Because we had students write their
research papers first, they knew the
content before they developed their
multimedia presentations. A better
plan for next time might be to have
students create the Prezi first to give
them a better handle on content
knowledge and help them organize
the content before writing their research papers.
Sharing Knowledge
In addition to helping students understand content better, Prezi offers
an easy way for students to share
their research topics with others.
Our students presented their Prezis
to their peers during class time and
to parents during student-led parent conferences. For both, students
developed and put into practice their
presentation and public speaking
skills. During class, students in the
audience used a rubric to assess each
other’s presentations on the criteria
of purpose, content, organization, attractiveness, multimedia, clarity and
neatness, word choice, oral presentation, sources, permissions, and fair
use. The critical analysis that is necessary to judge each other’s presentations developed each student’s own
public speaking and presentation
skills. The rubric also kept the audience engaged and actively listening
to the presentations.
Impact on Parents
The Prezis also had a positive impact
on parent–teacher conferences. For
logistical reasons, we decided to or-
ganize our language arts conferences
in clusters of three or four students
grouped together for 20-minute ses-
sions. Students took turns present-
ing their Prezis to all of the families
attending that session. This allowed
parents to see the work of their child’s
peers, and it developed a learning
community among families.
—Tim Peters teaches in the Education Program
at Colorado State University–Pueblo, USA.
Karen Hopkins teaches middle school language
arts in Colorado City, Colorado. Combined they
have more than 25 years of teaching experience.
