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?)

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.