Our assignment for this week was to create a presentation in Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Docs, Keynote, Open Office or Prezi that explained the benefits of digital storytelling and embed it into our blog. Before I could even begin to explain the benefits of digital storytelling it is important to explain what it is. A YouTube video that we had to watch explains it better than I could ever tell you just in words (how ironic)
There are a lot of benefits to digital storytelling but the one that I feel is the most important is that we are presenting material to students in a way that they can relate to in the 21st century. Secondly, while reading our textbook Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom I was amazed to read that when students are presented with information that they can see, hear and interact with they retain as much as 80% of the information compared to 50% when they just see and hear the information. All the other benefits I highlighted in a Prezi that I created.
I decided to create a Prezi instead of a Powerpoint presentation because I had never worked with Prezi before and wanted to become more familiar with the program. My only experience with Prezi before creating my own was a presentation I attended for one of my other UCF classes. Unfortunately, the paths were not working the way the presenter wanted and it made for a very dizzy experience for the audience. I found the Prezi to be very easy to create and edit. However, I did struggle with creating the paths and frames. I spent approximately 5 hours on this assignment on Wednesday and finally gave up for the night because there were some Internet errors I kept receiving. Today I went back to Prezi to complete the assignment and make any necessary changed before I embedded it into my blog. I had no Internet errors and the paths I created went the way that I wanted them to. If I am to create another Prezi again, I think I would make sure to have a few days to create so that if I have Internet errors while working on the project, I can walk away from the project and then go back later when I am less frustrated. I also believe the philosophy “Practice makes Perfect.” The more presentations that I create in Prezi, the easier they will become to create.
Resources:
Shelly, G. B., Gunter, G. A., & Gunter, R.E. (2010). Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom Sixth Edition. Boston, MA: Cendage
Like you, I chose to embed a Prezi into my blog post. I had done a few presentations using it before, but like you said, “practice makes perfect.” Prezi is one of those programs that is easy enough to produce a good product on the first attempt, but you can really get elaborate once you do it over and over. Did you look at the “sample” presentations on the site? Wow, some of those were very visually stimulating!
ReplyDeleteI thought your Prezi was very nice, and not at all “dizzying” like the one you mentioned from a previous class. I can also appreciate what you said about making sure you had a few days to complete it. Since it is a web-based program, it does “mess up” sometimes and you just have to wait and come back to it later. I found that I kept coming back and making small changes, so eventually I just had to stop tweaking it.
One way I decided to use Prezi in my classroom was to assign my students (I teach high school) a Prezi presentation as a way to review a chapter and prepare for a test. I like the way students can link information together and even import pictures from the internet. Their notes can end up looking like a really interesting web of connected information. There are some other programs that will do this (like Inspiration), but Prezi is free and fairly easy to learn. My students, by the way, had no trouble at all figuring out how to use it. Also, since it is web-based, the students can work collaboratively on the same project.
Prezi has been presented in a staff meeting at my school but it wasn't really presented in a way that made me really understand what it was all about. I can see how formatting the information in the way that you have would give a presentation a little more flair than a PowerPoint. While I have not looked into Prezi too much I do wonder if it is at all possible to add sound to your presentation and also more like a movie where you could press play and let it go. Did you notice anything like that? While I can also see how this would make a boring business conference a little more entertaining how do you think we could use this to benefit the classroom experience? Currently having a smart board, I feel like there are so many amazing, lively lessons, flip charts, already made presentations to grab students attention, do you think prezi could enhance lessons further or just be one more thing to have to put together? I am thinking I may try to create a prezi with my next social studies unit, just to see how the kids like it. Maybe I can have them help me :o)
ReplyDeleteYour statistic concerning how much information students retain being related to how they experience the material brings to mind an older quote by Edgar Dale. It reads as follows:
ReplyDeleteWE REMEMBER
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we discuss with others
80% of what we personally experience
95% or what we teach others
Whether this is accurate or not, I believe that how students interact with the material has the biggest influence on understanding and retention. Actively involved students will always perform better than passive students. That’s why it’s so important to get the “buy in” from them. Once you have that, and you provide an interactive and student-centered learning environment, success for every student is possible. I believe, as you do, that Prezi is a great tool that will help students achieve this success. The flexibility and creativity that the program allows, in my opinion, are its greatest strengths. It allows each user to create a unique picture of their interpretation of the material being studied. What a great way to demonstrate what they’ve learned. In my sixth grade science class I am going to try using Prezi during our study of Mitosis. I want to have my students create a story about what happens to the chromosomes during this process, a chromosome “dance” if you will. While creating their story, they will, of course, learn the stages involved in this type of cell division and learn how to use technology in a meaningful way.
I am excited about incorporating Prezi into my curriculum. In spite of the challenges that I encountered, many of the same ones you experienced, I believe that it will be my go-to from now on instead of PowerPoint. The dynamics of the program fascinate me, so I predict my students will have a similar experience.
I love that you embed your Prezi into your post! I agree with the frustration aspect as with anything new it feels like it takes me days to figure all the features out. I was giving mini presentations during Lunch to see if anyone had suggestions. Guess what it held the teachers attention they were all fascinated about this new technology I was using and when I could teach them. I could totally see your math students (especially the gifted ones who think really abstract) eating this up. You have students create review for test or order of procedures when they first come to school. These were just some of the many ideas in the lunch room that day that I showed mine. Afterword I was fearful because what if it did not work like another presentation I saw that had problems. I just had to grin and continue it is to cool of a concept not to :-)
ReplyDeletePrezi is a fun tool to use. It shows in your presentation. If you didn’t mention “dizzy” I wouldn’t be thinking of it right now, LOL.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you included the video on digital storytelling. It uses technology to present ideas and concepts, after we’ve spent hours creating it. It presents itself.
In a Prezi, students can collaborate and have a better chance of learning and remembering concepts and ideas.
I didn’t have internet problems, but there is always a chance the internet will be down at anytime, so it is always good to have a backup plan when using presentation software. That is when a PowerPoint, with content not driven by the internet, can be the answer.
I worked a few extra hours on this project too, but eventually, LOL, felt comfortable with it.
I hope you find a project for Prezi in your classroom and for your students this year. It is very versatile for video, text, color, special effects and graphics.
Thank you for your perspective.
I really enjoyed reading your blog this week. Isn't it amazing how much students can actually retain when they are involved in the learning process? I think that this is an excellent project for students to do. It gives them an opportunity to be creative and actively engaged. This was my first time being exposed to Prezi. I really enjoyed using it. I agree with you that it was very easy to create and edit. The paths and frames were very challenging at first, but then I was used to it. Often times we do need to take frequent breaks and go back to things later. When we do that, it allows our minds to see things in a new light. Although I have not used Prezi with my students, I think that it is an excellent tool that can be used across content areas. I can definitely see myself using this program for social studies. For example, I can do a compare and contrast lesson on various time periods. I am glad that you had an overall great experience using Prezi, once you took a break and came back to it. Thank you!
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