Create an interactive e-learning course from PowerPoint with isEazy Author

If you want to learn how to turn a PowerPoint into an IsEazy Author presentation for your e-learning courses, just follow these steps:

1. Create the project: when you do so, you will have to choose between the classic or express course, and select the style that best suits your content. Remember that you can ask us for a personalized style for your company!

2. Set up your project: Assign it an image (one you take out of your PowerPoint, for example), customize the background and fonts, and set the course language; this language will be used for interface elements, such as buttons and instructions. This is a good time for you to start defining the course image, in case you want to follow the same graphic style of your original document. Next, decide the navigation for your course. Will the course be navigated freely or sequentially? Think about your course’s learning goals for a moment before you decide. If you’re not sure, in this post we’ll tell you a little bit more about it. If you’re not sure yet, you can decide at the end of the course design once you have all the content created.

3. Identify the index and chapters in your PowerPoint presentation. If you don’t already have them, prepare them, and decide what content will go into each section. This exercise will help you see if you have any weak chapters, if you can perhaps merge two chapters into one, or if the information is distributed perfectly. Now, create each chapter and subchapter within the Edit Content section in isEazy  Author.

4. Now, where do I start? Well, from the beginning! Choose the slide template that best suits the content you want to display and, from there, you are free to modify what you want! Remember that you can customize the distribution of elements with our more than 150 layout possibilities, and add and remove interactive resources wherever and whenever you want.

5. Decide what content you’ll reuse from your PowerPoint. From this moment on, select elements for your presentation (texts, images) and transfer them to your new isEazy Author slide. By clicking on the Preview button, you can see how the result would look. With the Copy Slide feature, at the bottom of each one, you can copy the slides with all their elements to speed up the layout. 

6. Transform static elements into interactive ones. For example, if you have an outline in your PowerPoint, you can easily transform it into an infographic. You can add clickable items to images with the Hot spots option. If you have diagrams that point to different things with arrows, you can make them more interactive by transforming them into linked images. Check out the resources available with isEazy Author and let your imagination run wild!

7. Decide how you’ll communicate each piece of content in your PowerPoint. Will you communicate through text or images? Will you use video or sound? Interactive exercises? Review all your content and decide what would be the most pedagogical way to communicate it. Remember to switch up your resources and not put too many similar resources together: a good balance will make your course dynamic and engaging. For example:  

• Decide what interactive elements your e-learning course will have. Interaction is one of the features that can make the difference between a flat, one-way course and an interactive and engaging course for students. But just as PowerPoint can turn out to be boring if the whole document is flat and lacks interaction, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to include all the interactive elements, which can tire and bore your students, as well. We recommend that you use interaction in the following cases: 

1. To ask your students a question
2. To show cause and effect
3. To show processes
4. To provide extra information
5. To introduce a break after an intense explanation

Switch between the theoretical content in your PowerPoint and interactive activities that can fit into one of these 5 categories. If you want more ideas on how to include interaction in your courses, we have this post for you.

• Include reinforcement activities. Reinforcement activities are a powerful tool, especially for students. With these, they’re able to check to see if they are taking in the knowledge or if they need to review a chapter. Ideally, you should place them after each key concept is introduced in your course. If you’re not sure, placing them every 6 or 7 slides is a good idea.
  

• Add multimedia content. IsEazy Author allows you to include video, audio, downloads, and even embed external content like YouTube, Vimeo, Slideshare, Google Docs, Ivoox, etc. These resources are great additions to your course content.
  Tip: Be careful not to include too much external content. This may extend your course’s duration and lead to the counterproductive effect of boring your students. Be sure to only include content that is relevant to your students.
  

• Prepare gamification content. Today, gamification is on everyone’s lips, and that’s because there’s no denying its great ability to motivate students by incorporating game elements and dynamics into learning. Transforming part of your PowerPoint document into gamified content will make it much more interesting. At isEazy Author we’ve prepared several games, which are perfect for some reinforcement activities or even to replace the theory itself.

8. Export your course. Once you have finished it and are completely satisfied with your e-learning course, export it and share it! With isEazy Author, you can export the course in Scorm format so that you can publish it to your LMS, but you can also share it on your intranet or website, or even share it via direct link, without having to upload it anywhere. As always… it’s easier with isEazy Author!

9. Prepare a great test. The test will allow you to confirm that the students have learned the key concepts of the course, and will also help you to reinforce all the material learned, synthesizing the important learning points. In this article, we tell you how to create the perfect test. If you are sure about your course’s learning goals and the key concepts, it won’t be hard for you to prepare it.

Have you converted a PowerPoint into an IsEazy Author course? What are you waiting for? Start your free trial now and start doing wonders!