Most elearning professionals have to face the issue of creating elearning modules from simple, linear Powerpoint slides. There is no easy formula that can be applied to solve this. Christopher Pappas from the excellent eLearning Industry website offered some suggestions that are sound but, in my opinion, in the wrong order.

6 Tips To Turn Your Presentation Into An Interactive eLearning Course – eLearning Industry.

There is nothing in this article that I disagree with, but I think the sequence is misleading, and a key element is omitted. My tips – in workflow order – are:

• Confirm the learning objectives (you DO have learning objectives, right?)
• Review the content to understand the flow and to see where the content focuses on the specific learning objectives
• Map out the content and work out where interactivity can be introduced (eg where do scenarios tell the story best? Where can an interactive exercise help a learner to better understand a concept? Where can the user choose the learning path vs where is the linear pathway essential? Where can you add video resources?)
• Redraw the flow to reflect your new interactive structure
• Now choose a tool that can fill the requirements
• Follow Christopher Pappas’s suggestions regarding stories, scenarios and navigation

The construction of an interactive elearning course from existing material is very challenging and must be driven by balancing the learner’s needs and the educator’s objectives.