A layout is an instructional bet

What this lesson covers

1. 01

   Pick the layout after the action

   Module 1 tied slide types to practice. This module maps content layouts to jobs: look up criteria (table), show peer ideas of equal weight (carousel), walk a strict sequence (process strip), locate parts (labelled graphic), show a cited magnitude (chart), define terms (glossary), and point to evidence (resources). Choosing the layout is a bet on what the learner needs to do with the content.

2. 02

   Layout to job

   Layout | Best when | Weak when

   Table | Comparing items on shared criteria | Telling a story with an arc

   Carousel | Peer items of equal weight, any order | Steps that must happen in order

   Process strip | A fixed sequence | Unordered tips

   Labelled graphic | Parts of a real interface or machine | Abstract values with no spatial model

   Chart | Cited magnitudes you will discuss | Decoration with no decision

   Glossary | Dense, consistent terminology | Replacing practice

3. 03

   A carousel is not a procedure

   A carousel holds peer cards that can be read in any order. A six-step isolation procedure, a live form or a safety sequence is a process strip. Segmenting means splitting a long procedure into learner-paced pieces; it does not mean the pieces can be shuffled.

4. 04

   Every layout answers a learner question

   A useful test before choosing: write the question the learner has at that moment. "Which option fits my case?" is a table. "What are my options?" is a carousel. "What do I do next?" is a process strip. "Where is it?" is a labelled graphic. "How big is the difference?" is a chart. "What does this word mean here?" is a glossary. If you cannot write the question, the screen may not need to exist.

5. 05

   Write the learner's question

   For each content screen in the lesson you are storyboarding, write the learner's question and the layout that answers it. Screens without a question are candidates to cut.