Discussion+Question+Module+1+Links

=Discussion Links from Appleton 12 Cohort=

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Jodi Guido __[]__ This site addresses the top 10 presentation software and gives a brief overview of the pros and cons of each one. Power point, interestingly enough, is still the number 1 presentation software. They offer links to other software programs as well as links to free downloads.

[|__http://www.wildform.com/demos/flairdemos/flair_tour.php__] This site introduces Wildform Flair, a software program that can be used to create projects. It appears to be like power point, but offers many other options. You can use audio and video files, imbed videos, and access many additional text effects that Power Point does not offer. You can even convert PowerPoint files to Flash and use them with Flair. This is not a free download.

[|__http://www.mediaworkssoftware.com/products.html__] Mediaworks offers 5 programs in one including author, video, sound, animation/video and paint programs all in one. It allows you to create a “movie-type” presentation that is easy to use. You can use your own videos or movies in other applications such as YouTube, iPod, and iphone. You can download a 15 day trial version and if you like it the purchase price is $50.00 for a single student.

__[]__ A neat website with sounds, videos, templates and lesson plan ideas for ways to use PowerPoint in a social studies classroom. The bottom of the website has a compilation of teacher submitted ideas for how to use PowerPoint for all levels of students and also in professional development settings.
 * Anne Brahe**

[|__http://www.vickiblackwell.com/ppttemplates.html__] This website has a bunch of PowerPoint templates for use in a classroom. Not too useful for me since most are elementary style templates and ideas but I hope it’s a decent source for those that might be more interested in what she has created on this site! The part I did find useful was the links to design templates. I like to vary the backgrounds on my presentations and not just use the stock ones so I was excited to find these links!

[|__http://www.techlearning.com/article/17198__] This article is a little different than what the question is asking for but I couldn’t help sharing it nonetheless. The title is “Ten Ways to Get Beyond PowerPoint with Classroom Projectors” and I love the topic because its something I can share with my whole department. Over the last few years we’ve slowly acquired two projectors a year until now, where every single social studies teacher has a projector mounted in their classroom. However many are now getting sucked into the daily PowerPoint grind. This is a great article suggesting ways to use the projector that aren’t just PowerPoint-focused!

__[]__ This presentation software is similar to PowerPoint. It allows you to use slide themes, text, flowcharts, symbols, and shapes. Clipart and images can be used with the ability to flip, rotate, and position images easily. Images can also be imported from Flickr. Presentations can be shared with anyone anywhere with a browser. Slideshows can be embedded into your website or blog easily.
 * **Diane Friday** ||

[|__http://docs.google.com__] This site is also much like PowerPoint. One advantage is that images can be taken directly from your files and dropped onto the presentation slide. Any presentation can also be easily embedded into your blog or website.

[|__http://www.prezi.com__] This is a site I have looked at before and went back to for this assignment because I really wanted to experiment with the program and see how it worked. I find the presentations really interesting. I see that they have so much more impact on the viewer than the standard PowerPoint presentation. However, learning the program seems to be much more difficult than the programs listed above. It is the only program I’ve seen that is truly much different than PowerPoint. It is going to take some additional time and practice to become really competent at making them. I think, though, that my students would really find these presentations fun and challenging to complete.

“PowerPoint Creating Classroom Presentations” [|__http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech013.shtml__] - This site gives a basic understanding of PowerPoint and its uses in the classroom. It also gives ways to present PowerPoints in the classroom and gives project ideas for students. This site is informative for people just starting to use PowerPoint lessons in the classroom.
 * **Erin Tipler** ||

“Classroom Resources, Presentation Tips, and Lesson Plans” [|__http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/classrooms/Classroom_Presentations_and_Lesson_Plans.htm__] - This site gives a variety of resources to use in the classroom such as templates, lesson ideas, and tips for creating interesting websites.

“Technology in the Classroom- PowerPoint Alternatives” [|__http://savageminds.org/2006/04/11/technology-in-the-classroom-powerpoint-alternatives/__] - This is a blog on ways to make PowerPoint more interesting. The author discusses how he used Dreamweaver to create the similar results to PowerPoint in order to vary his lessons. Then others gave insights how to vary lessons and instruction using PowerPoint.

1. [|__www.slide.com__] This is a really fun tool that allows you to import pictures from just about anywhere and the program will create a slide show for you. You get to choose the layout and there are other options. What I really liked is that there was no sign up and I was able to get the embed code and put the slide show into my wiki. Check it out here: __http://dnorton.wikispaces.com/EDT+658+Teaching+and+Learning+with+Multimedia__ 2. [|__www.slideshare.net__] To use Slideshare you must create an account. You are then able to upload any Powerpoint presentation that you have created and you can then share it with anyone. The slideshare shows like a neat little show. I put an example on my wiki here: __http://dnorton.wikispaces.com/EDT+658+Teaching+and+Learning+with+Multimedia__ One neat thing that this program also offers is slidecast which is taking a PowerPoint and adding on a podcast to add audio to your presentation. You can also add video! Talk about a multimedia presentation! I will be playing around with this program a lot! 3. [|__www.prezi.com__] Most people in our cohort know by now that Prezi is my favorite new presentation tool. What I love about Prezi is that it is different and unique. The presentation will zoom in and out and is impressive looking when it is presented. I have created several Prezis to use in the classroom and my students created their own Prezis for a classroom presentation on a famous person. The more you use Prezi, the easier and more creative it becomes!
 * **Deb Norton** ||


 * **Jason Van Demark** ||

__[]__ / This site allows your to create interactive posters using video, text, audio, and images.

[|__http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration__] I really like kidspiration although it is not free 30 day free trial I have used it and like the ease and use of it for my second graders. They can make webs using pictures or words for a topic.

[|__http://prezi.com__]/ Prezi is a very different presentation tool. It allows you to show the big picture but are still able to zoom in on the finer points. Defiantly going to play around and find out more about this tool.

__[]__ I found this website to be useful because it had multiple PPt presentations that were already created and could be easily modified to work in any classroom. The other thing I like about this website is the fact the PPt presentations were visually stimulating and I could see that students would be highly interested.
 * **Nicholas Propson** ||

[|__http://www.vickiblackwell.com/factflipper.html__] At this site you will find some PPt templates that can be modified to your needs. The one that I found most useful was the fast facts PPt. I see this as being something simple and basic that my students could modify when they are doing their state reports.

[|__http://www.worldofteaching.com/mathspowerpoints.html__] At this site, I found a lot of useful presentations for elementary through high school students. This site is set up as a place where educators can share the PPt presentations that they have created for others to use. The one thing I liked about this site was the fact that the presentations where categorized by subject area which made it easy to navigate and find what you might be looking for. The one weakness of the site is the fact that the presentations aren’t narrowed down by the level of education. I felt that there may have been a lot more for upper middle school and high school educators.

Ryan Bowers __[]__ This site discusses how to communicate visually through a ten step process that is laid out quite nice.

[|__http://www.davidzinger.com/creating-engaging-presentations-presentation-zen-video-600/__] This is not an article but a great video on the power of presentation by Garr Reynolds. It is a pretty long video but has some really good insight on how to make presentations more engaging.

[|__http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2009/06/dsklhjkdjlksjdlsa-sakjaskldjalkdja.html__] This site goes with the video above. Garr Reynolds created this blog site to discuss issues related to professional presentation designs. Some really good stuff in this blog.

Catherine Wood __[]__ This site provides really nice tutorials on how to use PowerPoint. [|__http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/powerpoint/__] This article talked about the Pros and Cons of PowerPoint and how it can definitely be a very powerful classroom tool. [|__http://www.internet4classrooms.com/ideas_pp.htm__] This website highlighted some cool ideas on how to use PowerPoint in the classroom. [|__http://www.vickiblackwell.com/ppttemplates.html__] Some cool PowerPoint templates.

Christy Thompson __[]__ This article had some very useful ideas on using PowerPoint effectively in the classroom. Included were reminders that PowerPoint can be saved as a webpage or linked to a webpage for sharing with classmates and/or parents. Also the article gave a few good ideas for sharing a PowerPoint without taking too many days to share the information.

[|__http://learningblog.org/2010/05/04/the-power-and-point-of-using-prezi-in-the-classroom/__] This is a Prezi that explains why using Prezi as a presentation tool is effective. Good tips were given on how to use Prezi and it shows exactly what the software can do. The ability to zoom in on diagrams and pictures is amazing!

[|__http://www.pppst.com__]/ This is Pete’s Power Point Station. It includes many free PowerPoint presentations in many different subject areas and topics. Also included is clipart, games, sometimes videos depending on the subject area and templates to make your own presentations.

[|__http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/__] This is the Top 100 Tools for Learning of 2009. The list includes many types of presentation software and others along with information regarding its platform (Mac, Windows or Online) and cost (free or commercial). There are links to the various sites as well.

Brian Perzentka Life beyond Power Point [|__http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6526729.html__] This is a short article that previews different programs that can be used instead of Power Point. The author gives a brief summary of each of the programs featured.

[|__http://www.sliderocket.com/signup/?_kk=presentation%20tools&_kt=e115890d-3fe4-4d70-be35-a312d7791271__] Slide Rocket: This was a really interesting produce that is more geared to the private business sector but could be used in schools as well. It has a lot of online capabilities and seems to have a lot of options like user ratings and ways to see if your presentations are reaching your target audience. I think that would be pretty cool for school use. Wouldn't you like to see if your presentation was engaging to your students, I would. I didn't sign up for a free trial but at least check out the free demo bottom right of the page.

[|__http://www.crystalgraphics.com/powerpoint/presentations.main.asp?p=zzm&keyword=presentation%20software__] If money is no issue and you really like to create dynamic power points this site has an add on to power point that allows you to do a lot more. From what I have been seeing searching all of this out, this add on allows power point to be more like apple's keynote for mac's. If you haven't seen what keynote can do at first glance it seems way better than Power Point but I couldn't say for certain.

[|__http://www.kitzu.org__]/ This site is geared more to elementary students and doesn't really fit our presentation topic but I thought it might be useful as a place where students can get information for projects.

Elizabeth Coenen 1.http://aaude.org/system/files/documents/public/air2010.pdf If you are going to use PPt, you need to use it effectively! This is 12 ways to improve your PPt presentation!

2.http://[|__www.brainpop.com__]/ ([|__http://brainpop.speedera.net/www.brainpop.com/new_common_images/files/76168/bpeducators%20screencast.mov__]) I found this website very helpful when looking for new ideas and lessons. BrainPop can not only be used as fillers and individual work, it can also be used with your interactive whiteboard.

3.http://[|__www.presentationmagazine.com/top-10-sites-images-presentation-50.htm__] This website has a page dedicated to the top 10 sites that you can find images for free when creating a presentation. We all have a hard time finding that perfect image, this helped me a lot!

Krista Holland __[]__ This site provides free PowerPoint Templates for elementary up to university level teachers. PowerPoints include subjects from math to reading to art.

[|__http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointlessonplans/PowerPoint_Lesson_Plans.htm__] This site has multimedia tutorials and lesson plans that take you through the steps to use PowerPoint in the classroom and to do specific tasks such as create a family tree, make a multiple choice quiz and design Web pages, using PowerPoint.

__[]__ This article discusses how Power point presentations can greatly enhance classroom instruction, yet teachers that misuse the technology run the risk of devaluing instructional time. __[]__ This site is a quick introduction to Keynote, which I am looking forward to trying on my Mac. It also has student samples, which I thought was cool to see!
 * Jennifer Smith**

[|__http://www.ideastoinspire.co.uk/prezi.htm__] I really like this site, it had 8 different ways that I could use prezi in my classroom. I signed up each of my students to have a Prezi account, using our Epal Email.

[|__http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/prezi-a-better-way-of-doing-presentations/__] This site really got me thinking about using Prezi for staff presentations. I am just like Deb, a total lover of this new tool. I just need to get more proficient with it!