Typically, when we think about presenting, we think of standing
up in front of a crowd, or for some of us, standing at the front of the
classroom with a PowerPoint presentation. Technology has become embedded in our
every day lives and make up some of the 21st century skills students
will need for their future beyond their schooling years. The ability to be able
to present information by utilizing digital media allows students to develop
effective communication skills. Visme is an
online tool that can be used as an alternative to the overused PowerPoint.
Visme
offers a variety of content type such as documents, social media graphics,
infographics and presentations. However, for the purpose of this blog we will
be focusing solely on their presentation feature. The program is completely
free to use but does offer various paid tiers with versions specifically
designed for students and educators. There are obvious benefits to purchasing
this version, such as increased storage and the removal of the Visme logo,
however it is not necessary as it does not add any essential features.
The program
is very user friendly and is designed in a way that both advanced and beginner
users are able to create what they intended. I found this to be the case as I explored
the potential the program may bring to the classroom. During this process, I discovered
that Visme offers a plethora of free online courses and video tutorials. These would
be highly beneficial for novice ICT users to allow them to use the program to its
maximum potential.
Presentation Menu Basic Elements
Visme is simple
enough to work with as you are able to drag and drop elements into the
presentation and easily edit the information that is displayed. The program also allows for high levels of
customisation by way of colour, font and even object animation. Another great benefit
of the program is that you can seamlessly add audio, videos, embed links and videos
from Youtube, google drive, dropbox, etc.
Visme Presentation Animation Example
Visme appears as if it would be a great tool to add to classrooms. It offers students and teachers various ways of presenting information and allows students to develop their digital literacy skills, moving from consumers to creators. Visme also provides users with the option to share projects and add members. Added members can have ‘roles’ set which will determine how much that user is able to interact with the project. This would allow for the teacher to share the presentation with the students, or for collaborative work. However, the animation feature in Visme could easily be overused by enthusiastic students which would lead to the presentation not being legible.
When using Visme, students must be aware that they are able
to share their work with anyone online. Students will need to ensure that they
correctly type in the email address of the user they want to share their
presentation with. Furthermore, Visme has a large variety of images that their
users can use, which limits the students’ possibility for copyright misconduct.
To provide
a more indepth analysis of Visme, I will use the SAMR model to determine if the
program would be suitable for the classroom.
Substitution: Technology acts as a direct
substitution, with no functional change.
Visme provides students with the ability to record their
presentation and submit it online. Many students do not feel comfortable
presenting in front of their peers and this program provides these students
with a method of completing the task required of them, without becoming overly
anxious.
Augmentation: Technology acts as a direct
substitution, with functional improvement.
The teacher can use Visme to create a presentation and add
each student as a member. The teacher can then set out tasks for the students to
complete and collate their work in the presentation. This allows the students
to complete the task outside of the classroom and view their peers work. This
also allows the teacher to easily ensure the students understanding of the
task.
Modification: Technology allows for significant
task redesign.
Visme would allow for tasks to be significantly redesigned
as the traditional presentation at the front of the class would no longer be
required. Students would be able to easily work on tasks together using this
program and be able to demonstrate their knowledge through the use of visual
aids.
Redefinition: Technology allows for the creation
of new tasks previously inconceivable.
Utilizing this program will allow students to develop their
digital literacy and their 21st century skills. Students would develop
their communication and team work skills alongside their ICT capabilities.
Visme would provide students with the opportunity to submit their presentation
online and direct the viewer to interact with the presentation, which would be
inconceivable using the traditional presentation method.
References
Visme. (n.d.). Visme. https://www.visme.co
Hi Natasha,
ReplyDeleteReally informative post! I had never heard of Visme before today, and goes to show that there are some great alternatives out there. I particularly like the area where you can assign roles based on the level of interactivity a "member" can have with the presentation. I think a collaborative workspace is sometimes overlooked when implementing ICT tools into the classroom and Visme seems to incorporate that well. I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks!
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ReplyDeleteHi Natasha,
ReplyDeleteI love that this software allows you to set roles within projects and I think this would be a great classroom tool, especially in hybrid and external learning environments! As you noted, I also think it's important to promote students digital literacy skills and move them from consumer to creator as it really supports their 21st century skills. I think it is important to note however, that this software only lets the user create 3 projects at a time under the free threshold. This definitely isn't a major problem but it may be of note to some, as well as the costs for upgrading.