Present.me - Produce Your Magic Presentation

What is Present.me? What can Present.me do?

Present.me is a web tool that allows you to create amazing presentations through your documents such as PowerPoint, pdf, or Google Docs. Similar to My Brainshark and Jing I introduced before, Present.me lets you add a narrative to the presentation. However, what makes Present.me so unique is that you can add not only audio effect but also 'your video', which means the audience can see you on the right and the data on the left at the same time.

How to use Present.me?

    1. Go to https://present.me/ and register for free unless you want 

        to pay extra to obtain more functions. Basically speaking, it is 

        totally enough for you to make your presentation magic by 

        using the free version.

    

    2. After signing in, click 'create' and then choose what you want 

        to create, including 'slides & video', 'slides &audio', 'slides', 

        and 'video'.

    3. If we want to make 'slides & video', click 'proceed' and then 

        you are able to upload your content. After your content is 

        successfully converted, you can begin recording. 

    4. The final presentation then appears with your webcam 

        recording on the right and slides on the left. You can preview,        
        download, embed, or share your presentation as you want. The 

        following is my self-made Present.me video regarding the 

        'Wallwisher activity' we had in ICT class last Friday.

Why is Present.me relevant to language teaching?

    1. It provides opportunities to practice speaking, and it fits all Ss' 
        needs. Some shy Ss are not willing to talk in class; thus, they 
        can practice speaking in their room and then send it to T. 
        Moreover, they can also choose not to appear on the screen by 
        selecting 'video-only mode'. For some active / outgoing Ss, 
        they can choose 'slide & video mode' to present themselves as 
        they like. According to my previous teaching experience, one 
        of the factors that Ss care about in practicing speaking is their 
        'face'. With Present.me, there are more possibilities and 
        flexibility for T and Ss to teach / practice speaking.
    2. It breaks the limitation of time and space. As I mentioned in 
        my previous blog articles, especially in Asian context, T are 
        always struggling for timing. They have to go through a lot of 
        materials and spend most of the time dealing with exam 
        purposes. By using Present.me, some activities which are 
        impossible to happen in class can be done effectively. 
    3. It is helpful to catch Ss' attention. For example, T can 
        introduce today's topic by using Present.me, and this is 
        definitely different from traditional warm-up activities. 
        Sometimes it is necessary to have new stimulus in class to 
        promote more student involvement. Ss can experience audio 
        effect, visual effect, and materials at the same time, which will 
        make teaching and learning much more interesting.
    4. It can also be used for listening, reading, and writing. For 
        instance, Ss have to perform all four skills well (read to collect 
        relevant data, write about main points for slides, speak and 
        listen for recording, etc.) to produce a successful presentation. 
        To reach the goal, Ss may practice hundreds of times before 
        they finish, which is what all the language teachers are eager 
        for.

How can Present.me be used in / outside classroom?

    1. It is definitely a great tool to train Ss' speaking ability, and it 

        can used in various circumstances. For instance, T can use it to 

        train Ss for speech contest; with video effect, T can check not   

        merely Ss' facial expressions but also their body language. 

        Also, T can implement it for discussion and debate practice, or 

        even hold a contest to select the best news anchor or the most 

        creative storyteller of the class.

    2. T can ask Ss to do some speaking tasks with Present.me for 

        assessment. In real classrooms, it is almost impossible for T to 

        evaluate Ss' speaking individually. However, Ss now can do it 

        and submit their work at home, and T can mark it and give 

        feedback online. Besides individual evaluation, doing group 

        presentations with Present.me is also a possibility, which is 

        helpful to promote cooperative or collaborative learning. 

    3. T can give online sessions for supplementary teaching or other 

        purposes (e.g. distance teaching and learning) by using 

        Present.me. Also, T can talk about some complicated concepts   

        in detail, give more examples, explain homework / tasks, or 

        even remind Ss of something important by just providing a link 

        or embedding the video in the blog. 

What limitations are there?

    1. It requires appropriate computer equipment and Internet 

        speed. The video I embedded above is over 9 minutes, and it 

        took relatively long time for the system to convert it. 

    2. With free membership, you can only publish at most 10 videos 

        in a month, and each should be less than 60 minutes. 

        (However, I think it is already enough for most teaching and 

        learning conditions.)

    3. Unlike My Brainshark, if you make mistakes during the 

        recording, you will have to go back to the beginning and do it 

        again from zero, which is a bit stressful for Ss, especially for 

        beginners and low achievers.

Dvolver - An incredible moviemaker

What is Dvolver? What does Dvolver do?

Dvolver is a free and convenient Internet tool that enables you to produce your movies. What you need to do is to select characters , backgrounds, scenarios, and add your own dialogues in the bubble. It is very easy to use and also a great choice for language teaching, especially for younger learners.

How to use Dvolver?

    1. Link to www.dvolver.com and click "make a movie."

    2. Select one of the backgrounds and sky images for your movie.

    3. Click “next” and then select a plot scenario.

    4. Click “next” and then select the characters you want.

    5. Click “next” and type the dialogue text for each character.

    6. Click "next" and select a background music.

    7. Click "next" and add another scene to repeat this process, or 
        you can continue to finish the movie after entering the title and    
        the author.

    8. Preview your movie and send it to others. You can also embed 
        the movie in a blog or website and share it with the world.

The following is a self-made movie. I adapted the dialogue from the textbook in my context (Taiwan), which is for nine graders.

Why is Devolver relevant to language teaching?

    1. It makes teaching more interesting. Compared with the 

        texbook picture above, the movie is more vivid and attractive   

        to Ss. The learning environment will also become much  

        friendlier. 

    2. It is free, simple and quick to use, but gives very professional 

        looking results which can be shared. Movies / animations are  

        great at showing Ss the chronological order of the dialogue as 

        they actually do exist in time. The convenience is also an 
        advantage for Ts to use it in language class.

    3. Ts can use this tool to design various language teaching 

        activities which will be described in the following part.

How can Devolver be used in / outside class?

    1. T can use Dvolver as warm-up activity or as a tool to teach 

        dialogue / conversation. For example, T can make a movie 

        about today's topic and have Ss to guess what it is. Like 

        riddle-guessing, Ss will pay more attention and involvement 

        to what they are learning.

    2. It is a good way for T to ask Ss to give group presentations 

        via Dvolver. Ss will learn how to choose and organize the 

        most important concepts together to make a movie.

    3. It promotes Ss' creative thinking. For example, T can ask Ss to 

        'create conversation' based on specific ideas such as a word, a 

        place, a festival, and so on. Besides, Ss can practice telling 

        English jokes by using Dvolver. If Ss have their own blogs, 

        they can also embed the movie in their blog.

    4. It is also possible to do storytelling with Dvolver. Ss who are 

        interested in cartoons, animations, and movies will have more 

        motivation in language learning.

What limitations are there?

    1. Limited technical support:

        (1) The maximum of each sentence is 100 letters, the 

              maximum of scenes is 'three', and the maximum of 'movie 

              title' is 20 letters. Sometimes they are not sufficient when

              using. 

        (2) When playing the movie, the flow is a bit too fast and there 

              is no 'pause button'. This will be a disadvantage for mixed-

              ability class, especially for low achievers.

        (3) No audio. Listening is a significant factor when learning a 

              language. However, Dvolver can only provide 

              background music during the process.

        (4) You can not edit the movie afterwards. What you can do is 

              to repeat the whole process again. Sometimes the inability 

              to edit is inconvenient and time-consuming.

    2. Ethical considerations:

        (1) Some of the characters dress improperly, which may result 

              in negative influence for younger learners.

        (2) It is possible for naughty Ss to put inappropriate words or 
              sentences into the conversation if T does not remind them
              in advance.