Make CP4 project *not* look like a series of slides

[alight9010]

Hi all - this is a rather general question about elearning development with CP4. I've been using CP for several years now but a new client is specifically asking for their project to "not be PowerPointy". In other words, they don't want their project to appear to be a series of slides, the way PPT is laid out. (This is ironic since the source they're providing me with is in PPT.)

Nevertheless, my question to the forum is, what strategies do you use to "dress up" your CP projects and have them appear less like a series of slides?

Thanks!

[Guest]

Hi alight9010,

The are a number of things that I do to avoid accusations of 'fancy powerpoint'.

1.  I never refer to my Cap pages as slides, as you can see I call them pages.

2.  I use plain dark backgrounds - I find powerpoint users tend to have the 'whiteblast' a lot.

3.  I use perpetual buttons for navigation rather than one of the built in progress bars.

4.  Be creative with the advanced functions of Captivate (hiding and showing items with clicks, prompting user interactions, etc)

5.  Use your photo/video editting skills to build the slickest objects you can for filler (transparency is your friend!)

Ideally an highly interactive (for users this can be as simple as rollovers) CBT will have no analog to PowerPoint which tends to be a static presentation.  Don't over design but do use the features available within Captivate to go far beyond PowerPoint.

If you have the development time - don't import your client's powerpoint (my opinion) to save time.  I always find it hard to make it not look like PowerPoint when, in fact, it is.  Use the PowerPoint as your storyboard and build something new and fun.

Hope this helps,

Norm

[alight9010]

Thanks Norm - that's great advice!

[Captiv8r]

LOL, just musing from the sidelines here. I think the link below applies to this rather nebulous request.

Click here to view

Cheers... Rick

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[alight9010]

That's a keeper.  Thanks, Rick, for sharing.

[KCWebPlaza-5meuTi]

You've gotten some good suggestions. Of the top of my head, I'd add:

• Create a custom background design to give the presentation a non-PowerPoint interface. Backgrounds can leave room for header, footer, navigation area and content panels. Add depth with borders, shadows, gradients, etc.
  
• Add interactivity wherever it adds value or increases retention (for training purposes).
• Mix up static presentation and interactivity to keep your user engaged.
• Use multimedia to engage your users and add visual appeal to your content.
• Provide navigation systems to Home, a menu slide, specific slide number, and/or Next/Back. This helps the user get right to the content they want, and they don't have to navigate slide by slide in a linear fashion (as they often do in PowerPoint.
• Mix up types of content in your slides; don't have the same type of content slide after slide, like a "page turner". In one slide have text, then text and graphic, then a diagram that the user clicks on to expand, then text/image, then a couple of slides with screen captures of a software application, ask you users a question and require then to answer to proceed, etc.

[Devonuk]

Just to add a bit.

I have attended a few courses and am told an interactive slide should appear every three or four pages to keep the audience engaged. Also use several different kinds of multimeadia.

I have started using characters with speach bubbles and that has worked very well.

[alight9010]

Thanks for all the input. One of my clients has asked that there by no interactivity - they want the viewers to be just that ... viewers. But I've found that the overwhelming advice of "mixing it up" to be effective in getting a polished, non-PPT, look.  I've also started tinkering with CS4 to add some more advanced animations which (oddly) one can do in PPT but not in CP4.

Speaking of CS4: is there a less-expensive alternative for creating simple Flash animations than CS4?