17:31 -- Luck with SlideRocket...

It started with an invite...and then any sort of excitement I felt about the opportunity was chased around my heart by fear.

"Please come help us at our innaugural Digital Literacy Conference.  We would like you to do a session on SlideRocket March 13."  

Fear of incompetence.

I've perused lots of awesome presentations made by a talented colleague, but I have cut my teeth on PowerPoint.  In fact, I kind of own this nerdy little reputation with the program in my circle.  Kind of.  And SlideRocket, despite offering many of the same capabilities, is set up differently.  I'd never made anything with it.

See the walls?  They're really white boards where
students can collaborate during project-based learning
experiences.   Now the other schools in my district are
pining for this set-up... 

So, after realizing that I was paired up with my talented colleague to offer this session, the pressure fell off like a pair of fat jeans on a weight-loss commercial. She fashioned an unbelievable multimedia demonstration to share with teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators, while I made the handout (because text organization is something I secretly savor -- I'm working on it; I know, it's nerdy -- and I'm comfortable with it), and we she shared the information in our district high school's Creativity Lab that looked more like an Apple store than a space for inquisitive students.  During independent work time, guests asked questions that my isolated SlideRocket experiences couldn't satisfy.  I smiled and did my best.  Inside, I was a freshly caught fish flipping around a pier's slippery deck.

We're teachers.  We know the magic happens when we do the dirty work of rolling around in the content's mud to figure it all out.

So, that's what I did.  I got dirty.  This weekend.  I know; I'm four days late (and just typing this makes me pink-faced).  But, I made something...by starting off with one of the templates available.

I ungrouped text boxes to add my own text.
Switched timing.
Swapped pictures.
Styled text delivery.
Reordered animations.

(Hey--this isn't so far removed from my trusty PowerPoint--and it's so much cooler!)

Here's a link to my first-ever SlideRocket project!  I'm excited to share it at a school-based PD session next week.  (Note: SlideRocket projects are best viewed on a PC...)

You should have a go with SlideRocket too!  I promise, in the end you won't be fearful of the app or sorry that you spent a little time rolling around in the mud with it. You'll be the lucky owner of an impressive new techno-tool.

Write on,
b