Hello All,
I’m finally back to my blog after a long time. For those who did not know, I was quite busy with class tests, assignments and presentations. The next class test is scheduled for next week though.
By the way, after the horse-killing, fatal accident and murder cases, Vallée des Prêtres, my home place is again in the news. You must have all heard about it and what are the problems associated. My opinion would be those people are not wrong in expressing their frustration, but there are other ways to do so. According to what I got to know, yesterday, 6 buses have been damaged. That’s not a way to do so. Police people in their jeeps have been posted near my house, so that as from here, they can escort the buses to Chitrakoot thus ensuring the security.
Authorities already know that the roads to Upper Vallée des Prêtres (Caroline or Chitrakoot) are very steep, and by providing long 60 places old buses, would obviously entail to such problems one day or the other. Furthermore, one more noticeable aspect is that, those drivers who drive those old long buses, are damn careless. They do not avoid holes, obstacles or even slow down on the humps. Anyway, the solution that has been proposed is to provide new better buses and smaller buses for that line. But the small “jumbo” buses, if put on that line, would lead to another problem, there won’t be enough service. I mean to say that, given the amount of persons who travel by public transport in the peak times, 1 small bus each 30 minutes would not be enough. I do hope that the concerned authorites, the deputy Mrs. Kalyanee Juggroo, and Joe Lesjongard do whatever is necessary and what is deemed right.
Back to the title of this post, “Assessing Presentations”. What comes to your mind when you see this? Two persons, will obviously understand what I am writing about, right Mr. Sandeep and Mr. Tushal?? In fact, I wanted to assess presentations from a lecturer’s point of view, and luckily Mr. Gavin Sathan gave me that opportunity to do so yesterday. I would like to say a big THANK YOU to you Mr. Gavin, it was indeed a very good opportunity for me to know some of our mistakes/weaknesses (for our group presentations). But it makes me wonder, whether all lecturers assess presentations from this point of view. Do you mind commenting on this one?
Before, elaborating on the assessment process, I would like to give a general comment on all the presentations. For a first time, you guys were good, and as everyone (even me), there was a lack of confidence and experience. Which I perfectly agree, because even I am student, and despite so many presentations I’ve done, I’m always afraid to go in front of the class. One more thing I would like to add, is that you should know how to link what you are talking and what’s there on the slides. About preparing powerpoint slides, I’ll post another article soon.
The biggest challenge is to go in front of a kinda strict lecturer, a lecture theater full of students (of whom 75% are not your classmates) and do the presentation without reading on paper. And I’m pretty sure, that you CSE people will be able to do so with some more practices and by knowing your subject pretty well. You all have the potential and ability to do so.
Now, let me elaborate how the marking was done. It was based on 4 categories:
- On the topic:
You were assessed on how you started the presentation. There should be appropriate way of introducing the presentation, that is, proper greeting and presentation of group members. Further, you had to tell us what you have in your agenda and who will talk about which part. Observations were focussed on posture, body language, voice audibility and clarity.
- On the presentation:
There should be fluency and a good flow of ideas. Interaction and good eye contact with the audience is another important factor. IMHO, it shows some confidence. Passing on and relationship between the blocks are another important factors. That is, when one member is done with his part, he should let us know who is the next one to talk and about what he/she is going to talk. Moreover, the one who is taking over should, first of all, thank his previous partner, and when he starts, he should be able to link what has been said before to what he is going to say.
Another, crucial factor is the handling of questions (which most of you were very good at). One should be able to answer questions calmly, to the point and without getting hyper.
- Summary:
Each and every presentation should end with a summary or conclusion. A summary sums up everything that has been explained and a conclusion might be in the form of personal opinion or recommendations.
- Time Keeping:
Most of you did not respect the 10 minutes allocated. It does not matter for a first presentation. IMHO, the topic you were given, was not your field of study, and you tried to say ALMOST EVERYTHING related to the topic without focussing on the key words. Tackling the topic to the point, without going off-topic is the key to respecting the time limit.
To end, I would like to say that, it takes lots of effort, preparation and rehearsals to have a very good presentation. I’ve seen the hard work that some of you have input. And I must say, that you peeps are very dedicated. Some more presentations will surely help you lot. I hope that this post will help you polish the next presentations, ahead.
Comments and questions are most welcome 
Thank you for reading.
