In my professional career I have had several opportunities to create presentations, help others create them, and present in front of different groups of people. Presentations create and interesting challenge. While you want to impress your listener, you also want to make sure you have their focus more on you than on the screen. Prezi and PowerPoint have been the most impressive tools I have ever used.
Prezi
It is a high tech tool that is very similar to powerpoint. The main difference is it is stored online and therefore can be accessed from anywhere with internet access. It is also easier to customize with the tools available online. Another major advantage of Prezi is that it has mobile accessibility. This is an area where powerpoint has lagged behind.
The following are the most relevant and appealing features of Prezi: – It is easy to start – with multiple templates, designs, and features at your finger tips. – It is quick to customize – with smart branding, graphics, and layouts. – easy to make an impact – with expandable and contractable graphics. – it is trendy – for the younger generation, powerpoint seems archaic and dated. Prezi is the way to go (Prezi.com)
I would assign my students to create a Prezi presentation geared towards a tech savvy audience. This would stretch them to discover some of the coolest tools this software presents.
PowerPoint
While this is a long standing tool and may seem to be outdated in some ways, PowerPoint still remains one of the most trusted resources when it comes to presentations. It may not be the most efficient, trendy, or even user friendly but it remains the most reliable presentations tool. I can rely on power point because it does not depend on the internet. I can save it on a flash drive and trust that it will work the same way every time.
According to Microsoft.com, PowerPoint is appropriate for use by people of ages 3 and up. They make it as simple as possible and as affordable as possible so that as many people as possible worldwide can have access to it. This is common with all Microsoft products. This is also the reason I like PowerPoint. While newer technologies may be flashy, a tool such as PowerPoint is reliable and accessible and therefore more widely useful in most parts of the world.
I would assign my students to come up with a presentation that includes a voice over in powerpoint. I would also limit number of slides used and amount of text allowed so they can learn to keep audience focused on presenter and not over stuff slides.
Overall, I love new and diverse types of tools and technologies. These two are just my current favorites since I do a lot of presentations for work. I mostly use PowerPoint for my regular seminars and occasionally use Prezi when appealing to a younger demographic, a tech savvy audience, or a one-on-one presentation.
References
“Buy PowerPoint.” Microsoft Store, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/powerpoint/cfq7ttc0k7c6?activetab=pivot:overviewtab.
“Presentation Software: Online Presentation Tools: Prezi.” Prezi.com, https://prezi.com/.
Nelson Masinde 