Presi--A Good Presentation Tool?

Presi, though now a well-known player in the presentation world, is engaging and fun but not necessarily the best presentation tool.

One of the main benefits of Presi is the fantastic visual connections between material and ideas that can be created in a virtual space. For visual learners, seeing arrows, charts and ideas physically grouped together is very helpful, not only when watching a presentation but also by creating presentations when trying to make sense of new information. Because organizing information is a tested method of studying, Presis could help some students learn. (I think it would be less helpful for other learner types though, so as a teacher I wouldn’t mandate it but rather offer it as an option to complete an assignment.) With Presi Collaborate, up to 10 users can work on a single presentation at the same time. There is also an app, but it is only available for iPads.  

More so than Glogster, there is a lot of artistic freedom (though figuring out how to use different features has been known to cause more frustration than it was worth; the user interface could be improved for users enjoy the opportunity for creativity). The program is free though (with the option to pay for special features).

Most problematic, however, is that screen readers don’t necessarily work with Presi so students with disabilities who rely on this technology will be unable to use Presi. Using PowerPoint just for these students, doesn’t seem ideal because PowerPoint doesn’t create the information connections for which Presi is specifically useful. Adding a way for all students to benefit while still using Presi, not a different medium, would be good.