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Scott Abel reports: <<Not that I think any Microsoft products are the *best*
choice for the development of training materials, but I have a client who is
trying to use PowerPoint to develop training materials.>>
Nothing inherently wrong with that. Some types of training really don't need
to do much beyond present a series of facts in a logical order, intended to
support self-guided learning, and PowerPoint can certainly do that. Ditto if
the training will be provided by a human who'll simply use the PP
presentation as a crutch for their lecture and class exercises.
What the software can't easily do is permit interactivity or customization,
and it can't (without a fair bit of VBA programming) administer tests and
track the results.
<<Can anyone recommend any good PowerPoint tips and tricks web sites?>>
The issue isn't the tool in this case. Provided that a linear or minimally
branching self-guided lesson or an instructor-led training session is all
that you need, the far more important question is whether your client has
any background in instructional design. If not, then what you're really
looking for is a short course in instructional design, not a "how to use
PowerPoint" primer.
--Geoff Hart, ghart@ videotron.ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"Wisdom is one of the few things that look bigger the further away it
is."--Terry Pratchett
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