Free PowerPoint Template & Simple Way to Share Files

I like syncing services like Dropbox because I can keep my files synced across multiple computers.  And, if you’re an elearning developer or freelancers, Dropbox makes sharing files with your customers super easy.  In fact, the community team here at Articulate uses it for all of our collaboration and file sharing. 

One of the challenges with Dropbox is that it requires the other person to download and install the Dropbox application.  Quite a few organizations don’t allow the installation of outside applications.  Plus, many people are blocked from accessing the Dropbox site because it’s a file sharing site.

Airdropper: A Simple Way to Request Files

This is where Airdropper comes in.  It’s a service that lets you create a way for people to upload and send files to your Dropbox without requiring that they actually sign up or download any Dropbox applications.  Essentially, you share a folder with Airdropper and they send the files to you via that folder. 

Here’s a quick screencast tour of how it works.  If you’re a Dropbox user, you’ll find the service valuable. Personally, I find it to be a great service that complements what I do with Dropbox.

Click here to view the Airdropper tour.

Free PowerPoint Template

Not only do I like the Airdopper service, I really like their website.  It’s got a clean interface that could easily be adapted to an elearning course.  So I used the site to inspire a new free PowerPoint template.

Here’s a demo of the Airdropper-inspired template in action.  And you can read some tips below on doing something similar.

Click here to view the demo.

• Use PowerPoint to build your graphics.  When I create templates like this, I like to separate the graphics development from the PowerPoint file.  In this case, I built all of the objects in PowerPoint and then saved them as images.  Then I imported the images into the slides.  This makes it easier to work with the files and speeds up the publishing time.

• Store PowerPoint graphics on the master slide. In a previous post, I shared how you can use the master slide as a repository.  In this template, I placed all of the envelope shapes I created in PowerPoint on a few master slides.  They don’t interfere with the course, but if you want to make edits to the originals, they’re always available to you.

• Improve your PowerPoint skills.  As always, I encourage you to do these types of templates.  They’ll help you come up with some elearning course templates.  In addition, you’ll become more proficient using PowerPoint and your rapid elearning tools.  You’ll also become more comfortable in your graphic design skills.

Here’s a screencast that gives a quick tour of the template and some ideas on how to create animated pages that move in and out of the envelope.

Click here to view the template tour.

I hope you enjoy the template.  Feel free to use it as you wish for your elearning projects.  You can download the free PowerPoint template here. 

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Free E-Learning Resources

Want to learn more? Check out these articles and free resources in the community.	Here’s a great job board for e-learning, instructional design, and training jobs	Participate in the weekly e-learning challenges to sharpen your skills
Get your free PowerPoint templates and free graphics & stock images.	Lots of cool e-learning examples to check out and find inspiration.	Getting Started? This e-learning 101 series and the free e-books will help.