Desktop Publishing Categories:
Presentation
Using Prezi one can take a simple presentation and turn it
into a creative and interesting presentation. Prezi allows the user to make the
presentation their own. Prezi is free, however if you would like to be able to
work offline, customize more options, or more image editing there is an option
to pay a fee. Prezi takes some time to get use to but once you get the hang of
it, it is fairly simple to use. Prezi works very well, I used it freshmen year
some and not much since, but going on now a few years later it seems there are
a few changes, it works great. I would use Prezi when I got tired of
PowerPoints, Prezi’s seem to take a little more time to create but I think they
are more interesting. I would rate Prezi very high! It works well and is simple
and fun to use.
Empressr much like Prezi is a presentation creator. The tool
was free to use, from what I could find the entire website is free. It was pretty
easy to use, it was interesting because you could insert a PowerPoint you
created on Microsoft and edit it on Empressr. Empressr had a good quality, the
website makes it look a little outdated but it seems to work well. I would use
the tool to create lessons on or have students create porjects on as a
different form of presentation besides always using PowerPoint. I would give
the tool a high rating for being easy to use and all of it is free!
Website Creation
I have used Wix in the past and liked it a lot. Wix is great
for creating simple websites. The basics of Wix are free, however, if you want
your own web address or extra features there is a fee for those. I think Wix
can be a little more tedious. It is not difficult it just takes time to make
sure everything is in the right place and that you like everything. Wix has
very good quality, the only glitches I would encounter is sometimes it would
shift things on my webpage which might just be the different computers and
monitors I was using. I would recommend Wix to anyone who wants to start a
small website or get the hang of creating websites.
Yola is another website creating tool. Yola seems to be a
little more basic and user friendly than Wix for someone who is just getting
started. The basic uses of Yola are free but if you want to add mobile
publishing or premium styles there is a charge for those. The quality of Yola
is good there are a lot of good options to choose from and it is simple to
figure out how to make changes and what each button changes. I would use this
tool to create websites with a younger or with a group of people or are less
technology savvy. I would give Yola a middle rating, compared to Wix is lower
but it still is a great site for creating simple websites.
Document Creating (Newsletters, magazines, etc.)
Letterpop lets you create documents online. Through
Letterpop you are able to create newsletters, journals, invitations, etc.
Letterpop is not free but the basic plan is only $4.95 a year. Just playing
around on the homepage and a few of the other tabs Letterpop is simple to use.
It is set up somewhat like Microsoft publisher with all the changes you can
make to a document. The quality of Letterpop is great! The documents look
professional and very nice. I would use this tool to create newsletters or
classroom updates to send to parents at home. I would rate Letterpop in the
middle, it does cost money but you get your money’s worth in the quality of the
product.
Much like Letterpop, Formatpixel will help you to create
documents and other publishing works. Unlike letterpop, Formatpixel does have a
free option. Formatpixel allows one free publication, after the free one there
are a few more levels with the price increasing with more embellishments.
Formatpixel is very easy to use and the layout is very simple, much like
Microsoft publisher. It worked well, there does not seem to have as many
changing options like in publisher. I would probably recommend publisher or
Letterpop before I would recommend Formatpixel. I would give Formatpixel a low
rating just because of the small amount of changes that can be made, the
website also seems outdated.
Creating Graphics
I have used Wordle a lot in the past and I have always loved
it. Using Wordle you can create images using a list of words. Wordle is
completely free and easy to use. It can take some time to get the hang of
putting the text and the spacing with the size of the words but once you have a
good grip on that you are good to go. Wordle has great quality with numerous
different choices of colors and fonts to use. I have not had any glitches with
Wordle, sometimes it can be a pain if you misspell or miss the spacing and have
to start again but nothing too bad. I would use this in a classroom to get to
know the students, have them create a Wordle that describes themselves on the
first week of school. I would give Wordle a high ranking it is a great web 2.0
tool to utilize.
Chogger is a great website that lets users create comic
strips. Chogger is completely free to use. It is very simple to use Chogger it
takes you through the steps to make a comic strip and gives you multiple
choices for each selection you have to make. I did not notice any glitches when
I was practicing with Chogger. I would use Chogger maybe as a different way to
get the students involved in the classroom have them create a comic about the
lesson let them use their creativity. I would give Chogger a high rating; it
was very easy to navigate with a lot of different options. Best of all, Chogger
is free!
Creating Books
Myebook lets users create books online. Myebook is free to
use and fairly simple to navigate. It does seem to be more advanced to use then
tikatok.com but the look seems to be more professional. The quality of Myebook
is great! Like I said, the books all look very professional. I did not notice
any glitches or problems in the time I spent playing around with Myebook. I
think it would be fun to have students create an ebook full of all the projects
they created throughout the year and have a place to put them all in one place.
I would give Myebook a high rating it looks like a great tool and is fun to
use.
Tikatok looks like a great tool for elementary school children.
The website allows users to create books some even following the subject being
taught and standards included. It gives blank where the students will be able
to add their own words for the story. Tikatok does include a free trial.
Tikatok is very easy to use and fun! It is full with bright colors and is
mapped out very well so it is very simple to navigate between pages. I would
use this tool for students to create maybe a story about themselves at the
beginning of the year to get to know them. Tikatok allows students to use their
creativity and has a very simple way to do it. I would for sure recommend
Tikatok to someone else. Especially early childhood teachers or even parents it
is an awesome website! I would give Tikatok a very high rating I think it is
really a fun website to use and very different.
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