Pick any presentation you find interesting in Ted Talks (don't pick Steve Jobs though). What made it effective? How might this presentation inform how we might think about our own presentations? Was there anything that could have been improved?
Make sure you specify the presentation author and topic.
Lalitesh Katrugadda: Making Maps to Fight Disaster, Build Economies
ReplyDeleteThough this presentations was short, it demonstrated all the points that we have been discussing the past two days. The presentation went beyond just details in the PowerPoint, but also took into consideration the set-up of the stage that the presentation took place on. Stage decor matched the topic of the discussion to bring greater interest to the topic of the speaker.
The presentation discussed the need for new and updated maps in order to assist with rescues and relief in areas hit by disaster. Pictures were displayed showing an area hit by disaster and how maps were not available for this area. The presentation then went on to show software that is able to assist with updating of maps and those maps that were currently being worked on.
Aditi Shankardass: A second opinion on learning disorders
ReplyDeleteI chose this presentation based on the title. Ms Shankardass presented her information with a powerpoint that included numerous things we discussed. She did include a bulleted list of learning disorders that were being studied, but she did not read the list, only referred to it. She included a slide showing a brain as a puzzle with a piece missing as she described what she was referring to. The remainder of the slides showed the type of brain scans that were being conducted at Harvard Medical as she talked about the research they were conducting and pictures of children who were being evaluated to determine if, indeed, they did have a learning disorder. What the medical team discovered was that many of the children were suffereing from small brain seizures rather than a learning disorder. She also included a short video of a child before doing the scans and after treatment with medication for brain seizures. Overall, it was a very effective presentation with powerpoint slides to enhance her topic rather than be a written copy of her speech.
I viewed Jonathan Klein: Photos that changed the world. Klein runs Getty Images
ReplyDeleteWhat made it effective?
The main point of his presentation is how a picture can “sparks something in you” and can change the course of human history. Klein initially showed iconic pictures that we all recognize such as: the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, the celebration in Time Square on VJ Day, and a picture of the earth taken from the moon. Next, he discussed how pictures help give a voice (or a face) to a movement. For example: He discusses how the pictures of the little girl buried by napalm and the student killed at Kent State helped shape public opinion on the Vietnam War. He also showed pictures from the 1987 of Princess Dianna holding a child with HIV/AIDS which helped to raise awareness of this devastating disease. He ended his speech about what makes a photo. In Klein’s opinion it is the person who is viewing the picture. “We bring to each image our own values, our own belief systems, and as a result of that, the image resonates with us.”
How might this presentation inform how we might think about our own presentation?
I think that when selecting images for a presentation, one must consider the reaction of the audience. A picture is a great way to spark a discussion that leads to higher level thinking, resulting, hopefully, in the students doing some reflection about their lives.
Was there anything that could have been improved?
NO
Richard St. John's 8 Secrets of Success
ReplyDeleteI chose this presentation because I was intrigued by what constitutes success. Why were there 8 secrets as opposed to 2, 5, 10, etc.? The presenter explained these secrets in roughly 3 minutes and it was not in depth at all. He applied the theory: keep it short, sweet, and to the point which at some times I appreciate. However, he flew through the powerpoint and didn't give much discussion for each slide. The 8 secrets he shared were passion, serve, push, good, ideas, persist, focus, and work. Each slide was easy to read and incorporated the techniques we've discussed in class: include graphics, not too many words per slide, font size and color, etc. It made me realize that some of my powerpoints, while they have graphics and different colored fonts, may have too much text on one page. Putting minimum text on a slide is appealing to students, I would just need to remember to elaborate and expand on those few words so my kids take away the big idea I want them to remember.
Marian Bantjes: Intricate Beauty By Design
ReplyDeleteWhat made it effective?
Bantjes used images throughout her presentation. These images were taken from her portfolio of work and used to support what she was saying about beauty and design. There were a few spots where she explained what the images were, but this was very natural (she talked about what she's used for Valentines and how that has changed from year to year). It seemed like there was timing on the slides, to keep her moving onward. She also put in a break about halfway through of a few seconds for people to process -- not long enough for kids, but a good 'pause' for the adult viewer. The presentation was utterly enthralling and what she was saying connected perfectly with what images the audience could see behind her.
How might this presentation inform how we might think about our own presentations?
This presentation seems to emphasis once again the idea that the media needs to be there to support and enhance what the speaker (teacher) is telling the audience, rather than acting as a script for the presentation.
Was there anything that could have been improved?
No. I might have enjoyed more images and more time listening to her, but what she did was wonderful and the sideshow was a perfect accent to her speech.
David Gallo on Life in the Deep Oceans
ReplyDeleteI chose this video because I teach the ocean habitat among many others.
This video was effective in that the presenters discussed many strange and unique organisms that live in the deepest parts of the oceans as a video played in the background. The images were taken via a small submarine camera. As the video played, they described what was being seen, how it relates to the ecosystem, and provided some fun facts about each creature. Most of us probably have never heard of some of these organisms, thus seeing them in their natural habitat is a wonderful learning experience.
When thinking of presentations I may use in my classroom, it reminds me that although pictures may be worth a thousand words, video can also be very powerful as well, especially when incorporated directly in a lesson and not just as a separate segment. What better way to introduce this habitat than by letting students see creatures they have never seen before. This will "hook" them and they'll be actively engaged in the lesson.
I don't think there needs to be much improvement. If I wanted to use this video for my class, I would include subtitles with the names of the creatures and some other small details as the video plays in the background. I would also pause the video to point out some of what the creatures are doing. They can be easily missed. If I used this video, I would have to simplify what is being said so that second grade students would have a better understanding; however, I would hope to use this as a model when looking for others more suited for elementary grades.
Paul Stamets: Six Ways Mushrooms can Save the World.
ReplyDeleteWhat made Stamets' PowerPoint effective was that it supported his lecture through pictures. Stamets' led the pictures, rather than letting the pictures guide his words. Very important to the effectiveness was that the types of pictures varied: snapshots, sequential pictures showing stages, representational drawings, various magnifications; added colors for emphasis and clarity, rarely seen images. In addition to reinforcing his lecture material, his visuals were interesting even to an audience of non-scientists. I, on occasion, relied on the pictures to draw me back after getting lost in ecology-specific jargon. Only a couple of slides used movement. They were appropriate demonstrations.
This presentation effectively reminders us that varying picture type can reach a larger audience in types of learners. Pictures capture attention, and, chosen correctly, keep an audience engaged in the lecture topic.
This presentation contained only a few graphs, showing too much information, in a print too small to read. The presentation could be improved by omitting the graphs altogether. Although they did not contain extraneous information, nothing would be lost from the lecture without them.
In doing this assignment, I got caught up in the topics and watched six before I finally had to walk away. I watched:
ReplyDeleteAdili Shankardass: A second opinion on learning disorders,
Charles Leadbeater: Education innovation in the slums
Chip Conley: Measuring what makes life worthwhile
Roy Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff
Hillel Cooperman: Legos for grownups
Becky Blanton: The year I was homeless
As I was watching I noticed that all the presentations that used powerpoints used them with minimal text. Most used just images. Some used short videos. The last one that I watched only presented using notes in her hand.
What was effective?
What I found effective was the flash of images and/or the slides that had only a few words on an otherwise blank screen. It allowed me to focus in the content of the talk instead of on what was happening on the screen. When watching the talk on learning disorders, the images of the patients during testing and especially the boy after diagnose left me feeling emotional. I actually went back and watched it again.
How do I feel that the presentation will inform how I look at my own presentation?
Obviously, the presentations that need not rely on the powerpoint to drive the talk were the most effective. When watching the talks I found the ones that used only the images to be the most engaging for me. Keep is short and simple!
The only thing that could be improved for me is actually seeing the talk in person!
Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!
ReplyDeleteThis is the second Ted Talks I have viewed by Sir Ken. His first talk, Schools Kill Creativity, was given four years ago and is an extremely popular Ted Talks video. I really enjoy and agree with much of what he has to say. His presentations have no technical flare. He does not use slideshows, videos, or other visual aids. Ted Talks bills itself as ideas worth spreading and I think sometimes the topics just work. In other words, Sir Ken was discussing a topic that I am very interested in and therefore I was interested in hearing what he had to say. Unfortunately as teachers we often have students in our classrooms that are not passionate about our subject so our job becomes significantly different. We need to find ways to engage these students and technology offers one avenue to achieve that goal. I really view technology as a means to an end and not as an essential part of every presentation.
Sir Ken is definitely the reason this talk was effective. He is a great public speaker and his humor, delivery of his ideas, and most importantly, the ideas themselves, are definitely what makes his talks so popular. I would highly recommend watching both of his videos.
Entries are looking fantastic. Excellent work. See you tomorrow. Mark
ReplyDeleteI chose to watch Richard Baranuik, an electrical engineering professor at Rice University. He is the developer of Connexions, which is a global clearinghouse for online textbooks. He talked about customized publishing on demand, which basically cuts out the middle man of buying textbooks. For example a $122 textbook may only cost $22 online. As of 2006, Connexions reached more than 200 countries in their native language. Additionally this framework allows people to personalize, share, reuse, and interconnect content and ideas. For example, Web 2.0 websites like creativecommon.org intermediates text, music, images, and music.
ReplyDeleteThis presenter effectively used powerpoint. The powerpoint supplemented the information that he conveyed. At times, he used one word prompts, which would change font size and bolded when being discussed and emphasized. He used real photographs and live websites of everyday people. Additionally, he attended to his diverse audience by using quotes, math equations, moving graphs, humor, and much more. His presentation was relevent to the current trends in society.
Hillel Cooperman: Legos for grownups
ReplyDeleteI watched Hillel’s semi-comedy routine on his Lego addiction and all the cool things you can do with Legos. I was interested in this topic because my kids (and I) love playing with Legos. What I found as I watched his talk was that his discussion used a powerpoint presentation of just pictures to supplement and provide details of the material that he was discussing. I liked the way it made the lecture flow, but one thing I noticed was the way they film the talks. It focuses only on the speaker until a new slide comes up and then the new picture appears for 5 seconds or so and then the speaker returns without the picture in the background (most times). I wonder if I was seeing this presentation live, if the pictures that stayed on the screen would be distracting to the overall talk? By the way not a real interesting talk – I’m sure there are better ones to choose from. Last thing – coolest Lego design made with my oldest son – a 1400 piece train engine and coal car.
Ted Talks: Ken Robinson "Schools kill creativity"
ReplyDelete-"Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status"
-"If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original"
-"We stigmatize mistakes and we are educating people out of their creative capacity"
-"We don't grow into it, we grow out of it"
After looking through various presentations on Ted Talks I came across a presentation by Ken Robinson who spoke about how schools kill creativity. He gave many valid arguments and did it in a way that was very interesting. He challenges the way we’re educating our children. I found the presentation to be very informative and even inspiring! I can see using this resource for myself but not necessarily for the elementary classroom.
-"Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status"
ReplyDelete-"If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original"
-"We stigmatize mistakes and we are educating people out of their creative capacity"
-"We don't grow into it, we grow out of it"
After looking through various presentations on Ted Talks I came across a presentation by Ken Robinson who spoke about how schools kill creativity. He gave many valid arguments and did it in a way that was very interesting. He challenges the way we’re educating our children. I found the presentation to be very informative and even inspiring! I can see using this resource for myself but not necessarily for the elementary classroom.