As part of our Contemporary Issues in Professional Practise module our supervisor gave us a project to work on as a group. We had the freedom to choose our own topic, and at the time a lot of people were debating the open access topic.
Here is our presentation:
As I have only given two other academic presentations this one was tough as it was a very detailed and the many issues surrounding the topic were technical in figures and statistics.
The group came together having read various pieces and we met to decide each other’s interests. As we went through the topic we each discussed what section of the project we each would like to take and how to combine each element into one presentation.
The group worked very well together as each person had an interest in the issue of open access. Having practised a run through of each section we realised that the introduction was very detailed along with the second part so in order to keep the topic from getting to heavy the last two pieces were kept to a minimum giving an overview of the debate between green and gold access.
My part included the issue of green open access, here my idea was to work with Amelie as she was working on the gold debate so there was no overlapping. We both had similar ideas which was to use the Finch Report as a jumping off point and try to illustrate how this debate emerged and the future possible decisions that will come from it.
Our slides worked well, we each made reference to points made from each other and even though it was a debate we left the debating to the class. Presenting was very daunting as I tend to talk very quickly when nervous. However before class we all did a run through, I learned that having “props” helped me focus, I did need a script which when I look back now seemed very boring. The script acted a nerve barrier however when I reflected on the presentation it now seemed like I was not confident enough about the topic.
Altogether we did very well our debate as an activity in the class went down very well, and it was so much fun. The class were very engaging in helping us see the minor faults in the project, and it was very beneficial to reflect on this analysis. For future presentations I have learned a lot from this one, I shall rehearse with a script first and then without to see how I can incorporate the slides as I move through them, another good idea is to get someone who has no previous knowledge of the topic to sit in and see what they have learned for your presentation, and the questions they have may change you presentation from a good one in a amazing project!
Déise Librarian 