Better Than Bullet Points: Creating Engaging e–Learning with PowerPoint

Better Than Bullet Points is a practical, hands-on guide that offers the information and tools needed to make e-learning and PowerPoint® presentations stand out from the crowd. This second edition of the popular resource shows how to tap into the new robust and updated features of the latest version of PowerPoint®. Throughout the book, Bozarth includes specific instructions and helpful exercises that cover everything from text to art, animation to interactivity. If you have PowerPoint®, this book will immediately put free real-world tools in your hands. In addition, the book features online tools as well as a wealth of additional effective tools, helpful templates, and illustrative examples. Praise for the Second Edition of Better Than Bullet Points "Jane has done it again! Her straightforward style, emphasis on design over technology, and passion for helping instructional designers, trainers, and teachers create compelling, meaningful instruction sets this book apart. If you design any type of learning, you need to read this book." —Karl M. Kapp, author, The Gamification of Learning and Instruction "This is required text for all our graduate students. It combines excellent instructional design principles and technology to help practitioners produce engaging, effective, and timely e-learning in their organizations." —Dr. Brenda S. Levya-Gardner, director, Human Resource Development Graduate Program Xavier University "If you are an instructional designer or an instructor-led facilitator, this new edition is a must-have for any library and should be a must-read for anyone in the training industry." —Kevin Thorn, Chief NuggetHead, NuggetHead Studioz "Jane once again has made us all effective designers and developers by expanding our creative uses of PowerPoint®. Read this book and learn simplicity and engagement." —Ray Jimenez, CEO, Stories to Learning System

Website Contents vii List of Figures and Tables xi Acknowledgments xxiii Introduction xxv SECTION 1 FOUNDATIONS Chapter 1 Creating e–Learning with PowerPoint 3 Examples 4 Let’s Get Started 10 Versions 11 One More Thing 15 Next Step: It’s About Design, Not Software 15 Chapter 2 It’s About Design, Not Software 17 Who Are Your Learners? 17 Objectives and Strategies 18 Cognitive Load 23 About mLearning 27 Choosing a Treatment 30 Writer’s Block? 33 Can You Find a Story? 34 From Classroom to Online: Think “Transform,” Not “Transfer” 37 Cut–n–Chunk 37 What’s Working? What’s Not? 38 Inventory Your Assets 38 Why Storyboard? 41 Types of Storyboards 42 Next Stop: The program Interface and Architecture 46 SECTION 2 INTERFACE AND CONTENT Chapter 3 Graphic User Interface and Course Architecture 51 Graphic User Interface 52 GUI Basics 53 Learner Control: Some Decisions 57 Navigation Tools and Action Buttons 57 Eye Movement and Placement of Items 62 Building the GUI 66 Architecture 76 Next Stop: Designing for Impact 79 Chapter 4 Designing for Impact 81 Use Graphics with Soul 81 Blunders 92 Text 98 Next Stop: Creating and Editing Art 100 Chapter 5 Creating and Editing Art 101 Bitmap or Vector? 101 Working with Shapes and ClipArt 103 Editing Photos in PowerPoint 115 MS Paint 119 File Size: Compressing Images 124 New Horizons 125 Next Stop: Animation 126 Chapter 6 Animation 127 Animation Basics 129 Animations That Teach 133 Next Stop: Interactivity 153 Chapter 7 Interactivity 155 It’s All About Hyperlinking 156 Quizzes—Some Shaped Like Games 162 Linking to External Games and Quizzes 181 Simulations 187 Case Studies and Stories 195 The Skinny on Hyperlinking 200 What About “Gamification”? 201 Mazes 202 Treasure Hunts 205 About Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 206 Next Stop: Add–Ons, Blending, Performance Support, and Job Aids 207 Chapter 8 Add–Ons, Blending, Performance Support, and Job Aids 209 Other Documents 209 Site Samplers 210 Add–On Software 211 “Blending” 214 Performance Support, Job Aids, and the Nice to Know 215 Next Stop: Adding Narration and Multimedia 224 Chapter 9 Adding Narration and Multimedia 225 Adding Narration 225 Adding Sound Effects and Music 229 Adding Video 234 Next Stop: Saving, Uploading, and Distributing Your Program 240 SECTION 3 DELIVERY AND SUPPORT Chapter 10 Distributing Your e–Learning Program 243 Saving and Uploading Your Files 245 Tracking 251 Test, Test, Test—and Launch! 255 Summary 258 Appendix: PowerPoint Basics 261 References and Other Sources 273 Other Resources 277 Index 279 About the Author 287

Jane Bozarth is the e-learning coordinator with the North Carolina Office of State Personnel's Human Resources Development Group. She is the author of e-Learning Solutions on a Shoestring, From Analysis to Evaluation, and Social Media for Trainers . She can be contacted through her website www.bozarthzone.com.