Alternatives to PowerPoint pt. 2

My last post was a delve into some options to replace PowerPoint, because as I learned from my twitter via RT and MT, a lot of kids can't afford it and don't have it so expecting them to use it for a project is almost ridiculous.   I am going to look at a few more options, today, we are going to look at weebly.

Weebly isn't really a presentation site, it is more of a website, but now a days, who says a website can't be used to present a specific topic to an audience?  I attended a conference where a school is doing just that: Requiring weebly as the platform and having students add their content to a website platform. In the end, they have a digital portfolio that incorporates all of their projects to show off at an end of school term project. And, it's FREE!

Weebly is very easy to use.  When you log in, (you can link to Facebook or start from scratch) you can choose a purpose (education, and then decide the rationale).  Here, you can require students to choose project.  There is a simple tutorial to follow that goes step by step through the ease of use process.   One can add all sorts of media, text and graphics. Developing a layout is easy as well.

To use it with students offers a lot of options, I think.  It would be a great opportinuty to require students to do a project for Social Studies, English and Science.  It could also be dropped into other content areas where teachers have to hit a presentation/ writing standard but are a little uncertain about what to do.  This is an easy platform for kids to learn and it is a smart tool to use to make quick or complex presentations.   Students will catch on fast and be able to get very creative with their final outcome. 

One thing I like is the digital portfolio concept.  Once you have a site, you can keep making pages.  Each page could be a different project.   Like most projects, don't overdo it.  Vary what you do or kids will get bored and not want to stick with it.