I use Prezi very frequently in my classroom. While reading about presentation Zen I noticed all of the examples being displayed were powerpoint or something similar. This got me wondering; Can Prezi be Zen? I decided to do a little fishing around to see what some others critiques might have to say about the Zen qualities or lack there of when it comes to Prezi.
I started with the creator of Presentation Zen, Garr Reynolds. From what I found Reynolds had two main positive things to say about Prezi:
One is that “ Prezi is a good tool when used with discretion and restraint.”
and that
“Prezi works well in non-linear presentation situations”
The first quote by Reynolds could easily be applied to any presentation platform, or any tool in general for that matter. The second however is the one that I find to be more relevant. In a way Prezi’s can be set up like an animated infographic. Prezi will zoom into one section of the whole and then zoom out again to show the viewer how everything is connected, helping the viewer to never lose sight of the big picture. Like Garr said, it works well with non-linear situations.
Not everyone though seems to think that Prezi has the potential that Reynolds does. Scott Burkun has a post dedicated to his hatred of Prezi. Stating that:
“The people most drawn to use Prezi are those who are more enchanted by the pretense of style, rather than substance.”
Burkun’s statement may be true for many Prezi users but who’s to say those users are in any way knowledgeable with the concepts behind Presentation Zen. From what I read the biggest critisism of Prezi is that the transitions are to flashy, distracting the viewer from the content. These transitions definitely go against the Presentations Zen model. They are what I believe Reynolds was referring to when he said that Prezi is a good when used with discretion and restraint. So are there Zen Prezi’s? Chris Anderson has a wonderful Prezi that he uses in his TedTalk on how web video powers global innovation and I would say it’s getting the job done.
https://embed.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html
In this presentation you can see many of the advantages to Prezi as well as the distracting transitions. My conclusion is that when creating a Zen presentation there can be a place for Prezi but you should think carefully about the content and whether or not a non-linear presentation platform enhances your content.
On the other hand I don’t use Prezi just for presentations and talks. I’m sure that a lot of presentations that teachers make are not so much presentations as they are reference points for students. I actually use Prezi as a sort of weekly planner that helps to organize the information my students need for each class. I have one Prezi for every week that encompasses all of my classes. Different areas of the Prezi are dedicated to providing the students with images, video or links they might need but mostly it is a way to communicate what the class period will consist of along with some key points. If it was only visuals it wouldn’t be very helpful to students. In this way Prezi is not being used for presentations but it is a reference for my students. Since I have started using Prezi here are what I have found to be it’s advantages, Zen or not.
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You can create a presentation that is are non-linear, displaying the big picture and how concept overlap and are interconnected.
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Prezi is web based so it can be accessed from different devices and has a user friendly app.
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It can be kept in the public domain so it can also be accessed by your students.
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Embedding video, images and links is extremely easy and allows you to keep more information in one place.
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It can be shared with others to make presentations a collaborative effort.
I would like to leave you with a course relevant Prezi example that may not be exactly Zen but it nicely displays that advantage of Prezi without the Presenter. This is something prezi can do well when needed.
Cassandra Pupovac 
I really enjoyed this post and the suggestions you ended with; very practical. I think Prezi, like all technology, should be carefully chosen when deciding on how to present something OR what to assign the kids. This reminded me of the comedian that was in one of our assignments with the flashy powerpoint jokes: too much can be really detrimental to a presentation and take away from what one is trying to get across. That being said, “when used with discretion and restraint,” I think that Prezi can be a very valuable tool in the classroom.
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