Alternatives to Powerpoint

The first part of our assignment was to visit and select 5 website that discuss the use of presentation software in education. I made more selections than just five partially because I found some good resources and my instructor provided some very interesting selections as well.  They are all listed here on Diigo.

The main part of our assignment was to create a presentation using a Web 2.0 alternative to PowerPoint.  I chose Prezi, an application that pans and zooms in & out of graphics or slides.  My project can be found here:  http://prezi.com/djyhohhsgawi/4th-quarter-freedom-of-choice-project/



I really enjoyed using Prezi.  I found it easier to use than PowerPoint, at least in the finishing stage.  I will sometimes spend hours on transitions, animations, and fine tuning.  Prezi was a completely different experience.  I typed my information in and added graphics.  Then all I had to do was chart the path I wanted the presentation to take.  What took hours of fine tuning was done in minutes.  It encourages me to use it more often.  I don't feel it replaces PowerPoint but I will use it as an alternative and to change things up from time to time.  I think I will also use it for trainings with other teachers.

Personal Learning Networks

Personal Learning Networks are groups of educational professionals that have expertise in a given subject matter that serve as a resource to other members of the group.  These PLN's give educators access to thousands of other educators for activities, lesson plans, ideas, sounding board, and research.  PLN can take many forms including Social Bookmarking, Blogs, Nings, and Wikis.

Social Bookmarking: 

Social bookmarking allows the creator to share his or her bookmark of useful, interesting, and thought-provoking websites with others.  As it pertains to PLNs this allows the creator to share sorted bookmarks with specific groups like educators with a particular interest.  I have used iKeepBookmarks, Delicious, and Diigo.  My favorite is Diigo for ease of use and focus on the educational application of their app.

Blogs:

Blogs make it easy to share content, opinions, and links.  Blogging is sharing information like never before.  The problem is that anyone can start a blog so the reader must be very careful in choosing the blogs they read because the information they provide may not be factual, cited, etc.  I am using eblogger/blogspot to host this blog which are reading for its easy of use and the ability to customize.

Ning/Wikis:

I joined several Nings through this assignment including The Educator's PLN and Classroom 2.0. The one I participated in was on RezEd, in their K-8 Virtual Worlds group.  I am currently exploring using Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) in my classroom.  I asked these educators for more information on Quest Atlantis, a MUVE designed for students in my age group.  I found it difficult to participate in many of these PLNs initially because they require verified memberships and application review.  This made it somewhat difficult in completing the assignment in a timely fashion, as I had to apply and wait for approval.  The other thing I noticed is that on many of the sites, some of the posts were somewhat dated.  I make me feel like they may be stagnant with content and/or participation.