530 Session 4

I really enjoyed this video on bad PowerPoints. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagxPlVqrtM It repeats the same information Presentation Zen brings a solution to.

Prezi is a great alternative to a linear slide presentation. The learning curve on it is short and the final result is impressive. I doubt that will use it very frequently at work any time soon, however, because I found the non-linear format to be hard to organize. Once again, a pre-planned presentation would be helpful. I really need to import a copy of the storyboard into my OneNote and have it handy. The other limitation to Prezi is the lack of audio. Eventually, I would like to be able to post the presentations I use in class to my wiki for kids and parents to access. So, either the presentation would have too much language in it, or the slides would not be very meaningful. I'm thinking Voicethread may allow for a narrative. I'm wondering, though, about the timing element. Is there software that I can use that will allow me to control the advancing of the slides and the narration timing? A little more investigating on my part is needed. I hope to have to use Prezi in future classes so I can refine my abilities to create effective presentations that will suit my needs in the classroom.

Along the same lines, the Pecha Kucha was not very easy to compile with both text and music. I had problems looping my music for some reason in PowerPoint, and had to run it in the background while I used Voicethread. Starting and stopping two windows (Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer) was awkward. There ended up being gaps and overlaps in the music. As painful as it is to say it, I wonder if I would not have had more luck using Apple software for this project, then uploading it onto my You Tube channel. Another thing to investigate.