Lesson 1: What is Prezi?
What is Prezi?
Prezi is a web-based tool for creating presentations (called prezis for short). It's similar to other presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint, but it offers some unique features that make it a good alternative. In recent years, it has become popular in schools and businesses. If you're looking to create a presentation that's a bit more eye-catching and engaging, Prezi may be for you.
How does a prezi work?
Most types of presentation software use a slide-based approach, where you move back and forth between individual slides, kind of like pages in a book. Prezi, however, uses a canvas-based approach. Instead of using slides, Prezi has one very large canvas that your presentation moves around on, zooming in and out to view various frames.
This concept is much easier to describe with a visual aid, so we've embedded a sample prezi below. Simply select Start Prezi, then use the arrows at the bottom to navigate through the presentation.
Why use Prezi?
You might be wondering what makes Prezi different from other presentation software, like PowerPoint or Keynote. For one thing, Prezi is completely free to use. There are upgrades you can pay for to unlock additional features, but everything you need to create and share a dynamic prezi is available free of cost.
Another great reason to use Prezi is that it is run entirely through your web browser, meaning there will be fewer compatibility issues than with other programs like PowerPoint. Your prezi will always look the same, no matter what computer you're viewing it on.
Because of its unique presentation style, Prezi can use movement and metaphor to help communicate a point you're trying to make. If you want your audience to really feel a sense of space and distance between locations, you could use a map template, like in the prezi below.
Or maybe you want to illustrate how there's more to a certain topic or viewpoint than there appears to be. In this case, perhaps an iceberg template would be more effective.
In the next lesson, we'll show you how to create and edit prezis of your own!
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