Presentation Strategies (25/04/2008)

Lecture 8

The main points from this weeks lecture were,

• Tips for presentations
• Structuring a presentation
• How to prepare a presentation
• Using Microsoft PowerPoint
• How to involve the audience during a presentation

Tutorial 8

The main tutorial points were,

• Using Microsoft PowerPoint
• Presentation strategies
• Creating a PowerPoint presentation
• Principles of an effective presentation

Week 8 Tasks

In order to give a good presentation, there are five strategies to take into account. These include the following steps,

1. Planning - includes the type of talk to be given, the audience, allocated time and expectations of information
2. Preparation - research topic, develop a theme, use short sentences, presentation format
3. Outline - organise material, quality of format, use appropriate material, quality of presentation linear format
4. Practice - idea of how to talk with flow, feedback, practice parts equally, practice more then once or twice
5. Presentation - slides are orientated, have equipment needed available, don't stand behind desks, accessories, appearance

My presentation included the points of planning, preparation, outline, presenting and a summary of my presentation.

The planning of a low impact presentation shows minimal efforts in researching the topic. The presentation contains full sentences instead of short. When presenting, the audience is not involved and the time allotted is not taken into account.

Material included in a low impact presentation is usually not organised clearly and appropriate material is not always used. The presentation usually shows signs of poor quality, lack of practice and equipment is not prepared and/or available.

Low impact presentations are not university standard and will result in poor marks for the presenter. Presentations can not be constructed in a few minutes so time must be used wisely. By following the top steps for constructing a good presentation, every talk you complete will be at a high standard.

Using EndNote (18/04/2008)

Lecture 7

The main points from this lecture were,

• Introduction to EndNote
• How to use EndNote
• Citations, references, bibliographies

Tutorial 7

The main points from the tutorial were,

• How to activate EndNote
• Shown how to use EndNote
• How to include citations, references and bibliographies

Week 7 Tasks

After reviewing the online referencing guide, I have include five examples of referencing different types of electronic format material.

Article (Electronic Based)
Capper, C. (1998). Critically oriented and postmodern perspectives: Sorting out the differences and applications for practice [Electronic version]. Educational Administration Quarterly, 34(3), 345-379

Report: Electronic version
Mulligan, D., & Bick-more Brand, J. (1998, July). Outreach, access and support programs for socio-economically disadvantaged people at Curtin: A feasibility study. Retrieved November 27, 2007, from http://eesj.curtin.edu/local/documents/les.doc

Website
Harris, R.(1997). Encouraging students to use technology. Vanguard University of Southern California. Retrieved July, 24, 2000, from http://www.vanguard.edu/rharris/techuse.htm

CD-ROM
Smart, F. (2005). Travelling around Australia [CD]. Applecross, Western Australia: CD Group

Films and Videos
Deeley, M., & York, B. (Producers), & Scott, R. (Director). (1984). Bladerunner [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Brothers

Before I was able to use EndNote for the two exercises, I first had to enable the program. Once EndNote was setup, it then enabled the program to be used in Microsoft Word which was needed to complete the exercises.

Using the information in EndNote Exercise 1, I was able to transform the information from that exercise into a referencing library using EndNote (shown above). In using the referencing library I created, I was then able to go on and complete EndNote Exercise 2

This screen shot is of EndNote Exercise 2. I was able to complete this by using the referencing library shown above. The information within the library, was able to be transfered into the document by using citations as well as copying and pasting direct quotes from the available sources.

Reading Summary 1: Endnote

Endnote is able to store references you have personally added within it's program. These references can then be used as in-text and end-text references and citations, usually within Microsoft Word. You do not have to create a reference list as Endnote instantly creates one for you. Endnote ensures that the format of each reference is correct, whether it be a book, journal article or website. Endnote can be used by undergraduates to help with referencing assignments and any other assigned tasks.

Evaluation and Authentication (11/04/2008)

Lecture 6

The main points for this lecture were,

• IQ Context: The WWW
• Evaluating IQ
• Quick tips
• Indicators of Quality
• Group assignment

Tutorial 6

The main points from the tutorial were,

• Went through assignment 2
• Discussed criteria - accuracy, authorship, purpose, detail and design, overall worth
• Evaluate several websites
• Learn how to tell if websites are reliable and accurate

Week 6 Tasks

Make sure you are looking in the 'right place'

This strategy is basically mentioning about whether your search takes you to relevant information. As information is harder to find and is less accessible, you have to be careful that the page relates to your topic and the information is useful.

When in doubt, doubt
Always check for supporting evidence to your page. Any individual can publish anything on the Internet, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. You must be able to decide whether the information you are reading is accurate. If you have any doubt in doing so, the page should not be used as a reliable source of information.

Consider the source
When you access a website, you should consider the source. For example, if a website has no information on the author, you should address additional research to acquire information on the author. You should always know who is responsible for the site, the author and the type of website. For example, is the site commercial, governmental, personal or academic.

Know what's happening
Documentation should always be available no matter what type of webpage is being viewed. If there is no documentation eg. citation, the website should be avoided as an information source.
You should identify the purpose of the website and what the purpose is informing you about.

Look at details
There are many details and clues that should alert you as to the accuracy of the site you are viewing. The site should be well organised, have proper grammer skills with no spelling mistakes. Any links contained within the site should work properly and lead you to reliable information.

Distinguish Web pages from pages found on the Web
If the page doesn't appear to have been intended for the web, it most likely wasn't. You many need to be able to distinguish between magazines, trade journals and peer reviewed journals. If you believe the page was originally designed for something else, you many want to do additional research to determine what the source was designed for.

This site, which relates to the information previously mentioned above, is a very reliable resource. The information is accurate and relates to the topic with in depth information. Another tip this site reveals are the "Ten C's". These include content, credibility, critical thinking, copyright, citation, continuity, censorship, connectivity, comparability and context.

This web page is very accurate and reliable. Being from a library originally and recently updated, you will have an idea that the information will be quite recent. This site contains documentation on the author which can be used to further look into the author. The purpose of this site is to educate people on American Cultural History (1960-1969). The design is of professional standard, containing real life images and colour. Having in depth detail, including facts and links, this site overall is extremely reliable and a useful source of information.

This site has a wide variety of information accessible through many links around the site. The design/detail of this site are relevant and accurate. Having lots of colour and images makes the site look more interesting and attractive. Once again, there is documentation on the author and where the source originated from. This site is an overall reliable source containing information about the '60s.

Using Search Engines (04/04/2008)

Lecture 5

The main points from this lecture were,

• Types of search tools
• Problems with search engines
• Directories
• Common search engines
• Search engine interaction
• Search tips

Tutorial 5

The main points from this tutorial were,

• Strategies on structuring a good search
• Tips for advanced searches
• Using different search engines

Week 5 Tasks

Four strategies that will help me to structure a good search in my Learning Log include,

• Search using a web directory rather then a search engine. This will hopefully make my search results more specific to what I am searching
• Read the 'help' files, if any, and use any available search refining objects
• Use simple phrases and words, not sentences
• Enter the smallest possible subset that describes what I want to search

To locate my answers, I used various search engines and simple phrases so my results were as specific as possible. I used the plus (+) key as well as the double quotations (" "). Using these key functions, my results were narrowed down a substantial amount compared to if I wrote whole sentences. The answers were very effective as they all turned out to be correct.

Throughout this module, I have learnt alot about information found on the Internet. I know that alot of information on the web is fake so I have to be careful when researching. When researching for information, the best way to do so is by using simple phrases and making it as specific as you can. This makes your search results more relevant to your topic.

Reading Summary 1: Robert Harris - Web Search Strategies

The Internet has a wide variety of information from over a billion websites. Using creativity, patience and a few search engines, information is usually very easy to locate. When using creativity, you must use synonyms to generate words. You must not give up if you don't find anything useful after five minutes. Keep searching by refining your keywords and phrases each time. Also, using more then one search engine will give greater results.

Reading Summary 2: The History of the Internet - Search Engines

The first search engine used to find and retrieve computer files was developed in 1990. Directories are determined as lists of site and are like a catalogue. Google and Yahoo are two of over a thousand search engines and are the most used. These search engines are very useful, however the way the information is categorised and the search functions that are provided affect their usefulness.

Reading Summary 3: Search Engines Optimisation for Companies

Keyword analysis is used with several sources to provide you with information into the popularity of your keywords, eg misspellings in relation to your topic

Benchmark includes ranking your relevant phrases in search results and how many pages come up in your results

Measuring your progress is carried out when we provide regular reporting on your search engine campaign