Distance Learning Project Presentations
This week marks week 7 of distance learning due to school shutdowns in response to the COVID19 global pandemic. Normally, about this time, my students would be making formal presentations about their 3-month-long collaborative service learning project (Make a Difference, or MaD) to their classmates, parents, and community members. So guess what they are doing? They are making formal presentations about their 3-month-long collaborative service learning project to their classmates, parents, and community members. While I was planning this activity, I received an email from Deeper Learning about the value of continuing to do presentations, even while we are forced to do schooling virtually; it included this helpful toolkit.
How did we pull this off? Each of my groups (4 or 5 students) has scheduled a 30-minute slot through Google Meets (formerly Hangouts) to do their 20-minute presentation. They have invited 3 people each to create their own audience, and I have invited additional people to attend. The first group went yesterday, and while I realize the most competent students typically volunteer to go first, I was absolutely blown away. Not being able to coach them face-to-face, I had done the best I could with a set of digital directions.
I was struck by how well this particular task demonstrates skills they learned in my class this year. Here is a list. The skills they gained during distance learning are in green.
- How to carefully read a rubric to create a quality product
- Graphic Design
- Using Google Slides as a presentation tool
- Applying good choices in contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity
- Importing templates
- Using different slide layouts
- Choosing the best font types and sizes
- Adding different types of content to slides (images, video, sound)
- Video editing
- Making a stop motion animation
- Combining music, movement, and images to convey a message
- Framing an interview subject professionally
- Sound editing
- Recording one’s own voice for a podcast
- Importing interview footage into a sound editor
- Combining sound clips
- Choosing music that helps tell a story
- Collaboration
- Dividing up tasks
- Communicating with teammates through a variety of methods
- Treating each other with respect
- Conducting primary research
- Public speaking
- Taking turns when presenting with a group
- Speaking from notes but not reading verbatim
- Understanding their audience
- Dressing professionally
- Researching secondary sources to understand an issue
- Incorporating powerful stories
- Video conferencing
- Making appointments and inviting others (with Google Calendars)
- Positioning oneself in the frame and choosing appropriate backgrounds
- Managing cameras and microphonesÂ
- Minimizing distractions
- Sharing a screen
- Using the chat box
- Creating an agenda and using it to facilitate virtual conversations
The rest of the video conferences are scheduled for the next three days, and I am very much looking forward to them.
