Do you know about Prezi.com?
It’s not brand new, I think I’ve been using it for about a year now — and for some reason it just dawned on me that I should share about it here, in case YOU haven’t ever experienced it.
Why?
Because it has totally revolutionized the way I do presentations (sorry if this sounds like an infomercial — I just like sharing cool stuff with cool people).
What is it?
It’s an online presentation software — and it’s FREE (at least for the basic public license and basic education license).
That’s right, no more PowerPoint — not that there’s anything wrong with that.
But if you’re looking to spice things up a bit in your next presentation, this might just be the tool for you.
I’ve used this presentation software to present to parents during summer orientation, lead sessions and seminars at conferences — on a wide variety of topics, conduct a social media seminar at a Divinity school, lead sophomores through a seminar on core identity, and more.
If you’ve never seen Prezi in action before, check out this brief instructional video (just over a minute). Once you get a feel for how it works, it’s pretty easy to put a presentation together in no time at all.
I have NOT used this in a worship context — and I don’t think I ever will. I want to be careful about not distracting (or overly stimulating) students in that time and space. They consume so much flashy media in the course of any given day — so we hope to throw them a change-up and cause them to have to awaken to the experience they’re in. We currently use PowerPoint during our worship time — black background with white words — very simple.
I’ve also not taken Prezi into the classroom yet — but I may in the future.
If you’ve use Prezi before — what’s been the context? How did it go? How well was it received?
Do you see (or have you experienced) any drawbacks to using this tool?
Feel free to share your tips, tricks and stories in the comment section below.
4 thoughts on “Do You Know About Prezi?”
I’m familiar with Prezi, but the main drawback that keeps me from using it is that every time I’ve seen someone use it in a presentation, the main reaction after the talk or training or whatever is — Did you SEE that presentation software he was using? That was SO COOL! Somehow it always seems to steal the show, instead of fading into the background and letting the content itself shine.
It’s possible that maybe its an issue of whoever designed the particular prezi… but I’m staying with Apple Keynote for now.
Steve
InterVarsity at USC
Hey Steve! I get that — I usually try to ask the group at the beginning if they’ve every experienced a “Prezi,” and then allow for some oohs and aahs during the first couple of transitions. I am challenged to make sure that my content and delivery are ultimately more memorable than my presentation tool.
I’ve never used Apple Keynote — what do you like the most about it? How is it similar to/different from PowerPoint or ProPresenter?
My first exposure to Prezi was this last spring at a retreat. (I know, where have I been?) But the presenter used it powerfully. He had typed out Scripture verses that characterized God’s love for us…and then zoomed out and all the verses together spelled the word LOVE. It was simple and powerful.
Used this way, I think Prezi can be used in a way to help us make our points.
Prezi’s done a great job of making presentations much more engaging for the audience, but Steve’s right: a lot of the time the “wow” factor takes away from the actual substance of the presentation. At Presentista, we’re working on some cool stuff combining the best of both worlds: innovative ways of showcasing presentations without it being too distracting. Feel free to check it out! We always welcome any feedback at all to hello@presentista.com.
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