Working with Prezi was an exciting new challenge for me. I used Prezi because I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to learn about a new program to use when I’m a teacher. Watching the other students was helpful to see some different ways of using Prezi. It’s interesting and fun to see how many different ways that a person can create their Prezi. It’s easy to spend countless hours on one presentation. I thought my classmates who utilized Prezi in a way that it wasn’t the focus of the lesson instead of the teacher, were most effective and taught their lessons the best. Everyone used movies well, and none of the movies were to long. I think that the simplest Prezi presentations were the best. A simple Prezi presentation along with good teaching seems to be most effective. Also, a good Prezi doesn’t have to have many stops. I like it when a big picture is made that is related to what the presentation is about, and then all other stops on the pathway are small and within the big picture. I think everyone did a good job.
I believe that me standing in one place for over ten minutes was the least engaging part of the presentations. The teachers who roamed did were better. Having too many stops on the pathway on Prezi can be distracting when teaching a lesson to students. Although, for a presentation like Roger’s, it’s important to have many stops as the whole message or story is not given otherwise. For me, I had too many stops and all of the student’s eyes were focused on the screen and not on me. Teachers that walked around and were able to teach before moving on to the next slide were most effective. For Andy, it was unfortunate that the math equations didn’t work out. Also, we learned from Ryan that we couldn’t have many videos. Having too many slowed down his lesson. But, he presented very well though, and had a lot of energy.
I think there were a few negatives in my presentation that I could improve. I would decide on a different topic for my next Prezi. I think Roberto Clemente is an interesting person, but since I’m going to be licensed to teach PE, I should have chosen a topic like soccer, and taught about the rules and positions. I could have also gone into more depth with what the different lines mean on the field, basic skills or drills. This would have been better geared toward my future field in teaching. I should have set up the SmartBoard to be aligned for proper use so I didn’t have to use the wireless mouse. The mouse was difficult to control and to keep positioned on the next button. This meant I couldn’t teach well. I was standing in one spot the whole time and felt my arms and hands were glued to the wireless mouse. If I were to walk around with the mouse in hand, I’d lose control of the mouse, which would slow down the flow of my presentation.
Also, I would make my Prezi simpler. I spent a lot of time playing with my different stops on my Prezi. I think it ended well, but a simpler Prezi is best for the classroom. A complicated Prezi can take away from the teaching, and teacher. I think my Prezi presentation did that to me. Overall, I would definitely improve my quality of teaching. I would have more movement and have my students more focused on me. I would not use a wireless mouse, and I would make my Prezi simpler.
PowerPoint, Prezi, and SmartBoard are all great tools to use to present a lesson. They are all visually engaging and help develop more curiosity to the subject because the content of the lesson can be taught in a unique way. With PowerPoint and Prezi, a presentation made could be used as notes for students, which could be beneficial for them to use as study guides. I had a lot of fun playing around with Prezi, so I’d like to give my students an assignment in which they need to make a presentation with Prezi. For me, PowerPoints are good because of the ability to use animation and sound clips. In the future though, I’ll continue to use Prezi. A SmartBoard can get all students involved and be given the opportunity to interact with it. It’s important that teachers spend time playing around with these tools so they’re used effectively. If there not used correctly, they are almost useless. For digital immigrants, it may be difficult to learn how to use these tools. With the SmartBoard, I need to spend time with it and get to know how to use it. Given the opportunity to go back in time, I’d choose Prezi again because I’m glad I know it.
I believe that we have these great tools like PowerPoint, Prezi, and SmartBoard that, if used right, can make a good lesson even better for the students. All teachers should be able to teach an effective lesson without these tools, but I think if done well, they can be a plus. I don’t think that any of these tools should be overused. Its been known that some people use PowerPoint presentations too frequently, which gets boring. I’d use all of these tools throughout the school year. I wouldn’t use them with every lesson. I’d ask my students to make a lesson with Prezi and present it to class. A student can learn a lot from each other. From my experience with Prezi I know it’s something I’ll ask my students to do, so it’s important that I’m proficient in it. Also, it’s a great way to make the class fun and involve the students.
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