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A Review of a Presentation Technology: Prezi

Article  in  Research on Social Work Practice · November 2010

DOI: 10.1177/1049731510390700 · Source: OAI

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 Research on Social Work Practice
000(00) 1-2
A Review of a Presentation ª The Author(s) 2010
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Technology: Prezi sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/1049731510390700
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Brian E. Perron1 and Alyson G. Stearns2

Social work researchers and educators need to effectively com- and individual elements to control the flow and order of the
municate information in a variety of settings. A successful pre- presentation. When a presentation is viewed, each topic is vis-
sentation requires the content to be clear and engaging. ited in the order specified by these paths.
Presentations are usually created with a software package Prezi provides an environment for creating highly customiz-
(e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint), which enables users to construct able presentations. The user can select different fonts, colors,
slides for holding text, images, video, and animations to facil- and canvas layouts and can incorporate different types of
itate the delivery of information. In this review, we examine an media. The elements can be easily rearranged anywhere on the
innovative alternative to presentation software called Prezi canvas with the mouse, and further editing (e.g., size, orienta-
(www.prezi.com). tion, and relative position) is done with an embedded editing
tool. Users also have the option to publish their presentations
online, where other subscribers may view and copy them.
What is It? Unlike many other presentation applications, Prezi’s web-
Prezi is an online presentation service provider that offers dif- based interface allows users to access presentations on any
ferent types of accounts and options for creating and storing computer with a high-speed Internet connection. Presentations
digital presentations. Traditional presentation software requires can also be shared, allowing multiple people to collaborate on a
preparing a linear story line using a storyboard approach. Prezi, single presentation. This is an important feature, given the
on the other hand, allows for both a linear and a free-flowing growth of distance collaborations among social work
presentation of a story line. The user creates a presentation researchers.
on a large blank workspace called the canvas, where all the ele-
ments of a presentation are visible. A story line is then created
by arranging the elements on the canvas. Various tools are used
Who is Using It?
to connect these elements in order to communicate the presen- Prezi is relatively new, so the technology is still unfamiliar to
ter’s message. Like traditional presentation software, Prezi has researchers and educators, especially in the field of social
the capability of integrating text, images, animation, audio, and work. However, it has tremendous promise for communicating
video seamlessly into a single presentation. information and ideas in both research and educational settings.
In addition to the intuitive user interface, the collaborative fea-
tures of Prezi are likely to aid in the adoption of this new
How Does It Work? technology.
An individual or organization chooses one of the subscription
options on the Prezi website. Once a user account has been
established, the subscription holder then logs in to the Prezi
What Skills and Knowledge are Needed
website and is provided with a canvas and tools for creating to Use This Technology?
a presentation. The user is able to create new presentations, edit In our experience, Prezi presentations are relatively easy to cre-
saved works, and view stored presentations directly on the ate. Users of Prezi should be skilled at Internet navigation and
website. file management. It would be advantageous to have a good
To create a presentation, users add topics and main ideas to
the Prezi canvas. This canvas serves as a map for the entire pre-
1
sentation. As users add ideas to the canvas, they are able to University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
2
zoom in and out, adding supplementary details and subtopics. University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
Users can also insert images, shapes, documents, or videos any- Corresponding Author:
where among the presentation content, in addition to grouping Brian E. Perron, 1080 S. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
ideas using frames. Paths are then specified between frames Email: [email protected]
 2 Research on Social Work Practice 000(00)

understanding of design principles, as some of the features Prezi is a subscription-based service, and some features may
(e.g., animations) can be overused or used ineffectively, thus not be affordable to all persons or organizations. The free
detracting from the presentation itself. However, this is a account option that Prezi offers still requires that users have
potential problem for users of any presentation software, not access to an updated computer with an Internet connection,
just Prezi. Furthermore, various challenges are encountered which may not always be available to some participants.
whenever new technologies are adopted. Such challenges can Finally, as is the case with almost any new technology, some
be easily addressed on the Prezi website, which contains users may be reluctant to adapt to the unstructured format of the
tutorials and forums to assist with design and technical problems. Prezi canvas. However, in our experience, when the informa-
In addition, Prezi technology support is also available online. tion to be presented is well-suited to this type of format, the
response to it has been excellent.
What are the Technology Requirements?
Prezi can be used with either a PC or Macintosh computer. What are the Implications for Social
Users need a high-speed Internet connection, an up-to-date sup- Work Research?
ported web browser and operating system, a minimum of 1 GB Prezi shows tremendous promise for enhancing the presenta-
computer memory, a scroll mouse or touchpad, and a recent tion of ideas in social work research and educational settings.
version of the Adobe Flash Player program. Further details This software rectifies design limitations of existing presenta-
on computer requirements are available on the Prezi website. tion software. Additionally, the ability to collaborate on the
development of presentations can be of value to researchers
Why is It Significant? working in remote areas. This feature is also important for edu-
Prezi can be used as a tool for creating dynamic and informa- cational purposes, particularly in promoting collaboration
tive presentations. Unlike many existing presentation tools, among students on joint projects. Overall, Prezi can be one
Prezi allows users to work on and access their presentations of many important tools for enhancing the knowledge base of
online, as well as on their local computer. Other presentation social work.
tools require content to fit within the boundaries of a slide,
whereas Prezi allows users to prepare and present content of Pricing Information
virtually any size. The presenter can focus on different ele-
ments by using the zooming and panning features. This can Pricing varies by subscription plan, all of which are billed
save a significant amount of time in preparing a presentation, annually. At this time, a free account is available for users to
and such capabilities can also help the audience view big- create and store presentations with a small amount of storage
picture concepts and specific details, which can greatly aid in space. However, individuals with an academic affiliation are
comprehension and retention of information. entitled to a free upgrade to a fully functioning system with
additional storage space. Users have the option to upgrade from
the basic free account to a paid account at any time. Refer to
What are the Downsides? www.prezi.com for current pricing information.
In our experience, the Prezi website is intuitive and has several
tutorials and options to help users get started with this technol- Declaration of Conflicting Interests
ogy. However, users who are not skilled at working with differ- The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect
ent file types and navigating websites may find Prezi confusing to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
at first. At the time of writing this review, Prezi does not offer
live technical support. In addition, some users may encounter Funding
problems loading Prezi if their system (i.e., hardware and soft- The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or
ware) is not up to date. authorship of this article. AQ 1

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