Presentation Tools

Teachers are presenting information every day in one way or another. With that being said, it’s important that teachers are aware of multiple presentation apps they can utilize to diversify their presentations, provide more accessibility, and ultimately have a large toolbox of different apps to choose from.

Two presentation apps that I am particularly interested in are Prezi and Easelly. Both of these tools can be used on tablets and computers in many different lessons. Teachers need to be conscious of how they can utilize these programs in their lessons based on the technology they have (Roblyer, Hughes, 2019, p. 101).

Prezi is an online presentation platform in which individuals can design a presentation without many restrictions. Instead of having individual slides, which is used in PowerPoint, Prezi uses one great big canvas. The creator of the Prezi has control over what is seen and when, the design/structure of the presentation, as well as the theme of the canvas. I find Prezi useful for presentations that I want to be super engaging. I find that with PowerPoint, the presentation can feel a bit redundant. Prezi allows the interest level to be peaked because the viewer will not anticipate what will be happening next. This would be a great option for students to use for a class presentation instead of using PowerPoint; it could be used for group projects or individual presentations in all subjects and even review assignments.

Another presentation tool that I have not used before, but one I would like to incorporate into my lessons, is Easelly. Easelly is an online tool that easily allows individuals to turn information into a visual graphic. Easelly already has pre-made graphics created, therefore all the user has to do is take their information and put it in where they want it on the graphic. We often have students make posters in the classroom to represent information from a project, but I think Easelly would be a great alternative to poster making. It takes some artistic stress off of students who may be hesitant about drawing for posters, while also allowing creative room for those students who are excited about being creative. Students can work together on one graphic, or they can each individually create their own. This is also a great tool to use to make newsletters or flyers to send home to guardians.

While thinking about presentation tools, I have to remember that online tools like Prezi and Easelly are not always the most accessible for some students with disabilities. I do believe Easelly is more user friendly over Prezi, but there are some other options to consider as well. One tool that I find really interesting and one that I’d like to do more research on myself is Clicker Software. Clicker is “a word processor that lets students click on letters, words, or short phrases so they can write sentences without using the keyboard. It is ideal for students with autism, intellectual disabilities, and learning disabilities because of the visual supports” (Roblyer, Hughes, 2019, p. 114). This is a downloadable software that students can use. It starts with simple sentences, and then broadens out to supportive writing. I would be interested to see if this software could be used on online platforms like Prezi or Easelly. If so, it would be a wonderful tool to add for students who have difficulty writing.

References

Roblyer, M. & Hughes, J. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching, (8th ed.)

     New York, NY: Pearson.