CST 300 Week 7

Week 7

This week has primarily been focused on the final essay, which I really appreciate. Last time I felt like there just wasn't enough time to get the essay written and review it a couple of times before it was peer reviewed. This week has provided some much needed padding, especially since this one's longer and I haven't quite found the thing that gets me excited about this one. The reading and videos were all pretty short and have been preparation for our final projects. When I read and listen to things of this nature I get it, but actually acting things out in front of a camera (or not) is when I really struggle. I have been enjoying being able to hide a bit behind my computer for the course thus far.

Final Presentation Update

It can be difficult to plan something when you don't know what you're working on. Half of this week went to coming up with topics for the final presentation and voting on them. My team only has three members, so we each submitted one topic. We haven't been told what our final topic is going to be as of writing this (Monday), so I guess I'll see what we come up with next week.

Presentation Skills Reading/Video

1. Where Good Ideas Come From: While I took note of the drawing method for presentation purposes, the content was very interesting as well. Most of the time a creative thought is developed over time. The initial inception of the thought isn't considered viable at that moment, leading it to be discarded. Sometimes the idea becomes creative by colliding with another thought in order to become and overall idea. This other thought could come from another person or oneself. The point that I gather is to not rush creative ideas, step back, and let some come to you.
2. Life After Death by PowerPoint 2010 by Don McMillan: Don McMillan covers several bad PowerPoint habits people tend to have when making and given presentations (in a comedic way). A few of the bad habits he covers are how people put everything they're going to say on the presentation slides, they overuse blinking and moving fonts, use excessive bullet points, add pointless animation, and overuse acronyms. Basically, most of the presentation can (and should) be done verbally. Keep the slides simple with key points.
3. Public Speaking Tips from Toastmasters International: The different sections that the page links to takes you to various tips for different types of public speaking, like giving technical briefings, accepting awards, and using props. Most of the advice seems to be directed at knowing the audience and ensuring that you don't use too much industry jargon. Also, know what physical movements are okay for the situation you're in.
4. 20 Great Examples of PowerPoint presentation design: There are a couple of examples on this page that aren't very realistic because it's designed like a dialogue. It's great for someone that's reading it from the computer, but not so much for a live presentation. I really enjoyed how one of the presentations had the visual table of contents, so that the reader can follow along. Overall, I've found that I prefer the simple slides without the animated or drawn characters, like this one from Digital Surgeons:
   

Review Ted.com Presentations

1. Jamie Bartlett: How the Mysterious Dark Net is Going Mainstream (relates closely to academic study)
• Content: Jamie Bartlett believes that everyone currently in society will end up using a dark web interface in the near future regardless if it's for a good or bad action. The dark web encrypts IP addresses, so that users can browse the internet without giving their location away. They've been able to secure transactions for products by using a third party to verify a transaction, multi signature escrow payments, and sending data to a scrambled digital wallet. We're going to be using these tactics because they've had to be more creative with protecting their privacy to survive and we are now looking to protect our privacy on the internet globally.
• Presentation Style:
• Uses static images with boxes that highlight what he's discussing.
• Uses his hands when discussing topics.
• Uses simpler words to make it easier to understand him.
• Speaks slowly.
• Feels like he's conversing with you instead of talking at you. 
2. Neri Oxman: Design at the Intersection of Technology and Biology (relates to interest or passion)
• Content: Neri Oxman discusses how she's been able to use photo synthetic materials to create new items. Her lab has been able to do this with additive manufacturing (3D printing). She displayed their first photo synthetic wearable, which is an external digestive system to be warn as clothing. She shows an example of how humans and technology can come together. They used synthetic silk, spun onto a large pavilion with a robotic arm and set a ton of silk worms onto it, which then spun more natural silk on top of it. It's super interesting to see technology intersecting with biology in this way.
• Presentation Style:
• Short video clips that emphasize her point.
• Static pictures.
• Constantly moving around the stage.
• She also speaks slowly.