BP5_2010022_Web2.0-sliderocket

I looked at sliderocket for my second web 2.0 tool review. I have made many PowerPoint and Keynote presentations, and have also had my students create PowerPoint presentations for various projects. I know that students enjoy making and presenting their PowerPoint projects to the class, but they have their limitations. With sliderocket those limitations are removed.

I used sliderocket to create an animal presentation, something like I would have my science students build. I find this program is much more user friendly. To start with, adding images is very simple. You can select images that you already have or you can select images from Flickr and Marketplace, which sliderocket has teamed up with. I know with PowerPoint it was often difficult to search for and insert images. Using Flickr is very simple, just type it what you want and it brings up images that can be quickly selected and placed into a presentation. When the pictures are in, it is simple to resize and move around. I didn’t use Marketplace, but did look it over. I like that it allows you to purchase audio and images for a reasonable fee. This would be beneficial if designing a presentation that was going to be used for presentations for other purposes than teaching. Sliderocket has features that allow presentations to be collaborated on by more than one user, or shared. This program allows you to add customizable charts and tables. I added a customized chart and found it simple to use. Sliderocket also gives you the ability to add movies, flash videos, hyperlinks, and plug-ins. I especially liked the quote plug-in. I was able to type in a topic and choose from a variety of quotes that it offered up. It also lets you record audio on any slide. It has effective transitions and 2D and 3D effects as well. What I like most about this programs is that it brings things to you, rather than having to go look for them by other methods – like Google. I also know that my students always want to share projects that they created with their parents and others, but with PowerPoint that is often difficult. Sliderocket allows them to go online from anywhere and view their work.

Taking this further, I think this could be a great resource for teachers in a district. Teachers are creating presentations all the time to use in the classroom. If a district had an account with sliderocket it would make collaboration and sharing presentations among teachers very simple. They could simply add tags to a presentation and make them easy for others to access. If each presentation was tagged with, at minimum, the teacher’s name and grade level it would make searching for desired material very simple. One could then type in a teacher’s name or grade level and find all relevant presentations. This would save teachers from always having to reinvent the wheel. One could search tags for what other teachers in their grade level are doing and use their presentations instead of creating one of your own, or asking them to email it to you.

Launch your own SlideRocket presentation!