Presentation Tools and Digital Storytelling

I remember when I first learned to use powerpoint and the rush of excitement when I completed my first slide.  As a student I felt like a professional, creating presentations with beautiful transitions and formats, and always getting a kick out of my text flying or spinning or blinking into view.  Now, as a teacher/librarian, I am exasperated with powerpoint.  The backgrounds are outdated and I always seem to spend so much time adjusting text boxes and trying to get the slides to look just right.  Isn't there a tool that is easier to use but still provides that professional appeal powerpoint once conveyed?   With the enormous array of online cloud-based presentation tools available, I wanted to find a couple that could be learned in a matter of minutes but still provide the essential elements of presentation design as outlined by Garr Reynolds.

Enter Haiku Deck and Buncee. 

Presenters can create clean and professional presentations easily in Haiku Deck.  From the easy navigation on the left, simply select a slide type, complete a quick search for Creative Commons images for a background, decide on a layout, and then insert your text.  Bam, you just created your first slide.  Need a little more guidance?  Select a font/theme from the top.  Sharing the presentation is just as easy via twitter, email, facebook, or embedding on a website or blog.   However, you will need a Haiku Deck Pro account in order to export to pdf or *sigh* powerpoint.  I suppose that is a nice feature if you have sketchy internet and want to ensure your presentation can be accessed.  One thing the presentations do lack is the fancy transition feature.  But who needs it when your slides are this beautiful?

After creating a free educators account in Buncee, you will see the initial setup of your first slide is simple.  Click in one circle to add a background.  Choose from thousands of photos, solid background colors, or upload your own image (cited of course).  Decide to apply the background to one or all slides.  You can always edit or duplicate slides later.  Click in the remaining circle to add a feature such as text, animation, videos, and drawing tools.  Share your presentation with a link, embed code, via email, or social media.  You can also decide if you want your presentation to be public to the entire Buncee community.  While Buncee is not as easy and quick to create presentations as Haiku Deck, the presentations will still be of high quality and created a tad more efficiently than using powerpoint.

Happy presenting, all!