Hey Everyone,
I just thought I’d throw this out as a bit of a discussion about the presentations in general. Now that most of us have gone, I know Lee is still going on monday, what do people think of the presentations that have happened so far?
I think all of them have had value in one way or another. It’s interesting to see how different approaches can conjure up contrasting thoughts and perspectives on an issue.
Some have been very creative and others more straight forward and informative. What is the best type, in your opinion? maybe it is a blend of the two. In the near future, if you are all going to be out in the business world or what ever world you choose to go into (maybe a distant world for all I know), we will all have to have these types of public speaking skills and comfort level with talking to a group, even if it’s a small one like our group.
Has this type of forum helped any of you with qualms or uneasinesses with public speaking? Or are you guys all used to it by now? In your opinion, what is the best way to do something like talking to a small group of people. Maybe include some good examples from people who have presented this semester
I have loved everyone’s presentations because our class was so diverse in majors as well as backgrounds; which made for excellent discussion all term long.
I’d have to say that public speaking is my favourite, BUT it isn’t for everyone…
I loved how some presenters used images from historical archives, as well as the philosphical referencing and biographical material on Vonnegut himself.
There are many tricks to a good presentations and everyone in our class used them: images, music, video, and excellent passages from the original text and discussion 🙂
Sorry I just found something, that I wanted to add.
On Wed. Cam asked us how people have influenced us, or if th envoels have influenced us…
Well there I found this blog page, by Prof. Sutton. He is an author that works out of Stanford University. He wrote the New Yorker in 06 to get permisison to use Vonnegut’s poem (below) in his own novel. Well Vonnegut wrote him a personal permission written on a post card, hand made by Vonnegut!! Follwo this link to see the post card: http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/kurt_vonnegut_a.html
Also read how this author was influenced by the coolest cockroach on the planet! Kurt Vonnegut! 😀
POEM****
Joe Heller
True story, Word of Honor:
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter Island.
I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel ‘Catch-22’
has earned in its entire history?”
And Joe said, “I’ve got something he can never have.”
And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?”
And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
Not bad! Rest in peace!”
–Kurt Vonnegut
The New Yorker, May 16th, 2005
As far as presentations go, I had fun doing this because it was open for creativity and really let us explore different ways that I’m sure many of us have not had the chance to do in the past. I liked the size of the class, specifically because I felt comfortable saying anything and presenting in front of you guys. And in my opinion, powerpoint is the most clear way to get a point across, but I saw that there were very interesting ways such as stories or acts to express information in a less direct way, but still very interesting.
I thought it was a really great aspect of the course. It allowed a necessary break from the daily discussion that can at times drag on.
I suck at public speaking, something that I need to work on. But I found it was much easier to present after I got familiar with everyone. Just goes to show, there really is nothing to be nervous/ concerned about when you talk in front of people.
The content was good too… so many different approaches to an open ended project. Cool to see how every individual took an idea and ran with it.
This was one of the first presentations that I was actually interested in, hence, it made me not nervous at all. Most of the time though its not so much as being nervous that bothers me about public speaking, its the fact that I speak really quickly and am afraid people won’t understand me. But I really enjoyed doing my presentation and seeing everyone else too. I enjoyed how every one had a different interpretation of the book they presented on and there were not 2 presentations that were similar. I also enjoyed seeing others’ interpretation in comparison with mine. Overall, I really enjoyed presenting and watching the presentations.
I thought it was really cool how most everyone chose a different way to do their presentation. Just thinking about it, one person adapted a Kilgore Trout Novel and another produced a short film, while others provided historical context and critical interpretations; one wrote a sermon; one analyzed Trout’s, and one encouraged thoughtful discussion. What a crazy amount of diversity in so few presentations. It made them exciting and I was impressed.
Nice job everybody.
I really enjoyed everyones interpretations of the presentation assignment. It was refreshing to have such an open choice, and it was nice to see what everyone came up with.
This class has been one of my favourites in my 5 years at UBC. It really gave us all a chance to remember what it’s like to participate in our own education. We all came together with the same purpose, to expand our knowledge of these books and to take away other peoples perspectives on the same literature. I definitely think we accomplished that. I want to thank you all for fully participating, because it definitely could have gone the other way, and we may have all sat there and listened to Cam for 3 months. Haha.
These presentations were a great way for us to show what each one of us was really influenced or inspired by in these novels. Well done kids!
Last post! Better make it a good one. Umm….was anyone else thinking recently about how bad the movie Breakfast of Champions sucked? I really think it may have been the worst movie I’ve ever seen.