Topic #1
I once had a powerpoint presentation fail on me two minutes into a ten-minute presentation; the complete realization of a nightmare for me. The instructor was able to reboot the system and my presentation remained intact. However, I found that taking the time to creating good, solid media - and backup plans for technological breakdowns - helps reinforce confidence in your own performance and is a great way to forestall having a meltdown in front of your peers.
In this particular situation I had had the luxury of time and planning and access to high-end printers. These luxuries paid off well as I was able to take my digital presentation and create a brochure that supplemented rather than simply repeated the speech and digital visuals. Each media format, the powerpoint presentation and the printed brochure, told the same story in different ways. They worked well as complementary pieces, but also were able to stand alone.
Too often I have attended a presentation only to have copies of the slides thrust at me as I left. Though the slides often contained useful snippets of information, mostly they were useless without the narrative supplied by the presenter. I find this frustrating and a waste of resources and energy. What is the point of creating media that doesn't convey its message?
I once had a powerpoint presentation fail on me two minutes into a ten-minute presentation; the complete realization of a nightmare for me. The instructor was able to reboot the system and my presentation remained intact. However, I found that taking the time to creating good, solid media - and backup plans for technological breakdowns - helps reinforce confidence in your own performance and is a great way to forestall having a meltdown in front of your peers.
In this particular situation I had had the luxury of time and planning and access to high-end printers. These luxuries paid off well as I was able to take my digital presentation and create a brochure that supplemented rather than simply repeated the speech and digital visuals. Each media format, the powerpoint presentation and the printed brochure, told the same story in different ways. They worked well as complementary pieces, but also were able to stand alone.
Too often I have attended a presentation only to have copies of the slides thrust at me as I left. Though the slides often contained useful snippets of information, mostly they were useless without the narrative supplied by the presenter. I find this frustrating and a waste of resources and energy. What is the point of creating media that doesn't convey its message?
MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010 - 01:50 AM
Topic # 2
My current workplace is quite challenging in regards to technology. Currently, I travel to various day care centers and preschools to photograph babies through 6-year-olds. Technology use is such centers is highly variable. For many, the technology incorporated into the center consists only of a TV and DVD (or even just VCR) player. For others, the children are already immersed in a world of technological gadgets from computers for the older children to use, to the sophisticated electronic systems that monitor the drop off and collection of children and prevent access to specific areas or even the entire center.
For processing my work, however, technology is beginning to find a more receptive home. In the year I have been with the company we have progressed from burning CDs of images to transferring the digital files to flash drives. One day I hope the concept of FTP and digital transfers will finally catch on.
In the meantime I get to visit the home office for the first time next week. I hope to see first-hand how technology could transformed the system and I have a great idea for a training simulation game. Not going to get my hopes up though: they still keep requesting I fax them my travel logs and work orders.
My current workplace is quite challenging in regards to technology. Currently, I travel to various day care centers and preschools to photograph babies through 6-year-olds. Technology use is such centers is highly variable. For many, the technology incorporated into the center consists only of a TV and DVD (or even just VCR) player. For others, the children are already immersed in a world of technological gadgets from computers for the older children to use, to the sophisticated electronic systems that monitor the drop off and collection of children and prevent access to specific areas or even the entire center.
For processing my work, however, technology is beginning to find a more receptive home. In the year I have been with the company we have progressed from burning CDs of images to transferring the digital files to flash drives. One day I hope the concept of FTP and digital transfers will finally catch on.
In the meantime I get to visit the home office for the first time next week. I hope to see first-hand how technology could transformed the system and I have a great idea for a training simulation game. Not going to get my hopes up though: they still keep requesting I fax them my travel logs and work orders.
MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010 - 02:06 AM
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