Prezi: Designing presentations that tell a story

Description

Many of the processes and skills we as librarians teach are not linear, but complex and multi-layered. We know that modeling is one successful way to teach new skills, but we often craft presentations that are linear in nature, one slide following another.

What message do we convey to students, and are they engaged in the learning process? What would a computer-based presentation look like that tells a story and demonstrates the different facets and layers of complex research and analytical skills? Prezi is a web-based presentation tool that leaves your old slides in the dust. It is dynamic --and we're not talking an animated book hopping up and down followed by a nice fade transition. Prezi allows you to zoom in and out, use scale to show depth or focus attention, and easily integrates images, pdfs, and video to create media-rich, creative lessons. With the easy-to learn Prezi, you start with a blank canvas and a full palette of design tools to paint your content. Then, you design a path along, in, and around your content to tell the story.

This session will introduce Prezi and its strengths, as well as demonstrate creative and successful applications to the academic library setting. But more importantly, this presentation will challenge participants to think about designing presentations (rather than creating them) in new and interesting ways that reach out and engage students and even professors.

Comments and brainstorming ideas that participants did in small groups have been scanned and can be found at http://www.beckycanovan.com/2011/libtech-prezi/


ABOUT THE PRESENTER:

  • Becky Canovan is Reference and Instruction Librarian at the University of Dubuque.

Start Date

17-3-2011 10:45 AM

End Date

17-3-2011 11:45 AM

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Mar 17th, 10:45 AM Mar 17th, 11:45 AM

Prezi: Designing presentations that tell a story

Many of the processes and skills we as librarians teach are not linear, but complex and multi-layered. We know that modeling is one successful way to teach new skills, but we often craft presentations that are linear in nature, one slide following another.

What message do we convey to students, and are they engaged in the learning process? What would a computer-based presentation look like that tells a story and demonstrates the different facets and layers of complex research and analytical skills? Prezi is a web-based presentation tool that leaves your old slides in the dust. It is dynamic --and we're not talking an animated book hopping up and down followed by a nice fade transition. Prezi allows you to zoom in and out, use scale to show depth or focus attention, and easily integrates images, pdfs, and video to create media-rich, creative lessons. With the easy-to learn Prezi, you start with a blank canvas and a full palette of design tools to paint your content. Then, you design a path along, in, and around your content to tell the story.

This session will introduce Prezi and its strengths, as well as demonstrate creative and successful applications to the academic library setting. But more importantly, this presentation will challenge participants to think about designing presentations (rather than creating them) in new and interesting ways that reach out and engage students and even professors.

Comments and brainstorming ideas that participants did in small groups have been scanned and can be found at http://www.beckycanovan.com/2011/libtech-prezi/


ABOUT THE PRESENTER:

  • Becky Canovan is Reference and Instruction Librarian at the University of Dubuque.