PREPARATION & DELIVERY;
During this course has been the first time I have used presentation software in any meaningful sense, & the first time I have ever seen a SmartBoard, let alone use one. I use OpenOffice at home, & ‘Impress’ is the ‘Powerpoint’ equivalent. I had no problems transferring work between the two, & found ‘Impress’ a little easier to use…using the pointer (which was unavailable for my first presentation) was much easier than tapping the board for slide-changes.
After my first presentation, & remembering similar courses at University, I decided a seminar was the best vehicle for the presentation & subject- matter, as the Q&A session at the end helps to focus audience attention, & allows me to judge how effective the seminar has been.
I used cue-cards this time, which occupied my hands (a criticism from my first presentation was fidgeting), enabled me to recollect more facts, & concentrate on the pace & clarity of the delivery.
The Q&A session was much appreciated, & from the number & type of questions, the audience enjoyed the seminar, & took the subject-matter on-board.
CRITIQUE FORMS;
Accurate, clear & respectful criticism appears to be a key part of the Kolb Cycle in this type of situation. It is a valuable part of the experience, & can directly inform the the experimentation phase, e.g.; during my first presentation, it was noted that my hands were fidgeting & my stance was very tense. Other comments from the previous presentation I used in planning this one involved too much text on the slides, not finishing cleanly & poor audience contact.
The main criticism from this seminar was an apperant lack of practise on my part, which was true. Comments were made about there still being a bit too much text , so I must learn to condense & bullet-point more.
LEARNING STYLES;
I was able to present good materiel for audio-visual learners, & reinforce this with the Q&A session at the end, but I was unable to obtain good quality, suitable audio-tracks e.g; bird-song, & had insufficient time to arrange for any physical examples for kinaesthetic reinforcement.
OVERVIEW;
Overall, this course has made me aware of the weak-points in my study-strategy, & has provided me with a set of tools to correct them, e.g; my poor time-management & writing skills. To this last, I have worked through the examples & test-papers on the BBC Key Skills site, & have written this blog using the techniques I learned from them. I have gained from this course, & have remembered the advice gained from similar modules taken at University. Probably the most important tool it has given me is the use r the abstraction & conceptualisation phases of the Kolb Cycle, & I will certainly use these techniques for later modules in this Certificate.
REFERENCES; (images & information were used from the following sites, under the academic exception rule)
BBC – Key Skills – Home. Available at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/keyskills/index.shtml [Accessed March 22, 2009].
The RSPB. Available at: http://www.rspb.org.uk/ [Accessed March 22, 2009].
BTO Home page. Available at: http://www.bto.org/ [Accessed March 22, 2009].
United Utilities: Home. Available at: http://www.uuplc.co.uk/ [Accessed March 22, 2009].
(References made using Zotero citation plugin for Firefox browser;
Zotero: The Next-Generation Research Tool. Available at: http://www.zotero.org/ [Accessed March 22, 2009].
