Prezi: Art Careers

What I Did

This is another version of the last presentation I just completed in PowerPoint and posted to YouTube entitled Art Careers. This time I used the saved slides for the presentation which I uploaded to Prezi, another site where you can create free presentations that use movement (zooming in and out) to engage the audience.

Art Careers on Prezi

What I Learned/Application

Prezi is similar to PowerPoint in its purpose and basic actions. Both involve the use of graphics, text, a background theme, a kind of animation, and slides, or "frames." The tools, like the "zebra" tool edits the same way as selecting objects to rotate or change, but Prezi makes it quicker and less complicated. However, the traditional methods to altering objects on a slide in PowerPoint allow for more options, such as more color choices or 3-D perspectives. Prezi is fun in the way it creates much more movement in a presentation, but I see what the site meant by grouping frames and layering to prevent the viewer from becoming dizzy with motion sickness. Another disadvantage is that there is no sound or narration. I wouldn't say the benefits of one program exceeds the other; I think it is about using a combination of techniques to get the best of both worlds and have a stronger end result.

The ISTE Nets-T standard that I feel is satisfied by the development and use of PowerPoint and Prezi projects is number 1. It is perfect for the ART classroom because it serves to "facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity... promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes." I love the Prezi technique for presenting because it requires students to go a step further in presenting. Students aren't just spitting out information to prove they have learned something in a presentation. Students are forced to use the knowledge they have learned to be plugged into a presentation AND make lots of tiny decision that involves design. Prezi is more creative in some ways than just PowerPoint, because PowerPoint is so linear in direction and Prezi is more abstract and theme oriented. The direction and size of the frames actually has meaning corresponding to the subject of the presentation. Students really are telling a kind of story with Prezi. Also, they are put in a situation that involves having to present the information in a new way, which is a more advanced stage in learning than just temporarily recalling information.