Some of the best things I saw during the presentations were the way that people like Kurt and Becca masterfully used the Prezi to give us interesting and useful information. I felt like Becca used the Prezi in a way that set up an engaging lesson on the water cycle, and the use of the rap song at the end was particularly entertaining (and would be to her students, as well). Kurt did an excellent job of both presenting (he seemed very natural) and incorporating his Prezi into his history lesson. I liked their presentations because they were colorful, interesting, smooth, and engaging. When someone uses an attention-grabbing technique like a well-executed Prezi, I find that I learn more from them and appreciate their teaching style much more.
Some of the least effective strategies I saw during the presentations were those that were riddled with technical difficulties. I don't attribute those difficulties solely to the presenters, as glitches are bound to happen, but in order to keep your audience engaged, I think it's necessary to be as certain as possible before presenting that what you're going to use for your lesson can be executed without a hitch. So I think that those students who had some technical problems could benefit from really preparing thoroughly and running through their presentations beforehand to ensure that things run smoothly. When a presenter is pulled out of the flow of their lesson and caught off-guard by glitches, the audience (or class) is too. I'd just caution them to be aware of that for future presentations.
After seeing some of the techniques employed by my classmates, I think I'd go even further with my Prezi (even though I felt like I spent a long time on it and understood it pretty well, I think I still missed some of the best features!) and I'd probably focus less on the Prezi stops and what I was putting on there, and more on the lesson itself. I was mistaken while doing my presentation in thinking that learning the technology was the main point of the assignment; in fact it was to create a fully-functioning lesson of sorts while successfully incorporating and integrating the Prezi. But even given that, I was pretty satisfied with what I gleaned from the experience in getting familiar with the technology--I'd just go about setting up my lesson differently if I were to do it again.
I do like using Prezi (Powerpoint is not my favorite, but I'd use it for the sake of ease if necessary) and I think it's an important way to add visuals to a lesson. I definitely wouldn't do it every day, but there is value in using it to present important topics, to add video and audio clips easily, and to keep students' attention up front (ideally). I think I would definitely use it as a review tool prior to an assessment, if I felt it was going to be important to cover material quickly or to highlight certain things for my students. Overall, I like Prezi a lot, and would share it with my students so that they could utilize it and work on their own presentations or reports.
I believe the best way to present lecture material is using a multi-media format. By including some audio and video as well as photos or drawings, students have different visual cues to use when remembering the content. But I also think that the best way to present material is in the most natural, non-obtrusive way. So if you don't feel that you are confident enough with the technology and that it would hinder or get in the way of successfully communicating your content, then I think you should rely less on it. I feel like I will use these tools occasionally, or for important topics or lessons, but as I said, certainly not every day. By varying the method of delivery, I know I can appeal to all types of learners, so I know that I'll utilize different formats for my lessons, including technology for some occasions, and direct instruction, group work, and activities for others.
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