Prezi

This week I'll be looking at a cloud based presentation program called Prezi.  Prezi is defined as "a cloud-based presentation software and storytelling tool for exploring and sharing ideas upon a virtual canvas. Prezi is distinguished by its Zooming User Interface (ZUI), which enables users to zoom in and out of their presentation media" (Wikipedia, 2011). 

Here's a short explanation video showing how it works:

When PowerPoint was unveiled, the world cheered. Audiences finally had the benefit of visual images and text to help them follow along during presentations. Fast forward a number of decades and PowerPoint has become overused and often used improperly, leaving speakers and audience members drowning in text and praying for a reprieve. (de Lay, 2010)

Prezi is a welcome break from dull power point presentations.  When you build a presentation in Power Point you think in individual slides.  In Prezi, it's like you have a giant white board to put your ideas on as they come to you.  You can "pin" pictures and even video into the presentation.  The presentations are built through a web page, unless you pay for the service, and the tools are extremely simple and easy to use.  The big draw to Prezi is the ability to zoom in and out of your presentations.  Building a Prezi presentation seems to be closely related building a word web, and the lines flowing out from your ideas are the paths for zooming.  That way you can make the big ideas large and as you zoom in you see more detailed data.  What I enjoyed most about using Prezi was the ability to put ideas anywhere and in any order.  When I prepare a presentation for class, I start with pen and paper and I take notes.  I then organize the notes and then start building my power point.  However with Prezi I was able to throw ideas up as they came to me. 

Prezi is also great for students.  It's simple interface is a lot less intimidating for kids than power point.  Prezi also has a feature built in called Prezi Meeting which enables people to work collaboratively on presentations.  This is perfect for group projects in the classroom.  Here's a primary school classroom where students are using Prezi:

Prezi

www.prezi.com

Pricing:

Free - 100mb of storage, present online or offline

$60 per year - 500mb of storage, present online or offline

$160 per year - 2000mb of storage, present online or offline, design presentations online or offline

Special teacher and student pricing:

Free - 500mb of storage, present online or offline

$60 per year - 2000mb of storage, present online or offline, design presentations online or offline

Pros:

• Free
• Built in ability to work collaboratively
• Kept online so no need to worry about hard drive failures
• More entertaining  than a slide show
• So simple even little kids can use it
• Discounts for teachers/students

 Cons:

• Have to pay in order to design presentations offline
• iPad app is a player only
• No way to skip ahead in a presentation, you must go through each step
• Movies are streamed instead of embedded into the presentation
• Controls can be too simple for advanced users

de Lay, A. M. (2010). Technology as a Differentiated Instruction Tool. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 83(3), 15+. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5046692350

Prezi. In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 24, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prezi

YouTube (2010). Prezi Meeting.  Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK6gbn9Bx80

YouTube (2008). What is Prezi? - The Official Intro Video.  Available from: http://youtu.be/TYPjJK6LZdM

How Google Docs Integration Can Improves Schools

"One of the major developments of Web 2.0 is the increase in availability of tools and services that are accessed directly through a Web browser rather than residing on the user desktop" (Godwin-Jones, 2008).  Starting this week with Google Docs, and continuing over the next few weeks, I will be examining several new services available to teachers and schools that put to use this cloud based storage.  First, a quick explanation of what Google Docs is and how it works.

Pros:

• Sharing is easy to set up even for a large number of people.
• Documents, spreadsheets, and drawings can be edited by multiple people at the same time with live updating.
• Data collection is a snap using Google Forms.
• School districts could save a large amount of money by forgoing Microsoft Office by going with Google Docs.
• Track an individual's contribution to a document which cuts down on one person doing all the work.
• Participants can chat with each other as they work.
• Accessible from any computer, and most mobile devices, that have an internet connection.

Cons:

• Can be very hard to set up if your school does not have email accounts for students.
• If you lose internet access, unless you save the documents locally ahead of time, you can't access them.
• Missing many advanced functions of Microsoft Office.
• Security can be an issue.

Let's hear what teachers and administrators say about it:

What do you think?  Can Google Docs help you in your school?

YouTube (2008). Teachers and Principals Talk about Google Docs.  Available from: http://youtu.be/TYPjJK6LZdM

Godwin-Jones, R. (2008). Emerging Technologies Web-Writing 2.0: Enabling, Documenting, and Assessing Writing Online. Language, Learning & Technology, 12(2), 7+. Retrieved September 18, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5036233711

YouTube (2007). Google Docs in Plain English.  Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA