Evaluating Web 2.0 Tools

Prezentit - The website is set up in Spanish. Change to English from the drop down menu in the upper-right corner.

Pros:
- Presenit is free and very easy to get signed up. You just have to have an email.
- It is a slide-based presentation that makes it quick and easy to add a photo or text.
- You can change the background colors of each slide or use a photo as your background.
- Some of the slide transitions rival PowerPoint, especial the box transition that you can see in the example below.
- You can get an embed code for your presentation and add it to your Prezi, Weebly, Wikispaces, Blogger, or other platform.

Cons:
- VERY limited in what you can do.
- Videos cannot be inserted, only photos can be placed on your slide.
- Limited font types.
- You cannot insert embed codes or link to websites.

Overall, Prezentit provides a quick and easy way to create a slide presentation. With its many limitations in mind, I would not suggest it for use with our class project. It would be great however to use with elementary students since it is not as overwhelming as PowerPoint for younger learners.




VoiceThread

Pros:
- You can comment on each slide using either your phone, microphone, or webcam.
- You can also comment through text.
- Video and pictures can be uploaded to the slides
- I discovered that you can upload a PowerPoint and each slide of your presentation is a slide from the PowerPoint.
- VoiceThread allows you to collaborate with other people about your slides.
- They give you an embed code for your presentation.

Cons:
- The sign-up processes is a bit lengthy, but with a school email address you can get a free, limited subscription.
- You can only call in your comment three times before the site asks you to pay. (Microphone and webcam comments are free and unlimited)
- You can not add text to the slides, only text in the way of comments.

Example Using Voice


Example Using PowerPoint


After review of these Web 2.0 tools, I think I am going to try VoiceThread. I envision creating a PowerPoint first and then commenting on the slides through a webcam. It would come out like a real presentation where you have the visual and comments of the presenter.

I have used Prezi in the past and really enjoy it. My students even used it to present a project last year. It can be a bit tricky at first, especially getting used to the circular control panel, but it more exciting than a boring PowerPoint. Below is a Prezi presentation I used to introduce my students to a PSA project last year.