5.2 Prezi

Prezi is similar to PowerPoint except it is built with the software as a service design.  There is a free option, but it means that all presentations that you create are shared by default and you must present the Prezi online (unable to download it).  This means that my presentation is dependent on bandwidth and this is a risk that I don’t like to take based on our regional location.  I think that the graphics is better in Prezi and the look and feel of PowerPoint graphics is dated, although bells and whistles aren’t everything as far as software goes.  Prezi has also embraced circles and popular zoom effects that look modern.  It will be interesting to see if students are influenced by the modern Prezi interface.

With free Prezi accounts, everything is open for Prezi or others to use.  Prezi relies on users wanting to keep content private and charges for accounts that allows users to download presentations and to keep content private.

The main benefit of Prezi seems to be the ability to zoom in and out on a canvas.  Due to the ability to zoom in on a canvas, the resolution of the images required is very, very high.  To do this, Prezi leverages cloud storage.

Prezi’s are much easier than PowerPoint to build Venn Diagrams and they are useful for mind mapping because they don’t impose any structure like some other tools do.

Prezi design is very free and I think this can be deceiving.  There is a great Prezi called Prezi Design Strategies by Shawn Apostel which shows the types of emotion that can be created using different shapes a lines and even placement of lines on a Prezi.

SAMR for using Prezi learner-accessed vs learner generated

Context	Substitution	Augmentation	Modification	Redefinition
Learner-accessed	Use a Prezi presentation to provide an overview of a course with each frame in the Prezi representing one lesson and containing all links – could give the overall lesson end-to-end visability.	Upload PDF documents for class discussion into a Prezi.  Use the Prezi frames to focus the discussion.  Can direct students to relevant sections by programing the zoom.	Use the Prezi with a social photograph and pre-set a number of frames that allow you to gradually zoom out and running an activity on this.  I could use this as a game of guessing what computer peripherals are or could be used to gradually zoom out on a PC Board with different parts.	Use a Prezi to build up story over the duration of a topic with the class which could incorporate student completed work each new lesson.
Learner- generated	Ask the students to create a Prezi as a mind map that they would create on a page.  Prezi imposes no structure limits.	Ask the students to create a Prezi presentation for an advertisement in a marketing lesson in business.	Ask the students to create a Prezi to illustrate statistics by importing google maps and displaying summarised stats and allowing the user to explore the facts deeper by zooming.	Use the Prezi sharing options to view the set of advertisements and to make voting system or peer marking system.  Use the Educational account within Prezi to try to contain some of the ethical & copyright issues.

(SAMR template table adapted from Technology Is Learning)

Resources

13 Interesting ways to User Prezi in the Classroom available from https://www.slideshare.net/j3pr0x/13-interesting-ways-to-use-prezi-in-the-classroom