Things to Keep in Mind for a Better Presentation

I don’t create PowerPoint presentations too often, but I have learned some valuable information for the future. Both the reading in the textbook and the online resources have been very helpful.

Three things I learned:

  1. Be sure to know your purpose before you start creating your presentation; this will help make sure the content you present is relevant and important.
  2. Keeping the presentation as simple, but yet informative as possible can be difficult. You really have to know the difference between what is meaningful and what is just “fluff”.
  3. Slides should be more of a visual aid rather than textual. Your audience does not need an essay being thrown at them!

Resume Resource

The resource I found most helpful on building a strong resume was the “44 Resume Writing Tips”.

I think that this quick guide is very easy to use and works as a checklist to make sure your resume is spot-on. It has a list of different things that potential employers are looking for, and also includes great examples of what not to include on your personal resume. I also like that the guide was realistic and up to date, so that you know what is expected in today’s professional world.

One thing that definitely stuck with me from this guide was to be sure to really “sell yourself” when writing your resume – that means to use strong adjectives and be clear. Doing so, will ensure that employers have a good picture of who you are and how much of an asset you’d be to their company.

Academic Citation: What I Knew & Know

The LIU Post citation guide was very informative! Definitely a great resource to have when creating a reference page.

Ever since middle school I remember learning about citing sources, mostly only in MLA style. Then, once I started high school and college, APA style became more and more common.

I knew that there were different ways of citing sources, but I did not really know why. For example, I didn’t know that the medical field had their own style or that APA was only used for the social sciences, like the education field.

I also knew that anything that is not common knowledge must be cited. One thing that I wasn’t aware of, however, was that anything that is spoken must be cited. This makes sense to me because the words came from someone other than yourself, but I just didn’t know that there was a specific way to cite this information.

Lastly, I learned that if you are unsure of a citation, it is better to provide the most information possible to ensure that you give the proper credit where needed.

 

Plagiarism Tutorial

I have always tried my best to avoid plagiarizing other people’s work, especially when it comes to writing essays or completing any other major assignment for school. Taking a bit from other people’s ideas and molding it into your own can seem harmless, but it truly is not fair for the original author. The one thing that I think many of us forget is that even though the information is right there on the internet, it is not free for anyone to use without permission, or proper recognition. The tutorial brought up a good point when stating that one way to avoid plagiarizing is to start research early; this way you have time to organize your sources and gather the appropriate information to back up your own thoughts. Also, this avoids rushing and making any careless mistakes – like committing unintentional plagiarism!

Helpful Apps for College

Weafo

This app lets you transfer anything from your mobile device to anyone that is anywhere on an internet connection. I have used this before when sharing a large voice memo (class lecture) with one of my classmates when she was out sick – very helpful!

 

StudyBlue

If you need to create flashcards on-the-go or want to borrow someone else’s for a quick review, then StudyBlue is definitely a go to app. Being able to have flashcards with you at all times – right on your phone – means that there is no excuse for not getting an A on that next quiz or test. There are many pre-made flashcard sets as well, which is great!

Tips for Succeeding in an Online Course

These tips have worked for me in the past with other courses as well!

  1. Set up a specific study time and space –  make sure you are focused and can concentrate on your work, that means don’t stay up too late or have your phone nearby when studying.
  2. Use a planner and desk calendar to make sure you are aware of all deadlines and plan accordingly – I even color code my assignments according to each class so that I can stay organized and prioritize.
  3. Be sure to ask classmates and other peers for help before going to the professor with any issues – most of the time your classmates will probably have the same questions or be confused about the same thing, so working together on a solution will solve the problem.

Tool Inventory

1. You have to lead an online presentation on the contents of your history term paper.

Tools: Wordle & Prezi

Reason: Wordle provides a fun visual representation of main ideas that engage all types of learners. It includes main ideas and key terms that will give you cues in order to provide a more naturally-flowing presentation. A Prezi can add more depth to the main ideas by enhancing the presentation with a variety of multimedia, like visuals, videos, and external links related to the topic.

 

2. The final exam for your economics course is coming up, and you need to collect all of your (and hopefully your classmates’) online resources for a study guide.

Tools: Google Docs & DropBox

Reason: Both of these tools allow a group of people to work on and share documents from wherever they may be. All you need to do is create an account (which is free) and sign in from any computer. With Google Docs you can even see what people have edited within the document, just in case.

 

3. You need to create an interactive tour of Berlin as an assignment for your study abroad program.

Tools: Blog, Youtube, & Skype

Reason: A blog can be shared anywhere and can be interactive by providing the audience with pictures, links, and videos. People who are following the tour can comment and carry on conversations with one another. Youtube would be a great place to create a channel and upload daily or weekly videos. Skype can be used to provide a virtual tour, so that followers can be a part of the adventure right along with you! It would also allow students to talk and ask questions during the process.

 

4. You and a group of your classmates have been asked to do a collaborative research project on how Facebook has affected the social habits of young adults.

Tools: Blog & Facebook page

Reason: A Facebook page would be best for this project. What better way to research a social network than by actually using one? This would let students use the network first-hand and also encourage discussion from within the site. Students can create a page where all posts would be shared within the group members and allow for group chat as well within the messaging feature.

Hi There!

My name is Karina Gomez and I am a senior hoping to graduate this December – finally.

Woot woot!

Anyway, I am a BIS Human Learning & Development Major with a focus on Child Growth & Development and Counseling. I absolutely adore working with children and have done student teaching all throughout Pre-K thru 5th grade. Even though I love the teaching role, I have recently found an interest in school counseling; I’d love to be a school counselor for early grades (K-2) in an elementary school setting. After graduating, I hope to work in a daycare or child development center for some time before going back to school to work on my Master’s in either Early Childhood Education or School Counseling, haven’t quite decided yet.

And on that note, keep in mind:

-Paulo Coelho