"Presentation" alternatives.

[paddington_bear]

I've done podcasts and vodcasts (basically a power point with voice over), both with lots of success. I've also done blogs, but not as often. I really like vodcasts as they teach students basic digital production skills as well as how to present in a public forum. You can have a movie day the last day of class and watch them all. Or, if there's not enough time, assign students to watch all of them (or a certain number) and review them.

Yes, a slideshow with a voice-over might be the way I want to go.

Two of my classes are in the middle of presentations and it's given me clarity of what I want to avoid. I don't like being the time-keeper and telling a student(s) to wrap it up when they've gone over time. So letting students record the presentations and post them online should solve that problem. And like I mentioned earlier, I don't like having to deal with students who aren't working with their group members. (I had a student present with his group yesterday. I noticed he hasn't been in class in about two weeks and didn't turn in his paper and didn't turn in any feedback on the presentations. So I emailed him just to give him a head's up that he probably wouldn't pass the class. He emailed me back with what I figured was going on.....He's no longer attending but he can't officially drop, but since he had been assigned to a group he didn't want to let his group mates down. I respected that.) So requiring that everyone present alone solves the "my group member isn't engaging" issues. I just need to think more about what the logistics will look like. Lots of good ideas in this thread!

[mamselle]

I used VoiceThread for something like that once.

I did the basic PPt slides, then used VT to record the vocal track.

They have/had free downloadable software (or maybe the school I was adjuncting at had it as one of their licensed/available-for-use IT packages.

The IT training person went through it with me once, and it was fairly simple to use as I recall.

She said their Learning Center offered similar training for students, so that would be another option:

   https://voicethread.com/workshops

M.

[FishProf]

I use Explain Everything on an ipad.  Voice-over and write on a slide.  Edit each slide separately.  Add videos etc.

I HATED the ppt Camtasia setup.

[paddington_bear]

I think that at the beginning of the pandemic I used PanOpto - which is what our campus has a license for, I think - to put my voice over a PowerPoint. I think it worked fine (but I might be misremembering the experience). It seems like a student could record themselves on Zoom while they share their slides as well, right? I'm not sure I will care how they do it. (Whether they're visible for the presentation or not.)

[OneMoreYear]

My students generally just used the record feature on PowerPoint. Thought I allowed them to use other options if they preferred.

[FishProf]

Another power point option is to record the audio for each slide as a separate mp3 (audacity et al. do this) and then insert the file on each slide.  Setting it to autoplay and then advice the slides allows them to record a lecture/prentation as a powerpoint slideshow  (ppts vs pptx)

[Caracal]

Another power point option is to record the audio for each slide as a separate mp3 (audacity et al. do this) and then insert the file on each slide.  Setting it to autoplay and then advice the slides allows them to record a lecture/prentation as a powerpoint slideshow  (ppts vs pptx)

I've had students just include "notes" or text along with the powerpoint, specifying a certain length. Seems easier than an actual audio recording.

[downer]

I was thinking of making students in one of my online courses do a presentation of some kind, requiring their voice but not their face. It could be via Google slides or Powerpoint, or a video of them talking.

I tried it about 8 years ago in a class, and it didn't go so well. But I suspect that the technology has got easier to use and people's phones are more sophisticated. Also these students are definitely better than the students from 8 years ago.

I'm wondering about how much instruction and detailed requirements I'd need to spell out, and what kind of grading rubric I'd use. Also, what's an ideal presentation length? 10-15 minutes?

[arcturus]

Also, what's an ideal presentation length? 10-15 minutes?

How much time do you want to spend listening to these presentations? For fairness in grading, you need to listen to them all, all the way through. So, while you might be able to skim a paper and assign a grade in a few minutes, you will not be able to grade these presentations as quickly (this is much less of a concern if these presentations are done in class (not online), as you would be spending that time regardless).

I will note that I was told to keep my video lectures under 10 minutes, given the typical attention span of students. So that might also apply to their presentations as well. I'd personally recommend 3-5 minutes, tops. [I also have 100+ students, so the minutes add up quickly.]

[mamselle]

Since the 1960s, US TV shows have been made up of 8-12 min segments with ads in between, because some market researchers figured out that that was the upper limit of an 8th-grader's attention span, and the average US viewing audience functioned at an 8th-grader's intellectual level. (Sorry, no citation, but our very well-read 8th grade science teacher said this in class, so I'm fairly sure it's reliable...)

Just if it's useful in pegging time limits...

M.

[paddington_bear]

And another student, who is supposed to be presenting with their partner today, just emailed me to say that he "assumes" that his partner has been doing the work, but they haven't actually been in touch. Argh!!  Next semester, everyone is working by their damn selves!!!

[artalot]

I'm wondering about how much instruction and detailed requirements I'd need to spell out, and what kind of grading rubric I'd use. Also, what's an ideal presentation length? 10-15 minutes?

I give students 6-8 minutes. Believe me, anything longer than 8 minutes it painful. I've done as few as 5 minutes before. It depends on the assignment. As for a rubric, I include a section of points on use of images/multi-media, transitions, etc. Otherwise, you will get some poorly produced examples. I also scaffold assignments throughout the semester - students have to evaluate similar media, submit a short research essay on the topic, and then a production plan for turning that research into a video, podcast, blog, etc. So, I require quite a lot. But that was after a truly horrifying experience where about half the students produced nonsense that was painful to watch.