The two main activities this week, the pecha kucha and rubric, were challenging for me, and it was the first time that I felt the pressure to finish my work on time. I have typically been a procrastinator for most of my life, so what I've discovered most about these projects is how much prep time goes into being well prepared. Yeah, I know; it's obvious, but I have been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl and have never minded last minute preps, even when teaching classes at times. So when I created my rubric for one of my projects I have my fourth graders do, I found myself exhausted at all the thinking that went into creating just one rubric. My brain was tired! Despite this mental workout, I have to say I was very pleased with the outcome and plan on continuing creating rubrics for many of my other projects. It is such a great way to communicate my expectations to my students. I can't count the number of times way back when I taught high school that students complained that my expectations were vague. Or the number of times where I went to grade their stuff and THEN decided on what my criteria were - so not fair to my students. No wonder they occasionally got crabby with me! Once I finished my rubric for my fourth grade, everything just fell into place, and not only did it give me something for the end result, creating the rubric really forced me to examine why I'm doing this project in the first place. Yeah, this is a real DUH moment for me people!
As for the pecha kucha, it took a very long time to create it, but overall I'm very happy with the result. I appreciate the motivation behind this presentation style, but I was a bit confused about the speaking aspect of it. I know it's 20 slides, 20 seconds, but does that mean you have to talk for 20 seconds on 20 slides? I had a hard time finding an answer to this and never really got one. All the samples we saw were really based on recorded live demos so the speaker spoke the whole time. I have to agree with what someone said in my group; talking for 20 seconds on 20 slides is too much verbal busyness. I think it sounds like you're cramming in a ton of info. Maybe I feel that way because unlike a live presentation, a recorded one doesn't allow for audience feedback and participation. I think it might be more fun to do one live although I think it would be incredibly challenging for me. I'd be too tempted to stray from my script.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Week Four Reflection
I'm very excited about everything that we have discussed this last week. What amazes me is the common sense approach to presentations. It's so funny how I can go along, thinking and practicing one method and then suddenly realize that all that I've been doing has been wrong.
In terms of presentation, I would guess that most, if not all, of us who teach practice the casual approach and the "living in the moment" delivery method. I don't know how you couldn't and be an effective teacher, especially if one teaches elementary or high school. There's no way I could be effective with my students while spending my whole time behind a lectern or reading from my notes. At the same time, it's amazing how many teachers do lecture at students instead of engaging them with narratives. In addition, how many classes have we taken, or how many presentations have we seen where the speaker doesn't know when to quit? I know I can be guilty of babbling on and on, but I have sat through some lectures where I thought I was going to have to throw myself out the window. I think much of it has to do with what Garr says about connecting with your audience and knowing your audience. Also, many of those speakers come across as arrogant and clearly don't care about me, just one of many in the crowd. I'm thinking of one particular presentation I went to of a rather famous author. Although he was entertaining, it was clear that he meant to be center-stage only, and so as he solicited questions from the audience his arrogance became clearer and clearer. By the end, I was completely unimpressed. On the other hand, I would love to see some of the speakers Garr mentioned because I love nothing more than to be completely invigorated by a good speaker.
It's funny and ironic that Presentation Zen's emphasis seems to be to create presentations that are minimal in order to bring out and highlight the speaker, rather than glorify the presentation itself. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I think I have relied heavily on my presentations, not feeling adequately prepared or even knowledgeable, and so have loaded my Powerpoints with bullet points for that reason. How much easier it is to just read from my slides, rather than rehearse and develop an interesting narrative.
On a similar note, as my students learn Powerpoint and other storytelling software, I'm emphasizing the same minimalist approach. I have always told them that when creating a show, they shouldn't read from their slides, but now I will stress the less is more and even stipulate how many words on each slide they're allowed to have. It'll be interesting to see how this approach goes over with 3rd and 4th graders. Something else I'm still struggling with, however, is how to incorporate all these great resources when they require registration. I'm still not sure how parents will feel about their children being registered to all these sites where others can comment or view work.
In terms of presentation, I would guess that most, if not all, of us who teach practice the casual approach and the "living in the moment" delivery method. I don't know how you couldn't and be an effective teacher, especially if one teaches elementary or high school. There's no way I could be effective with my students while spending my whole time behind a lectern or reading from my notes. At the same time, it's amazing how many teachers do lecture at students instead of engaging them with narratives. In addition, how many classes have we taken, or how many presentations have we seen where the speaker doesn't know when to quit? I know I can be guilty of babbling on and on, but I have sat through some lectures where I thought I was going to have to throw myself out the window. I think much of it has to do with what Garr says about connecting with your audience and knowing your audience. Also, many of those speakers come across as arrogant and clearly don't care about me, just one of many in the crowd. I'm thinking of one particular presentation I went to of a rather famous author. Although he was entertaining, it was clear that he meant to be center-stage only, and so as he solicited questions from the audience his arrogance became clearer and clearer. By the end, I was completely unimpressed. On the other hand, I would love to see some of the speakers Garr mentioned because I love nothing more than to be completely invigorated by a good speaker.
It's funny and ironic that Presentation Zen's emphasis seems to be to create presentations that are minimal in order to bring out and highlight the speaker, rather than glorify the presentation itself. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I think I have relied heavily on my presentations, not feeling adequately prepared or even knowledgeable, and so have loaded my Powerpoints with bullet points for that reason. How much easier it is to just read from my slides, rather than rehearse and develop an interesting narrative.
On a similar note, as my students learn Powerpoint and other storytelling software, I'm emphasizing the same minimalist approach. I have always told them that when creating a show, they shouldn't read from their slides, but now I will stress the less is more and even stipulate how many words on each slide they're allowed to have. It'll be interesting to see how this approach goes over with 3rd and 4th graders. Something else I'm still struggling with, however, is how to incorporate all these great resources when they require registration. I'm still not sure how parents will feel about their children being registered to all these sites where others can comment or view work.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Week Three Reflection
I'm really finding the material all coming together this week. The section we read in our text has been extremely helpful, and I can begin to envision how my presentations might look from now on. I like Garr's common sense suggestions and the stress on simplifying and streamlining. I can see how my past presentations have fallen victim to the mistakes that many make. I have spent a lot of time filling my slides with words and taking up every space imaginable with clip art so that the slides look busy. I think I will have much more fun creating my presentations from now on.
On the same note, as I attempt to remake my uploaded show, I'm finding that focusing on the central message is not as easy as it sounds, nor is it necessarily obvious. I think I have been guilty of just spitting out information without considering what I want my students to actually know. What knowledge do I want them to gain from my introduction to the Internet? I already know that I need to cut out a lot of my content - actually break it down into separate presentations - but until I can figure out my central message, that will be a challenge. As I re-examine my presentation, I'm also referring greatly to the NETS on Digital Citizenship and trying to incorporate those standards into my discussion. It feels a bit overwhelming. Perhaps it would be helpful to actually create my handout first and work backwards. I'd be interested to know if that's the process others are following. And speaking of the handout, that's another area I'm pondering. Since my presentation is directed at the 3rd graders, I have to question how I want my handout to appear. Is a one-page typed worksheet the best format for 8 and 9 year-olds, or will that be too much for them? Would it be better to list ideas in an outline form so that it appears more organized? I think to answer this, I'll speak to the 3rd Grade teacher. I'm sure she could suggest the best format.
I also am finding the Digitales chapters and especially the 7 steps extremely useful. As I have mentioned, my students do create digital stories and both I and they have found discovering their stories to be difficult. In the past I had them gather photos and then work on their stories, but what typically happens is that they start simply describing what's in the photo instead of using the photos to complement their stories. I guess the obvious solution is to have them create the story FIRST and THEN gather the media later, as the 7 steps worksheet maps out. Clearly, I have placed the cart before the horse in the past.
On the same note, as I attempt to remake my uploaded show, I'm finding that focusing on the central message is not as easy as it sounds, nor is it necessarily obvious. I think I have been guilty of just spitting out information without considering what I want my students to actually know. What knowledge do I want them to gain from my introduction to the Internet? I already know that I need to cut out a lot of my content - actually break it down into separate presentations - but until I can figure out my central message, that will be a challenge. As I re-examine my presentation, I'm also referring greatly to the NETS on Digital Citizenship and trying to incorporate those standards into my discussion. It feels a bit overwhelming. Perhaps it would be helpful to actually create my handout first and work backwards. I'd be interested to know if that's the process others are following. And speaking of the handout, that's another area I'm pondering. Since my presentation is directed at the 3rd graders, I have to question how I want my handout to appear. Is a one-page typed worksheet the best format for 8 and 9 year-olds, or will that be too much for them? Would it be better to list ideas in an outline form so that it appears more organized? I think to answer this, I'll speak to the 3rd Grade teacher. I'm sure she could suggest the best format.
I also am finding the Digitales chapters and especially the 7 steps extremely useful. As I have mentioned, my students do create digital stories and both I and they have found discovering their stories to be difficult. In the past I had them gather photos and then work on their stories, but what typically happens is that they start simply describing what's in the photo instead of using the photos to complement their stories. I guess the obvious solution is to have them create the story FIRST and THEN gather the media later, as the 7 steps worksheet maps out. Clearly, I have placed the cart before the horse in the past.
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