The PowerPoint import feature is a useful tool to help you quickly turn existing PowerPoint learning resources into Elucidat courses. It is designed to convert the structure and content of your slides quickly and even create interactions using that content.
Here are some tips and additional information to help you get the most out of this feature.
1. It's a good starting point
Importing your existing PowerPoints is a great way to start building your content.
However, it is important to understand that the aim of the importer is not to provide you with a finished course. You will likely still need to refine the Project further once it has been created, whether that means re-arranging sections, editing content, adding more media, configuring completion and pass rates etc.
For example, images are uploaded using the Cover image mode which will fill the image container but may lead to the image being cropped so you may need to change the image mode. You can read more about the different image modes in Best Practice: Working with images.
2. Use existing resources
It is best to use existing resources with this feature rather than beginning your elearning in PowerPoint and then uploading it into Elucidat.
This is because the importer approximates how to arrange your content when you upload it. It may decide that some of your text and media belongs in an Accordion but you'd prefer to use it in a Carousel. Starting your elearning build in Elucidat allows you to make these decisions yourself from the beginning.
If you'd prefer to build directly in Elucidat, there are other ways to quickly build out the structure and content of a new course. Starting from a Learning Accelerator Template or creating a new Project from one of your existing Projects are great ways to speed up the initial creation stages of your elearning course.
3. Not everything will be uploaded
Empty slides or slides that only contain images and no text will not be uploaded. If you have these in your presentation, you could add a short placeholder text to the slide to ensure it is included in the upload.
Any elements created using the presentation program you are using (such as boxes, lines, arrows, etc) will also not be imported as well as any speaker notes your presentation might have had.
Video and audio assets will not be imported but video and audio components are created where they would be so you can add them later.
4. Keep limits in mind
The maximum supported file size is 100MB. We also only accept the PPTX file format.
Additionally, courses generated using the PowerPoint import are limited to a maximum of:
- 10 chapters per course
- 10 pages per chapter
- 10 sections per page
- 100 pages per course
This is to ensure that the learning remains digestible and valuable to your learners. Keeping your courses short and manageable generally leads to a more engaging experience over a course that is very long and covers many different topics. With this in mind, you may want to consider splitting larger topics into multiple shorter modules.
5. You'll have the best experience with slideshows made in Microsoft PowerPoint
We support files produced in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Your experience with files produced in other programs like Keynote for Mac or Google Slides may vary. For example, due to the way Google Slides handles audio, audio files from a slideshow created in Google Slides won't be imported.
As a result, we are unable to provide full support for files created outside of PowerPoint.
6. Always assess your course's quality
As with any build method, it is important to put the course through a quality assurance (QA) process before you send it out to learners. This can help you identify any potential issues you need to address or tweaks you need to make.
This can include:
- Checking for typos and other errors in content
- Checking the responsiveness of the course at different view modes
- Checking that the completion and score tracking is working correctly (i.e. can I, as a learner, achieve what's needed in this course to be considered successful?)
You can read more about our pre-launch QA advice in Testing your course before going live to learners.