William-Prezi

__**What:**__ Prezi (web presentation tool) __**Web Address:**__http://prezi.com __**Student’s Name:**__ William Stremple __**Grade Level(s):**__ K - postsecondary __**Content Area(s):**__ All


 * Abstract:** This is a free online animated presentation tool for anyone to use. It is basically an amped up version of PowerPoint. Slides zoom in/out and move around in a path prescribed by the creator. You can include as many or as few slides as you want and have the presentation move between them in any manner you wish. Adding pictures, text, audio, and video will help stimulate and engage your students. All you have to do is sign up for free and start creating. Even students can use prezi to create fun and entertaining presentations for school projects. If you do not have the time to create all new lessons from scratch, you can search from millions of prezis created by other people. Another element the creators of prezi thought up was the ability to upload a PowerPoint file and easily adapt it as a prezi. This allows those teachers who do not want to create from scratch to easily “spice” up their lesson plans without spending countless hours doing so.


 * Personal Experience:** I find this an awesome web tool for use in the classroom. The applications are endless. I was truly amazed and in awe the first time I created a prezi, so much so that I had to tell all of my colleagues about it. It took me roughly 15 minutes to create my first presentation on the steps for solving an equation. The next day I shared it as a quick review of the material with the students and they loved it. Although they had seen it used before by other teachers, they were engaged and motivated by this simple application of a different technology in the room. It is extremely easy to use and fun to create these “animated” presentations. Another feature I liked was the ability to save it not only online, but as a PDF file and as a portable prezi. It’s always good to have a backup plan, just in case the internet is not working when you need it. The feature of importing a PowerPoint file as a prezi was so easy and being able to choose the template for the delivery of the slides made it easy to use. Overall, on a 10 point scale (10 being the highest), I would give this tool a 10 because of its ease of use and engagement factor. I will definitely be updating my classroom with this awesome technology.