Creating a Glog

Thanks to a member of the NC Ed Tech Chat Skype Group, I discovered a Prezi on Creating Glogs on Glogster created by Dorene Bates! I am a big fan of Glogster and EduGlogster. I have not used Prezi too much although I have seen some great examples. Here are some other Glogster Resources I share in workshops. Now I will need to add this presentation to that list! Thanks Dorene!

Creating a Glog on Prezi

Revisiting Some Presentation Tools from the Blog

As a kid I used to hate it when my favorite TV show would have an episode full of flashbacks to previous episodes. But this is completely different. :)

I'd just like to give a second look at a few presentation tools reviewed in earlier posts on this blog that I've used and enjoyed. Sometimes I will use Powerpoint for a presentation - it's comfortable but predictable. I've enjoyed using the following web-based tools as an alternative to good old Powerpoint and think you might as well.

• Vuvox - Vuvox was reviewed by Brian this past January , still has the linear feel of Powerpoint but with more flow and pazazz. You can create "hotspots" within the sliding presentation images to include hyperlinks and different forms of media. You'll need to set up a free account to start using, but I think you'll find it is a nice alternative to Powerpoint while still being similar in nature.
• Prezi - Evan blogged about Prezi back in March calling his post "Presentation 2.0." And part of Prezi's appeal is its presentations offer a nonlinear feel to them. You still create a path or map to text, pictures, media, etc... but the movement in Prezi allows the presentation to spiral, zoom and spin around the content. When used properly this produces a very engaging presentation. Like Vuvox you just need to setup a free account with Prezi to get started.
• Pageflakes-Pageflakes was the subject of one of my blog posts earlier this month. Although Pageflakes isn't exactly intended to be a presentation tool (like Vuvox or Prezi), it offers a great way to present information. In Pageflakes you can set up an entire page with content related to a subject. I tried this out in a Google Earth workshop recently, where I created a page filled with content related to Google Earth (links, RSS feeds, video and text) instead of a Powerpoint. I don't think I'd try this with every presentation, but I think it worked well for this workshop.

So there they are; a few flashbacks errr..."gems" from past blog entries to help change the ways we look at presentations.

Presentation 2.0

When I recently attended the NCTIES conference at the beginning of March, I was in a session where the presenter used a new web tool that I had not seen before. This web tool gave new meaning to my interpretation of a presentation.

Prezi is the name of the website and it takes presentations to the next level. "With the help of Prezi you can create maps of texts, images, videos, PDFs, drawings and present in a nonlinear way." One great thing about this web tool is that you have the ability to make your product Private or Public.

I could not believe how quick and easy it was to get started and have a presentation up and running in as the site says about 5 minutes. I had all of my resources in place and ready to go. Within the presentation I was able to select a background from a few canned ones they have. Then you are on the canvas and ready to create your new presentation. Using this palette tool you can begin adding your material. Now the sky is the limit with what and how much information you want to use. The site automatically saves your progress every few moments but if you click the Blue File Circle you can Save or Save and Close. You also have the Blue Show circle which allows you to see immediately how the presentation will look. On the Blue Place circle you have all of your tools for the presentation. At the top is Media which you can use to upload Images and video.. there is a downside right now you can only upload Flash (flv) video but as this moves out of the beta phase there may be different options available. The Text options allows you three choices for fonts in html code, body, strong and head. With Frame you can section off your presentation into different areas. With Line you can create a high-lighted area, an arrow line or a free hand draw line. Path allows you to create the flow of your presentation. See the video to learn more.

Now the site offers a lot of other tools for you while you are creating your own presentation. The site offers the Learn Tab which has a number of videos and interactive tutorials for you. There is the the Showcase tab that has 27 pages of shared presentations that others have done on varying subject areas. The last tab is the Forum where you can get and give feedback on the site, issues that you are having or just ask about new features that might be available soon. Speaking of features what else can Prezi do for you? Here is another video to show you how you can emphasize areas of your presentation.

Images & video provided by Prezi.com