Do I Use PowerPoint,
Flash or FlexAuthoring?…Or
All Three?
March 2008
Learning Management System<
PowerPoint
content can be an effective storyboard starting point for your web based
content. And at times it can be the
format of choice. However, a common concern we hear is, “I don’t want my content
to look like a PowerPoint.” A number of affordable software products are
available to convert PowerPoint into Flash format for a faster, more web
friendly delivery. These products
include Captivate, FlashSpring, Power Converter, to name a few, and they have advanced
in ease of use, features and options. A
new FlexAuthoring feature and a PowerPoint conversion option can help the
content developer move with ease from PowerPoint to online course production.
The
FlexAuthoring External URL/ Web Page Template allows
you to pull in an external URL or web page to fill the learning screen. The
content is displayed in the frame of the FlexAuthoring learning screen. Therefore, the navigation and bookmarking work just as they do for
other templates. You now have the ability to insert web deliverable content
created in a third party authoring source into the navigational sequence of a
FlexAuthoring section. This could be PowerPoint, HTML, Flash Movie, Web URL,
etc. Plus, you still have the option of using the external content as an
independent course section.
Flash
Slides are an important advancement for your PowerPoint conversion options. Previously,
you only had the option of converting the entire PowerPoint to a Flash Movie or
HTML format. These are still excellent options but don’t allow for bookmarking
to the specific slide where the student leaves the section. PowerPoint provides
the option of saving JPEG image slides that can be used in FlexAuthoring to
achieve the bookmarking functionality, but it is difficult to create the same
quality in the image compared to actual PowerPoint. Also, since the image is
static, any animations or audio created in the PowerPoint are lost. Audio for
image slides would need to be imported to the FlexTraining Media Library and then
matched to the image and learning screen.
Flash
Slides will capture the animation and audio created in PowerPoint and produce an
individual Flash object slide that matches the original quality. And like the
individual slide image, this can be placed in a FlexAuthoring template so the
student can navigate and bookmark to the specific learning screen. Now you have
two options. You can import the Flash slides into the Media Library to be
embedded through the basic multimedia template of FlexAuthoring,
or you can utilize the new External URL template and simply point to the Flash
slide you want to use.
The
transition from PowerPoint to the “Web Content Look” continues to get easier, and
with more options.