Return to
Dr. Koster's home page.Have you looked at the resources for people giving presentations?
Oral Assignment #1 February 8 & 13 in class--5% of final grade, including self-assessment
Self-assessment due by Feb. 16 at noon
Don't forget your videotape!
This is a short and sweet assignment designed to get you comfortable with standing before a group and giving information. You have five minutes to show your classmates how to do something. It can be a work- or course-related task (how to begin investing, how to access your grades on the Internet, how to design a lesson plan) or something from your personal or domestic interests (how to perform first aid, how to dance the Electric Slide, how to hit a 9-iron). You are responsible for explaining your topic clearly enough that your listeners will know how to do it. If you intend to give out samples, make sure there are enough to go around. The time frame includes setting up, giving the presentation, answering questions, and cleaning up. Presentations that do not inspire at least one question cannot receive a grade higher than a C, so think about getting your audience involved.You may use whatever props you like. You must be able to set up, do your explaining, and take your things down within your allotted five minutes. You may need to answer questions while cleaning up. If you want to do something messy (for instance, something involving food or drink), be sure you bring something to cover the presentation surface and be ready to clean it up.
If you want, you may use a handout. These are purely optional; bring enough copies for me and your classmates (and one for yourself). Or you may use PowerPoint; let me know if you will be using it by Feb. 6 so that I can reserve a laptop and projector.
Bovée's texbook is an excellent resource. There is no better way to prepare
this presentation than to practice, practice, practice-and time yourself! Time
will move at different speeds than you expect when you're a bit nervous.
Assessment criteria: I will be looking at the clarity of your explanation, the
degree to which it captures your audience's interest, the degree to which you
avoid verbal distractors like "uhhh" and "y'know", and your
time management. The evaluation form will track your eye contact so that you
will know if you made sufficient contact with the entire room.
Grading: After you give your presentation, you have until noon February 16 to review the videotape and send me an e-mail analysis of what you observed and what you learned from it. This analysis should be at least two paragraphs long. Then I will assign you a letter grade for the presentation and its analysis.
Oral Presentation #1 Self Evaluation
These are the kinds of questions that will help you write a good self-analysis. Feel free to address them in any order and to add other information that will help me see what you saw on the tape.
Oral #2:
Stupid Computer Tricks
(Group project)--6% of final grade (including memo and handout)
Given February 27 (Teams 1-3) & March 1 (Teams 4 & 5) in class
This assignment will require you to become familiar with three of the world's most commonly used software programs, Microsoft Word for Windows, PowerPoint, and FrontPage, which are part of the Microsoft Office suite. Your task, as a group, is to work together to make us all familiar with aspects of these programs needed to produce professional-looking documents and presentations. The "tricks" you learn will be needed to produce your final report and presentation this semester.
Your group will be given a group of "tricks" to figure out in these programs and to teach to your classmates. Each group will have from 15 to 25 minutes (depending on the "tricks" assigned). [You should try to figure out the tricks as a group first. If you can't figure out how to do the tricks, come see me, and we'll go through my books to get the exact steps.]
Your group will be expected to provide a copy of a handout explaining your tricks for your classmates; it should be clear enough that if they have questions at 2 a.m., the handout will provide the answers. Make sure your names are on the handouts. You will need copies for all 20 students in the class and one to turn in to me. You will need to demonstrate on the computers in the classroom how to do these tricks.
Each group must also prepare for me a memo detailing how the group approached the assignment; when you met, who did what, etc. This, along with a clean copy of your handout, gets turned into me on the day you do your presentation. Each member in the group must visibly participate in the presentation, though not all group members must talk. (This means that some can work the computer, some can circulate to terminals, etc.)
You will share a grade with your group members, so you must inspire each other to great efforts. I will be grading you on the clarity and accuracy of your instructions, the quality and correctness of your handout, the quality of your oral performance, and the evidence of teamwork you show. (I don't want to see five individual presentations done in sequence: Bobby does trick A, Johnny does trick B, etc. Think about ways [for instance, using the same font and type size on handouts] that you can present yourselves as a team.) I recommend that you consult PH ch. 2.d.2 and Bailey ch. 12 as you plan your presentation and write your two documents.
Tasks are listed below.
Day I:
Group I:Word (15-20 minutes) Team members: Cara, Autumn, Crystal
Group II: Word (25-30 minutes) Team members: Laura, Daniel, Monica, Marita
Group III: PowerPoint (20-25 minutes) Team members: Terrill, Julie, Kelsy
Group IV: Power Point (25-30 minutes) Team members: Youlanda, Tininka, Shanterrica
Group V: FrontPage (30-45 minutes) Team members: John, Ishirel, David, Missy
Oral Presentation #3 : March 20 & 22--6% of final
grade (including self-assessment)
E-mail assessment due by 3:30 pm on March 29
Don't forget your videotape!
For this presentation you will present orally the results of the search you conducted for Electronic Assignment #2. You will need to find ways to engage your audience so that it's not the usual "travelogue-lecture"--you want to interest them as well as inform them about what you found. You must inspire at least one question from your audience (not including me) to have this report receive above a "C".
Visual aids: You must create and use at least five PowerPoint slides to use in this presentation. The lab is equipped with PowerPoint 2000; if you are using another version on your home computer, use the "Save As" feature to save your presentation on disk in a compatible format.
Oral Presentation #3 Self Evaluation
The following questions may help you make that analysis more comprehensive; use them as guidelines, but don’t be slaves to them. They are meant to guide your viewing and your self-assessment. Feel free to comment on anything else you think was important in the presentation.
Did you make eye and verbal contact with the whole room? Could you have done anything different in this regard?
How would you characterize your presenter’s manner--calm, confident, nervous, etc.? Did this change over the course of the presentation? If so, when and why?
Were there any verbal or physical distractors ("uhh", rocking back and forth, etc.) that might have distracted your audience from following the presentation?
How well do you feel you managed your time? Why?
How well do you feel you used your handout? Did you refer to it appropriately? Did the distribution go smoothly? Did it point out things the audience needs to understand and remember? Was your name on it?
How well do you feel you used your overhead? How did it look on the screen? Did it illustrate a clear point for your audience?
Now that you have seen yourself present, what kinds of changes, different strategies, or improvements do you want to make in your oral performance? Compared to your first performance, what changes do you notice?
Oral Report #4--Final Exam. 8% of final grade.
This is your last oral report of the semester, and should be your most polished and refined. In it, you should do the following:
!Explain the project you have undertaken and
its background
!Discuss both what
went well in putting the report together and what gave you difficulties
!Explain your conclusions and/or
recommendations
You may treat us as the audience (i.e. say, "Okay, you’re now the Board of Habitat of Rock Hill") or address us as colleagues and fellow writers.
Your requirements for this report are:
!Use around 8 minutes, including time for
questions and feedback. (If you are not close to this time, severe penalties
will apply.)
!Show that you have worked on the problem areas
in oral presentation that you identified from your videotape
!Wear your best (interview-quality) business
attire.
!Use PowerPoint slides (and I mean use
them, don’t just project them on the screen!)
!Handouts are optional
!You must inspire at least one
question from your audience (not including me) to have this report receive above a
"C".
Your goal should be to show your classmates (and me) that you have made great strides as an oral presenter this semester. Rehearse, plan, practice, so that your presentation is coherent (without funny little breaks and pauses) and polished (without verbal distractors). Use your creativity to show us what you can do! A solid performance here will not only have a positive influence on your oral performance grade but may also enhance your grade on the report assignment.
As always, Bovée's chapter 16 is an excellent reference source. In addition, you might want to drop by the Instructional Technology center on the 3rd floor of Withers to check out what options you can obtain locally (for a reasonable price).
