Week 5 - Prezi Reflection

Wow! Wow! Wow! This elearning presentation tool is fantastic! This is definitely my favourite tool covered in this course so far.

What is it?

Prezi is a revolutionary web-based presentation tool that brings new life to a sometimes otherwise dry presentation. It creates a presentation based on a visual map, which can zoom in or out, focusing on certain parts of the presentation at a time. It incorporates images, graphics, video and more. (online.illawarra.tafensw.edu.au/GetFlexible/.../wg_prezi.pdf)  

Here is a Prezi produced by Prezi using Prezi to explain Prezi!

 

 

 I have embedded my Prezi below.

 

I performed a SWOT analysis of Prezi and added it below.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Extremely easy to use. Simple presentation format. Can use a variety of media to enhance the presentation. The appearance is able to be personalised however not to the point where it would be distracting for students Fast effective tool for engagement Can be used both live and online. Is portable Is designed to work well with iPad or whiteboard products Interactive presentation Free! Appropriate for all ages	Can cause motion sickness (from http://instructionaltechtalk.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-prezi/) Transition between areas (zooming) may be distracting and students may focus more on the transitions than the content. Is not free if you wish to do more complex and exciting editing tasks. Transitions can't be isolated to more than one object.  can be quite overwhelming if there are too many transitions in a short space of time.
Opportunities	Threats
gives students the opportunity to create a creative and interactive presentation. relatively simple to use so can become part of their presentation repertoire. can be used at any age so students can develop their skills over time	not the "go to" software used at this current point in time. Some may be resistant to change not a safe and secure classlike forum like Glogster. Students can access content (images, videos) other than what is on their computer.

Some great example Prezis are found at

- A Turn To Learn

- A lesson on ParallelogramTheorems

- Poetry

Ways we can use Prezi in the classroom

Below is a presentation on using Prezi as a teaching tool. It discusses how the unique zooming element can help students focus on what is important such as fine details in a picture or photo, expanding on the meaning of particular words as well as delving deeper into concepts, exploring images, diagrams and timelines. 

Further to this Click Brick blog gives some specific examples of how they integrated Prezi into their early years classroom. There is an example of how the teacher presented the stimulus in Prezi, navigated through comprehension questions then presented a video that demonstrated to the students a real life example of how far technology had come. Another simple way that Prezi was used was to embed Youtube videos which removed the chatter and advertisements. It provided the teacher with the means to present any video without worrying about inappropriate and distracting ads. A simple reason but one that is very important for ensuring better learner engagement.

17 Interesting ways to use Prezi in the classroom has some great specific ways to use Prezi to enhance learning.

17 interesting ways_to_use_prezi_in_the_classr from GrahamAttwell

 

Made using Warning Sign Generator

Ethics, Safety and Security

Please refer to Ethics, Safety and Security When Using E-learning to outline the specific procedures and guidelines that need to be adhered to when engaging in all e-learning tools. 

Ethics, safety and security specifically related to Prezi lies in examining it's privacy policy. It states that

The Prezi Service is general audience service, and does not direct any of its content, products, or services specifically at children under 13 years of age. We understand and are committed to respecting the sensitive nature of children's privacy online. If we learn or have reason to suspect that a user of the Prezi Service is under age 13, we will promptly delete any personal information in that user's account. If you have such information, please contact us as legal@prezi.com 
(source: http://prezi.com/privacy-policy/)

So what does this mean? It reiterates that mediation is required by parents and teachers when children are using this tool. Students need to be aware of the guidelines when working online, in relation to plagiarism, referencing, acceptable material (all schools have filters in place but they may not be effective all the time for every site) and conduct i.e cyberbullying.