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PowerPoint File as a Module (PDF, Word, and Keynote)

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Jacqueline Barnes
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Import a PowerPoint file into Litmos using the media module.  This module can also be used to import PDF files.  If you are using Keynote, the file will first need to be saved as a .ppt before it can be imported into Litmos. 

PowerPoint is still the dominant authoring tool for eLearning material. There are some very cool things you can do in PowerPoint if you know how so check the bottom of this article for tricks and tools of the trade. 

All files imported into a media module will be converted into an online format to allow users who do not have PowerPoint to view the video.  However, during this conversion, some features may be stripped from the file see below for more information.

Why does the audio, animations and Flash not play with my PowerPoint upload?

If your PowerPoint Presentation contains audio, animations or Flash content, these effects will be lost when your file is uploaded in to Litmos as a Presentation Module because after your file uploads, it's converted in to an online format so that it can be viewed over the web. This means trainees do not need to have PowerPoint on their computer to view the content. However, the downside is that the conversion process strips out Flash,  animations and audio so that the presentation becomes a static object.

What’s the Solution?
If you want to upload a PowerPoint that contains audio, animations or Flash content you will need to first convert it to a Flash or Video file, then upload it in to Litmos as a Flash Module or Video module respectively.

Here are three easy ways to do this:

  1. Use a PowerPoint to Flash converter like the free one offered here by iSpringSolutions:  https://www.ispringsolutions.com/ispring-free. This tool keeps all of the visual parameters, animation effects, slide transitions, audio narrations, video and Flash objects after the PowerPoint converts to Flash.
  2. Use a screen recorder to record your presentation as it plays through, then publish the recording as a Video or Flash file and upload in to Litmos as a Video or Flash module.  This blog post suggests some of the top screen recorders on the market, free or otherwise: http://www.litmos.com/blog/authoring-tools/top-screen-recording-tools and http://www.litmos.com/blog/authoring-tools/10-tips-for-recording-audio-on-screencasts
  3. Export the PowerPoint file as a video file through PowerPoint (instructions below).

Why is part of my PowerPoint file missing?

This can be due to non-standard slide sizes which could be a result of custom slide size settings when a presentation is created in PowerPoint, or default settings when it is converted from Keynote to PowerPoint if you are using a Mac. This is easy to fix. How to fix will depend on whether they were built in PowerPoint, or whether they were built in Keynote (Mac) then converted to .ppt.

Here are the instructions for both cases:

  • PowerPoint 2007
    Go in to the presentation, click on the ‘Design’ tab, then ‘Page Setup’. Change slide size to ‘On-screen show (4:3)’ and rename/save file. Now try to upload in to Litmos once again.
    Keynote conversion to PowerPoint Presentation
    You will need to ensure the slide resolution used in conversion is the same 4:3 ratio – either (800 x 600) or (1024 x 768). Here are Apple’s instructions on changing slides from the default sizes: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2925
  • Convert PowerPoint presentation to Flash movie format (.swf)
    Alternatively, you can opt to convert your file from a .ppt/.pptx to a Flash file (.swf), which can then be uploaded in to Litmos as a Flash module. To do this you can use many different tools but this one from iSpring can be downloaded for free from: https://www.ispringsolutions.com/ispring-free. Their ‘PowerPoint to Flash Converter’ is a PowerPoint plug-in specifically designed to preserve all aspects of your presentation through a conversion.

    *After downloading the free tool you will see ‘iSpring Free’ appears in your PowerPoint window as an extra menu along the toolbar. It is then simply a matter of opening your PowerPoint presentation and clicking on the ‘iSpring Free’ menu, then selecting to Publish it to Flash using their preset settings.

Exporting the PowerPoint as a Video File:

There are many benefits to exporting a PowerPoint file into a .wmv video.  Some of the main reasons include preserving audio and animation of the PowerPoint file. 

To export the file as a video:

  1. In PowerPoint, go to File.
  2. Click Save & Send.
  3. Click Create a Video.
  4. Select the timing each slide should play.
  5. Click Create Video.
  6. Give the video a file name, choose where to save it and click Save.
  7. Import the video into a video module within Litmos.

Note:  Instructions are given for Microsoft PowerPoint 2010.  Other versions may very.

PowerPoint_to_Video.JPG

 

 

 

Powerpoint Tips and Tricks for Training:

Tom Kuhlmann’s blog (@tomkuhlmann on Twitter) “The Rapid E-Learning Blog” which is attached to the Articulate product website. Here are a few of his posts to get started:

And some other articles and resources:

 

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