Using Prezi to Tour Course Syllabus

This particular lesson plan doesn't require much explanation, but I'll use this space to address why it strikes me as useful and to provide suggestions.

The first day of class is typically a bit rough - both for instructors and students alike.  For the students, the first day of classes generally means a long series of introductions and going over syllabi.  While a few of the more industrious students are likely to take notes while instructors read the syllabus at them, most students are more likely to zone out or glaze over during the monotany.  As a result, the specific details of the four or five or six syllabi they've been given tend to blend together (or simply go in one ear and out the other). Using a Prezi to introduce your syllabus will a) make it stand out from the students' other classes, and therefore b) possibly make it stick in their heads a bit longer.

Obviously, Powerpoint would work for this assignment as well, but I prefer Prezi for several reasons.  First, students are less familiar with Prezi (at least at the time that I'm writing this, in fall of 2011), so the novelty of Prezi's unique zipping and zooming seems to grab their attention more effectively than the familiar slide-by-slide presentation in Powerpoint.  And if your class is going to be focused on digital learning/writing, then introducing the course materials via Prezi is in keeping with your pedagogical values and will set the stage nicely for the kind of work you may be expecting of the students. 

Prezi is pretty user-friendly (once you get the hang of it) and doesn't require any specific software on your or the school's computer (so it's more portable, which is handy if you don't know what kind of computer you'll have available in your classroom).