January 19, 2011

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In the Wake of Science Online (#scio11): Using Prezi

The first proper session I attended at Science Online was I-wish-my-science-teachers-had-been-like Stacy Baker‘s workshop on Prezi. Despite some issues with the hotel wifi, it was a fantastic session, and I learned quite a bit.

By Jason G. Goldman

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The first proper session I attended at Science Online was I-wish-my-science-teachers-had-been-like Stacy Baker's workshop on Prezi. Despite some issues with the hotel wifi, it was a fantastic session, and I learned quite a bit. Clearly, there are some things better suited to Keynote/Powerpoint, and some presentations perhaps better suited to Prezi (just as they are still some types of presentations best suited to whiteboards or chalkboards).

I think Prezi can be really effective for teaching part-whole relationships, and the zooming tool can be really useful for, for example, getting deeper and deeper into displaying the different parts of a cell or atom. Or for teaching spatial concepts, such as a lecture on neuroanatomy or geography, or teaching history by jumping around a timeline.

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What I can't figure out is if - or how - it might be useful is for teaching more conceptual ideas that can't be readily grounded in a spatial way. (Is this just a problem with my linear thinking?)

How would you use Prezi? How have you used Prezi before? Has anybody used Prezi for teaching undergrad courses? For journal clubs, or lab meetings? Dissertation defenses? Conference talks? Care to share links to them, so we may all learn by example?

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

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