The Prezi motto is that "Ideas Matter" and it offers a dynamic 3-dimensional work space for creating multimedia presentations. The interface has is fairly easy to get used to and much more pliable than the traditional power point. Furthermore, the presentation is stored on their own server and regularly auto saves. You can also invite other students to view or edit it alongside with you in real time which is not possible in PPT, allowing one student to work on one area of the work space while other members work on other slides.
Example: click the embedded link below to load the PREZI - use the arrows to navigate.
Feeling lost, you can click the home button at right to start over, and use the keyboard arrows too.
I've used this in several of my graduate classes, and play tested it in a British Literature course. The interesting thing is the learning curve. I am sure that many of us have had the experience of taking a class to a computer lab to write powerpoints. It can be a tiring ordeal (especially from a substitute position) to get even three slides made. However, with a little coaching many students take quickly to the dynamic features that PREZI provides. It's entertaining to make one and that time spent procrastinating is more fully utilized on a single focused effort... Creating.
Along this line of thought, there are no flash drives to lose, or emails left unanswered. In order to work on the group project, all you need do is sign in to prezi and click on it. Similarly, Prezi runs on theoretically any computer, and definitively on windows, mac, google, and linux machines.
Outside of the standard presentation assignment, this can be used as a tool for review or application of class material.
Let us assume for a moment that you are in an Anatomy & Physiology class.
- This week's goal is an understanding of the endocrine system. Yesterday, the class was transitioned into the system via a think question on how they believe it applies to the previous system. This is followed firstly, by a short film on the organs and hormones. Secondly, you'd continue with a review/ breakdown discussion about the movie with a note organizer for the topic. Lastly, (and here is where Prezi comes into play) you could break the class in groups by hormone.
- Researching via BYOD (bring your own device) or whatever method is most applicable they can begin looking into the hormone specifically. Answering key questions like; what does it do/why? How does it impact the organism as a whole? A disease prevented or caused by it? Was it mentioned in the movie? Why or why not?
- Using Prezi, create a short 3-4 slide explanation for the class. (Bear in mind I base this on the 84 minute block I'm used to and it would need to be altered per your own time table.) I say explanation not presentation. They would be presented via smart board informally group by group. Wrapping up the class with Q/A.
By using prezi, the class can then review those micro presentations as review material for quizzes and tests. Furthermore, because each group will have designed their own differently, each hormone (topic) would create a different mental marker for recall later.
I should also mention that you can directly embed Youtube videos into PREZI, the public subscription has 100 mb of storage, and unlimited prezis, there is also an educator subscription, also free, but comes with 500 mb of storage and the ability to make presentations private.
--- Coming up next! Google Drive
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