Week 11, Thing 19: Slideshare

The problem
You've made a great Powerpoint presentation (for a conference perhaps) and now you want to share it with the world.

The solution
Slideshare is a presentation hosting website, allowing you to upload your presentations or videos which can then be shared. To get started go to http://www.slideshare.net/ and create an account:

1.  Click on "Sign up" or follow this link, then fill in the registration form. (Alternatively if you have a Facebook account and are happy to log in to Slideshare using this, just click "log in with Facebook")
2. The next screen will probably be an advert for Slideshare Pro, the paid service. Skip this, the free service provides all the features we need right now.
3. Now upload your first presentation! Lots of file formats are supported, including Powerpoint formats, Keynote, Open Office, pdf, mp4, avi, and wmv. After skipping the advert for Pro, you should see this box:

If you don't see this, click on the orange "upload" button at the top of the page and this will bring you here. Although it gives you the option to upload either a private presentation or a public presentation, the private upload is a Pro feature so if you click on the blue button you will just get an invitation to upgrade to Slideshare Pro. 

Click on the orange button and upload a presentation or video. While the file is being uploaded and converted you can give it a name, description and tags:

Once the file has uploaded you can then share it on Twitter, Facebook or email, embed in your blog or simply stick the link wherever you want to share it.

Of course you can also browse Slideshare to find interesting presentations by other people. Try searching for "libraries" or "social media" or whatever else you're interested in!

Other things you can do with Slideshare

• Favourite the presentations you like to save them to your Slideshare account (the favourite button is on the bar along the top of each presentation). Or, if the author has allowed this, download them to your computer.
• Upload an audio mp3 file to create a "Slidecast" (once you have uploaded your presentation go to "edit" and then the "Create Slidecast" tab. This could be used in a similar way to screencast-o-matic to create instructional slides with a voice over.
• Import a presentation from Google Docs here.

Try uploading a presentation (it doesn't have to be long or particularly spiffy) and either sharing the link or embedding it on your blog. Have a browse of the other presentations on Slideshare and share anything interesting!

Week 11, Thing 20 - Prezi

Ok, time to get creative! By the end of this Thing you will have been introduced to Prezi as an alternative to PowerPoint. You will also have some hints and tips on what not to do to make a good Prezi.

What is Prezi?
Prezi is a free online programme that you can use to make presentations. In some ways it is like PowerPoint, and, in any situation where you might consider using a PowerPoint, you can create a Prezi instead. What makes Prezi so good though is the extra capabilities it has, that can take your presentation beyond the boring 'slide with text, next slide with text, slide with text and a picture' format of most PowerPoints.

Let's get started.
Go to Prezi, and click 'sign up' on the top right. You'll need to create a free account to use the programme.

When Prezi opens, there are three tabs at the top of the page - 'Your prezis' will display all the presentations you have created. 'Learn' offers tutorials on using Prezi, at both a basic and more advanced levels. 'Explore' allows you to view other presentations on all manner of subjects - a great way to get an idea of how Prezi can be used (and perhaps what not to do as well).

To start your first presentation click the 'New prezi' button on the top left of the 'Your prezi' tab. You'll be prompted to give the presentation a title, and a description, but these can be changed later, so don't worry too much.

You'll then be offered a number of templates to choose from. I would advise not selecting any of these until you have mastered the basics of Prezi, and know the effect that you are trying to create. So select the blank template.

Prezi will offer you a tutorial - it isn't very long, and is quite useful for the basics, so have a watch and then get started.

Now click on the canvas and type to get started. You can add pictures (try using Flickr with Creative Commons licensing), and you can link to YouTube videos.

The tools can take a little bit of getting used to, particularly sizing and the animation. And be aware that your first attempt is likely to be fairly poor - mine certainly was! So practice a bit if you like it before trying to use Prezi for a presentation. The biggest tip is perhaps not to get too carried away with all the features you could use, particularly with the animation - don't underestimate the ability to create a rather seasick effect.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, have a look at this Prezi from The Wikiman (@theREALwikiman) which gives a good video demo: http://prezi.com/_sto8qf_0vcs/the-how-to-make-a-great-prezi-prezi/

Something more advanced
For a good longer presentation you can watch the one below, which you may have seen at the libraries@cambridge conference in January: http://prezi.com/if9wccvvunup/escaping-the-echo-chamber/

Like Prezi?
If you think you might use Prezi, as you work for an academic institution you can upgrade to the academic use version of Prezi for free. This allows for more privacy options for your presentations amongst other things.