Prezi in education
Although Prezi has been around for over a year, many are still unaware of its existence. It is a free online presentation tool that lets users create presentations from a single slide that can be zoomed in and out to show a variety of content. It is a fantastic education tool in that it offers something different to the normal PowerPoint presentation and can add variety to the lesson.
Prezi is a radical departure from the traditional slide show in that it is not linear. To give you an idea of how it works, think of the presentation area as a big whiteboard where you have been scribbling your notes, thoughts and ideas for a class. You may have points scattered all over and connected with arrows or afterthoughts scribbled in wherever you can fit them. With Prezi there is one giant work area where you can write topic headings and lists; insert graphics and pictures; roll videos and audio files while flying around and zooming in to important points and zooming out again for an overview. View this video to see what Prezi is all about.
It is very dynamic and will keep your class/audience engaged throughout. It is simple to use but it can take a while to get your head around it because it is a completely different concept to the usual slide show presentation. The main advantage is that there are numerous online examples to give you some ideas and easy to follow tutorials.
In order to use Prezi you need to create an account. If you are a teacher or student you can sign up to the Edu Enjoy for a free account. This allows you to make your content private and to use your own logo instead of Prezi’s. You can then begin creating your own Prezis’ and they are always available online wherever you are. It is also possible to download your prezi to show it offline.
Some good Prezi Educational Links:
