"Presentation" alternatives.

[paddington_bear]

In the spring I'm teaching a general education class where one of the requirements is a "multi-media presentation of student research." Although "presentation" is in the description, it doesn't have to be an oral presentation to class. Students could make a blog, a PowerPoint, etc. Nor does it have to be a group "presentation," although some faculty have required group oral presentations because having 30 students do individual presentations in class eats up a lot of time. I don't want to assign group presentations; I required them for a class this semester and I hate all of the "I can't get in touch with the other group members" emails I've been getting. Last fall I was teaching in person and I had students do video film reviews because I wanted all of the students to have the same assignment format in the event that we had to go online again. The students had to post their videos on our LMS and the rest of the class had to comment on them. I liked that format - everyone was working alone and I didn't have to reserve class time for presentations - so I'm thinking that might work in the spring.

Does anyone have an interesting/effective way to assign presentations that minimizes aggravation and doesn't take up a lot of class time?

[Morden]

My students do poster presentations based on their final projects a couple weeks before the projects are due. (I'm in English, so I allow more creative/handmade posters as long as they contain particular elements). I set it up like a conference poster session where one class period half of them put their posters up and stand beside them answering questions, while the other half circulates, and then the next class period, the roles are reversed. I make sure I visit each poster and ask questions. Then they have to write a short reflection about the feedback they received and whether they are going to use it or not when writing up the final project. Students seem to enjoy it as less stressful/boring than presenting one at a time, and it's an efficient use of my time because I can see all the projects (and intervene if necessary) within two class periods.

[the_geneticist]

You could have each student create a poster/video about their research, post them to the class LMS, and & have the last assignment be a "gallery walk" where they have to ask and answer questions about each other's projects.  It could be asynchronous.  Day 1: upload your presentation; Day 3: ask N classmates a thoughtful question on the online discussion board; Day 5: reply to questions from classmates. 
To make the grading easy have it be something where they get most of the points from their presentation (using a rubric); +1 for asking each question; +1 for a reply to each question.
You can say you'll only give points for thoughtful & answerable questions about their projects.  No points for "yay, it's neat!" or "why did you choose blue font?".

[Parasaurolophus]

I do pretty much what you ended up doing. Except that I have up to four presentations per day of class/asynchronous week.

Nobody's been interested in talking about the presentationa this semester, but before now it worked really well. It's a nice way to ease into a three-hour class, too.

[paddington_bear]

Such great ideas!  This isn't a public speaking class, so actually delivering a "speech" isn't necessary.  They just have to complete a multimedia project that involves research. I do like the idea of their also presenting their research to the class, but I'm not sure the students care (either as the audience or the presenter). I like the idea of a poster walk, although I might make it virtual somehow, so that students can still utliize their analytical skills, etc., that are other required outcomes of the class.

[FishProf]

I am trying virtual posters this semester.  I gave them a PowerPoint template for a poster.  They will submit to me, and then they will "present" via Zoom.  Each student has to attend 3 poster presentations and provide a written critique for a separate (significant) grade. 

I am cautiously optimistic.

[paddington_bear]

I am trying virtual posters this semester.  I gave them a PowerPoint template for a poster.  They will submit to me, and then they will "present" via Zoom.  Each student has to attend 3 poster presentations and provide a written critique for a separate (significant) grade. 

I am cautiously optimistic.

Requiring that students attend a certain number of poster sessions is an interesting idea! Is yours an online class?

[mamselle]

I am trying virtual posters this semester.  I gave them a PowerPoint template for a poster.  They will submit to me, and then they will "present" via Zoom.  Each student has to attend 3 poster presentations and provide a written critique for a separate (significant) grade. 

I am cautiously optimistic.

There are large-scale print stores, like Gnomon Copy, and whomever it was FedEx took over, that can also print a full poster from those templates, if they're using rasterized visuals.

Might be a fun 'reward' for the 'best of show' if an added incentive is needed....and you have time and a bit of budget to throw towards it....

Or not...

:--》

M.

[FishProf]

I am trying virtual posters this semester.  I gave them a PowerPoint template for a poster.  They will submit to me, and then they will "present" via Zoom.  Each student has to attend 3 poster presentations and provide a written critique for a separate (significant) grade. 

I am cautiously optimistic.

Requiring that students attend a certain number of poster sessions is an interesting idea! Is yours an online class?

No, it's f2f, but we no longer have time to do a full in-person poster session and we can't book a big space on campus now anyways.

In normal years, they would print their posters (we have several large printer/plotters on campus and do it live.  This is a compromise.

[paddington_bear]

I am trying virtual posters this semester.  I gave them a PowerPoint template for a poster.  They will submit to me, and then they will "present" via Zoom.  Each student has to attend 3 poster presentations and provide a written critique for a separate (significant) grade. 

I am cautiously optimistic.

Requiring that students attend a certain number of poster sessions is an interesting idea! Is yours an online class?

No, it's f2f, but we no longer have time to do a full in-person poster session and we can't book a big space on campus now anyways.

In normal years, they would print their posters (we have several large printer/plotters on campus and do it live.  This is a compromise.

I see! One more question. By "attend 3 poster sessions," do you mean that you're having each student present on Zoom and the other student  attendees are watching it live? Or is the student recording the presentation and students are watching whenever they want?

[Wahoo Redux]

I hate all of the "I can't get in touch with the other group members" emails I've been getting.

Me too, and so I made supporting their team-members a really big deal leading up to the presentations.

I actually turned the subject into a quiz.  I had four slides and each one had a version of "I will die before I let my groupmates down."  The glass was actually chuckling by the end.  And for the first time I had no complaints.

Morden's idea---

My students do poster presentations based on their final projects a couple weeks before the projects are due. (I'm in English, so I allow more creative/handmade posters as long as they contain particular elements).

----is really interesting.  I wonder if hu could say a bit more about it.

[OneMoreYear]

I did a virtual poster session in one of my summer classes this year (similar I think to what Fishprof is describing). Each student recorded a poster presentation (about 5 minutes) and submitted to me. I allowed some flexibility on how they recorded it. I uploaded them to our LMS. On our last class (which I guess would be final exam day, but in my short summer classes, there is no actual final exam week), I blocked off an hour of the class for students to watch 3 of their classmate's poster presentations and complete a peer review form (by random assignment, so everyone got 3 peer reviews). Then we all came together and talked about what we learned from the presentations. I got generally good feedback on the process. I could see the value in allowing students to  watch presentations asynchronously, but my class was synchronous, so I just built the poster session into the class time. I'm considering continuing the format this year,  and I'll be interested to hear how others have done it.

[Morden]

I wonder if hu could say a bit more about it

My students (undergraduate, various levels) have to include a thesis/main claim, examples of the types of evidence they will use, and works cited list. And they have to be able to answer questions about their project. At the 3rd or 4th year, they do all of that, plus include something about the theoretical frame and patterns in existing criticism.
I encourage them to try to make aesthetic choices that enhance the content (as well as use big enough font, clear headings, etc.). Most often in face to face classes the posters are construction paper with illustrations, but I've also had beautiful creative pieces including paintings, collage, cabinets where doors open to reveal key pieces of evidence, a mailbox with envelopes (it was about an epistolary novel), etc.
Also in the face to face versions, I talk about how poster sessions at conferences are often linked with wine and cheese receptions, so people have something to do with their hands while they wait for people to come over, and I bring pop those days. Students have said that they find the sessions useful not just because they have to think through the argument before writing it, but because they have to try to explain it over and over again.

Since COVID began, I've been teaching online--at first asynchronous and this term synchronous. With the asynchronous classes, people posted their posters on the discussion board and had about a week to make substantive comments on three  other posters and respond to any comments to their poster. It worked well; the level of engagement was very high. With the synchronous classes, they did that, but they also had a couple synchronous google meet rooms where they had to go and talk with other people working on similar topics. I think the synchronous rooms went well from what I could tell (I was popping in and out), but the quality of comments on the discussion board isn't as high. Most people chose to use something like Powerpoint or Canva to create their posters, but there were also some pictures of handmade posters.

[FishProf]

I am trying virtual posters this semester.  I gave them a PowerPoint template for a poster.  They will submit to me, and then they will "present" via Zoom.  Each student has to attend 3 poster presentations and provide a written critique for a separate (significant) grade. 

I see! One more question. By "attend 3 poster sessions," do you mean that you're having each student present on Zoom and the other student  attendees are watching it live? Or is the student recording the presentation and students are watching whenever they want?

The first.  They need to Zoom in during the presentations.  Most likely it will work out that natural 4-5 student clusters will form. 

[artalot]

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.