Student Observations on Weekly Presentations

[Calvin Waterbury]

Hi David,

I am glad you chimed in that "presenting" is not only for the favored 
few, but for everyone!

Looking forward to the "new" stuff!
Calvin



> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 	David Bovill <mailto:david at vaudevillecourt.tv>
> Tuesday, January 25, 2011 5:34 PM
>
>
> Thanks for the comments Calvin!
>
> The encouragement and constructive comments are very motivating. The
> sessions are certainly informal - in my view the lower and more fun the
> expectations the more it will encourage other people to give it a go -
> really everyone has something to show that others can enjoy and learn 
> from.
>
> Also, for now we are experimenting with formats and techniques - so I 
> think
> you will see a lot of cool tools being added to the mix in the coming 
> weeks
> - think of it as beta for now with a more professional launch towards the
> time of the conference - at least that's my excuse :)
>
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>
> 	Calvin Waterbury <mailto:cjw at eml.cc>
> Tuesday, January 25, 2011 1:59 PM
>
>
> Hello,
>
> First off, "BRAVO!" to all who take their time and knowledge to make 
> these presentations!  They have been extremely helpful in my learning 
> of LiveCode and in being introduced to the programming world outside 
> of Windows®!
>
> I also wish to convey my comments herein are not intended as 
> criticisms, but as a "reflection" through the eyes of a student.  If 
> nothing changes, I will still continue to participate and glean what I 
> can from each session.  I realize that "newbies" are in the minority 
> and I do not expect nor desire the presentations to be "dumbed down."  
> I can understand that spicing up a presentation makes for a less 
> mundane experience.
>
> My comments are from only seeing four presentations.  Perhaps the 
> presenters were having "off days?"
>
> Ok, with the above preamble/disclaimers in place, here are some 
> thoughts for your consideration when you present...
>
> 1. RECORDING - Please make sure you are recording, if you intend to do 
> so and let your audience know at the outset you are doing so.  Others 
> mileage may vary, but for me knowing I will be able to review the 
> presentation allows me to relax and look at the bigger picture and 
> more robust interaction of Q&A during the live presentation.  The 
> couple of times the chat had comments like "Is he recording?" and "Did 
> he turn on the recorder?" sent me into a quasi-panic of myopia and 
> tunnel-vision because I did not want to miss any details.
>
> 2. SCREEN VIEW - It is nice to match a face to a voice.  Seeing the 
> "camera view" of the presenter at the beginning and briefly "here and 
> there" during the presentation certainly assists the tardy as well. 
> Aside from these brief displays, it is very helpful if the screen real 
> estate, the "screen view" is allocated to the computer desktop and 
> specific windows where the coding action is happening.  Without doing 
> so, it is impossible to read the script, etc. windows.
>
> 3. DISTRACTIONS - Just a quick note to say I found the visual effects 
> and cartoon animations to distracting for my taste, besides taking up 
> screen area.  This is my own personal opinion and not necessarily the 
> opinion of any other participant(s).
>
> 4. VERBOSITY - I realize this comes easier to some than others, but 
> try to verbalize your thought processes as you are working through 
> your presentation.  This really helps to "connect the dots," 
> especially for those of us who do not have the same familiarity yet.  
> While I am a newbie to LiveCode, I am not a novice programmer and 
> "hearing" the logic spoken allows my experience to assist my 
> learning.  Also, if your presentation contains a bug, hearing the 
> logic may allow me to assist in debugging where otherwise I could not.
>
> 5. KEEP AN EYE ON THE CHAT - *We* are able to see and hear you via 
> USTREAM, but but the only way you can "see" or "hear" our feedback is 
> via the ChatRev.  I noticed more than one instance where the presenter 
> was oblivious to what the audience was trying to "say," especially 
> when there were problems like sound issues, performance, clarity, etc.
>
>
> Ok, there are my notes from *my* experiences.  Use what you feel is 
> valid and throw out the rest, but by all means please continue to 
> present!  :)
>
> I would like to encourage everyone to present something.  Everyone has 
> their own personal way of communicating and the way *you* might say 
> something could unlock someone's understanding where no one else's 
> would.  You don't have to be a guru-coder to present either.  Maybe 
> your presentation could be about how you lay out your LiveCode work 
> space, what ancillary tools you use to develop, etc.  I am working on 
> a project that I will present, hopefully in about six weeks, if I 
> haven't bit off more than I can chew. ;)
>
> FYI - I used to work in a television station years ago and have 
> coached people into getting over the intimidation, anxiety and stage 
> fright of being in front of an audience on camera.  I'll be glad to 
> help if you want to try and present.  Unfortunately, I will have to 
> defer the technical questions about using USTREAM to other experienced 
> presenters at this time.
>
> Fair winds,
> Calvin