Adding Connecting with Humor and Images

This has been the greatest chapter so far, I have gone back to my last update and added images, enlarged images and deleted most of my text. They don't know what's coming. I can imagine having fun with this PowerPoint. There is so much I can say with just an image. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner - oh yeah, because that's the "old school" thinking. We are in the "new technology" and we must go forward and teach these kids right by starting with us. Edtc6340 4 connect humor image czm

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Chapter Seven, Starting with images

Starting with an image should be every teacher/presenters goal, they say a picture says a thousand words and how true is that from Burmarks’ point of view in her example of Making Education Stick. (pg. 115) I really loved this chapter and am so excited to share with my students and peers. How simple to present a picture and just talk about something that is relevant to it. The placement of the images is to fill the slide with wonderful photos and just talk about it. How simple and amazing is that!!

                Setting the stage for your audience is of utmost importance for any speaker. Capturing their attention with vivid photos that enhance your topic to connect with your audience, as Burmark stated in this chapter, the stronger the correlation, the better the slides. (pg. 115)

This has been a remarkable chapter that I definitely plan to use in my own presentations in class from now on. No more boring, read along presentations for me. All I can say is Wow, wow, and WOW!!

                Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze You Lose: The educator’s guide to successful presentations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Chapter Six, Harnessing humor

Many times we attend boring presentations that drag on and on, our attention span is lost within the first five minutes of a boring lecture. Well, that’s exactly what our students’ feel as well. So why not make our presentations interesting, humorous, and more importantly - FUN!

According to a recent issue of The Total Communicator, using humor can break the ice for both the speaker and the audience, but one must remember to use it appropriately and that it is relevant to the topic at hand. As a speaker you must be prepared for any turn of events your presentation may take. Burmark explains (pg. 100) that by connecting humor to content, more people will learn.

As a classroom teacher, I can imagine a few ways to make my presentations fun. I am already thinking of ideas in presenting the communication through technology lesson by making one of those paper cup phones, as well as using pictures of Alexander Graham Bell and other cartoons, and maybe throw in a few silly telephone jokes. This kind of presentation seems like it will be a fun learning lesson for my students.

                Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze You Lose: The educator’s guide to successful presentations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

The Total Communicator. (2004) Presentation skills: Using Humor Effectively.  II, (2) Retrieved February 15, 2012, from http://totalcommunicator.com/vol2_2/funnymeeting.html  

Chapter Five, Making connections

According to Merriam-Webster, concrete context means:

1: naming a real thing or class of things
                 the word poem is concrete, poetry is abstract  

3 a: characterized by or belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events
   b: specific, particular <a concrete proposal>
   c : real, tangible <concrete evidence>

 When presenting, it is a good idea for the speaker to be prepared to offer an example of what is to come. It was interesting as I read Burmark’s illustration on asking the audience to picture a rose in their head (pg. 71), I automatically thought of a beautiful rose picked from my garden.  It’s how you engage the learner with their senses that will make the experience more concrete.

This chapter articulates the real life experiences to the audience.  Burmark gives plenty of examples on how to present more concretely by creating examples, simulations, and real-life experiences. Burmark (pg. 74) continues to talk about how a classroom teacher has an advantage because they know their audience and have time to analyze the presentations to make them more concrete. She gives many great examples of how to change a presentation that I hope to use in the classroom. In my class we will be going into communication through technology and I was already thinking of using many visual pictures to explain and have students make their own assumptions of concrete ideas with them

Some advice I learned from this chapter is to know your audience, know what will interest them and keep them interested with concrete context.

                Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze You Lose: The educator’s guide to successful presentations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Context content. 2012. Merriam-Webster.com Retreived February 15, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concrete

Being a better presenter means.....

..to know your audience, how to capture and keep their attention to have a successful, learning experience. One way is to "catch their attention". One way I changed my presentation was to add a picture to slide two, rather than having the contents listed. I added a clip art that shows the idea of how teachers are constantly fighting students on copyright issuesThought it would be fun to come in with some boxing gloves to capture my audience and explain the constant fight on copyright as I go into the topic at hand. Edtc6340 3 celebrate chimesczm

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Chapter Four - Ringing Chimes

Presentations are created to inform, to entertain, to convince, and more importantly – to educate. But to have a good presentation is to know that it is effective. Burmark states in Chapter 4, to be effective, we must accomplish two things: 1) get their attention; and 2) make the presentation stick. (pg. 63) A presenter must catch the audience attention from the start, either by distracting them or presenting in a way that draws attention to the speaker and the topic at hand.

                I recall an assignment I had in my course, Learning and Cognition, where my partner and I chose the topic of Robert Gagne and his Nine Principles of Instruction. When it came time to present, we both walked in wearing military jackets, the audience was surprised, confused, shocked maybe. Until we introduced our topic, Gagne began his research of science of instruction during WWII in the air force with pilot trainings, thus our military jackets was a great way to “capture our audiences attention.”

                But of course keeping their attention is the kicker, what type of activities or information can we share with the audience to keep them interested and alert? A presenter must remember that the presentation is a learning opportunity that can only be successful if it is interesting enough to the audience. Using some of Burmarks’ idea of CHIMES, (pg. 65), I can see how  one or several of these suggestions could have a positive outcome as a presenter.

References:

Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze You Lose: The educator’s guide to successful presentations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass 
Gredler, M.E. Learning and Instruction-Theory into Practice. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 2009