Prezi

No, Prezi is not the name of an expresso maker...  Prezi is web-based presentation software that operates on the premise that presentations should not be a slide show.  Instead, they should be maps of interrelated ideas and concepts.  The focus of the presentation shifts from concept to concept.

The product itself is easy enough to use, once one gets the gist of it.  There is a key from which one can select the tool that they want to use at the moment: write, insert, frame, path, color, and show. When one is in "write" mode, double-clicking anywhere on the screen opens a text box.  A single click on a text box opens a circle from which one can size, move, and rotate objects.  One can create a page with the relative importance of an item determined by its size.  Clicking on an object allows one to drill down to the finest detail.  One can insert images and video (from the web).  One can also embed flash video into a slide; however, at that point Prezi assumes a certain level of technical expertise.  I made the following simple presentation:





One subscribes to Prezi and all presentation creation occurs on the web. There are several different account types; however, there is a free (somewhat limited) general subscription and a slightly better free educational subscription.

The completed presentation "lives" on the web, and, by default, all presentations are shared unless one subscribes to a higher account.  Prezi presentations can also be downloaded.   This seems like another example of "Cloud" computing. Where all resources and software exist on a server.

Horizon Report

At the beginning of the Spring Term (2010) I posted a blog about the Science Department's Adjunct Faculty Workshop and my presentation on Open Courseware.  This is an update to that piece with a link to the 2010 Horizon Report on Open Courseware.  This web page contains information about current sites that contain Open Courseware or are directories to that type of content.

Skype

This summer I became a Skype believer! Skype is an free internet calling product that allows one to conference in up to 25 users at once (per the help system).

It is relatively easy to set up a Skype account:

• Go to http://www.skype.com/
• Download and install the Skype software
• create a unique name
• fill in the expected informational fields
• create a password

There is a profile page where one can add a "Mood" message, video, picture, etc. Once in Skype, you can add other Skype users as contacts. While friends can provide you with their Skype name; there is a lookup feature in Skype where one can find people by Skype name, real name, or e-mail address. After adding a contact, the contact must confirm that they want to be added to your list,, like in Facebook.

To begin a call, select a contact who is currently online, click the "Call" button, and wait for them to respond.  One can start a conference call by creating and selecting a group instead.  In addition, it is easy to add people to a call once the call has been started. One can choose to have an audio or video conference. One can also download a Skype app to their iPhone and participate this way. Skype will also allow one to call landlines or cell phones; however, there is a small charge per minute for those calls (an iPhone with app is treated as a computer...no charge).  There are other services for which Skype charges a usage or monthly fees like SMS (text) messages, voice mail, receiving calls from landlines and cell phones, etc.

Skype has a text-based chat feature which is active within a call and allows screen sharing.  This is a feature that I haven't yet tried, but I would certainly like to attempt; however, the call quality was excellent!

Diigo

Diigo is a site that allows the user to add annotated links to web pages, articles, journals, .pdfs, etc. Some of its key features include the tags and the diiglet toolbar.

The diiglet tool bar can be bookmarked and allows the user to annotate text within a web page article, add sticky notes, etc. The annotations will then appear on the diigo page as text boxes following the name and url for the document. In addition, diigo has it's own tool bar; however several individuals who tried to install this toolbard began to have problems with their computers and needed to uninstall the product.

One can also create a group page within Diigo where multiple users can share and annotate links.

Like many Web 2.0 products, one can have elect other diigo sites to follow, have friends, and chat with other diigo users online.

Jing

"Jing is free software that adds visuals to your online conversations." That is the tag line for Jing on its website: http://www.jingproject.com/. With Jing, one can capture a screen, record a five-minute or less narrated screencast, and publish the resulting video through e-mail, instant messanger, or even Jing's own free sharing site - screencast.com. The free software creates an .swf file that is instantly accessible. One can also subscribe (cloud computing?) to Jing Pro for $14.95/year. The Pro edition will also produce mpeg-4 video suitable for sharing on You Tube.

The product is easy to use and comes with some great videos to get the user started. Like with any presentation product, one should spend a few minutes before creating the video to plan, jot down some notes, and practice the screencast and narration before actually creating the screencast. It is possible to pause the screencast, restart, or cancel.

This is a terrific product that I strongly recommend to anyone who is planning to create video content for their online course.

Polleverywhere

Polleverywhere  is a web site that allows one to build audience response functionality into face-to-face and online events such as presentations and courses. It is easy to respond to prompts through cellphone text messaging, a direct web page interface, and even Twitter.

There is a free plan for polls which have 30 or less respondents; pricing is fairly flexible depending upon the presenter's needs.

It is quite easy to set up poll:

• Create an account
• Create a question
• If a multiple choice question, add responses
• Click the button

For a multiple choice question, the software will respond with the response codes and the number to which the response should be texted. There are a number of options for displaying the data. One can opt to download a PowerPoint slide (.ppt and .pptx formats are available) or can download the data to a spreadsheet. Results are supposed to be almost instantaneous.

This product is quite interesting for courses with 30 or fewer students that do not have Clicker or other Response system software available for their use.