June 20

Congratulations to everyone on a job well done! Everyone should have a digital artifact of their final presentation and performed a live presentation on June 13. 

If you did not do a presentation OR if you want to do it again and get some peer feedback - please come to class at 11a.m. on Friday June 20. This is not mandatory.

At the very least we will wish each other a great summer.

Cheers!
Greg

Week 12: May 23

For this class I checked your informal draft (1st draft) script for the final presentation. For most people I asked that you come up with a clear take away. 

What is a 'take away'?
Do you remember, "Tell a story, make a point"? The 'take away' is the 'point' of the story. You should be able to summarize the key take away message in a short memorable phrase so that your audience will remember it and repeat it. You need to give them a good reason to listen and you must try to give them something worthwhile to take away from listening to you. When you have identified the 'take away' then you can write your formal draft script, keeping in mind who your audience is. 

Make sure that everything builds toward the 'take away'.

I asked everyone to develop a clear understanding of their 'take away'. I also asked them to think about and identify their audience. Know who your audience is so you can speak to them in a way they will understand. For example, you would speak to a child differently from the way you speak to an adult. Also, you would speak to your friends differently than you would speak to your professors. Know the audience you want to speak to!

For May 30 ...

For our next class (May 30), you must come to class with a complete script. Your script must be complete, detailed, and typed double spaced. It should be very clear who your audience is and what your take away message is. 

• As I suggested to some students on May 23, it might be a good idea to make a practice VT that I can look at and offer suggestions on how to improve. 
• In this class we will be editing this script (and your practice VT if you have one). This is your last chance for any input from me or your class mates. 
• Your final VT presentation must be posted by midnight June 06. I will not accept late submissions. 
• Remember, that your live presentation will (probably) have more of a script that the VT presentation.
• Live final presentations are on June 13 & 20. 
• You must hand in a typed final script for the live presentation at 11am on June 13.

CLASSROOM CHANGE May 23

Hello everyone. 
Our classroom is being used for a university sponsored presentation so we have been bumped into Study room C. It's over on the other side of the GZ near the round computer tables.

TED Talk: Kevin Briggs, "The bridge between suicide and life"

Click Week 11; May 16 on the right side of this blog for information and directions on what you must do before class on May 23.


Today, I just wanted to share something with you...

I saw this Tedtalk and thought that not only is it an important message to get out to people, but also, it's a good example of some of the visual and oral skills we talked about in class on May 16. 

Can you identify which skills Kevin Briggs uses to get his message across? Leave your thoughts in a comment below.

Week 11; May 16

The goal for today's class (May 16) was for each student to create their own voice thread, and review visual and oral presentation skills. Finally, I wanted to nail down a topic for final presentations.

We managed to make a VT and share it with others. NOTE: As LK demonstrated, to share a VT you will need to click 'Invite your friends', then click on the group 'Spring 2014 MCE'. From the group list you can choose the people you wish to share your VT with. Include me when sharing.

NOTE to GROUP 3;
You MUST include me in sharing your VT - otherwise I have no evidence that you participated in the class activity.

We then explored visual aspects of presenting. These included; body language, facial expression, ppt (Lessig Method & Takahashi Method), movement, and lighting (Thx, Silver!)

Ss should consider collaboration as an approach to creating their presentations and to making them the best they can be. Few people in the real world work completely on their own – they usually employ a variety of people who might bring specialized skills needed to complete a project. 

For your final presentation, you may work together to create a presentation HOWEVER each student must create their own presentation.  If you have questions, please ask!

For the final hour of the class, we explored oral aspects of presenting. These included clear pronunciation, cadence and rhythm (thought groups), music, silence and pauses.

Unfortunately, we did not get to any kind of a discussion of what your final topics will be.

 So this week BEFORE class on May 23, you must:

• Leave a comment below telling us about your idea for a final presentation topic.
• Write a first draft of your final presentation and bring it to class. 
• On May 23 we will be editing scripts, and brainstorming how to make your words into a GREAT presentation using different visual and oral effects.

In conclusion I want to share a youtube clip of a very effective pause from the Rocky Horror Show.

Now, leave your presentation ideas ........... below.

Week 10: May 09 (Online Class)

Welcome to your first online class!

We must have 15 weeks of classes each term, however, we miss two Fridays this term so I have made May 9 and June 6 into online classes. 


Voice Thread (VT)
This link is to a new VT I have created that asks you to comment on the midterm presentations you did on May 2. Your comment on this VT will be your attendance and participation for the May 9 online class.

Just follow the instructions I give on the first slide - and have a great weekend!

Week 9: May 2

Congratulations to everyone! 

Overall, the presentations today (Friday, May 2, 2014) were very good. However, there is always room for improvement -  so-oooo, ... what is one thing that you will be trying to improve on when you do your final presentation? 

Leave your answer in the comment section below.  
: ) 

Voice Thread (VT)

1. I have emailed a link to everyone to join the class VoiceThread group. This will make your comments as a class easier to follow and allow me to track your VT activity online. Please click the link as soon as possible. If you did not get an email from me on Monday, May 5; please send me an email (gslewi@gmail.com) and tell me so I can fix it. Thx.

2. We must have 15 weeks of classes each term, however, we miss two Fridays this term so I have made May 9 and June 6 into online classes. This link is to a new VT I have created that asks you to comment on some questions around the midterm presentations you did on May 2. Your comment on this VT will be your attendance and participation for the May 9 online class.

Week 8: April 25

Writing workshop...

Straight line reasoning
Tell them what you are going to tell them. 
Tell them. 
Tell them what you told them.

Topic Sentences = Topic + Controlling Idea

Before writing any essay or even a paragraph, it is important to think, first about the topic and then what you want to say about the topic. Most often, the topic is easy, but the question then turns to what you want to say about the topic which is the controlling idea. topic sentences should always contain both (1) a topic and (2) a controlling idea.  www.eslbee.com accessed 04/25/14


In order to completely understand the sinking of the Sewol ferry, the government must examine many factors.

The topic is the sinking of the Sewol ferry. The controlling idea is the examination of many factors. What factors contributed to the sinking of the Sewol ferry? They might include; a poor;ly trained crew, a sleeping captain, the overloading of cargo, an unbalanced cargo, a sharp turn in fast moving water, an inexperienced person at the helm, etc.

By thinking through your own topic and controlling statement before starting to write, the writing itself becomes extremely easy because you already know what you are going to write.


Visit eslbee.com and use this resource to help write better between weekly classes.

Next week: Midterm Presentations!!

We have a great line up of informative and entertaining presentations...

Group 1: About the Pope
Group 2: 'Look around. Pay attention. Share your time.'
Group 3: Lessons from Death

Week 7: April 18

This was a good week for getting your midterm presentation thoughts and words organized.... and if they weren't organized yet, .... well, we have one more class before midterm presentations. Good luck!


We looked at 'The Spark, the Change and the Takeway' as aspects of a memorable presentation for listeners.

In a Nutshell

• Your story should contain the spark - the idea, process, or wisdom - that allowed your character to overcome the conflict or obstacle.
• Your story should show the change in your character. What is different about them, the situation, or the environment?
• Your story should leave the listener with a key takeaway message.

Next week: April 25

This will be flat out working on your presentations. I may take some time to introduce you to www.eslbee.com as a resource for your writing.

Then ... May 2 is midterm presentations!

Final Draft - Script

• IF THE FIRST TWO DRAFTS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED ON TIME AND HAVE BEEN CORRECTED, this script is graded as part of the participation grade.
• turn in 2 copies on the May 2 when you make your presentation.

Week 6: April 11

What was consistently effective in today's (April 11) presentations?

You said: preparation, confidence, personal story, effective picture and object, short (simple), using accent, stress, change the voice tone, and gesture  


Every story you present from now on should have a key take away - the message you want people to remember. It is often a short and memorable summary phrase that listeners will remember and hopefully repeat when they talk about your awesome presentation to others! 

"Tell a story, make a point." Bill Gove



Next week: April 18
- someone (I suggest the note taker...) in your group MUST email your formal draft (2nd script) to me before April 18. (gslewi@gmail.com). 
- For more info refer to the post in this blog: 
Introduction to MCE / Scripts / Formal draft

- Also next week, I will talk about The spark, the change and the take away.

Now, please answer the following questions in the comment section below;

1/ What was the take away from your presentation today?
2/ How will you make your next presentation more effective?

Week 5; April 04

Writing workshop day!
It looked like you were successful in gathering information on your topics and putting it into a framework. Good work!

Now.... you need to refine that framework into the story you will be presenting on May 02. This will be your second draft. Each group must email their second draft to Greg before April 18.
...and... prepare and practice your Show and Tell presentation.


For April 11:

• Present your show and tell presentation using the best tools to 'WOW' your audience.
• We will also talk about 'The Power of Stories' (or 'The Spark, the change, and the take away')

Week 4; March 28

Nice presentations this week, everyone!

This week we did S&T presentations using a Pechakucha 10X10 format. It seemed to work very well. The next S& T presentations are on April 11. For April 11, students can use any style of presentation .... 5X5, 10X10, 20X20, no ppt, realia, .... anything. The only limitation is time; you must keep your presentation under 6 minutes and 41 seconds (that's a 20X20).

We looked at Power Poses; 2 minute power positions that affect hormone levels in people to help them become more confident people. Remember, practice a power pose before your present!

For April 4

We will focus on writing a script for the mid-term group presentation. So, this will be a workshop class with very little of me, and lots and lots of you! Come prepared with ideas and notebooks. Be prepared to research, write, collect and re-write ideas for your mid-term presentation topic.

Note: 

1. There is no time limit on the mid-term presentations.
2. Scripts are to be done in 3 stages;
3. Info for writing can be found at eslbee.com 

Week 3 / March 21

Wow! That was a lot of stuff to cover!

• We looked at Voice Thread, registered as users, and posted a comment in the Icebreaker.
• We looked at Pachakucha as a model of storytelling.
• We looked at a brief clip of a TED talk by Susan Cain.

and...

• ...we got started on our mid-term assignment!!

Whew!

...we also decided to leave the midterm presentations at May 02...

Links

Susan Cain: The Power of Introverts

Voice Thread

Pechakucha
TED

For next week (March 28):

Show and Tell as a Pechakucha 10X10                How? 

1. Choose an object/subject that is interesting to you.
2. Decide how you can tell a story about this object/subject.
3. Decide how to use pictures to help tell the story. Start with 12 - 15 pictures and reduce it down to 10.
4. Put the 10 pictures into a ppt and set the timing at 10 seconds per picture.
5. Coordinate your picture timing with your script.
6. PRACTICE!!! ...practice with your script 5~10 times with the slide timing. When you are comfortable, do it without your script 5~10 times. If you need to refer to your script while practicing, that's OK.
7. Be prepared to present your S&T 10X10 without a script on March 28th.
8. I suggest that you email your presentation to yourself and download to the classroom computer before class starts.

If you have any questions. Post them below. Either Greg will answer them or one of your classmates.

Cheers!
G

Week 2 / March 14

GREAT job today with Show and Tell activities. You had some fabulous ideas to share. I am soooo excited!

This week (March 15-20) you need to visit www.voicethread.com and register. While you are there, take some time to play with it, view some tutorial voice threads - generally, get familiar with it.

Here is a link to our first Voice Thread Icebreaker activity. Check it out and leave a comment by text, voice or video.

Also, check out this short version (6 minutes) of Amy Cuddy talking about power poses...

Finally, have a fantastic weekend and week. I look forward to seeing you next Friday, March 21.

Cheers!

G

Introduction to MCE

Welcome to Movies and Current Events (MCE) for spring, 2014. This term MCE will focus on the telling of stories about both global and local current events. Click here for a general overview of the course.

In this posting you will find details of the key elements in this course. These include:

1. Show and Tell
2. Voice Thread
3. Scripts
4. Midterm Assignment
5. Final Assignment

Show and Tell Success

What is Show and Tell?

Show and Tell (S&T) is a short student presentation about something personally significant to you and is presented without a script. There is no time restriction, however, shorter is often better. The key to success is to capture the listeners attention by choosing an object/subject that is interesting to you, and that you are excited about sharing.

What works?

• an interesting object.
• a novel idea, app, or event (story).
• NOT using a script.
• relax and use gestures and body language to show your enthusiasm.
• keep it short. Just give the information that makes a good story.
• Speak clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear

What doesn't work?

• Using a script
• talking about an object that is familiar to most people (like a phone, watch, pencil case, etc.)

Purpose

The purpose of S&T is to prepare students for speaking in front of an audience. S&T is the first step towards the final individual presentations at the end of the term. Students will 'take away' how to identify what is/isn't interesting to an audience, practice ways to develop interest and hold audience attention, develop ways to motivate listeners to act, and to become relaxed speaking in front of people.

Assessment

Assessment is from peers only. I will track each students progress in each S&T, but the assessment comes from each of you. During S&T you will practice your own storytelling techniques and actively observe and monitor what makes others successful.

Voice Thread

Voice thread is used to expand the use of English outside the classroom by using technology. Voice Thread is a cloud application to help students to actively engage in asynchronous conversations using text, voice or video. In MCE, students will need to make Voice Thread comments on various topics during the term and create an end-of-term digital artifact of their English proficiency and storytelling acumen.

Scripts

Scripts are only used to create, edit, and practice content for the midterm and final presentations. Scripts are not used during presentations. There are three stages, or drafts, to script creation. The first two drafts are used to get started with an idea and to develop it. Scripts are also a place for the teacher to provide help with spelling, grammar and structure.

Personal Draft

• handwritten or typed before class starts.
• students show that they have an idea or ideas and have started to think about what they want to say.
• the goal is simply to check that all students are initiating progress.
• no grade is given for quality or quantity.

Formal Draft

• complete, typed, and double spaced (to allow room for editing) before class starts.
• *editing focuses on global aspects of writing , then later focuses on local aspects. (www.eslbee.com)
• be prepared to edit (change, correct and rewrite)
• no grade is given for quality or quantity.

Final Draft

• IF THE FIRST TWO DRAFTS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED ON TIME AND HAVE BEEN CORRECTED, this script is graded as part of the participation grade.
• turn in 2 copies on the day you make your presentation

* Global Aspects of writing:

• The Straight Line of Development stated simply is this: "Tell your readers what you are going to tell them; then tell them; then tell them what you told them." (Joseph Pulitzer)
• Put it to them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.
• See www.eslbee.com for more information and details.

* Local Aspects of Writing:

• These include at least the following: sentences, transitions and connectors and punctuation, subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, etc.
• See www.eslbee.com for more information and details.

Midterm Assignment

The midterm assignment is a group project about a current or recent world event. The class is divided into groups for the midterm presentation project. The purpose of a group approach is to scaffold from the S&T level of presenting to the final individual presentations. As a group, it is expected that each student will take what they need from the experiences of others and apply this knowledge as they create their final presentations.

For the midterm, each group researches and creates a presentation as a group. each member of the group is assigned a job by the group (writer(s), researcher(s), presenter(s), leader) with all members contributing to planning and discussion.

The group is graded on individual participation, presentation originality, attention grabbing, presenter eye contact and body language. 50% of the total grade is from out-of-group peers and 50% from in-group peers.

Final Assignment

The final assignment is a two part individual project about a personal current event. Each student will use the skills practiced in S&T and the group midterm project to help create their own presentation. Each student will present in front of the class plus create a digital artifact of the presentation on Voice Thread.

The live presentation is graded by the teacher. I will be looking at organization, subject knowledge, graphics, mechanics, eye contact, and elocution. (See the rubric for details.) I will be looking for effectiveness, use of available tools, and peer commenting in the digital artifact on Voice Thread. 60% of the total grade is for the live presentation and 40% is for the digital artifact.

Questions?

You can contact me by email, phone, text (see the syllabus for contact info) or by leaving a comment at the bottom of this page.

What is this blog for?

This blog is where you will find information about Spring 2014, Movies and Current Events (MCE) class with Greg Lewis.

If you miss a class, this is the first place you should look to find out what happened while you were absent.

Cheers,
Greg