So the Symposium Presentation seems to (needlessly) stress
students out. Maybe it’s because the assignment is in a different format than a
traditional essay, but let me tell you, the Symposium Presentation is
incredibly doable and can be a lot of fun. Take a deep breath with me.
Iiiinnnnn. Oooouuutttt. See? We’re all good here.
 |
| Feel free to use this for exam week! |
The Symposium Presentation is similar to a PowerPoint
presentation or Prezi. (Although we’ll be using Adobe Spark this semester for
the first time. Prepare for a learning curve, but we’ll make it!) The two major
components of the Symposium Presentation are:
- Your Images+Citations
- and Your Text, both related to your specific Class in America Today research angle that you’ve been working with on your ARP.
You’ve already been collecting images throughout the
semester for this presentation. You’ll end up with 15 images—no more, no less—with
citations for those images included at the end of the presentation.
Along with your images, you will have 50-65 words of text—no
more, no less—accompanying each image. Try to not make the text just a list of
facts. You want to engage the audience and show how all your images help create
the larger picture of your Class in America Today Topic.
Some of you maybe choose to record your narration, so when a classmates views your Symposium Presentation, they’ll hear your recorded voice accompanying the images. Some of you may choose to load your text onto the presentation, so it will look more like a web page and there will be no sound. Whichever you choose is a-okay!
There will be more details on how to use Adobe Spark (I’m
learning the new program along with you, but ask questions if you have them,
and I can always forward them to our English Dept. tech guru if it’s beyond my
expertise).
A lot of students end up getting a lot out of the Symposium
Presentation because you are able to view and present feedback in a totally
different format. Sometimes it helps you see gaps or connections you would’ve
otherwise missed in the plain old written format.
Comment below answering one of these questions OR responding to two classmates.
Tell a short story about a presentation you've given. What went well? What went not so well?
Are you a fan of presentations or would you rather write a paper?
What do you enjoy in a presentation from the audience perspective?
Tell a short story about a presentation you've given. What went well? What went not so well?
Are you a fan of presentations or would you rather write a paper?
What do you enjoy in a presentation from the audience perspective?
Qiumeng He
ReplyDeletehe.1506
I have given a presentation when I was taking English 1902. My topic was “Can poverty cause crime?” I was so confident because I prepared my slides and memorized all the lines. However, when I was on the platform, I felt so nervous that forgot everything. Then I decided to read the words on my slides and got a general score finally. Personally, I prefer to make a presentation online because there is no accident as long as you prepare it well.
I have given a presentation in my high school English class. During the presentation we had to write a poem and present it to the class. I felt confident about the poem in general, however it was difficult because we had to memorize the whole thing and perform it with a partner. It was difficult because once you go up to present you start to forget what you are supposed to say and you had to get the timing right when performing with a partner. I would rather write a paper because I feel that you can be more prepared and the nerves don't get to you. As a member of the audience, I like it when the presenter uses eye contact and actually knows what they are talking about.
ReplyDeleteI'm more of a fan when it comes to writing papers versus giving presentations. Presentations take exponentially longer to compose, edit and prepare for when compared to writing a paper, plus require speaking skills and the accompanying nerves of steel to stand in front of a room full of strangers. Papers require their own laundry list of skills, but lack that public speaking component that I'm more than capable of performing, though will probably never be fully comfortable with.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I also prefer papers over presentations. I feel like I can express my thoughts faster than going through slide by slide in small portions. I also do not like speaking in front of a crowd either.
DeleteI agree. When writing papers, I feel I can fully express my thoughts. And sometimes I forget what to see when I do presentations. So I would rather write papers than doing presentation too.
DeleteI agree with your point of view. Indeed, when doing the presentation, speaking skills is the most important, as well as the ability of logical thinking. Even if you can prepare well before presentation, the nervous may also let you forget something during the presentation. So, I prefer to write paper.
DeleteSam McGhee
ReplyDeletemcghee.118
I would much rather do a presentation than write a paper. I love to present on topics, especially when I am passionate about the topic that I am talking about. One thing that does worry me is how easy or do-able this presentation will be because it is online and basically a written presentation. I am much better in front of a crowd with a powerpoint of outlines and pictures to assist me. I am up for the challenge and look forward to doing something a little different this week in English.
I agree with you about liking to do presentations. I have always been good at giving a presentation in front of an audience. Yet, I am nervous about this type of presentation because like you said it is "basically a written presentation."
DeleteHonestly, both a presentation and a written paper have their own ways to convey a meaning or research. I like to write and convey my message as it allows for complete exploration of thoughts rather than an on the spot presentation in which I may miss out on important things I may have wanted to add. Sitting down and writing everything down also opens up the possibility for more manipulation as using more time with words leads to a higher level of complex thoughts that can be pointed with more meaning. However, with a presentation, there is less time and more verbal words on the spot which may serve to be less powerful at times if not done right.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Actually, writing could be a better way to expose one's point of view in a more clearly way. For the reason that writing could leave us more time to think about what we should add. However, when doing the presentation, a lot of outside factors could influence our thinking and speaking, which may then result in nervous and finally, could not reach the expectations.
Deletezhu.2166
ReplyDeleteI have given a presentation about my favorite movie director in my high school English class. I made a PowerPoint about James Cameron with lots of music and cited pictures. I had been preparing for the presentation for a long time, and it turned out to be a pretty good one. I was not confident about memorizing the whole process and presenting them because I'm totally nervously focusing on something, I couldn't hear what exactly I'm saying. That was challenging!
I would prefer paper writing better because I will have plenty of time go over my paper again and again, which may decrease the chances of making mistakes.
As an audience, I can quickly gather the information of the presentation ,and enjoy following the idea of the people doing presentation. The whole process is about revealing all the ideas, which is easier for me to understand better.
Hi Qing,
DeleteI do like paper writing better as you do. Presentation is challenge for me because a good presentation need eye contact, persuasive ability and confidence. Also, it may come up some accident in the process that you might need to deal with.
Michael Ross
ReplyDeleteRoss.1455
Personally, I am a fan of presentations. I enjoy getting up in front of a room of people to give presentations on information I am knowledgeable on. I would say I definitely prefer to give a presentation over writing a paper for a few reasons. First, I think information is best explained when you can hear it and see it. Presentations allow you to both visually see the information (PowerPoint), and hear the information from the presenter. Second, as the author or speaker, presentations allow you to adapt to your audience. You are able to engage directly with your audience to see if they understand exactly what you are saying, or if you need to use a new technique to help your audience comprehend the material. This is something you do not get when writing just a paper. Lastly, when giving a presentation, one is able to help explain information through visual techniques and body gestures. This also helps to keep the audience engaged and interested. For me, presentations offer an overall better way to explain information as well as being able to adapt to your specific audience.
I agree with you, Michael! Presentations allow the audiences to be able to visualize what you are trying to convey. Also, like you said you can engage with the audience directly. Yet, since this presentation will be online, I feel like it would be a different experience then in having the presentation face-to-face.
DeleteXinhai Ni
ReplyDeleteni.249
I have given a presentation in a previous class and it was mainly about tipping in US. It was a great experience and I was well prepared for almost everything, the slides, the background music as well as the Q&A part. However, since I didn't pay much attention to the remaining time, the whole presentation was timeout. For me. I would prefer the paper writing, as it's indeed kind of hard to introduce and explain everything in such a short time with quite a few unexpected factors. As the audience, I like it when the presenter uses the picture description rather than lots of words to do the presentation.
Hi Xinhai,
DeleteI have a presentation experience in my freshman year. Because my fully preparation, the presentation went well and finished on time. Compared with paper writing, presentation is harder for me. It usually took me more time and efforts to get the best results.
I have given a presentation to introduce a novel, The Million Pound, using Prezi when I was in high school. The thing went well is I created an extraordinary slide to the related topic. The thing that not went so well is I did not make eye contact with the audience during the presentation. I really enjoy making the presentation by Prezi even though it will take a long time to complete sometimes. But, Prezi enables me to be more creative than when I use PowerPoint since unlike the PowerPoint, you can make a new structure or a model based on your own idea in Prezi. There is no doubt that I am a fan of presentations rather write a paper. The reasons are, first, writing a paper on plain white paper is boring for me. There is nothing funny or special can be created in a paper. Second, the pictures or images in the presentation can help the audience more understand what the author trying to say.
ReplyDeleteEven though I love to write and would not mind writing a paper, I am really looking forward to doing this presentation. I do a lot of public speaking with my job. I get the opportunity to speak at new employee orientations with The James and have been featured in some videos that the medical center has put together. However, I have never had to put together a visual presentation to go along with what I'm saying. The closest I've come is a friend helped me put together a video for a song I wrote. He and I both gathered images to go along with the music/lyrics, but he did the hard work of putting it together. The idea of using the visuals to enhance or deepen the understanding of the text can really make the message sink in and be more memorable. I think this will be a great way for me to develop these skills and I definitely will use them again going forward academically, professionally and with my music.
ReplyDeleteI personally like presenting, however in an online class I'm not so sure. I am not very tech savvy and the thought of have to record my voice and sync it with each photo it makes me want to write a paper more. If I could do a simple prezi and then present in front of a class I would much prefer that than having to write a paper because I like public speaking. I don't know how hard it will be to make an online presentation so as of now I would like to do something I know how which would be to write a paper.
ReplyDeleteI actually never thought about the difference of presenting to an online class vs an in-person class. I do agree, I think it would be much better doing the presentation in class rather than recording your voice. I too do not know how to do that and it seems like it would take a lot of time to try to figure out how to upload it and sync it with your presentation.
DeleteYuqi Cai
ReplyDeletecai.694
I have given a presentation in my previous English class, my topic was "EQ and IQ, which is more important in life satisfaction?". I gave the presentation by using power point. I searched for a lot of photos and layout to make my power point perfect. In addition, I put a lot of energy and effort into the presentation. As a result, the moment when my classmates saw my power point, they were attracted to it. Besides that, my presentation is very fluent and clear, the professor also was very satisfied with my presentation. One thing that did not go so well was that some of the classmates were not paying attention to my presentation.
The presentation that comes to mind is my senior charity project. Everything went well speaking wise, but I did not like being with a group because occasionally there would be something that I would want to say but I would not be able to say it because my group would be talking. I am personally a fan of presentations because I am good at speaking in front of crowds and I enjoy it a lot especially when I know what I am talking about. I do enjoy certain presentations from the audience perspective only when I like what the presentations is about.
ReplyDeleteI once had to present a research poster and it was definitely a learning experience. I was very nervous before presenting even though I knew my topic very well. Because english is not my first language, I also constantly had the fear of mispronouncing a word. However, at the end I did receive a lot of good feedback from my audience which made me feel more confident in my skills. Overall,I'd much rather write a paper over presenting but I still feel comfortable doing a presentation.
ReplyDeleteFrom the audience perspective, I enjoy a presentation that is engaging. A presentation that is simply someone reciting facts is not very interesting. I find that I enjoy a presentation when it makes me think about ideas that I have not considered before. It is easy to tell when a speaker has come prepared and it always results in a much more enjoyable presentation. I enjoy a speaker who is truly seems like they are into their presentation and are presenting with enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteI gave a presentation last year in the end of my 1902 class. It is about the papers I wrote during that semester. I did well in designing the PPT, choosing the pictures, and scheduling the time. but there is also some problems. I fail to speak out some of my points, and my english is not that fluent. Although i thought the audience understand my central arguments, because there are clearly stated out in PPT, my speech was not that perfect. Compared with writing a paper, I prefer presentation. That not because i am a fan of it, Just because i do feel bad about write papers. If you let me choose, audience perspective better that online video. Because audience can let me knows what i do good and what i do not good. I can learn something from their feedback, even just a little countenance.
ReplyDeleteZhao.2284
I gave a presentation in ESL1902 last semester. And the topic is "How international students get on well with their American roommates". I pointed out the problem that may happened between international students and their roommates. Then I analyze the reasons and used some materials to support my statement. Finally, I presented some solutions for international students to build a closer relationship with their American roommates. I think the good point of this presentation is that I stated with some usual cases to resonate the audience, leading them to focus on this topic and thinking with me. The slides included the images and a few words so that my classmates would not be tired in reading the text. However, the thing went not so well is that I did not give enough time for interacting with my classmates. I think their questions or suggestions will help me to revise the presentation a lot!
ReplyDeleteliu.6303
tang.1251
ReplyDeleteI have given a presentation in English 1902. My topic was “Young people and ICT(Information, Communication, and Technology)” When every time I give a presentation, I become so nervous, and my brain is empty. So I need to take a very long time to practice until I can say it fluently with my empty head. So I definitely hate presentation and prefer writing. But for online presentation, I think it will be better. Actually, no public presentations is the reason for me to choose this online cource.
I actually love presenting rather than writing a paper. One of the reason for this is that there is room for me to improvise on the spot according to the audience's preference. This way I would be able to make the audience more interested into what I'm trying to say. Besides that, I would also be able to express some of my opinions along with presenting important information. I could also get some of the audiences opinion and discuss them. Furthermore, making a presentation would give me the opportunity to answer any doubts or questions that my audience may have so that they get a clearer image of what I'm having. And lastly I love presenting rather than just writing a paper because I would be able to develop my personal skills and evolve myself for future challenges. In the working world, presenting ideas would be very crucial and for this one would require good persuasion and presentation skills. I feel that right now would be a stepping stone for me.
ReplyDeleteI had a presentation in the course EDUTL 1902 last semester. I was very nervous before the presentation as I not only needed to presentation in front of many people, but also needed to speak in English. The interesting thing was that I caught a cold and lost my voice a few days before the presentation. So, instead of been nervous, I acted really relax that day during the presentation because I thought that the presentation would definitely be messed up, so it does not matter. The thing is that because I was relaxed, I did the presentation very fluently and clearly which made me get almost full points for that.
ReplyDeleteBut the fact is that I would prefer to write a paper instead of doing a presentation because a paper can present the point I want to state more clearly.
Kaibo Zhang.8902
I have given a presentation in EDUTL 1902 , my topic is "long term effect of cyberbullying". It was around 5-7mins presentation, my visual presentation was made on powerpoint and it helped me to get marks on my grade with the clear information. Things didn't go well at first due to the nervous, and I gave the wrong informations on my talk. after that I took a deep breath and look at my script, speak on moderate speed and express my presentation well at the end. For me, script is definitely important. I will go for writing the paper than give presentation. I want to make sure I can give the correct the clear information and statement to my reader, but it won't go bad to learn new things,I will still pay effort and improve on my next speaking presentation.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'm not a fan of presentation since the English is not my native language. I'm always not confident to my pronunciation and explanation skill. So the presentation is a little bit hard for me. However, it is difficult for me to write an excellent paper as well. Compare with presentation, audience pay more attention on your concept and and logical organization part when you writing you writing paper. During the presentation, you can use your infective language expression to make up the shortage of content of your paper. According, it is hard for me to say which one I like most, but presentation is more interesting than just writing a paper without any images.
ReplyDeleteFor talking about making the presentations or writing a paper, I am a fan of write a paper rather than make a presentation. Because in my mind, make a good presentation is not that easy. It requires a comprehensive skills of a student, like speaking skills and many small actions during a presentation, such as eye contact, those are the important and essential components to present a perfect presentation for everybody. It is not just write down something and combine them with the logic. Writing a good paper is more easier than give a nice presentation. We can use as many time as we want to write a paper before the deadline. We could add any ideas or main points at any time before we submit it, but it not work for the presentation. During a presentation, we just have one chance, we need to remember every points that we want to say without nervous mood. Also, writing out a good paper will not need other skills than the writing skills.
ReplyDeleteJordan Helphrey
ReplyDeletehelphrey.4
I have given a few presentations before, and find that it can be hard for some people and sometimes me. With presenting something, you have to be in a good mindset to get up there and talk about a subject and to help others understand what you're throwing at them. I like presenting, and I think that I can explain things well, and on the spot. I had a presentation a few weeks ago in a literature class, explaining a few chapters we had read. It went okay, not great. I was able to change directions with some subjects when I had trouble communicating some things. I could have done better though. If I had to pick, I would choose to do a paper, but I wouldn’t be upset if I had to do a presentation.
Last semester, I gave a presentation in my 1902 class. One good thing is I didn't make any big mistake. But in fact it's the only good thing. When I "got on the stage", I felt really anxious. All I thought at that moment was "all my gosh I must finish it as soon as possible" and "don't stutter". As a result, I spoke so fast and reduced all the improv part which made me proud when practicing. To be honest, I'd rather write a paper even though the presentation might be more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to write a paper as oppose to giving an oral presentation. That being said, I also think oral presentations, accompanied by good visual aids are more effective at communicating information. I am definitely not a natural public speaker. Rationally I understand that there is no good reason to be nervous about presenting, but my rational faculties have not yet overcome my natural inclinations in this case.
ReplyDeleteI've given about 5 presentations in the past both in my major class and english class. I think they were went pretty well because I prepared lots of times at home in front of the mirror. However, every time I would forgot something because I was so nervous even though I wrote the notecard. My speaking speed always so fast, but I don't think it's because of the nervous. I speak pretty fast when I normally speak. I know I should control my speaking speed during the presentation because I should make everyone clear know what am I talking about. I don't really like presentation because I think paper could be more easier. Writing a paper I could have a lot of chance to correct it and I don't need to show it. I feel uncomfortable when I was talking in front of lots of people. It feels like a judges. One thing I enjoy in a presentation is people pay attention on it, in other words, people give me eye contact as well. If people was playing their phones or doing other things, I would loss confidence. I think my presentation makes them boring.
ReplyDeletehoeflinger.8
ReplyDeleteOne presentation I had to give was in my speech class in high school. It was a memorized six minute speech and you had to act out the emotion you were discussing in your presentation. It was memorized so I said everything I had planned on saying, but I did not love having to act up on stage as well and that did not go as well.
But while saying this, I do prefer to present than write a paper. I think I can formulate what I want to say better when it does not necessarily have to be as formal as a scholarly paper. I also like to see the reactions of the room and speak accordingly.
As an audience member presentations are much better because you can see the passion in the presenter rather than just reading their words on paper.
Personally, I would rather write a paper than give a presentation. I am more of a shy person and do not like to be the center of attention so standing up and giving a presentation makes me very nervous. Luckily for me I have made it almost through 3 years of college without having to give a presentation yet which I am very thankful for. I can say though that I prefer to sit and listen to someone give a presentation though than reading a paper about the topic. I find them typically more engaging and easier to get the message that the author wants to portray. Presentations also tend to be more precise and hopefully entertaining as well if the presenter is passionate about what they are speaking one.
ReplyDeletezhu.2142
ReplyDeleteI had a presentation in my EDUTL 1902 class for my final paper about the relationship between texting and intimate relationship. Speaking without script is encouraged. So I prepared PowerPoint of my presentation as well as a script for me to recite. It takes me a long time to memorize the script and practice before I can talk naturally and fluently. And it makes me nervous for a day before the presentation day. But it is worthwhile because I got a chance to practice my public speaking.
That's quite inspiring. One feels uncomfortable BEFORE the presentation for his first time, undoubtedly. But the fact is, the feeling of being uncomfortable disappears when he is actually performing the presentation. Your experience is definitely worthwhile.
DeleteI recently presented in my ENGR 1181.02 class about something I was researching over the course of the past few weeks. I believe I presented well, but it still felt like I read too much off of the slides. It was difficult for me to explain the raw data of the research I found to people who were not with be during that research process. As an audience member, I look for presentations to be engaging through visuals and an engaged speaker, mainly through eye contact and body gestures.
ReplyDeleteYu Wang
ReplyDeletewang.10635
Last time I gave presentation is last month when I had a group oral presentation for the course Engr 1182 whose topic is about the progress of own experiments. Before the GOP, I prepared a lot and at that time I was sure that I could have spoke fluently in front of classmates. However, it was quite different when I stood in front of the professors and other fellows. Even though I didn't make some big mistake, I can still remember the feeling that I had. Actually I prefer the format of the presentation online since I have more opportunities to modify myself and no persons will distract my attention.
Tianyu Wang.9748
ReplyDeleteI have given a presentation in my previous EDUTL 1902, and the topic is "whether we should insist using torture?". I think the well done thing is that i did a good PPT and listed the material well, but i did not explain my idea clearly. I was so nervous. I like to show others my idea, but it is always hard for me to keep clam. Although the article contains my ideas already, i still like to tell others my idea by myself and i think i could explain better than just writing my article.
Yian Chen
ReplyDeletechen.6971
I'm a fan of writing papers rather than doing presentations. Presentations make me anxious from the beginning of I knew I have to do this till I did it. I'm so nervous when I stand in front of strangers. I'm afraid of being awkward or saying something stupid in front of someone who I do not know for familiar with. However, when I was doing presentation in my last year of high school, I enjoyed it because we already knew each other well. Therefore, I think I'm just afraid of talking and sharing in front of a huge numbers of people that I do not know. So if it can be avoid, I will choose to write a paper.
keating.108
ReplyDeleteI enjoy giving presentations more than I enjoy writing papers. Presentations can be used to help others learn while also showing what you have learned by making the presentation. Papers are used more to show what you've learned instead of help others learn. I also think it is easier to make a presentation entertaining while a paper takes a lot more effort to make entertaining.
10 times out of 10 I would rather present than write a paper. Every time I write a paper i tend to overthink about what I'm writing about and henceforth I cant get the ideal words across as i always feel like there is a better way of expression. While presenting, there is a feedback mechanism going on with the audience. I can observe the emotions and attitude of the audience and thus I am able to improvise. Presenting is also a conversation with the audience rather than a scripted description of your research or informative layout. At least for me, presenting is less stressful than writing a large paper.
ReplyDeleteVarun Kovvuri ( Kovvuri.1)
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Q2) I would rather make a presentation than a paper, because I am more creatively inclined and I like to be concise and short when writing. while paper is much more in depth writing.
Answer to Q3) When being a part of an audience fo a presentation, i enjoy listening to new sorts of information and research being presented, it would be interesting to see how from a single idea about social class, so many sub topics can bloom.
Answer to Q1)
DeleteI remember giving a presentation about a career project we did in high school, we spent the entire 2nd semester of my 10 grade doing the career project and there were many different activities we had to do finish the 12 steps. One of the compulsory steps was giving a presentation about that project and I ended up having a voice crack. Everyone laughed, including the teacher, other than that, the presentation went fine -- I was clear and concise!
Actually, I always afraid to give a presentation due to me introversion. I don’t really like to speak in front of the public and express my opinions, and prefer writing papers . I am always very worried about being ridiculed by everyone when I said something wrong during the presentation, so I always nervous, gradually, I was increasingly afraid to presentation. Nevertheless, I still think that a presentation is the clearest and quickest way to express our opinion. We can exchange ideas with your peer. And if the presentation of this course does not necessarily require sounds, that would be easier for me to finish.
ReplyDeleteXianqin Qiu
Holly Zhao (zhao.2576)
ReplyDeleteI did a presentation for explaining my final thesis on EDUTL 1902 class in last semester. For me, I'd like to do a presentation rather than writing a paper when I was in China, and would not feel stressful. But that time I felt nervous before doing the presentation due to it was an English presentation. So, I made several note cards to remind me of the key words. Though I still felt stressful while doing that, it was smooth and successful. Now, I can still say that I love presentation rather than paper.
han.1424
ReplyDeleteI have given a presentation before in class but I prefer to writing a paper actually. Making a presentation in class may just needs a few minutes, However, to give a prefect presentation, I need to spend lots of extra time in preparing it. Comparing with writing a paper, I have to write a draft to organize my words and practice it again and again avoid some mistakes during the presentation. Also, when I was standing on the stage, I will feel nervous and some mistakes will happen easily. Though it's a very hard process, it's a good chance for me to develop myself.
I enjoy a presentation where the presenter uses an engaging tone in their voice, and perhaps asks questions to the audience to keep them engaged. I also like presentations with minimal words and lots of visuals. I also enjoy presentations that are styled nicely.
ReplyDeleteI am not a very big fan of presentations. I am really more of a straight forward person and to me, a paper seems like the easier way to just write out what you need to and get the words out.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of presentations. I have trouble getting up in front of people and talking about whatever it is I'm supposed to be presenting. I would much rather write a paper, which is saying something because I do not enjoy writing, than present. Papers are much quicker and less painful.
ReplyDelete