The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you’re born and never stops until you get up to speak in public. – attributed to R. Drummond
  1. Read the following guides for technical presentations

    1. 5 Keys to Great Nonverbal Communication, Entrepreneur, 2013
      1. Do these recommendations correlate with effective engagement in presentations/lectures/sermons you’ve attended recently?
      2. Can you think of effective speakers who violate any of these recommendations?

    2. How to Give a Great Virtual Presentation that Keeps Your Audience Engaged, J. Hansen, 2016
      1. Can you think of professors who practice and/or violate any of these recommendations?
  2. Read these materials on Powerpoint and other presentation slide-ware.

    1. PowerPoint Is Evil, E. Tufte, 2003:
      1. Is Tufte for or against Powerpoint? (With that title, you’d better get this one right!) Why or why not?
      2. What presentation tool would you use for your preliminary design presentations if you could use anything (or nothing) at all?
      3. Would you prefer it if this course had used traditional slideware? Why or why not?
    2. In case you didn’t get the message, check out P. Norvig’s well-known Gettysburg Address Slides.

    3. In Defense of PowerPoint, D. Norman, 2008

      1. According to Norman, how do good speakers structure their presentations? How do they start? What material do they include?
      2. What documents should a speaker produce for a presentation?
      3. What form of class presentation would be best for this course?

    Now that you’ve heard both sides of the slideware debate, what do you think?

  3. Re-read Postman’s article: “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change”, focusing on the forth of his ideas.

    1. Briefly name Postman’s five ideas.
    2. Describe his forth idea and explain whether or not you agree with him.