Yesterday I gave my first presentation using Prezi. I had heard about the software and had even registered for the educational version, but then had promptly forgotten about it. Then one of my students used it in a class assignment. So giving a presentation on Presentations to my daughter's class, I decided to try it out. As this is the first presentation I've given using Prezi, it is still in the basic mode. Also, I'm not sure what the difference is between the educational version and the commercial version. So here is my review of Prezi's EDUCATIONAL version (this is free to educators and students...other users will need to pay for it).
Advantages
What I particularly like about using Prezi in a presentation is that I don't have to present linearly. For example, yesterday, I found that many of the students were much further along in some aspects of presentation skills and needed a lot of help in other aspects. Also, as this was a classroom presentation, certain questions and issues came up "out of sequence." Students would ask questions for which I had planned to cover later in the workshop. However, because of the none linear nature of Prezi, I was able to go to that part of the prepared presentation that addressed the issue or question. This made my presentation much more flexible.
Likewise, Prezi was very easy to use, especially as they had a basic interactive video pop up each time you use Prezi (you can override this) which helped instruct on how to use Prezi. Their supporting videos and resources were really excellent. Some of the most useful features included an automatic YouTube link which makes it easy to embed YouTube clips right into the video...no having to go outside of the presentation like PowerPoint requires.
Shortcomings
There are some features that I think Prezi can work on. The first would be the ability to embed any video link as easily as You Tube is. In order to embed other sites, you must first cut and paste the URL address into the Edit mode of Prezi, then leave the site, click on the link, then go back to edit mode and click on the site again. This is very cumbersome. You must also remember what the URL address goes to whereas the YouTube clip comes up on the Prezi presentation.
I also found the show part of the presentation a bit difficult to work with. I feel this would probably be easy to learn, and it would be a good alternative to self directed training as a click will focus on those areas of the presentation that you want someone to see in sequence. However, it is also possible for someone to take control of their own learning and override the "show" function.
Another problem was that the program was very easy to use with a mouse. But the computer I used for the presentation used a finger pad. Now, I'm the first to admit that I don't like finger pads and am not the best in using them. However, it was next to impossible to use Prezi with the finger pad. I ended up borrowing a mouse.
One final minor problem was that whenever I clicked a certain way on the presentation (I'm not sure what that was though), the presentation would rotate. Fortunately, there was a rotate icon which I used to straighten out the format. But this was very irritating.
Showing posts with label presentation skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presentation skills. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Top Ten Tools: Many Eyes
This year I have tried to include the importance of visualization in my teaching. One of the most powerful tools to teach this concept has been ManyEyes. This site allows you to import data to create different visuals. By using the same data, my students are able to see the impact that different types of visuals have. It is an especially strong tool to use in teaching visual rhetoric.
How it works
I would suggest that you register for the site as you can upload data and save different visualizations. Once you have registered, I would upload a data set you might have worked on. You then click on visualizations and your data set will automatically be formatted into the chosen visualization. You might also want to try different visuals using the same data set. You can then save the visual and/or make it public for others to comment on.
Affordances
I have given students an optional assignment to use Many Eyes to create different visuals from the same data. They then have been required to integrate the visual into a presentation, comparing the different types of visuals and analyzing the impact each one has on interpreting the same data. This helps in teaching data analysis, statistics, and the multiple interpretation of the same data.
As mentioned above, this site also allows for comments, collaboration in developing visual representation of data, and development of visual rhetoric skills.
How it works
I would suggest that you register for the site as you can upload data and save different visualizations. Once you have registered, I would upload a data set you might have worked on. You then click on visualizations and your data set will automatically be formatted into the chosen visualization. You might also want to try different visuals using the same data set. You can then save the visual and/or make it public for others to comment on.
Affordances
I have given students an optional assignment to use Many Eyes to create different visuals from the same data. They then have been required to integrate the visual into a presentation, comparing the different types of visuals and analyzing the impact each one has on interpreting the same data. This helps in teaching data analysis, statistics, and the multiple interpretation of the same data.
As mentioned above, this site also allows for comments, collaboration in developing visual representation of data, and development of visual rhetoric skills.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Top Ten Tools: YouTube
This has become a must in my classroom. I use video clips to illustrate concepts in my class. For example, when teaching about teamwork, I found clips of high school basketball and soccer games to illustrate verbal and non-verbal communication cues. This made the concepts much more concrete for my students. I also have begun to use YouTube for students to upload clips of their speeches for my speech class.
How to use Youtube
Rather than describe how to upload clips, etc... I would recommend that you watch the following video clip.
You can also embed a youtube video on a blog or webpage easily. Just go to upper right corner of the page you want to embed and copy and paste the code listed. . One disadvantage to doing this is that it makes the download time for your page longer. If you or your students use dial up service, it would be better to have students go to the link. I have found that the viewing time (even with dial up) is reasonable with youtube.
In using youtube in the classroom, I always make sure that 1) I know the length of the clip (more than 10 minutes is hard to keep the attention of the students; however, most of the clips I find are 3-7 minutes long) 2) practice so you can passby parts of clips you might not want to show to the class as a whole, 3) maximize the screen (lower right side of the tool bar, there is a rectangle next to the horn-used to increase volumn--which will maximize the screen when you click on it), 4) have something for my students to focus on when looking at a video clip.
Affordances:
Youtube allows visualization of concepts, case studies, a basis for discussion, and analysis of complex situations. I will often use the same clip multiple times to analyze different aspects.
Youtube can also be made private so students can limit who sees their work. Students can upload assignments or works in progress and then get feedback from either the teacher or other students, thus creating collaborative learning environments.
How to use Youtube
Rather than describe how to upload clips, etc... I would recommend that you watch the following video clip.
You can also embed a youtube video on a blog or webpage easily. Just go to upper right corner of the page you want to embed and copy and paste the code listed. . One disadvantage to doing this is that it makes the download time for your page longer. If you or your students use dial up service, it would be better to have students go to the link. I have found that the viewing time (even with dial up) is reasonable with youtube.
In using youtube in the classroom, I always make sure that 1) I know the length of the clip (more than 10 minutes is hard to keep the attention of the students; however, most of the clips I find are 3-7 minutes long) 2) practice so you can passby parts of clips you might not want to show to the class as a whole, 3) maximize the screen (lower right side of the tool bar, there is a rectangle next to the horn-used to increase volumn--which will maximize the screen when you click on it), 4) have something for my students to focus on when looking at a video clip.
Affordances:
Youtube allows visualization of concepts, case studies, a basis for discussion, and analysis of complex situations. I will often use the same clip multiple times to analyze different aspects.
Youtube can also be made private so students can limit who sees their work. Students can upload assignments or works in progress and then get feedback from either the teacher or other students, thus creating collaborative learning environments.
Friday, August 22, 2008
A new way of listening?
Michele Martin's post last week on 21st Century presentation literacies was timely as I prepare for my Speech Composition and Presentation class which begins next week. I have taught this course for the last past 4 years (during Fall semester). What I have had trouble with is teaching students how to listen, and to create speeches for today's audiences (who also tend to have trouble listening).
All week long I have tried to define how listening skills have changed and thus how presentation skills must change to address this. Below is a preliminary list of my thoughts:
Listening in Soundbites: Due to the media explosion and an explosion of sound stimuli (think ipods, cell phones, powerpoint sounds, video/DVD in the classroom at one time) it is hard to keep a listener's attention. Fighting for attention through this multiple stimuli, it is important to keep messages direct and short. I feel that journalism probably has some good ideas on how to capture the attention quickly and get an idea across in short 30-60 minute soundbites without loosing the complexity of an issue. No doubt, visuals and other sounds (music, mood sounds) aid in this (see below about Visuals).
Monitoring as Listening: When I was being trained as a foreign language teacher, my professors pointed out how native speakers are able to cut in and out of conversations (internally) and still be able to understand what others had said, filling in words that are logical for the context. (Non-native speakers don't have this ability until they are very proficient in the language as they are unable to fill in the language patterns). Some cultures (languages) that are polychronic expect listeners to monitor multiple conversations, cutting in and out of multiple conversations simultaneously. English has traditionally been monochronic, meaning that we expect listeners to listen and participate in one conversation at a time (although this is not true in some of the subcultures such as Latinos, Italian-Americans, and African Americans).
I have noticed in the last few years, however, that we are moving to a more polychronic culture, especially for the younger generation. If this happens within the next generation, our students will need to learn how to monitor other conversations effectively, listening to key words and paying attention to multiple inputs, sifting through them, and giving cues to those speaking. As a teacher in Costa Rica, I became very adept at doing this and still have this ability (which my students and children are always surprised at--yes, I did hear that!). However, it takes practice. I would like to learn more about how to develop these skills as, coming from a large family, I feel I had some of these skills before going to Costa Rica. Therefore, I learned them instinctively. Teaching will be more difficult.
Visual Reinforcement: The beginning of the summer I went to the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL. I found it interesting that a man who was known for his oration skills had a multi-media production to get across the impact of his words. I seriously doubt Lincoln had visuals when he debated Douglas. However, this points out how our culture has changed over the last 150 years. I have actually had different information on a visual than what I said in a sample speech to my students, and they retained the visual information over the oral information.
However, integrating visuals into an oral presentation is different than creating a visual. It requires creating a visual that will reinforce the message, but not be the message. I look at the visual as containing the data, but the presentation explains what the data means.
Story-telling and Getting the Listener's Attention: A colleague of mine, who has received numerous "best professor" awards gave me the key to her success: good story telling skills. She explained that she begins each class with a story which gets her students' attention. I was thinking of how my mind often wanders during mass (hey, it's the only quiet time I have during the week these days), until our priest will say something that catches my attention. Usually, he tells some engrossing story, but the style always changes. I would like to find more information on what gets people's attention. I have to admit that this is an area in which I am weak. I can use my "mommy" voice when necessary, but that does not guarantee that their attention will be sustained.
It is obvious, just from these few observations, that there is a shift in how people listen and how presentation skills will need to accommodate these shifts. I am sure there are many other issues that I hope to investigate over the semester.
All week long I have tried to define how listening skills have changed and thus how presentation skills must change to address this. Below is a preliminary list of my thoughts:
Listening in Soundbites: Due to the media explosion and an explosion of sound stimuli (think ipods, cell phones, powerpoint sounds, video/DVD in the classroom at one time) it is hard to keep a listener's attention. Fighting for attention through this multiple stimuli, it is important to keep messages direct and short. I feel that journalism probably has some good ideas on how to capture the attention quickly and get an idea across in short 30-60 minute soundbites without loosing the complexity of an issue. No doubt, visuals and other sounds (music, mood sounds) aid in this (see below about Visuals).
Monitoring as Listening: When I was being trained as a foreign language teacher, my professors pointed out how native speakers are able to cut in and out of conversations (internally) and still be able to understand what others had said, filling in words that are logical for the context. (Non-native speakers don't have this ability until they are very proficient in the language as they are unable to fill in the language patterns). Some cultures (languages) that are polychronic expect listeners to monitor multiple conversations, cutting in and out of multiple conversations simultaneously. English has traditionally been monochronic, meaning that we expect listeners to listen and participate in one conversation at a time (although this is not true in some of the subcultures such as Latinos, Italian-Americans, and African Americans).
I have noticed in the last few years, however, that we are moving to a more polychronic culture, especially for the younger generation. If this happens within the next generation, our students will need to learn how to monitor other conversations effectively, listening to key words and paying attention to multiple inputs, sifting through them, and giving cues to those speaking. As a teacher in Costa Rica, I became very adept at doing this and still have this ability (which my students and children are always surprised at--yes, I did hear that!). However, it takes practice. I would like to learn more about how to develop these skills as, coming from a large family, I feel I had some of these skills before going to Costa Rica. Therefore, I learned them instinctively. Teaching will be more difficult.
Visual Reinforcement: The beginning of the summer I went to the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL. I found it interesting that a man who was known for his oration skills had a multi-media production to get across the impact of his words. I seriously doubt Lincoln had visuals when he debated Douglas. However, this points out how our culture has changed over the last 150 years. I have actually had different information on a visual than what I said in a sample speech to my students, and they retained the visual information over the oral information.
However, integrating visuals into an oral presentation is different than creating a visual. It requires creating a visual that will reinforce the message, but not be the message. I look at the visual as containing the data, but the presentation explains what the data means.
Story-telling and Getting the Listener's Attention: A colleague of mine, who has received numerous "best professor" awards gave me the key to her success: good story telling skills. She explained that she begins each class with a story which gets her students' attention. I was thinking of how my mind often wanders during mass (hey, it's the only quiet time I have during the week these days), until our priest will say something that catches my attention. Usually, he tells some engrossing story, but the style always changes. I would like to find more information on what gets people's attention. I have to admit that this is an area in which I am weak. I can use my "mommy" voice when necessary, but that does not guarantee that their attention will be sustained.
It is obvious, just from these few observations, that there is a shift in how people listen and how presentation skills will need to accommodate these shifts. I am sure there are many other issues that I hope to investigate over the semester.
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