide that won’t stain when you put your coffee mug on top!

Here’s where you can get the reference guide: http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/docs/DOC-1342 (registration required). Guides for other Office products and Abobe products are also available.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Demos:

Keep sane with the Selection Pane - If you work with layered items on PowerPoint slides, the Selection Pane, new in the 2007 Office release, can make that task easier.  The Selection Pane lists each item on your slide so you can apply custom effects to just that item, without having to click through the layers on the slide itself. When you finish, you can preview the effects and unhide all the items.

Use 3-D effects - You want your presentation to convey key points to your audience. The new 3-D effects in PowerPoint 2007 give you dozens of ways to create graphics effects that pop off the slide and highlight the information you want to be remembered. Watch the demo to see how to do this with slides. Similar options are available in Excel 2007, Outlook 2007, and Word  2007.

Click Here for All Free Microsoft Office 2007 Software & Resources

"...increases to 59.5% of..."

Trainingindustry.com, a portal for the training industry, likes to polish the crystal ball once a year and look at the 12 months ahead.

Below is a summary of 10 Trainingindustry.com’s predictions for 2009:

1. Total spend for training services will decline by 10%
2. The Training Workforce in North America will decline by 11%.
3. Re-engineering Activities for Training Organizations Will Increase
4. Investment in Customer Training Increases to 59.5% of Total Spend
5. Consolidation of Training Departments Will Increase
6. Fixed Resources Dedicated to Training Will Decrease
7. Supply Based Training Models Will Decrease
8. Availability of Informal Learning Content will Increase
9. Creation of User Generated Content Will Increase
10. Development of Compliance Based Training Increases

Apart from the very specific numbers quoted (11%? 59.5%? hmmm…), the predictions appear to be valid generally.

Prediction #9 is of most interest. Amidst all the cuts and consolidations there is one growth area: user generated content! This is exactly the where Coral Presenter comes in. It’s ideal for use by staff with valuable knowledge to share and familiarity with Powerpoint to rapidly create web-presentations and elearning.

For an explanation of each prediction see: Top 10 Market Predictions for 2009: Are YOU ready for the New Training Industry?

Janet Clarey

According to Brandon Hall’s Janet Clarey the following are the top five learning trends for 2009:

1. Mobile learning:  Mobile learning has advanced in significant ways and now is on the edge of widespread use in the corporate environment.
2. Do-it-yourself (DIY) learning:  Learning in the workplace increasingly will provide more options to create learning.
3. Flexible learning environments:  Driven by Web 2.0 tools such as social networks and the expectations of Millennial workers, we will continue to see more LMSs transitioning from 1.0 to 2.0 platforms.
4. Virtual worlds:  This year, we’ll see more feasibility testing on the use of virtual worlds for workplace learning.
5. Games and simulations: Games have moved beyond “edutainment” into complex topics that require higher-order thinking. Learning designers are realizing the potential for games to provide a realistic, interactive experience that draws people in, as well as to address the gaming culture associated with younger workers.

We certainly agree that pressure to cut costs will result in a great deal of what Janet terms DIY learning. Coral Presenter is an excellent low-cost tool for developing this kind of learning content. Download a trial and check it out.

McKinsey recently published a feature on upgrading talent that contained sound advice for companies in the current downturn in the economy…

Rather than freezing all hiring and employee-development programs, companies should use this period as an opportunity to upgrade talent and better engage existing staff.  This means reinvesting a percentage of the capital liberated from cost cutting into, for example, selective recruiting and development programs and in efforts to safeguard the culture and to redesign jobs so that they are more engaging to the remaining employees.

Read the full article:  http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Upgrading_talent_2260

Bermuda Scientific’s Coral Presenter enables the rapid development of e-learning from within PowerPoint. A free trial of Coral Presenter can be downloaded from here: http://www.bermuda-scientific.com/downloads.php

View tutorial

Try Coral Presenter now! Learn how to add narration to PowerPoint slides by viewing our tutorial: Adding Narration with Coral Presenter.