TotSplash - organize and present ideas

TotSplash is a new site that combines online mind mapping and "Prezi-like" presentations.

Users can focus on organizing their thoughts and ideas and then the app transforms them into a "Prezi-like" presentation. You can share and embed your TotSplashes also.

There is a free version with no login required.

It's easy to use and could be a great alternative for students and teachers.

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Prezi Interactive Presentation Tool gets a new interface

Prezi, the zooming presentation editor, has a new version of it's interface. Prezi is a nice alternative to things like PowerPoint for making presentations. Instead of slides, you create presentations using any thing as the basis, from a word to an image. You can change how the presentation moves from part to part and integrate video directly into the presentation.

The new interface is cleaner and standardized and looks more similar to other apps. It is easy to use and easy to find commands and features. The new design also allows for continued expansion and addition of features.






The web version of Prezi is free and you can download your presentation to your computer for offline access. The pro account adds more features and a desktop app.


Related:

PreziU - educational community for Prezi in education

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Prezi interactive presentation tool gets some new features

Prezi, the zooming presentation tool that makes presentations engaging and fun, has added some cool features. 

Prezi has added 3-D backgrounds for the presentations, which can add some great images to your presentations. Also added are Fade-In Animations like PowerPoint has to slowly reveal your content or only have it come up once you click. Great for posing questions and hiding the answer. The third new feature is screen blackout. Press the "B" key during your presentation and black out your screen. This is a great feature when you want to get your audience/class's attention without any distractions. 

Prezi is a great alternative to PowerPoints and can make a presentation more engaging and interactive. It lets you easily embed videos and other media and the zooming actions make it more interesting. Like any presentation tool though, the content comes first. 

Related:

PreziU - educational community for Prezi in education

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Label 59 - free web based presentations and demos

Label 59 is a free, web app that lets you annotate photos with interactive labels. It's easy to use and actually pretty fun.

It's easy to use. Add your photo, add the markers for your labels, add some features, add actions for each marker and then publish it.

When you are done and publish your work, you get a direct link to share with people. You can also download a Zip folder with all the related files in the premium plan.

This is a great resource for teachers to use to create learning materials and for students to use for projects. Students can use a photo of something they are learning about and then add interactive labels based on the content. A Physics student could use a photo of a roller coaster and then add labels explaining the physics of different parts and features of the ride.

Check it out: http://www.label59.com/

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Tips for Preparing for a Presentation

Giving a presentation or teaching takes preparation. There are lots of tips and help for both, including the two links below in the "related section".

Lifehacker has a great article "How to Prep for a Presentation" with some great tips like knowing your audience, knowing their needs, knowing the subject, knowing the room (size, resources and technology, etc),  rehearsing, getting rid of the jitters and nervousness and more. 


There are some great tips for conference presenters and teachers there. 




Related:

Survival Tips for Educators and Presenters

Backup plans - some tips for teachers

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SlidePresenter - free online multimedia presentations

SlidePresenter is an online presentation service. It has a free account that is full-featured and the service allows you to create videos that are synced with PowerPoint presentations. It is similar to Knovio.

SlidePresenter can be used to create presentations for use by educators in the classroom that can then be reviewed by students at a later date for review or reinforcement or to create training sessions that people can view on their own time. Students can also use it for class projects.

The free account limits videos to 15 min (similar to most of these services) but that is a good way to make sure your presentation is focused and concise. Each presentation can be tagged, embedded in other sites, and easily shared via social media.

The videos are on the left panel and the slides are on the right side. 

Sharing and embedding features are on bottom left and tags are on bottom right. 

(It is a German company so some times the web page translations are a little awkward, but the product works great).

On a side note, they also allow you, in the paid accounts, to post your presentation and monetize it - charge people access for it. This might be an option for small businesses and education consultants to use for hosting fee-based courses.



Related:

Knovio - turn PowerPoint presentation into multimedia video

Google Docs - free, online, collaborative presentations 

Present me - easy way to record and share presentations

Desmos - create media rich educational content online

PhotoPeach - easily create and share photo slideshows

Prezi - the zooming presentation editor

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Slide.ly - create free online photo slideshows - now open to all

Slide.ly is a neat site that just came out of beta/invite only and is now available to everyone. With Slide.ly, you can easily create videos using photos and music and then share the video with others.

You can login using your Facebook account or create a free Slide.ly account. It's very easy to create a Slide.ly.  You link your photo accounts, or upload photos from your computer, and select the photos you want to use, drag them into the order you want, add music from YouTube or SoundCloud, add some transition effects (zoom, pan, etc.) and you are done.

Once created, you can easily share a Slide.ly via Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, or Stumbleupon. You can even embed your Slide.ly in your blog or website.

You can also search for already created Slide.ly's to use.

This is another resource teachers could use to create educational videos and projects for students. Students could also use Slide.ly to create projects for class.

Check it out: http://slide.ly/

Slide.ly

Slide.ly is an instant and easy way to create social videos using your favorite photos and music and share it quickly with your friends on all popular social websites.

Related:

Animoto - create awesome video slideshows

VoiceThread - collaborative multimedia slide shows

Sliderocket - online presentation software

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