Happy Holidays! + Prep for January 12

This is just a quick note to confirm that our next class is January 12, Wed, and before that class you will need to watch your video and write a self-analysis and some goals based on your video.

WE will send you your You Tube links and self-analysis directions on January 5th, one week before the class, so please check your Gmail address around then.

Happy Holidays and enjoy your vacation!

Mark & Sylvan

Class 5 was Presentation No.1 Day - Nice work everyone!

Congratulations on finishing Presentation No.1!!

It was very enjoyable to see everyone sharing their passions. Also, I was very impressed by the presentation visuals and content and speaking skills that I saw. Different people have different strengths and I think we will learn a lot from each other over the next two presentation projects.

Reminder: Please remember to post your feedback on the blog of the person who presented just AFTER you (Yuta gives feedback for Asuka, Asuka for Hanna...Sayaka for Danielle). Write many things you liked and one or two suggestions that you have based on watching the person's presentation.

Ideally, the presenter would post the slides (embedded or linked) on the blog so that the comment can be left under them.

On Wednesday, we will meet in H-253 for our Christmas Party class. The only preparation is to dress Christmas-like and bring snacks or drinks if you like. There will be a variety of presentation skills activities around the Christmas theme.

From around 11:30 until Noon, we might have some visitors from drop in to observe our learning.

See you then!

Mark

Lesson 4: Body Language + Rehearsal

Death by PowerPoint (and how to fight it)

Presentation No.1 Directions "A Passion You Want to Share"

Presentation No.1: "A Passion You Want to Share"

Here is the PAL: Purpose, Audience, Logistics for this presentation.

Purpose
Communicate to the audience one thing you are passionate about and why you are passionate about it. Any passion is OK. Something you love. It can be an activity, idea, food, person or anything!

Skill Goals: Use your voice, visuals, and body language as effectively as you can at this point to convey your passion. The video of this presentation will be used for you to self-analyze and set goals for improvement over the rest of the course.

Audience
Your 13 classmates, Sylvan and Mark.

Logistics
-Date: Monday, December 20.
-Place: ILC-101
-Length: 2~3 minutes. We'll have 14 presentations, so do not exceed 3 minutes.
-Visuals: You can use any visuals you like. No restrictions. Bringing objects to show is one good way.

One Example from Last Year:

Syllabus and Schedule

Hi everyone,

Here is a link to the AEP 2010-2011 Syllabus and Schedule.

Some things may change as we go, so keep updated in class.

If you have any questions, just email Sylvan and I.

Sylvan's TED analysis

See here:

http://sylvanjpayne.blogspot.com/

Mark's TED Analysis

---------------------------
http://www.ted.com/talks/aubrey_de_grey_says_we_can_avoid_aging.html

My analysis of this presentation video is:

Impression:
De Gray's main point is that human aging can be delayed, and he predicts that 1000 year lifespans are very much possible if funding is provided for research. Is his talk persuasive? I would like to hear a professional critique by biological experts, but he seems to show that he is already extending the lifespan of mice steadily. Whether it is true or not, the talk is very valuable for us to think about the possible social consequences of living longer and longer. He argues that the idea that longer life is bad for society does not make sense. Aging causes death just like diseases, and it seems logical to find a way to reduce it. He argues that more funding should be given to anti-aging research.

He talks very, very fast, but I enjoyed listening to him to the end and felt the talk was informative, somewhat persuasive, and definitely thought-provoking. Also, cool beard. Makes an impact.

Strengths
His presentation strengths are

• He includes a lot of information in a very short time. Very informative.
• He talks with no notes and almost without looking at his slides. He knows his message and the ideas come out very clearly at an amazing speed.
  
• Organized and logical. He gives his outline at the beginning and follows it to the end. The flow of logic is easy to understand.
• His PowerPoint slides are not fancy, but they are effective because they match what he is saying. The key words match what he wants to emphasize. Very efficient.
  

Weaknesses

• He really should talk slower. His persuasiveness would go up with fewer words and more pausing. Does he care whether the whole audience understands and keeps up? Fortunately, TED has video, so people can go back and listen if they have trouble following.
  
• His body movements at the beginning seemed distracting.
• More definitions of terms and more explanation of diagrams would have been helpful for me as a non-expert.
  

Welcome to AEP 2010-11!

This is the site where Mark and Sylvan will post information about course and your blogs will be linked from here, too.