Prezi...Tool of the future classroom with total potential!

Once again I put pen to paper (so to speak) to give you the run down on another fabulous ICT tool. For those who are quite used to using power point and are having that bit of an 'over it' feeling, well, Prezi is the latest must have tool you may have been searching high and low to find. There are some amazing Prezi tutorials on utube and it is a great idea to watch some of these before you begin to delve into the possibilities. It can be a little tricky at first, but with practice you will be able to make a presentation more quickly. I was using the free base education model, so there may be more benefits if you pay for the service with more applications, fonts, colours, templates, etc.

So what is so great about this tool?
I have laid out a SWOT (Strengths,Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) table to compare all aspects of Prezi.
Strengths:

• Highly visual and able to be manipulated. Photos can look 3D and make it seem you are skimming over cliffs, forests, mountains, cityscapes or crowds. Makes a statement and looks very professional.
• can use photos or videos and integrates pictures saved through email that come from Apps on the iPad ( in this case- "Oldify" - available from the Itunes App Store)
• Very useful for presentations in business or lectures and classroom applications where the normal power point can be a little flat.
• Animations can be used to make it more exciting. See this source: Custom Media Designs obviously used a more high tech version to make their clip. It certainly is inspiring.
• Can add outside collaborators and allow input from others.
• Internet allows freedom to send Prezi to groups over the internet and to download it in PDF form or as a 'travel' application that is portable.
• Can be used online and offline.
• Can be used to 'up-skill' teacher learners in professional development both through distance exposure and person to person or conference style lectures.

Weaknesses:

• Time consuming and quite fiddly until you understand the process.
• Music that is added wouldn't work properly at times. I had to do it a few times until I got it right.
• Autoplay does not work with videos though it works while editing. After it is embedded it seems that the embedded version has issues. The presentation will play up to and begin the video and then suddenly cut off and skip to the next path position. There does not seem to have been a solution, though requests were made of the Prezi support staff a year ago on their community forum. My tip- do not use autoplay!
• Need to watch tutorials or risk a great loss in time.
• Requires a certain creativity level. Probably not great for those who have trouble in that area.
• Can create motion sickness if movements are too radical.
• Web based relies on the Internet.
• Screen shots better if using images from slides.
• Basic version does not give as many options.
• Takes more time and patience to make changes as tools are not as flexible as Powerpoint. For example, if you decide to add something once you have finished making your Prezi, there is an involved process to go through to make that change.
• Has to be converted to be used on some sites and is not compatible with Powerpoint. 

Opportunities:

• Input from others can mean that learning can be boosted for those who are not as skilled as others in ICT through networking and support agencies.
• Viable for all age groups to manipulate.
• Provides access to distance students, companies and individuals to share and collaborate in relevant meaningful ways, thus globalisation drives learning around the world.
• Student learners are more engaged as they feel something is happening.
• Other Prezi's are available to others for their use.
• Great for Sister School interactions and up-skilling of teacher learners
• Possibility to use as a go to link from University and school systems like "Moodle".

Threats:

• Privacy settings are not really protection against the hackers of this world.
• Prezi features focus rather than content focus
• Can be distracting
• Can cause illness through a sense of imbalance triggered by the motion.
• Seems to be limited in some of the abilities of the applications.(Embedding video, music, autoplay).
• Provides resource for plagiarism.

Overall, this tool is quite useful, though it still has some limitations. The main problem is that it is a huge time waster for those who are time poor. Powerpoint is still my personal favorite of the two tools when you are in a hurry. Overall though, in my opinion, this tool has great potential in building critical thinking for students. It will help them to think about layouts, what information should be used and what should be discarded, literacy will be tackled as they use it to formulate their information and mathematical skills will be enhanced as they manage graphs, and timing for music. In fact, there are many skills that will be learned and become more deeply ingrained through using the tool than a Powerpoint presentation would ever provide. The combination of learning skills,practicing steps in tasks, and acquiring and integrating knowledge is known as declarative and procedural knowledge.

Marzano and Pickering (1997, p 45). maintain that, " Most tasks involving the use of knowledge require both declarative and procedural knowledge. Completing a decision-making, problem-solving, or experimental-inquiry task, for example, requires learners to perform the steps of the specific process (procedural knowledge). But it is the declarative knowledge - what learners know or understand about the topic- that often is the primary factor in students' successfully completing tasks and obtaining useful results."


 It also provides a great socialisation experience as they collaborate together. Imagine one group of students working on a mechanical problem on one side of the world like a solar powered car. They would be able to write their ideas on the board and leave it. The group they are working with on the other side of the world would be able to add their ideas and they could bounce it back and forth until they had finished resolving their ideas into a plan. It could be added to their CV as proof of input. The interactions would be an invaluable learning platform for all involved too.That one Prezi could become the base for a digital footprint that could potentially see some of those learners follow a more professional leaning.

This would be a great 'Sister School' initiative for interactions with students. One group in each school could work on a topic and then present it online to the other group. They would be able to add their own ideas to update the versions and then resend to each other. This would provide possibilities for future directions.
I guess the possibilities are only limited by the user.

This is what is known as presentation workshops where students will acquire and integrate knowledge. It allows some teacher modelling to direct the investigation in a meaningful manner. Marzano & Pickering (1997, p.324-325) state:
 "It is the careful sequencing of presentation and workshop classes that makes a unit of study a holistic learning experience, with teacher and students trading off control of learning and the two types of classes supporting each other at strategic points."

So now it is time for you to have a look at what all of the fuss is about. This example was made by me to begin a discussion with learners about who they are, what they will be and what they want to be? It should promote critical thinking as learners try to understand and make sense of their world.

Once again, before you watch the presentation, I must reiterate my previous statement that you do not use Autoplay to watch it. If you do, it will be a very disappointing experience. So take my advice and just press the next arrow when you have read the wording. Also, make sure that you press restart under share when this is finished or the music could get to you after around 20 times of listening to it. It does not seem to end itself.



http://prezi.com/9fhdbe9uuiic/what-does-growing-old-look-like/

Now that you know what Prezi is all about, I know you can't wait to get started. So go on...Have a go and enjoy the experience.

References:
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J (with Arrendondo, D.E., Paynter, D. E., Blackburn, G.J., Brandt, R.S., Moffat, C.A., Pollock, J.E., & Whistler, J.S.). (1997). Dimensions of learning teacher's manual (2nd ed.). Alexandra, VA: ASCD.