WEEK FIVE REFLECTIONS: PRESENTING LEARNING

As quoted by Jean Piaget, “the principal goal of education is to create men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who can be critical” (Piaget, 1953). 

In education settings, presentation programs and software use digital media to present and demonstrate learning, in integrative and stimulating styles (Hobdell, 2021). During this past week I made concerted efforts to delve into the manner in which learning is best presented to contemporary learners. The abundance of technology apps, programs and software and their features are still tremendously overwhelming, however through my expanded use of a few programs, I see their increasing value in the classroom.

 

PowerPoint:

Subconsciously (I think), I went directly to the safe and standard PowerPoint. I confess… I love PowerPoint!

(Source: Roberts, 2015).

PowerPoint was my go-to when working in marketing and advertising (clear throat… over 15 years go), so it is well within my comfort zone. PowerPoint has been “flogged” in education, with many teachers’ presentations I’ve seen, created with standard backgrounds, in Calibri font, with some images scattered throughout; coupled with a repetitive style of presenting the slides, this does not encompass what I consider engaging, meaningful experiences.

Students would occasionally create slideshow presentations to display their own learning, however they hadn’t been exposed to the modelling of remarkable PowerPoint use, and therefore weren’t proficient in its many functions.

Microsoft has developed and improved PowerPoint's features and functions substantially, which now offers teachers and students a fantastic platform to create and share learning, in creative and exciting ways! Given that I’d used PowerPoint a great deal already, I opted to try something new.

Easel.ly:

After briefly looking at Easel.ly last week, I wanted to explore it further with the intention to design an infographic that a Geography student may create in my future class. As shown below, this is a basic infographic I designed for a unit loosely based on Geographies of Interconnections (ACARA, 2021).

When using a free, basic account, there is still a considerable amount that teachers and students can do with this program. There are pre-created templates available, however they are theme-specific. Images, text and backgrounds can be changed on these templates yet in my investigations, I found the empty template simpler to use when creating a basic infographic such as the one above.

Easel.ly welcome and new creation screen:

Easel.ly background, images, text and graphs screens:

Some images, icons, photos and animations can be chosen from the program although there are not many; it is possible to upload images to the program, giving more access to more options.

Easel.ly image upload screen:

With an upgraded “Pro” account for $4 per month, additional features are extensive: 

In summary, Easel.ly's infographic creation software allows teachers and students the ability to display data, research and learning in concise, interesting and creative ways. The program is very easy to use and contributes to students’ increasing their digital literacies. 

 

Prezi:

Prezi is the ultimate presentation tool! The program has immeasurable design options, but most recognisably, a zoom navigation and a slide-less design model. Presentations created in Prezi boast attractive designs, making the content interesting and appealing, and with the ability to individually or collaboratively steer personalised learning, data and information is accessed in a fun and engaging way!

In order to use Prezi, students must be over 13 years of age, which makes it suitable for Years 9 to 12. Prezi can be accessed with a free account, however with premium accounts, unlocked features offer: privacy control, unlimited projects, charts and visualised data, desktop application for offline work, 'Export to PDF', PowerPoint converter, premium images and icons, portable presentations, advanced presenter tools and media upload.

Once logged in, the program asks if the user is a student or teacher, accompanied by many options outside of education; once selected, Prezi offers multiple options to begin the presentations. Prezi presentations allows users to create posters, slides, social media posts, reports, infographics, interactive maps, banners, book reports, general projects, just to name a few. Let’s look at some of Prezi’s fantastic features…

LINK: Mrs Stewart's Presenting Learning Prezi

Overall, Prezi is a fantastic tool for teachers and students to engage digital literacy skills whilst meeting school curriculum requirements. Prezi has a decorated array of technological options to allow the user space to create their very own interactive, professional presentation, from either a blank canvas, or pre-existing template. Prezi can be used individually or collaboratively, together with Live Prezi options, amongst many others. Each component of Prezi allows for specific customisation of presentations and its functionality is operational within minutes of engaging with the software. The only challenge I encounter is how sensitive the program is to edit and modify; editing can be frustrating when making minor adjustments, however this issue is a shadow compared to the benefits that Prezi offers.

SAMR:

LINK: Mrs Stewart's SAMR Prezi

References:

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], (n.d.). Geography. Retrieved from https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/geography/

Hobdell, G. (2021). Week 5. Digital Tools 3 – Integrating Learning. Moodle learning materials. EDSE12024: Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools, CQUniversity e-units. Retrieved from https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=1412194  

Piaget, J. (1953). The Origins of Intelligence in Children. Retrieved from https://www.famouspsychologists.org/jean-piaget/

Roberts, D. (2015). Life after death by PowerPoint [online image]. Retrieved from https://inspiringsocsci.pressbooks.com/chapter/life-after-death-by-powerpoint/