The Rapid Elearning Blog

free desktop PowerPoint template for interactive course

This post gives you a two-fer: that’s two freebies for one. I found a free desktop image made available by Anastasia Kolisnichenko. I used the free image to create an interactive course prototype for an upcoming workshop activity. The template is free for you to download and use as you wish.

Below is an example of the template in action. It’s embedded on the blog page. Click here to view the template if the embedded version isn’t visible in the email.

The example above was created in Storyline and uses the zoom region feature and triggers to pause the timeline. Here’s a PowerPoint (no zoom). I like the push transition.

How to Create an Interactive Course Using a Single Image

If you had access to a graphics designer, you could create anything you want. But for many of you, that’s not an option. This means you’re limited to searching the Internet for free downloads and then using those for your courses. The challenge with this is that it can be difficult to modify or customize the free downloads that you find.

However, here’s a simple technique that doesn’t require a lot of extra work. It just requires an image that has clear potential content buckets. Then you add links to those buckets and add your content. It’s a straightforward way to create an exploratory interactive course.

  • Locate an image that has multiple components. The free desktop download is a good example. It has areas that can be made clickable with links to additional content. Another example could be a collage style image or a comic book layout image.

free template layouts for interactive course

  • Create a separate slide for each distinct area. In the example above I made slides for the computer, picture frame, bookshelf, microphone, and calendar. Those are all exciting potential content buckets.
  • Link from the main image to a slide of the isolated element. Also add a link back.
  • Apply a transition. In Storyline, the zoom feature is a wonderful way to transition in and out. In PowerPoint, it’s a bit more challenging to create a zoom that’s easy to edit. In that case, I used a push transition.

In this demo I used the free desktop image to create the interactive course design. However, this production technique works great with other images. The key is that you start with a single image, so you need to do minimal editing and customization.

Download the Free Templates to Create an Interactive Course

Here are the download links to the free template. I also included the original graphic in case the link breaks somewhere down the road. Be sure to give props to Anastasia Kolisnichenko who made it available to use.

Enjoy!

 

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4 responses to “Create an Interactive Course Using a Single Image”

Leggi la traduzione (autorizzata) in italiano di questo post qui: http://www.mosaicoelearning.it/blog/?p=3340

August 7th, 2015

Nice one Tom. It really shows how the right image can make all the difference when you know what you are looking for!

Fantastic post, Tom, you outdid yourself this time. This template is something that really captured my attention, it’s also something I will definetely be showing to a lot of friends of mine, both in reality and online. It really shows how designing eLearning courses can be an easy task as long as you have plenty of creativity, don’t you think?

August 21st, 2015

Clean and effective. Like the inclusion of the ‘delighter’ in the form of the lamp too.