I continue to be impressed by Gar and his presentations. I have really enjoyed watching the videos and even the book has proved useful and interesting. I was not quick to buy into his principles, but the more I listen and read, the more I like it. This week for once I felt like I was on the same level as Gar when it came to the dicussion about presenting. I agreed with his ideas of being a natural, understaning your time and place, and so on. I have always been a natural presenter, so at least this week I didnt feel blown away by his ideas.
I was also interested in Prezi. I have stated before that I don't feel like I get a chance to master any of the tools we use and that I wish we would experience less tools and go more in depth. Prezi took me a really long time to get through all of the instructions and for quite some time I was sure that I didnt get them all. Once I got the hang of it (and it took a long time) I kind of enjoyed it. I dont know that I will ever use Prezi to present an idea, but I could make an assignment for the kids and I am sure that they would enjoy it! I think it is a cool way to storyboard or share pictures to tell a story and I will keep it in mind in the future!
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I too am impressed by Garr and his presentations. I think the videos were extremely helpful, especially since I am a more visual learner. I found the videos were extremley close to the readings and I know that was the point...to use the videos as a complementary media. I don't remember the last time this was offered to me in a class. I am not a natural presenter but find that I am improving using these principles. I have only starting with prezi, but right away I grabbed my nephew who is a freshman in high school and we both think it looks pretty cool. I guess I'll see if that changes when I play around with it more.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about Prezi, Jay. I really like it and think I could perhaps find ways to use it, especially when I want to introduce a quick, new subject to my students without having to go through the hassle of Powerpoint. I could see Prezi being much simpler to use. My biggest issue is working with the layout itself. I watched Ryan Adameak's Prezi, and it was very cool how the whole presentation made a shape. Never thought about doing that. It took me awhile to figure it out as well. I had trouble uploading photos until I realized that my pictures were too large.
ReplyDeleteAs for Garr, I'm afraid I'm in love, lol. Everything has made sense for me, and as I commented, I would think his recommendations would fit naturally with most teachers. Don't you think we have to act naturally all the time when we teach? I remember having teachers who stood behind the lectern and lectured to high school students. Generally, they were the most disliked and the crabbiest and most rigid in their policies. Hopefully, that doesn't apply to most of the teachers today.
As being an auto's teacher like you, I could see using Prezi to create a cool show for showing students integral parts of different areas/systems of a car. I could also see it to show different type of brake systems, suspension systems, steering systems, etc. It would take some time to create, but I think with a little time a lot could be created out of it.
ReplyDeleteI, unfortunately, am not caught up enough to be able to add to your comments on Prezi as I haven't gotten that far yet but I'm in full agreement with you on Gar. At first, I was so far off base with Zen that everything he was saying just seemed to me to be a bit of a golden goose. As I've continued on with the readings I've really gained a tremendous respect for him and his teachings. I hope to get to the point where I'm caught up enough to actually implement some of the methods I've learned from him but until then I'll have to keep on keeping on. Good luck finding a use for the instruction as from what I've seen, I could really see the students buying into these presentations as they all seem to differ from the norm of what our peers are doing.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say? I agree with your thinking. I too am impressed by Gar however his thoughts seem a lot easier than they actually are. Cutting down on imformation is not always the easiest thing for me to do. I also like the Prezi. At first it was a little difficult to navigate but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun. I can see this as a very useful tool in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteIt also took me some time to master Prezi. I actually started getting a little frustrated at times but once I mastered the program, I loved it. I agree that students could really benefit from using this tool. Storyboarding with Prezi is a great idea!
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