Activity Reflection 4

Let me start off by saying that I absolutely loved this week’s assignment of creating a digital presentation on the benefits of digital storytelling in the classroom. We were given the option of creating a relatively basic presentation using PowerPoint in SlideShare or challenging ourselves and creating a “prezi” using the Prezi program (they get offended if their products are referred to as presentations). I chose to attempt using Prezi, as I had heard of the program before but had never actually explored it in detail myself. While I ended up spending four hours creating the short presentation rather than two, it was well worth it as I am completely fascinated by Prezi’s capabilities and final product.

I began my digital storytelling prezi by exploring the links provided in the course module and researching some ways digital storytelling can be integrated in different areas of the curriculum. Once I had a more detailed understanding, I went ahead and signed up for the educator license of Prezi. I was given the opportunity to watch a short tutorial or complete three lessons before beginning use of the program, and I opted for the video. I recommend this to any Prezi beginners out there, as this short three minute video did a great job prepping me on the tools I would need for a successful Prezi experience.

Once I was in Prezi and ready to begin designing my prezi, I started by simply click on the screen and typing my desired information. Once the meat of the prezi was prepared, then came the fun (and more time consuming) part. I was able to change the design, layout, font, and text direction of each text object in my Prezi. My experience with Microsoft Word and ActivInspire software helped make these initial steps run smoothly, as they share some similar editing and layout functions. In Prezi, you are able to group objects in frames and create a path in which the viewer will see the information as they progress through the prezi. This aspect of the program was completely new to me, and it took me a while to get a decent grasp on how to most effectively utilize these features. This could also be attributed to the fact that every time I thought I was finished, I discovered something else I wanted to learn to do with my Prezi, such as zoom in and straighten out the sideways text while the prezi path is carried out. (This is done by not creating a frame around the text, which I had done, and selecting the text directly as a point on the path, which I then corrected… In case you were curious).

I must say that as the activity progressed, I began to feel like a more perspicacious Prezi user. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy using Prezi to create this activity, I learned a lot and plan to use Prezi for all types of tasks in the future. I know if I enjoyed using Prezi this much, my students would really benefit from utilizing it for classroom projects. I would still like to research more uses of digital storytelling in the classroom before I have my students begin using Prezi to create their digital stories. Prezi is a great tool that could be used in all areas of education, business, medicine, etc. to engage viewers and effectively train/teach them beyond the everyday PowerPoint. I am looking forward to using Prezi to spruce up any assignment that calls for a basic presentation or PowerPoint to present knowledge of a known or novel topic. What a fun instructional tool allowing for freedom to be creative while still effectively getting across a message. I will definitely be spreading the word about Prezi!!

The blog prior to this has my Prezi into it. Check it out!