Group Presentations Anyone?

I have to admit, I'm not the person to pick groups when it comes to assignments. I consider myself bossy. I grew up being the only girl in my family, and due to this, I was always bossing the boys around. I believe this trait has stuck with me. When it comes to group work, I try to stay focused on the topic and I often find myself as the leader. I take a lot upon myself to make sure everything goes the way it is supposed to, kind of like a director. But who doesn't want things to go right? It's your grade right?



I am nervous about our presentation. College is so different. Ten minutes for a presentation. I think I about peed my pants in speech class when I had to talk for five. I am thankful that I got the group I did, because I know they are just as nervous as I am.

Envision This (pgs. 254-269;271-276)

This reading section was over delivering presentations. I was happy to see they used Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech as an example. I feel this is a great way to get there idea across. Before this section, I had to idea what understanding the branches of oratory meant. Now, it is divided into three "branches." These are based on time, purpose, and content. Organization is key when it comes to your presentation. The hardest part is the translation step. This is the final step! This is where you take your text you want read, and make it into something you want heard. Finally, you have your delivery. This includes gesture, posture, voice, pacing, visuals, and style. These "tips" were fundamental for our project!

Did you know.?

Have you ever thought that technology could actually out smart a human being? After watching the "Did You Know?" video off of you tube, I was astonished to find out that this could very well be possible. To think that a robot could perform everday human activities stresses me out to be honest. Our country is becoming very advanced. I know that with each passing day, technology is growing faster and faster. Take our cell phones for instance, we communicate this way. While watching the video, it gives stats on how many text messages are sent in day. I never paid attention to how many I sent, until after this movie. The video is shown by using pictures and words as a slideshow. The music makes a great sound track for the video. It gives a chance of fear, but yet it's soothing. The only thing that disturbed me about this video was that the United States may not be the number one english speaking country, Great Britain may very well be. It's amazing what you learn when you sit back and listen to someone when they say did you know?

Literacy-

This hand-out opened my eyes in more ways than one. I love the three year old's determination to read. He doesn't care what it is he's going to read or what extent it takes to get his material, he's going to read. Sometimes I feel if we all had this mind-set maybe the world would be a better place. I am moved by the grandma's way of raising the boy. As far as the story of the girl who did very well in school, but couldn't pass the profiency test, I can relate. I too have been a straight A student for as long as I can remember, but when it comes to the SAT I scored horrible! She seems like a perfectionist. It can get so frustrating when your trying your best, and you are doing nothing but failing. It was interesting to me to finally hear her end results, after she stopped putting so much pressure on herself. Maybe I should try that? I am inspired by Malcom X's determination also, to make himself useful while in prison. He knew he still had a life to live as soon as he got out. He took advantage of his situation. I can't imagine the pain or not to mention headache's he must of had after writing the entire dictionary. He proves that practice makes perfect. As long as you give everything you have, that's more than enough.