Cloud Computing

Photo credit: www.bluecoat.com

What is Cloud Computing? Have you used Prezi before? Well, I have included a Prezi presentation on Cloud Computing to illustrate both. I chose this artifact so others could see how to incorporate a multimedia tool into a lesson to explain a new computer technology concept introduced to students. Also, many people are not familiar with Prezi so I wanted to highlight that tool as well as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides.

When I introduce different computer concepts to my students, I try to make them engaging and fun to learn because let's face it, some of them can be quite boring. Cloud computing is one area that is a bit difficult for some of my students to comprehend. So in my lesson planning, I was looking for creative ways to explain the concept. I came across some amusing videos I thought the children would enjoy that would help illustrating the concept of cloud computing. I decide to create a Prezi presentation as the platform.

There were some challenges in creating this Prezi presentation. First of all, I do not use Prezi all the time, so I had to familiarize myself with the tool. It takes a bit getting used to, but once you spend a little time, you get the hang of it. The second challenge I came across was finding videos that were at a level appropriate for elementary students to understand. Often times computer concept videos are geared towards adults and/or businesses. Luckily, I found one video that had a catching song and a couple others that had illustrations and examples.

Prezi is a great multimedia tool to use in the classroom. As mentioned above, once you spend a little time, you will get the hang of it. One thing I like is that Prez is non-linear – you have multiple paths to present your information. Basically, it’s like a storyboard on which to layout and help address various ideas. I think it is a nice change from PowerPoint or Slides as it presents information a different way.

Here is a link to my Prezi cloud computing presentation: Cloud Computing