Instructify

June 18, 2009

I’m just going to come right out and say it: this posting is going to be about a presentation app. Yeah, I know, its terrible, another presentation app. Stick with me, though, this one is honestly worthwhile.

The thing that sets Prezi apart is that it is quite visually stunning. This dynamic and entirely Flash-based web application allows you to zoom in and out on different areas of focus quickly and seamlessly. Its not easy to describe with words just how very cool these transitions look. If I might make one grasping attempt, picture in your head the opening credits of one of those fancypants Pixar animated films. Really, its just best if you check out a demo.

If you are interested in sharing and collaboration, you can create groups in Prezi for you and your students. Outside of the Prezi website, you can also embed them into different blogs and websites. You can even download your Prezis for use offline, so you won’t need to log in to their site when you need it (but you will need to log in to make edits).

Prezi is a little disorienting when you first start out. You probably won’t be able to jump in feet first, so if you have little patience for tutorials you’ll probably have to deal with it. Here’s the good news: Prezi practices what they preach when it comes to presentations , so they’re easy to watch. A full user’s manual and several example Prezis accompany the videos, so you shouldn’t have much trouble if you get hung up.

You can sign up to use Prezi absolutely free. In exchange for using the free version, though, your presentations will be visible to anyone and published on their website. That said, you might want to avoid using the free-license Prezi to make that presentation about your social security number and credit card info you’ve been working on.

Prezi