I started this hands-on activity for my Fundamentals of Technology for Educators course at UCF and wasn’t sure to compose a presentation for the adult learners I see every day in my computer lab or to set myself into “trainer” mode as I did for my internship this past summer.
The textbook, “Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom”, has relevant material for software products that I would really like to show in either a PowerPoint or similar presentation product and point out how important drill-and-practice software is for learning basic skills and remediation. Our students would not stick with the adult education program as well as they do without the computer lab. The relationship between video games and educational software was pointed out by Dr. James Glee how learning principles used in video games known as “social achievement skills”, are present in well developed educational games. Interactivity is one of the essential features of digital media applications.
Interactivity!
So this week the activity was to practice using digital storytelling techniques by choosing one of two free, online presentation tools and to then embed it right in our blogs. I quickly chose Prezi, a new way to create astonishing presentations live and on the web. It took me a whole afternoon to get use to it and by Friday afternoon I felt like a pro or things “All Prezi”. The content was from a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation and workshop I held this summer. I changed it around a bit and shortened it up. I was happy to get away from PowerPoint and try a “new presentation tool” I can use professionally at a later date. I have used Zoho Show and presented it to teachers and felt a similar newest when learning Prezi. It is not the same but still different from Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007. There was different preparation like loading images that were only pdf, or images. Similarities were when I download or inserted a video; I converted it to a Window Media Video File (WMV) from a larger format-Flash Video (FLV file), commonly used for YouTube videos so it would be compressed and able to insert into presentation software. I also converted any documents to the pdf format before downloading it. A lot of skill has to go into a produce like this. I also used as website called Veezzle.com that gives you rights to photos that can be used and distributed online or in your work.
So I went to town…I made it short for my own sanity… and have learned a new presentation tool that is very impressive to use as a trainer or workshop presenter. Presentation tools whether used by the teacher or student can enhance the way students learn. Being interactive helps students remember what they have learned. As a teacher, it is a very engaging tool to use, to keep content interesting and helps engage the student. This is 21st Century Learning after all.
prezi.com/ncunzriilm_c/using-prezi-as-a-teaching-tool/
Jana,
ReplyDeleteI really admire how you take to these assignments with relish. As an Adult Educator, I'm sure you are used to dealing with challenges of learning experience and background, so your willingness and enthusiasm to learn new and interesting tools is wonderful.
For this week's assignment, example, you chose to do your presentation with Prezi (an application you had not used before), but also decided to save yourself valuable time by using content that you had already created. I believe you demonstrated an excellent understanding of not only adapting to new technology, but also a healthy sense of recycling already proven instruction.
I enjoyed your Prezi, though I felt it could have used a little more interactivity (or simply more content about the subject of digital storytelling). Maybe I'm just quibbling over nothing, but I think that while this Prezi is relevant to those in this class, it would do little to teach anyone else who might want to view it online. It is a fantastic start, and I completely understand the importance of stopping before you go insane on projects like this. You know your stuff, there is no doubt about that, but maybe thinking beyond our class would help make your products a little fuller.
- Julie
I appreciated your blog this week.I commend you for how you take on a challenge.After reading your post, I would be more inclined to look further at Prezi. I chose not to use Prezi- actually I felt intimidated by it.I used SlideShare and uploaded my PowerPoint to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.