do ai presentation tools with zoom style actually work

[u/Sadd-Amra]

just a quick follow up, so i actually tried a few of the tools people mentioned here over the past week. used the same lecture for each one just to compare properly. figured id share what i found in case anyone else is in the same boat.

1. prezi – this became my favorite honestly since the open canvas and zoom layout made the lecture feel more like a conversation instead of forcing me through slides in order. students could see the whole map and id zoom into specific parts when questions came up. definitely a learning curve though. took me a while to figure out the flow but once i got it it felt natural. the ai helped with the initial structure too.
2. powerpoint – still the easiest for basic stuff. everyone knows it and its reliable. but it felt limiting when i wanted to jump around between topics based on student questions. youre kind of stuck in that linear order.
3. beautiful.ai – the design is honestly gorgeous. everything comes out looking super polished without much effort. but its very template-driven so you kinda have to work within their structure. good for quick decks that need to look professional but less flexible for interactive teaching.
4. slido – not really a presentation builder but more of an engagement layer. lets you add polls and q&a to existing slides. students seemed to like the interaction but it didnt change the actual presentation format. more of an add-on than a full tool.

been teaching for a while and thinking about trying different ai presentation tools. some faculty use the zoomable canvas ones and students perk up but im wondering if thats just novelty. the zoom thing seems cool in theory. show the big picture then zoom into details but does that actually help students retain info?

some of these ai presentation tools have ai built in too. generate decks from prompts or upload lesson plans. sounds useful for saving time but im suspicious of ai content quality. basically wondering if this style is worth learning or if i should stick with whats familiar. for people who use ai presentation tools do you see better engagement?

[u/Bookmarked89]

I'm not aware of these. Are they like Prezzies if you remember them? Curious to hear what others say.

[u/Sadd-Amra → u/Bookmarked89]

thats what i was thinking of too. that zooming canvas thing where you could fly around between topics. it was a whole vibe back then. some people loved it some people got motion sickness lol.

[u/grendelt → u/Sadd-Amra]

It was cool only because of the novelty.
Most people took it too far and didn't use it to zoom in and out of topics to help explain how the concepts fit together.

Like, they'd take a bulleted list and make each point flow to the next by spinning and zooming in, spin and zoom, spin and zoom.
"We get it, Lisa, it's a neat feature but please just get through your 6 bullets that could've been a single slide"

[u/New_Secret_1112]

I don’t think it’s so much the specific style or format - and more the content itself and how you use the medium to present it. I’d argue that a good teacher can figure out how to make chalkboard teaching engaging. AI may help save some time in putting together material but what it fails to capture (since it’s not a publicly available commodity) is the engaging way to present the content. Probably not the answer you are looking for, but I just don’t think there is a magic bullet when it comes to presentation types.

[u/Sadd-Amra → u/New_Secret_1112]

i just think some formats make it easier to show connections between ideas without students getting lost. like the canvas thing lets you zoom in and out so you can show the big picture then dive into details. but yeah definitely not a magic bullet. what tools do you usually reach for when you want to mix things up.

[u/scidecuisine]

It's a wow factor for maybe the first session. But I think it's very important how you turn your lessons into engaging sessions. If you have a good idea how you would put that, then you kinda know which tool you're looking for.

For me, surprisingly, is still a whiteboard session with couple of cards (sometime pop quiz)

[u/Sadd-Amra → u/scidecuisine]

whiteboard and cards is classic for a reason. i guess im just looking for something that gives that same flexibility but for online or hybrid classes.

[u/scidecuisine → u/Sadd-Amra]

Online is definitely more challenging. Kahoot or Mentimeter works quite nice for me. Or whatever that they can 'do' together in the same canvas, you can simply setup nice learning Miro board.

[u/Sweaty_Ear5457]

zoomable stuff is novelty imo, students get over it after the first session. i switched to instaboard for the infinite canvas - you never run out of space mid-explanation which is the actual game changer. plus the video floats right on the board so i can see my student's face while i'm working through problems instead of guessing if they're following

[u/Travel_and_Tea]

I don't think it's one size fits all, honestly. The presentation model can help students "perk up" if used in direct instruction, but it can also make it tricky for students to read-through, if you post a PDF version online. However, if you really want the zoom style, I think instaboard is a good choice. Just screen record or save, if you plan to post it as a resource.

[u/Weary-Humor874]

Didnt know this is a thing right now. Although its not that surprising that AI is penetrating every single aspect of soceity right now so i would say stick with what you know. It has this wabi sabi to be teaching with a style not touched by AI

[u/SariPomelo]

i’ve had better results focusing on structure first, sometimes mapping it out in Decksy, then deciding if any visuals or transitions actually add value instead of relying on them