Sunday, February 21, 2010

PPT = 6; Prezi = 4

I just finished preparing a presentation for the PETE&C conference and decided to try Prezi as the presentation support tool instead of PowerPoint. Below is a short summary of my initial thoughts about Prezi and some comparisons to PPT.

I'll be presenting "Web 2.0 for Reflection and Assessment" at PETE&C on Tuesday, February 23 from 10:45-11:45 AM. It's a presentation I've done before. I'm not sure if I would review Prezi differently if my experience was creating a presentation from scratch.

Two considerations for my review:
  1. I'm not a "bullet point person" in PPT. I use keywords and images and mainly images. So, I may have a different view of PPT than some.
  2. This is my first time using Prezi. I viewed the introductory video but didn't look at a lot of other Prezi's before jumping in and creating mine. I only worked in one theme. So, some of my review could be slanted because I just don't know enough about it yet.
FeatureProsConsPrezi or PPT?
DrawingSimple arrow, free form line and highlight Only simple tools that really don't support information presentationPPT
TextEasy to create, edit and move around the canvasLimited text, fonts, colors . . . based on the theme selectedPrezi
Images
  • Easily adapt to image size
  • Handles transparent images
  • Have to get used to manipulating images to display"unpixelated"
  • No clip art or photo galleries
  • No image editing
PPT
DocumentsYou can embed documents!!!!(that is awesome!)None that I'm aware ofPrezi
Navigation
  • Can navigate to various points on the canvas
  • Easy to get from one screen to another without linear navigation
  • It's still ends in a linear presentation for the viewer (for the most part)
  • It can be cumbersome to set up the flow while authroing
  • I often had to delete all of the navigation points in order to make an edit
PPT
TransitionsSmooth transition from one point to anotherNo options for different types of transitionsPrezi
AnimationTransition is animationNo builds, no object animationsPPT
Sharing
  • Email sharing
  • Embed code
  • URL
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • No commenting with presentation
  • No favoriting
  • Public presentation with free version
PPT
Presentation Support
  • Download for local playback
  • Easy to move around presentation materials
  • Screen resolution is not as big an issue
  • Learning materials only at prezi.com and from PLN
  • No notes
PPT
Cost
  • FREE version with options for paid levels
  • FREE level 2 version for education
What seems to be limited functionality for a cost (even though it's affordable)Prezi

PPT = 6; Prezi = 4

It's great that there's another presentation option! I'm looking forward to seeing how others use Prezi, how my use of it will evolve and the features and functions that are added over time. But, for now I'd still recommend PPT as your "go to" presentation tool (just please reduce the use of bullets 8-) . But consider Prezi as an experimental tool, a way to switch things up a little bit and as a way to challenge your traditional thinking about presentatio preparation and support.