How and why to use Prezi for education?

Prezi is a great presentation tool that can be used easily to illustrate online and in class ideas. Prezi is web-base tool which can make it extremely easy to share a link to the presentation toa whole class so they can refer to it.

Unlike PowerPoint presentations there is no large files to download and the user does not need to own any specific software to view the shared files. One of my favorite features of Prezi is the software smooth transition from one slide to another and the ability to imbed images, graphics, arrows, videos and audio files in one presentation. Research shows that students learn best when they read, see and hear the material that is covered.

I want to share my experience making Prezi presentations: 

First, a presentation is as good as the instructional designer who creates it.

Now make a folder and prep your slideshow In my example I am going to make a Prezi on Adobe building Technology.

I start my lesson my first task will be to collect enough information and about the topic and organize my lesson plan in on one folder on my computer. This should include a simple outline as follows.

• I can use the world map as a background (this will connect history and geography) 

• When was adobe first use ( I am going to use an image of a fossilized foot print from a humanoid 1.5 million years old) This image will make it clear how anyone how walks on wet earth will notice that mud hardens and keep the shape of the print.

• I will show Ancient Egyptian mud-brick making hieroglyphics.

• I want to show that mud is a very expressive building medium so I will show a slide of Dogan African village.

• I will use Mesopotamia mud structures including arches and ornaments.

• I will end the class with a short video of  future use of earth and mud as a building material.

Second, before you start the process of making a rich graphic presentation, you need to have a strong clear and well-planned lesson.

Third, there are common mistakes people make when using Power Points that I recommend avoiding. One major mistake is overwhelming the audience with too many slides.  A presentation that has more than 20 something slides will overwhelm the viewers and they will lose interest, so keep it short.

Fourth, another common mistake is having too many bullet points. If a slide has more than 5 points per sheet it gets too wordy and hard to read.

Six, Avoid fancy graphic that are gimmicky and serve no meaning in your story telling, for example, do not show your words fading or dancing if you are educating your students about world hunger.

Seven, think of your presentations as stories or short films with beginning middle and end.

Now, since I have an idea of what I am going to present. I go to Prezi. 

          It is free to create a Prezi account for education: this is my presentation: 

          http://prezi.com/urt4o_fr0mnu/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

        Sign up:

        Choose a template as below

You can have many presentations in your account as you need

You start inserting frames which are going to be the slides. one you click a frame the software will zoom there automatically. Then you can insert text and images.

On layot area at right you can choose the frame you see fit.

Insert images from your desktop

Once you start making your presentation it easy to rearrange the slides or add new views from the right bar

If you cut and paste hyperlinks they automatically become active and take the viewer to the source.

If you insert a link to YouTube it becomes an embedded video in your Prezi.

Finally, the best way to learn Prezi is to use it. It will help you express your ideas as a teacher better and make your students little more intrigued by you living Prezi.

For more help watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tolWEl7oBQg