Presentation Tools in the Classroom

Recently, I took a look at a few of the slightly less popular presentations tools out there. I wanted to gauge what was available to look at what separated them from the common (Google Powerpoint, Powerpoint, OpenOffice) presentation tools that are available. Here are the ones that I found most intriguing. Empressr –

1. Empressr is a free web based slide show presentation program, similar to Powerpoint. It is simple to use, although I did find it more limited than other presentation tools that are out there (no templates or themes). The upside is that it is extremely easy to embed video and audio, which is something I found a bit more difficult in Powerpoint (I had to change video properties to embed my Youtube video in my blended learning letter, in fact). As well, the app has an ability to be shared across multiple social media sites, which can be useful if students are being asked to share their presentations.

2. PowToon - PowToon is an online tool that lets the user create an animated story for presentations. Rather than being limited to bullet points and animations, students can make flash style movies and presentations. I liked PowToon because it was easy to use (I think it would easy to use even for younger students), but it provides a certain visual factor that other presentation software doesn’t. There are several styles that PowToon offers – marker style, label style, picto style, and even animated styles, which I think were all pretty neat! I could definitely see younger students enjoying this software, as it is visual, and allows them to create presentations that are just more fun in general, but can also result in an end product that looks professional. As well, the PowToon software is free, so long as you are willing to allow for a PowToon watermark in the corner of your presentation.

             

3. Present.Me - Present.Me is a for pay website that allows the user to add a narrative to their presentations. It allows users to upload slides from any other presentation software (Prezi, Powerpoint, Google Presentation, etc.) to their website and then add a video and audio narrative to their slideshows. I found it useful because it allows your audience to see both you and your content at the same time. I tried a free trial, and I liked it, because I feel like sometimes when people are using powerpoint, they read from their slides rather than presenting, and I think that present.me allows people to actually present instead, which adds a bit of engagement to the mix. I also liked that you were not limited to doing one take of your narrative – if you mess up, you can trim off your mistake and start from where you left off. I liked this in comparison to a whiteboard software like Educreations, which I have previously reviewed, that would require you to get it right in one full take. The downside, obviously, is that present.me can be expensive, however if you had one account for your department or school, it could certainly be useful. As well, this would alleviate the difficulties around presenting for students with anxiety issues - they could record themselves presenting, instead, and this would still meet the expectation of having to present.

4. Knovio - Knovio is a similar tool to Present.Me, except that is it completely free. It also allows users to turn their Powerpoint slideshows into video presentations, assuming the user has access to a webcam. I tried using Knovio for a classroom activity where I was not able to be in class, and I thought that it was effective. The quality of the presentation was not fantastic, and had a habit of blurring a little bit if you don’t sit super still, or you move too much during a lesson, but otherwise it is very user friendly, allowing for you to make corrections in a similar fashion to Present.Me. The biggest downside to Knovio is that unlike Present.Me, it only accepts Powerpoint files.

        

I liked all of these tools for one specific reason – they are web based. Students and teachers alike can access their presentations from any computer that has internet connectivity. I find this useful, as you will not be tethered to one device, which I find extremely limiting in this day and age.