Thing 11-Prezi

http://s667.photobucket.com/albums/vv38/ProfessionalFirefighter/?action=view&current=JeannedArc.mp4
http://prezi.com/hkfmuprjkz4v/joan-of-arc/

Above are the links to a short film that is part of my Prezi presentation and the second is the presentation itself.
Since I don't have my own classroom at this time I chose to do my presentation on a part of the 6th grade history unit on medieval ages.  I felt this was very timely, because, when doing my student teaching assignment I worked in a 6th grade classroom and the unit I was asked to do covered this unit.  A favorite of the students was the story of Joan of Arc.  She appealed to 6th grade students for a number of reasons.  First of all, she was their age when she first received her calling to fight for France.  Her strength of character, humility, and passion were all something that resounds with these students. That she was willing to die for her beliefs, that she did not conform to what men expected of her makes her a champion to these students. This is the time of year they were learning these lessons, and it is also appropriate because it was in May that Joan was burned at the stake.

Included in the site are pictures, a movie clip, and biographical websites which will appeal to students who look for other options while reviewing material for a test. While I could have gone into more detail concerning the 100 Year War and how France was a divided country, students will get that information when they go the the websites where brief biographical sketches of her life give them the information they seek, quickly and simply.

There is no comparison between a PowerPoint presentation and a Prezi presentation; Prezi far surpasses anything that a PowerPoint can accomplish.  Because it is interactive, students are able to do much more within their presentation to make it a higher quality and more thoroughly presented piece of work.   Because students don't come 'once size fits all' being able add elements such as movie clips, website links, etc...will appeal to all students.  Giving them as many options as possible to fulfill an assignment is a teachers responsibility if they want quality work from their students; work which students have invested more of themselves into.

Students can use Prezi for various projects in all of the content areas.  A science project, a history project such as the one presented here, an English project on Shakespeare, a presentation for phys.ed, all will benefit greatly using a Prezi presentation.  Students will quickly learn how to navigate the creative process and Prezi offers help when you get stuck by quickly taking you through the steps to creating a successful presentation.

I will look forward to using Prezi in my classroom and to passing along this excellent presentation tool to my students.