Today I used the website
Emaze to create a mock presentation. I wanted to see how this tool could be used within a classroom and if it’s worth introducing to students. This tool is very similar to powerpoint and keynote but does have a lot of differences that can make it uncomfortable for student use. The tool has a lot of different template outlines that would help students create a layout that will enhance their projects. It also has a nice transition between slides, and different slide layouts to choose from.
Within a classroom, you could use it to create presentations for multiple subjects. Because of the variety of templates, you have a lot of options for your students to
be creative. My mock presentation is on the nervous system which would be perfect for a science classroom. You could assign a body system to your students and have them use this tool give an overview of the system and you could have them break down the parts of the system by using text and pictures. They could then present their findings to the class or they could create the presentation just for the teacher's eyes. Either way, it’s a nice way to see your students understanding of what they are learning in your class.
Although I enjoyed using this tool, I would only recommend this for a high school age level. I do think that students would be able to use this effectively, but, it requires you to make an account. I feel that it would be more convenient for high school students because a lot of them have their own email accounts either through the school, or just a personal one that they could sign up with. Another thing that is inconvenient within this tool is that you cannot copy and paste pictures. You have to get the pictures link address, or you have to save the picture to your device.
Other than these few cons, students could still easily create a presentation artifact with this tool.
Overall, I had a good experience with this app but I would definitely try it out to make sure it’s a good fit for your students. I do strongly believe that as long as long as the students are older and have a background with powerpoint/keynote that they would be able to easily create something.
A lot of the problems that you ran into with Emaze are similar to those that I ran into using the website Slidebean. Slidebean also requires you to use an email address to make an account before being able to use the app. Similarly, I think that my application was somewhat difficult to use at first, but I think that high school students would be able to pick up on how to use the tool with a bit of practice. I feel like many of the tools that we were assigned this week are easier to manage if you already have some prior experience with something like Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides. I liked seeing the templates that Emaze offers and think that these templates would be great for students that might be having a rough time starting their project. I will definitely have to look into this app!
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