This was inspired by a conversation I had last Friday with David and Jeanette. It was something David said about titling slides to increase learner interest, especially when you are using sidebar navigation in your Presenter course.
I have to admit that I've never thought about that a lot. Probably overlooked by a lot of us.
So what are those hints and best practices you use to effectively title your slides? Do you use the title to increase learner interest? To build a process? Encourage them to explore? Vary how you title things depending on the goal of the learning? What do you do?
This is a great discussion topic... I hope more people join in on the discussion!
I love the idea of attracting the learner's attention using slide titles, and it's something I try to do here and there rather than every single slide because... well... if I tried it on every slide it would lose its effectiveness, I think.
One way I try to grab attention through titles is by asking questions. In the course I'm working on today, I have slide titles like "So what IS margin analysis?" and "Why Price to a Desired Margin?" I think this helps the learner see that you're trying to think of things from their perspective. If you're doing your best to anticipate their questions, they're more engaged.
Another method is continuing a phrase or sentence from the bottom of one slide to the title of the next. For example, on one slide, I end with the following:
First, you need to know one important thing about margin analysis...
The title of the next slide is "It's all about perspective!" The one thing I think people tend to forget about slide titles is that they can be used to present content. They don't have to be boring and they don't have to simply label the content being presented. They can be fun! They can grab attention! They can help your learners engage!
I like your advice too Sarah! Especially the idea of using question as slide title. I think you're right, that it is an effective way to help bring the learner in, if you can anticipate their questions and title the slides accordingly.
When i first started using Articulate, I normally didn't use long titles because they would get truncated in the sidebar and i didn't like the way it looked when the tooltip popped up to show the whole title. I didn't realize I could adjust that! Now that I know, I sometimes use more detailed titles when it seems like that is best for the learner. For those who aren't aware: yYou can make the titles 'wrap' by going to player templates and then click "Other" at the left,. There is a an option to 'wrap title to a maximum of __ characters'.
I have in the past used slide titles as questions for the user
e.g. "What is a keyworker"
"WHo can be a Keyworker?"
Our latest project uses a custom skin that is the same colour as the slide background, the slide title is very visible at the top of the player, it has allowed us to release screen real estate for other things
4 Replies
This is a great discussion topic... I hope more people join in on the discussion!
I love the idea of attracting the learner's attention using slide titles, and it's something I try to do here and there rather than every single slide because... well... if I tried it on every slide it would lose its effectiveness, I think.
One way I try to grab attention through titles is by asking questions. In the course I'm working on today, I have slide titles like "So what IS margin analysis?" and "Why Price to a Desired Margin?" I think this helps the learner see that you're trying to think of things from their perspective. If you're doing your best to anticipate their questions, they're more engaged.
Another method is continuing a phrase or sentence from the bottom of one slide to the title of the next. For example, on one slide, I end with the following:
First, you need to know one important thing about margin analysis...
The title of the next slide is "It's all about perspective!" The one thing I think people tend to forget about slide titles is that they can be used to present content. They don't have to be boring and they don't have to simply label the content being presented. They can be fun! They can grab attention! They can help your learners engage!
Hi, Sarah! Great points. Thanks for sharing.
Anyone else?
I like your advice too Sarah! Especially the idea of using question as slide title. I think you're right, that it is an effective way to help bring the learner in, if you can anticipate their questions and title the slides accordingly.
When i first started using Articulate, I normally didn't use long titles because they would get truncated in the sidebar and i didn't like the way it looked when the tooltip popped up to show the whole title. I didn't realize I could adjust that! Now that I know, I sometimes use more detailed titles when it seems like that is best for the learner. For those who aren't aware: yYou can make the titles 'wrap' by going to player templates and then click "Other" at the left,. There is a an option to 'wrap title to a maximum of __ characters'.
Thank you Gerry for starting this discussion
Hi Gerry
I have in the past used slide titles as questions for the user
e.g. "What is a keyworker"
"WHo can be a Keyworker?"
Our latest project uses a custom skin that is the same colour as the slide background, the slide title is very visible at the top of the player, it has allowed us to release screen real estate for other things
Phil
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