Reflection on Chapter 1 of "They Snooze You Lose".  

I am very excited about this book.  I used to have such enthusiasm for coming up with new ways to present information but, I'm afraid that I have fallen into a bit of a rut.  I have been producing snore inducing PowerPoints along with the best of them I am ashamed to admit.  And I am also an enabler when people give me their awful PowerPoints to upload into our LMS.   I have several things in mind for putting the advice in this book to use.  First - I have been recently filling in to teach our New Employee Orientation.  I pull it off ok because I am a good presenter and inject humor but, honestly, the PowerPoints we use are so stale and so boring.  Along with our copyright presentation tweaking, I plan to start to go into that presentation and ripping it apart.  My second application is with educating our educators.  I work at the corporate level and so I have interaction with trainers/educators from around the system.  I think I have a great opportunity to start sharing the ideas and principles from this book.  Starting with the very simple things like templates, colors and type, and then moving into the other suggestions which I can't wait to read about.  I think these suggestions will not only help with classroom presentations but, since a lot of our eLearning is initially developed in PowerPoint, it should help a lot there too.

Oh!  And on top of all that - really excited about all these new tools we will be learning about.  I'm also going to start picking some of them to share with our trainers around the system.  One of my goals for this year is to be a resource for other training professionals throughout our hospital system and this class is going to give me a TON of material to use.  Thank you!  :-)

Reflection on Chapter 2

I am taking a very critical look at a presentation that I am working on.  I fill in for our New Employee Orientation and the presentation has become quite stale and out of date.  I really want to apply the principles of Chapter 2 of the book.  Primarily, I want to look for ways to add more visuals and decrease the number of words on slides.  I don't think there are any slides that are just a full blown picture.  I am not aiming to have every slide like that but I do think there are opportunities for some throughout the presentation.  

I also agree that handouts are very helpful to the learner.  As the presenter, I get lazy about making or developing them but Lynell has reminded me of how effective they can be.  

Reflection on Chapter 3

This was a good review for me.  I actually think I'm a really good presenter.  I got my start at Walt Disney World teaching Disney Traditions to new Cast Members so I feel like I have a strong foundation.  Not saying that I am Steve Jobs but I am pretty good about hitting the items on the checklist when I have to present.  I use a lot of humor and I usually have an easy time connecting with my audiences.  I will say, though, that at times, I can be lazy.  So, while the concepts in chapter three weren't necessarily new ones for me, I think it was beneficial to be reminded of what makes a good presenter.  When I say "lazy" I probably more mean "bored".  I get bored doing the same presentation over and over.  That is when some of the things will start to slip for me as I may go into automatic pilot.  I still pretty much come out smelling like a rose as far as the audience is concerned, but I know I can do better. 

Copyright Law Revision 1.pptx

Main changes are the color scheme.  I went with the yellow on blue to make it easier for participants to read.  There are still too many words on some of the slides.   I did remove  the words on one slide and replaced them with pictures, but I need to do that on more of them.  

Team 1 Presentation.pptx

http://www.slideshare.net/JeffBlackman/team-1-presentation-31387004  

Reflection on Chapter 4

I like how Burmark "hooked" me while talking about hooks!  Father Guido Sarducci - love that guy.  Brought up lots of pleasant memories for me and immediately hooked me into the chapter.  I thought the example/analogy was so right on because there is so much from school where we only remember a couple of things from a whole year of class.  Pretty sad too, when you think about it.  

I like the CHIMES acronym too.  It has all the elements that I have always tried to implement into my presentations.  I don't do as many as I used to, though since I started focusing more on e-learning.  But, as I mentioned, I have been filling in lately for our New Employee Orientation and can definitely apply these principles to that.  I think I do that already but as we re-work the material, I definitely want to maintain a critical eye on what actually needs to be in there.  Unfortunately, a lot of the material is mandated by regulatory bodies who I'm pretty sure don't have any instructional design knowledge nor have they read this excellent book.  But, I will do what I can!

My Screenr Video.  

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Reflection on Chapter 5

I like the suggestions for connecting.  I find that connecting with the audience makes a big difference.  It helps to put them on your side and they are much more forgiving if things go wrong.

I definitely like to have classes introduce themselves at the beginning of a session if possible.  It not only helps me to connect to them but it also helps them connect with each other.  If I have a really large group and it just isn't feasible to have each person introduce themselves to the group, then I like to go and meet them one on one as we are waiting for the start time.  I try to go over to each person and introduce myself and ask them where they will be working or some other "get to know you" question.  Then, later in the presentation, I may do a "call back" to one of the people I met.  "Speaking of blood, Jane over here is going to be the Phlebotomist over in the Sugar Land hospital..."  Ok, that was a weird example but you get the idea...  :-)   yep - might be weird, but it does help you connect with the audience. I never have been fond of the round the room introductions, but I know they serve a purpose and for sure help speaker know the audience. 

Reflection on Chapter 6

I love this chapter because it validates what I've been preaching for 20 years.  That is, that humor is very beneficial to learners and learning.  I like to use humor when I present.  Most of my humor is improvised and it is usually well received.  I know that sometimes I have a tendency to get a little off track, though.  I agree with Burnell that the humor should help make your point.  It shouldn't just be thrown in there for the sake of the joke.  I think I'm pretty good about that but also know that I've been guilty of using humor out of context.  

Something I'd like to explore more is the use of humor in online learning.  I think it would also be beneficial there but I also think it carries more risk.  In a classroom situation, I immediately know if my humor is working.  I get instant feedback.  With an online, asynchronous course, though, I may never know if my humor is going over the way I intend. Something that can be done is humor in synchronous environment.  It is harder than asynch because it is harder to know how people will take it. I do have the theory that way too little humor is used in online learning and even a little bit is appreciated  Hence the bloodcurdling scream in the Murder Mystery in 6341.

PowerPoint Revision 2

I updated most of the slides to be more visual and added several talking points and text into the NOTES section.

Starting with the first slide, I grab the attention because I am basically comparing the audience to a thief/burglar.  This is also humor.  They are not really thieves but, if they've ever used music or photos without giving credit, then, technically, they kind of are.

Thinking about connections, I wanted to connect the audience to the topic at hand.  I first have them think of their favorite book or movie or song.  Then I ask them what makes it special to them.  Then,  I will ask them to imagine how they think they'd feel if they had created it.  (SEE NOTES) I ask them to imagine themselves as a creator of content.  Then, giving them a "what if" situation where they surf the web and suddenly come upon the song/book/movie/whatever that they just created.  I think this will help the material resonate if they can see it from the creator perspective. Excellent way to hook the audience.

Also found a funny little comic that I added in from Shawn Siegel and happysmartbook.com.  I liked it as a humorous intro into what copyright is (and isn't).

Google Form Quiz 

 

Reflection on Chapter 7

Really good chapter on the importance of images and using them with narration.  I found the examples and ideas very helpful and inspiring.  I am not naturally always good at finding just the right image and placing it in just the right way.  I think I do ok but could be doing a lot better.  I liked how the full color pages and examples were used.  

The story of Burmark and her student really helped to drive the points home about how the narration and pictures can work so well together.  I also liked the trip to India example - very powerful.  Then, I thought about our AWFUL presentation for new employee orientation.  Text, text and MORE text.  It's the typical type of presentation people do with PowerPoint - stick all your notes on the slides.  I know it can be improved.  I have started to change some of the slides.  For the Patient Safety section, I've taken out most of the text and just have images on most of the slides.  I still think I could find some even better images, though, that could really tell a story and get the point across.  Sounds great!

Reflection on Chapter 8

I have used music pretty regularly for various classes I've taught.  However, this chapter made me realize that I am not using it to its full potential.  In fact, I've barely done anything with it.  I really only ever use it as background.  I like to have some music playing as people come in and then, maybe, on breaks as well.  I think people like it but, it really has nothing to do with my material.  I see now how if I take the time to really choose specific music that fits my topic, I could make some really powerful connections.  That is a good idea and very difficult to do. 

With regard to the online learning I design and develop - I almost never think of music.  I could really enhance my online training with some carefully chosen music.  I love music so I'm not sure why this never really occurred to me.   Most of the e-learning we do doesn't even have audio, though, some of it has voice over.  I really want to start using music more effectively - both in online and classroom presentations.  yea - I think it is not done very often, so we don't see it modeled. 

I am speaking at a conference in Las Vegas in a few months.  I already have some ideas of where I could use music to enhance the presentation.  It's called "Nightmare on E.L.M. Street". How cool.  ELM is the learning management system we use.  So, right off the bat, I am thinking I can put some horror music on in the background as we talk about the challenges we faced with our implementation.  Then, as we transition to how we overcame them, I can use some happy/cheerful music. Very nice. I am sure that training will stick! 

Reflection on Chapter 9

Emotions can definitely enhance a presentation.  I thought this also related well with making connections.  When the audience makes an emotional connection to your content, it is very impactful.  I used to tell a story about a Make A Wish girl that I got to meet when I worked at Walt Disney World.  Tracy was a little girl who had leukemia and her wish was to dress up as Belle, meet the Beast and give him a rose.  I didn't even need any visual - that story packs a wallop when I tell it and describe how she and I danced together. Now that is powerful.  Much of the currrent emphasis in training has to do with telling stories.  There is incredible power in telling stories and they really hook the audience.

I find that another good way to bring emotions into your presentation is to let the audience share THEIR stories.  You don't always get what you're looking for, though, so you have to be careful and be ready to re-direct.  

Three tools I'd use to communicate with my students on a particular topic:

Google Drive

Wiki

Wordle 

PowerPoint Revision #3 

Images - I went through and added more images.  On most of the slides, I updated so that it is only one image on the slide.  I looked for high quality and I also did a better job at attributing where the images came from (see slide 16).

Music - I have not attached music files to the presentation but I did make notes where I would use music.  For example, at the beginning, I would play "I Fought the Law" or the theme from "Law and Order".  I also have a copyright case with Vanilla Ice and would play his song "Ice, Ice Baby" when that slide came up.  I think this will also elicit an EMOTIONAL response from the audience.  This is a good use of humor too because most people are familiar with Vanilla Ice who seems pretty ridiculous now.

Emotion - At the beginning (see Notes sections), I have the audience thinking about their favorite book or movie or song - that is a connection to the material but should also elicit emotions.  When they put themselves in an artist's shoes, that should also create some emotion (anger, frustration, etc...) when they think about someone taking their work.  I also have the activity where they decide "Fair Use of Not" (see Notes section).  I think the pictures and the activity will add emotion as people think about and possibly debate whether or not the examples are fair use.

Reflection on Chapter 10

Storytelling is absolutely a great way to connect with your audience.  I was indoctrinated in this concept when I worked at Walt Disney World.  It has stayed with me all these years later and I always make sure to incorporate it whenever I have to present.  It is something I always stress with new presenters as well.  One of my co-workers has recently begun presenting our New Employee Orientation.  As she has been learning the material and presenting it to me, I am constantly asking her about her experiences and how she might weave them in to the presentation.  Yep - keep pushing her to tell stories.

In addition to telling our own stories, it is also very powerful to allow opportunities for your audience to share their stories. 

Some thoughts on Capzle - I like the idea of it and the layout is nice/user friendly.  But, I found it took a long time to get things to save and several times it would just freeze up and I would have to start over.  I also could never get a pdf or Word document to successfully upload.  Maybe it's just me, though. No - it seems to be browser related. Firefox only allows you to upload Media files. I shifted to Chrome and it allowed me to upload text files. But, I could only upload a .doc file and not a .docx file.  Probably something to do with updates in browsers. I do have high speed internet and a decent computer so not sure why I was experiencing these problems. 

My Capzle:

Case Study

More structured discussion exercises - I'd use a tool like Diigo (but not actually Diigo as I am not a fan).  Something where discussions could take place and be responded to in an easy, organized way.

Structured academic controversies - Capzles could be a fun way for students to present their arguments.  It would allow them to use a variety of media and organize it.

Professional communication projects - Screenr would be good for this sort of project.  Students create their own video and share with each other. 

Reflection on Chapter 11

I like the idea of engaging the senses.  Sight and hearing are usually pretty well covered but you hardly ever see a presentation that also hits upon the smell and taste.   Actually, I did experience a presentation where the facilitator DID use taste and it was obviously effective because I still remember it.  She was from our Wellness department and was presenting on how to slow down and appreciate things.  She had us each take a piece of Dove chocolate and put it in our mouths.  Then, she had us close our eyes and really focus on the taste and texture of the chocolate.  The point was that we often just eat something like that quickly and don't really take the time to appreciate it.  Same with other things in our lives.  It was a pretty good message and I appreciated the way she engaged my senses!  Nice!

Final Copyright Presentation 

Story - I added a personal story at the beginning and also include stories within the "Fair Use or Not" activity which I think will help get the points across.  The video at the end tells a relatable story as well.

Appealing to the Senses - the presentation has lots of visuals and a nice video at the end.  Music will also be played as appropriate to appeal to the sense of hearing.  Emotional feelings are appealed to through examples and storytelling.

This is a MUCH more effective and interesting presentation than how it started.  The suggestions in the book are spot on and I am looking forward to creating more presentations in the future.