Everyone has seen a PowerPoint presentation at some point in their academic career, and by the time you get to college, you've probably seen hundreds. Because PowerPoint is so easy to use, it's the go-to tool for teachers to use to present the topic at hand, but PowerPoint is extremely boring for those watching; there's no flair in the presentation, nothing to keep students interested. The past several years have brought many new presentation tools for students and teachers to use, but if you don't want to to use a tool much different than PowerPoint, you should be using Google Slides, and here's why:- Google Slides is built for you to collaborate with others.
- Google Slides is even simpler to use than PowerPoint, but it is so much more advanced.
- You can use Google Slides while offline (when set up correctly) and everything will sync back up when you're connected again.
- You can access Google Slides from any device: any computer or your smartphone or tablet with the Slides app.
- You can easily share your presentation online and have anyone comment or make edits to it.
- IT'S FREE
Another tool that has become popular recently is Prezi. Prezi is a zooming presentation tool that is an alternative to PowerPoint. Here's a guide on the basics of Prezi that can show you the ropes of how to get started and begin to master Prezi. Basically, with Prezi, you start with a blank canvas or a template that is provided, then you add text, pictures, or videos, and plot the order you want everything to be shown; your Prezi zooms from each point for you to deliver your presentation. There are strengths and weaknesses to Prezi, but one of the best features is that your presentation does not have to be linear; you can branch off differently for each presentation or your audience can zoom to wherever they want at any point. Ned Porter even added a Prezi with tips and information about how to make a great Prezi.
When it comes to student presentations, you don't want too much information on your slides; you should try to limit your slide to brief notes and use that as a guide to what you should be talking about. A great tool to help limit yourself is Haiku Deck, which focuses on simple and fun presentations. You simply type a few words and the program finds matching photos where you can choose which one fits best, or you can import your own photos for a more personalized presentation. Haiku Deck is perfect for being short, sweet, and to the point, which is great when your trying to convey a message as simple as possible.
This past week we spoke with Abigail Harrison, better known as Astronaut Abby, through Google Hangouts. Abby is an aspiring astronaut and wishes to be the first astronaut to land on Mars. She speaks frequently about The Mars Generation, which she refers to those under the age of 25. The Mars Generation has had access to technology like no other generation and with our new tools, we strive to grow and learn to be able to land on Mars. Abby spoke to us about The Mars Generation as well as how she was able to build herself on social media. She told us not to get caught up in all the different forms of social media; we should only focus on the platforms that will benefit us in our career path. Also, she made it clear that our personal social media accounts are not as private as we think; anything you say on social media can be seen by potential employers, so everyone needs to be cautious of that. She finished by explaining that volunteering is one of the most effective way to build your LinkedIn profile or résumé, especially when you don't have much work experience to use as a building block.
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