Tips for Teaching with Prezi

1. Use the zoom.
2. Don't include too much motion.  People might get motion sickness!
3. Arrange the pieces artfully, not just in a straight line.
4. Group related ideas together in the space.
5. Start and end with an overview of the entire presentation.
6. Incorporate other forms of media.
7. Make sure all words are legible, including the use of contrasting colors.
8. Use size to indicate importance or form groups (larger title and smaller ideas).
9. Leave enough space between ideas so the presentation isn't crowded.
10. Put the title or main idea in the center.

Prezi: Insects

Here's a Prezi-ified version of my insects PowerPoint:

Insects on Prezi

Tips for Teaching with PowerPoint

1. Don't put too much on a slide (be it text, animation, whatever).
2. Use bullets as prompts for the presenter, not everything  you're going to say.
3. Build more of a lesson off of it, with activities, discussions, etc.
4. Make the presentation age appropriate for your students.
5. Remember that PowerPoint can be used for more than just a standard presentation.
6. Be flexible when presenting, rather than being tied down to the planned order and pace of the presentation.
7. Avoid presentation elements that can be distracting from the subject.
8. Make sure the presentation is visually interesting to keep your audience's attention.
9. Keep the presentation moving at an engaging pace (but don't be afraid to stop to elaborate or answer questions).
10. Make sure everything  can be clearly seen (contrasting colors help text and images to stand out).

Insect PowerPoint

This is a PowerPoint I made that would be used for teaching a second grade lesson on insects.  This is the simplified version, without effects or transitions.

Tips for Inspiration Lessons

Here are a few tips for using Inspiration in a lesson:

1. Keep all words legible (no crazy fonts or overly small text).
2. Avoid clutter.  Too many pictures and lines are distracting.
3. Keep pictures clear to avoid confusion.
4. Make sure that aesthetic elements such as color and line style are visually interesting, but not distracting.
5. Be clear about the direction of all connections.
6. Choose a topic that would be effective displayed as a web (otherwise, using Inspiration wouldn't make much sense).
7. Choose an appropriate structure for the diagram.
8. Connect the elements of the diagram to the students' interests.
9. Try to make the diagram interactive, incorporating student input.
10. Keep the use of Inspiration open-ended to allow for discussion and a larger lesson.

Weather Inspiration

Here's a concept map that I made using Inspiration.  This could be used for a second grade lesson on different kinds of weather.