Prezi is an online presentation software. It is a great alternative to Power Point but is a separate breed altogether. I was first introduced to Prezi by a professor while working on my Master's degree a few years ago. And, I'll admit, it took some bending of my brain to figure it out at first. But I was determined and created my first presentation immediately. I was enthralled! Where Power Point allows one to organize information into sequential slides, Prezi offers a blank infinite canvas with no direction or order other than what you decide to create. This may sound like an unruly mess already to those of you traditionalists, but embrace whatever traces of right brainededness (I know, not a word) you have and dive into Prezi. Take a look at one before you judge....and then get excited because it is awesome!
Think about your students creating one of these. Think of the higher order thinking skills it requires just to make one! My students love it and had it figured out quicker than I did! So if you are interested and want a more in depth tutorial than what is offered on prezi.com, then take a look at the tutorial at the link below...
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s167/sh/8a212c29-52f4-47a3-aa75-58ead9719336/213f5b8b4675fbec9ff0dc7381669212
Leave feedback : ) You never know who it might help!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Edmodo (es, ms, hs...tutorial attached)
Something that has been creating a buzz at my school right now is Edmodo. I discovered this program in August when a teacher at my school reached out to me about Wikispaces. (I heart Wikispaces.) But what she wanted, Wikispaces could not offer. She needed a closed, safe environment for her students to interact with her and turn in assignments privately. I searched through my mental archives as well as Google and found Edmodo. I ran it by the Instructional Technology person in our county and she confirmed that it is, in fact, a program that would most likely suit the needs of this particular teacher. So I created an account and started playing. Although I have not used it with a class, I have helped teachers use it with theirs. I teach 715 students (I am a Special Areas teacher) so it didn't suit my immediate needs. BUT, helping teachers in my school use it has allowed me to gain experience enough to give it my stamp of approval. It has a similar user interface to Facebook, which allows users to immediately operate from a context they probably already have in place. You can reply to posts and create posts similarly as well. What Edmodo offers that I appreciate is the privacy and protection. Students can only communicate with the teachers privately or the entire group. Visit help.edmodo.com and browse through to see if it is something you would find valuable. Like any online educational tool it extends the walls of the classroom. You are able to collaborate real-time without sitting in front of your students, and more importantly they with each other.
View these help videos to get an idea @ help.edmodo.com