This past week in class we discussed the SAMR model: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. This model is intended to help educators use technology in their teaching by helping them categorize how that technology can be used. One form of technology I enjoy using in my classroom is Prezi, which seems like a Modification for assessment & lecture time. Prezi is a free, online service so anyone with a computer in their classroom could use it. It is essentially an enhanced Powerpoint, but can be used in many different ways. Prezi presents itself as "the presentation software that uses motion, zoom, and spatial relationships to bring your ideas to life and make you a great presenter" on their website.
Prezi has tons of ready-made, quality templates to use but also allows more experienced users to fully customize their presentations. The use of art and transitions adds a layer of excitement to lectures. I love customizing the Prezi presentations to fit the theme of what I'm teaching. For instance, there is a fun "Mission to Mars" one perfect for astronomy and an "Examination" one modeled a bit after a cell.
Prezi can also be used to incorporate student choice. You can click on different items to zoom into new slides. This is fun for mini quizzes as you can have students vote for an answer and zoom in on their choice to show if it was correct or not. You can also use it to have students choose which area they want to learn about by clicking and then following the created pathways for each section. It's easy to embed photos, video, and music into Prezi for some extra pizazz!
Prezi Ratings
Ease
of Use: 3.5/5 Prezi can appear a bit daunting at first. Some of the
controls are not fully intuitive and I did have to look for tutorials
for a few things such as video embedding inititally. That said, the
basic layout is really simple and once you know how to do the less
obvious tricks they're very easy to implement!
Versatility:
5/5 I love Prezi! It's great for presentations at both work and in the
classroom, the basic program is easy enough for upper elementary &
older students to personalize their presentations with, it allows
student choice, and I can use it as a quick assessment tool. You can
also download the Prezi show to your computer so you can use it without
internet (YouTube videos will require internet to play).
Overall
Likelihood of Use: 5/5 I already use this regularly! It's a really fun
and simple way to incorporate a little more fun into your presentations.
There are few things I hate more than long, text-heavy powerpoints so
have fun with it! Check out this video below for a REALLY amazing
example. Mine are nowhere near this advanced but it gives you an idea of
the vast possibilities :D
Prezi is pretty neat, especially in comparison to PowerPoint. It's a lot more dynamic and you have the ability to help make presentations more enjoyable. Like you stated in class, you can add a space theme to make it look like your flying from slide to slide. You can tailor it more towards what you are presenting which makes it more exciting.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I love it more than PowerPoint; the flexibility you have to make it fit specifically to your topic.
DeletePrezi gives me major headache while working on it. however, the result is great and fun. I really love its themes. makes teaching and learning very fun when the theme of your lessons is related to the subject in a very fun way.
ReplyDeletePrezi can definitely be confusing and sometimes people use way too many transitions, which hurts my head too!
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