How Can Teachers Use It?
Users create profile accounts or login to Prezi through Facebook. The site walks first-time users through the process of making a presentation step-by-step, and the streamlined site is fairly easy to navigate on the first try. The layout is reminiscent of other presentation software with a main screen for editing the presentation and thumbnails of the individual slides shown to the left. Standout features include the ability to add content to slides by simply clicking anywhere and typing, and creating custom animation “paths” to maximize Prezi’s zooming feature.
Help is available in several formats. A link from within the main screen takes you to a general tutorial video, and a Help menu pull-down contains a FAQ, help videos, and links to Premium email support (for upgraded accounts). Some presentations have pretty long load times, especially for high-quality images and videos, so working locally may be a necessity for a high-tech and flexible presentation.
Read more Read less
What's It Like?
Prezi is an online presentation maker that features a unique 3D zoom animation to move between slides on an infinite canvas. Teachers and students can turn ordinary slide presentations into more stylish and potentially more engaging experiences than those made with other presentation software. Prezi supports uploading Power Point slides or creating new presentations from scratch or templates. Account setup is simple, support tutorials are helpful and clear, and the end results are professional looking presentations. Teachers should note that Prezi's Terms of Use only allows use for minors 13 or older, and they must have the consent of a parent or teacher before setting up an account.
Students and teachers can upgrade to a free "Edu Enjoy" account that enables logo-free, private presentations and enhanced support and storage space. The paid Edu Pro plan includes a few more features like image editing tools and offline support, both of which might be helpful for presenting in class. Note that there's also a Prezi for iPad app (now called "Prezi Viewer") which includes a slimmed-down feature set. The app is best used as a vehicle for presenting Prezi presentations that were previously built on the web from a desktop computer.
Read more Read less
Is It Good For Learning?
Several features make Prezi a good choice for classroom and online presentations. Teens can collaborate simultaneously on a presentation, making the tool a good choice for group projects. The site offers social networking capabilities including one-click integration with Facebook and user profile pages with avatars.
Unfortunately, slow load times for larger images and videos make the online version a poor choice for wireless connections. Plus, this tool isn't a good fit for including standalone audio: You can include audio at individual steps on a Prezi path, and you can loop a musical track, but you can't include audio narration. Overall, this is still a well-designed tool that produces very nice looking results but doesn’t hold any intrinsic educational value; it’s the content that students create that will ultimately determine the quality of the presentation.
Read more Read less
Prezi is an interactive presentation tool with an infinite canvas.
Save creations to your profile page, including copies of those you find while browsing the Prezi community.
Well-designed interface makes for easy navigation, and handy support tutorials assist newbies.
Collaboration option makes Prezi a great choice for team projects.
Easy-to-use text editor formats presentations in a snap.
Unique 3D zoom animation adds style to engage your audience.
