Presenting . . . Shakespeare!
      As soon as I started chapter 4 in Hicks' (2013) text, I began nodding in agreement.  I, too,  went through the PowerPoint assignment phase.  For me, it was short-lived.  Students let the slides do all the talking, no matter how stringent my limits might have been.  They put so much time and effort into creating the slides that they did not "own" the material for themselves.  I did not have the same issues with Glogster, however.  With that application, students did the research first and simply created a visual collage that represented the ideas in their oral presentations.  What was the difference? I think that Glogster does not lend itself to text as much as images, and it seems more like a poster than an informative presentation.
     I myself am guilty of using slide presentations to do my talking.  I do so because I can put the presentations on Edmodo for students to access without me.  That way, they can review the information on their own.  After reading chapter 4, however, I wanted to employ the technique of the Ted Talks format and use my slideshow to offer reinforcement and visual stimulation to enhance my presentation.  Reynolds' (2007) summary of Heath's (2007) ideas became my guide in this regard.  First, keeping it simple (p. 65)--I used a video to start my presentation on the life of Shakespeare.  My sophomores are about to embark on a study of Julius Caesar, and I want to pique their interest.  They have probably heard about Shakespeare in previous classes, so I decided to simply review his life, not beat it to death.  After the video, I used images on successive slides to reinforce the information that I want them to remember.  I am using bullet points along with images, but these are just jumping off points for my own contributions to the information--my own storytelling. I employed Johnson's (2010) suggestions to use quality photography, keep it simple, and create clear focal points (p. 66) Each of my slides focuses on a certain aspect of Shakespeare's biography--life, playwright, businessman,  legacy--to help students organize the information in their own minds.
     I know way too much about Shakespeare, and I could talk for days about his life, his work, and his influence.  These slides will do as much to keep me on topic as they will to guide the students in acquiring the information.
     For my presentation, I employed an application that I have never heard of before: Zoho.  It is an online version of PowerPoint, but it has a great feature that is akin to the Tools/Research option on Google Docs.  I was able to effortlessly incorporate video and images using the built-in search.  OMG! It was so easy!  Zoho does not have a vast array of templates, themes, etc., so it kept me focused on content. (I can get lost in choices when it comes to tweaking the visual aspects of a slideshow.)  I used a suggestion from Duarte (2008) about movement and eye flow (p. 71).  Some of my images "push" each other from slide to slide to catch the attention of the audience during the presentation. Finally, from table 4.2 on p. 73 of Hicks' text, I created a handout of the points from the visual presentation so students could take notes to accompany the slideshow. I will post a link on Edmodo so they can revisit the Zoho slides if necessary. (You can view my Zoho show here... BUT I don't recommend it.  Since visiting Zoho and creating the slideshow, my Macbook has been infected by a virus.  Coincidence? Maybe, but I have since created a Google Slides show that is safer.)
Google Slide Show: Conspiracy in Julius Caesar
   
   Back to Zoho. It was easy to create the presentation and as it is web-based, I can access it via the Internet on any device; however, the app for Zoho is not recommended.  When I tried to play the video within the app for iPad, it never loaded, and the images took much too long to load, but it all works fine when accessed via the Zoho website.  Now Zoho seems to be creating problems for my Macbook, not just my iPad.  Bottom line:  Do not use Zoho, or use it, but at your own discretion.
     Valerie Higgins shared with me an assignment that she has used for student-created presentations.  She gives them a research "puzzle" and has them work in teams to coordinate their findings and create a presentation.  I like her idea and plan to use it in my own classes soon. However, I will find a service other than Zoho, probably Google Slides so students can share easily with me.
     I like using web-based visual presentations, but I am NOT a PowerPoint/Keynote fan.  I much prefer creating websites for students to explore content that I want them to know.  I also prefer to use expert presentations like those on Ted Ed, Annenberg Learner, TeacherTube, Khan Academy, and YouTube.  Students listen to me everyday.  It's nice to go outside the walls of the classroom to access complementary presentations that let the students hear it from someone else.  With Zoho and similar applications, I can at least incorporate the best of both worlds--other expert voices and me!

References:

Hicks, T. (2013). Creating Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres. Portsmouth, 

         N.H.: Heineman.