Tuesday, May 10, 2011

TED and the Art of Presentations

This morning we spent a great deal of time talking about presentation.

Having returned from the ADE institute in London a day or two ago I've seen some pretty good ones recently. My class, honestly, are possible one of the best in our school at presenting and many of them are clear and natural communicators. They are not, however, good enough.

Presenting is a key skill for today, and tomorrow. As university entrance requirements soar and interviews precede even the most menial jobs, our children must become confident in presenting themselves and their ideas.

Having 1:1 iPad is a crucial benefit in this task. Firstly today we watched Jamie Oliver give his award winning TED talk. While they watched, the children made notes on iThoughtsHD of every tactic and strategy he employed to drive home his message.

Then they selected an issue which they felt passionate about, from goal-line technology in football to World peace and, using Safari and Pages, researched their issue.

In the coming weeks they will refine, organise and structure their research and begin to build their slides on Keynote. Then comes the hard part.

I'm going to have them present to different audiences, ages, group sizes to test and refine their technique and build confidence. At some point I'll video these presentations and ask the parents to critique them through the blog.

Once that's done, in September, some will get a chance to present from a stand at the Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow. A daunting and challenging task for twelve year old children.

All in aid of building a vital and rare skill, the ability to communicate, to present and hopefully to move an audience.

A 21st century necessity?

Definitely


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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