Need Ideas on Labeling Slides that Branch Off

What is the labeling used for? Is it to help identify which slide you're referring to during reviews?

For branching, I have sometimes used an alternate naming scheme like 1A-1B-1C as three choices from question 1. I don't usually make that visible except during reviews, but you could make it work. Progress bars are tricky with branching; you have to make them show progress through the scenario regardless of what slide number it is.

In books, we often have an appendix with separate resources. Could your additional info be in a separate section with its own numbering?

No, it is basically just as a reference for showing how far into the course you are.  We want students to have an idea of how long until they finish each module.  In a linear course, knowing you are on page 5 of 10 would be easy (I'm half way done!).  But with branching it becomes more difficult to display that progress.

If it's just to show students how far they are, I guess I'd still go with a "page 5 of 10" but note in the intro that not all pages are mandatory. During branching, I might switch to an independent numbering scheme that goes by how many decision points they have passed rather than strictly by page numbers.

Thanks, Christy.  How would you display the decision points?

Let's say you have 4 decision points in the scenario. You could say "Question 1 of 4" or "Choice 1 of 4." That way even if the slide number goes backwards (which often happens), you still show forward progress. You're basing it on the number of questions to answer before reaching a solution rather than the total slides (which is irrelevant in branching anyway). You could also do a progress bar for just that part of it, where your progress advances by how many decisions have been made. I don't do it that way in my courses, but if you're backed into a corner, I think you could make it work.

I might also try to probe further with the boss who insists on this about what he wants to accomplish. Personally, I think in a branching scenario it's more important to know how you're performing than how close you are to finishing. Something like the "motivation meter" in this example that visually represents your success (or lack of it) would show people how they're doing and take the emphasis off of "geez, how much longer is this course going to take?!?" If people feel that way about your branching scenarios, you have a larger problem than whether or not you show page numbers.

https://christytucker.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/show-dont-tell-for-scenario-feedback/

Thanks for the feedback, Christy.