Prezi as a Teaching Tool.

What is a Prezi?

(Avant-Guardian Musings, 2012)

Prezi is an online presentation tool, which is often refereed to as a storytelling tool. This web-based application allows the creator to present information on a single canvas instead of traditional slides (Wikipedia, 2012). The creator then sets a path and the program zooms in and out on the embedded information, telling a story, and presenting content in a creative way.   Prezi has many features that are similar to PowerPoint, however, this is the new and improved presentation tool. Prezi is  innovative and interactive unlike Power-Point that is often perceived as linear (Fasso, 2012). Prezi allows concepts to be connected and grouped together, which visually represent the importance of different parts of the presentation, this then highlights the presenter’s ideas (Gallo, 2011).  Supporting text, images, videos and other presentation objects can also be embedded within the canvas (Wikipedia, 2012). 

Learning Theory Involved in Prezi?

It is believed that the Constructivism theory supports the use of Prezi within a classroom setting. This is believed as this tool allows teachers and students to record, justify, elaborate, and build knowledge in a public area, that fellow students have access to. It allows collaboration and students can reflect on their leanings in a creative and safe way. The fact that it is online and has the ability to have multiple editors allows the learners to negotiate their own understanding through social interaction with others. This style of learning also considered Constructivism as students are interacting through social means with other learners and experts  (Fasso, 2012). Finally, teachers can support the use of this tool, and the collaborative use of it, by modeling the use of it in class and encouraging the students use of this tool. 

The use of prezi in the classroom has been explored below in a SWOT chart: 

Personal Reflection:
After using this tool myself, and reflecting upon it with regard to its use in the classroom, I can defiantly recognize the benefits that this tool will create. There are many teaching techniques that could be adopted using this tool and by allowing the students to use it collaboratively its limits will be low. From my own personal experiences of using Prezi I discovered that it was more enticing and creative then a simple PowerPoint. It is the new and improved way of presenting information, while still engaging students. To ensure this tools success teachers would need to monitor the students work and model the correct use of this tool to the students. It is foreseeable that this tool will gradually grow in prevalence due to its creativity, the "wow" factor and its simplicity. 

(Marttila, 2012)

Reference:



Avant-Guardian Musings, (2012) Prezi Image, retrieved from http://www.dorothybarenscott.com/


Fasso, W. (2012) A Brief Overview of Learning Theory, Retrieved from CQUniveristy e-courses, FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning, 
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=12563


Gallo, J. (2011) Making Research Relevant: Learning from One Another, retrieved from 
http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/wej/article/viewFile/395/422


Marttila, P. (2012) How To Make Storytelling With Prezi Even More Social [image], retrieved from  http://bub.blicio.us/how-to-make-storytelling-with-prezi-even-more-social/


Miller, H. (2011). Pros and Cons of Prezi, Retrieved from http://prezi.com/lofhshyway5f/pros-and-cons-of-prezi/


Wikipedia (2012). Prezi, Retrieved from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prezi