Here are some FAQs from students regarding the presentation in Ed Tech & Design. It will be helpful take a few minutes to review these:
1. What are we supposed to compare & contrast?
As stated on the assignment page and in lecture, you are to compare the use of media to support student learning in each unit. This means, you must go beyond simply comparing the age level or subject areas involved in each unit. How were your projects designed similarly or differently to support an instructional objective? What type of learning was supported, or what sort of teaching and learning activities were supported? As you work with your partner and identify similarities and differences, be sure to explain each in terms of the way learning is supported through the use of technology/media.
2. Do we need to compare all four of our projects?
No, not necessarily. The minimum requirement is to describe at least two similarities and two differences in the way that media/technology is used to support learning within your thematic units. This may involve 2 or 3 of your projects, but not necessarily all four of them. We'd rather here you describe a few meaningful similarities and differences than race through a comparison of every project.
3. Do we need to include a picture on every slide?
No, you don't need to include a picture on every slide, but you do need to develop a multimedia presentation that includes a sufficient number of images to support the text on slides. We suggest that in addition to screen captures of your projects, you incorporate a few other images to illustrate the learner characteristics, unit context or compare/contrast observations made during your presentation. By the way, Flickr is a great source for imagery. You also have access to iCLIPART via the Iowa AEA Online website (login with the credentials provided previously in lab).
4. Do we need to cite the source of imagery used on our slides?
Yes, you must cite the source of images used under fair use, creative commons, etc. As with other projects you've developed this semester, you should follow the guidelines for attributing the source of images used in order to model ethical and legal uses of multimedia.
5. How much text is too much text on a slide?
We are challenging you to adhere overall to the 6x6 rule of thumb. This means that the majority of your slides will have, within the body of the slide (not counting the title), no more than 6 lines of text top to bottom. To meet this challenge, you must be concise and avoid complete sentences. After all, your slide show is only intended to outline your talking points and provide visual cues. You will be speaking during the presentation. Your slides should outline what you will be saying and reinforce your discussion by providing the key words and concepts that you will address. If you have too much text on a slide, then either be more concise or create another slide to support your presentation.
6. What should I include in Unit Context?
Remember, "unit context" includes not just the content but the setting or situation. So, as you summarize the first section of your unit description paper, describe more than just the unit theme and subject areas. What will be some of the major topics, people, events or concepts included within each subject area? Additionally, we suggest you describe either something about the whole learning experience (how does this relate to some previous or future learning) or something about the setting (the classroom environment and the types of resources and technology available to students).
7. Can we complete our presentation in less than 15 minutes?
Sure. Just be sure to include all required elements (including your ideas for improving the use of technology in your units), and work together as a group to finish your presentation within the time allotted. Our schedule will not allow your group to have more than 15 minutes. We will cut you off, and you will not earn points for any required topics not included in your presentation.
8. Can we use notes or notecards?
Yes, you and your partner may use notes. Just don't read directly from your notes or otherwise rely too much on them. One section of the grading rubric (overall quality of presentation) includes such things as eye contact, presence, evidence of collaboration, technical preparedness, quality of delivery and professionalism. You should present to your audience, not your notecards or the computer screen in front of you. :-)
9. Is it enough to say that both our WebQuests involved group work?
No, because all WebQuests are "collaborative and inquiry-oriented activities". That is, everyone's webquest should have involved group work along with indvidual roles. Everyone was supporting inquiry and using a variety of resources. If you are trying to compare your WebQuest projects, start by comparing what type of task was involved. Return to the Taskonomy page linked from the WebQuest assignment page. The Taskonomy page gives you plenty of ammunition for describing the similarities or differences between the types of webquests that you and your partner have constructed.
10. Must our PowerPoint slide show look just like the demo shown in class?
While you need to follow the overall structure that was shown in class, you don't need to make your presentation look exactly like the sample. If you need to use multiple slides to describe a project, then use multiple slides. If you feel that the compare and contrast would work better for you if you organized it differently, then do it. The important thing is that you MUST fulfill the requirements outlined on the PowerPoint / Presentation assignment pages.