Using Slideshare in a Blended Learning Environment

One of the challenges of creating and maintaining a blended learning environment is finding a way to actually share the content I have created with the pupils. While this use to be a challenge, over the last few years the ability to embed content, which is housed at other websites, in our LMS has meant that the variety of resources I am able to provide to the students and that the students can share with us is staggering.

Web2.0 tools often have the ability to share content and allow content creators to distribute their materials and assist in the learning of others . While there are thousands of sites which allow embedding of content my focus in this post is on a service called “Slideshare.com” and how we use it in our blended environment with a group of 10 to 11 year olds.

Like Youtube, Slideshare allows the account holder to upload Powerpoint slide presentations to their servers. The presentations then become searchable on the site and the account holder has the options of determining various settings which decide how the presentation will be shared and the information available as well as the licenses to be applied.

So, this is how we use it:

Any time the children, either individually or in a group, create a .ppt, or .pptx file they upload the file to the class account. Usually together, but sometimes on my own, the settings for how the presentation will be shared are set. The file is then loaded to our class account. Unfortunately, Slideshare does not deal well with animations, so before uploading to the website we usually need to adapt the presentation by deleting any animation effects.

From there, we embed the presentation in our EDU20 Resources area, or add the presentation to a specific lesson, blog, forum discussion, etc. But, as mentioned in an earlier post, Prezi.com also allows embedding.

The ability to embed the presentation files, and Prezis in EDU20 is fantastic for several reasons, such as the fact that the children only need their EDU20 login details. Furthermore, it allows all children the opportunity to share, discuss and improve on the content we create together or individually. It also provides supporting material which children can access independently or as a class we can access together over Vyew.com(see more on this website in an upcoming post). Children do, independently review presentations and Prezis to review topics they are interested in and to revise a topic we’ve covered. Interestingly, the children also discuss the presentations independently with other friends over Skype!

One of the other benefits of housing presentations in Slideshare, could be the ability to share the content with other classes in the school, but since most other classes are not at this point yet, it will, I hope, serve as encouragement, when they discover a bank of content tailored to the curriculum available to them.

Do you use Slideshare for class content? How do you make use of the embedding feature with your class? Do you use a different presentation sharing tool? Let me know in the comments!

A Powerpoint Alternative - Prezi

I have to admit that over the years, I have used a lot of powerpoint presentations or variations of them. However, over the last year or so I found myself wondering what alternatives to powerpoint were there? I'm not talking about programs which essentially show slides but with a slightly different user interface, but something really "different" which not only presented the information in new ways but allowed for more creativity, was relatively easy for 10 and 11 year olds to learn and did a better job at showing connections between ideas.

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of uses for a good powerpoint presentation and there are hundreds of websites which give pointers on how to create the "ultimate presentation." What I wanted, was a format which was somehow less linear.

That is, a format which allowed the audience to participate by seeing the big picture and its component parts and more easily discuss each of the factors involved. Luckily, I discovered Prezi which does just that.

Prezi is a non-linear presentation tool which allows you to start at the top of a concept (a top-down perspective) and allows the audience to see all the component parts of the concept or topic. The presenter or the audience can then explore randomly, or along a fixed path, and identify and discuss the various components.

This tool has been very helpful and I've created several. The children who have had the opportunity to try it out have found it has a bit of a learning curve, so I've always guided them through their first two or three (as I do with all the tools I introduce). Once they get the hang of it, and lose the Powerpoint linear model way of thinking, they love it.

It has been a great help with children who have difficulty sorting concepts into individual ideas or identifying connections. In other words, it is a great help for children who have trouble seeing the forest for the trees or who have Inquiry topics which have several different important aspects contributing to a main idea.

For example, a Prezi was done on global warming. Some of the contributing factors were collected together in seperate frames but still clearly visible within a whole concept, thus showing its connection to other factors of global warming.

As I suggested above, Prezi has been very helpful in showing connections between concepts or ideas which Powerpoint simply cannot, in a fluid random access sense. Hence, the children, while still enjoying Powperpoint because it is one of their "comfort zone technologies" have increasingly started turning to Prezis for their project ideas and class discussions.

The facts:

Who used it?: Year 6 (aged 10-11 years old)
Where can I find it?: www.prezi.com
Cost: Free (but with limits - no education package that I'm aware of)
What is it?: Alternative Presentation Tool
Why would I use it?: When concepts have several connected ideas that need a "top-down" view which does not come across well in Powerpoint.

How do you use Prezis? Perhaps you've found an even better tool for presentations. If so, please let me know in the comments!