Thursday, August 5, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Avery's Self Critique
Avery Williamson
John Barbour
7/26/10
Self Critique
I didn’t realize how silly I actually looked while I stood up there. When I was giving my presentation to the class I felt as if I did everything to perfection. All my words seemed to come out clear and my delivery was perfect. When I looked at my video, I saw that I was wrong. I found a few good things and bad ones. When I practiced in my dorm my speech was smooth as butter, but the first thing I noticed on the video was how nervous I seemed to be. I didn’t notice myself repeating any of my material because I had it organized well on my note cards. Another huge problem was eye contact. That’s one aspect of my presentation where I thought I was the strongest. The video revealed to me how little I gazed into the audience. I could tell I was nervous the way I jumped from looking back and forth from my note cards to the picture on the projector screen. Eye contact is very critical because it engages the audience more and keeps them interested. The last negative flaw I spotted in my elf critique was extra movement. I seemed to sway back and forth an excessive amount, as if a giant fan was trying to blow me over.
Some of the positives I noticed were great word speed, clear speech, word fillers, and gestures. Word speed was a lot better than the first two presentations. I slowed down dramatically and let myself think more. I made sure I said all of my words clear so the audience could understand it all. My biggest pet peeve I improved was saying umm so much. Instead of filling the awkward silences with that phrase, I just decided to completely close my mouth and say nothing.
I feel like I improved by watching this video of myself. I would have never noticed all of my mistakes unless I watched it. The plan for my next presentation is to strictly work on all the flaws I have. They’re simple mistakes that just need a small bit of practice. Overall I thought my presentation was pretty good, and I’m anxious to see how my next one is.
John Barbour
7/26/10
Self Critique
I didn’t realize how silly I actually looked while I stood up there. When I was giving my presentation to the class I felt as if I did everything to perfection. All my words seemed to come out clear and my delivery was perfect. When I looked at my video, I saw that I was wrong. I found a few good things and bad ones. When I practiced in my dorm my speech was smooth as butter, but the first thing I noticed on the video was how nervous I seemed to be. I didn’t notice myself repeating any of my material because I had it organized well on my note cards. Another huge problem was eye contact. That’s one aspect of my presentation where I thought I was the strongest. The video revealed to me how little I gazed into the audience. I could tell I was nervous the way I jumped from looking back and forth from my note cards to the picture on the projector screen. Eye contact is very critical because it engages the audience more and keeps them interested. The last negative flaw I spotted in my elf critique was extra movement. I seemed to sway back and forth an excessive amount, as if a giant fan was trying to blow me over.
Some of the positives I noticed were great word speed, clear speech, word fillers, and gestures. Word speed was a lot better than the first two presentations. I slowed down dramatically and let myself think more. I made sure I said all of my words clear so the audience could understand it all. My biggest pet peeve I improved was saying umm so much. Instead of filling the awkward silences with that phrase, I just decided to completely close my mouth and say nothing.
I feel like I improved by watching this video of myself. I would have never noticed all of my mistakes unless I watched it. The plan for my next presentation is to strictly work on all the flaws I have. They’re simple mistakes that just need a small bit of practice. Overall I thought my presentation was pretty good, and I’m anxious to see how my next one is.
Self Critique
In my presentation on obesity and the Obesity Society overall I didn’t do as bad as I thought I did. I honestly thought that while I was up there and right before I watched it I would look very stupid and look like I didn’t no what I was doing. Although I didn’t think I did as bad as I thought, there was still some things that I could definitely do better. For starters throughout my entire speech I always caught myself keep looking at the picture instead of looking at the class. The class can already see it so I shouldn’t have to keep looking back and forth at it cause I already know what it is. Another thing I kept doing was saying “I guess” and “like” a lot. I don’t really no why I say it because I know what I want to say I just sometimes question my thoughts because I think they will sound dumb. Because I think I do a good job of knowing what im going to say it seems like when I get up there I get really nervous and don’t look like im enjoying myself at all. That is a problem because on the grading scale you get points for enthusiasm and I could tell by watching the video that I didn’t really have any. Another thing was that I got so nervous I would keep losing my place and finding it again resorting in saying stuff out of order. This caused my presentation to not flow like the way I wanted it too. Another thing is I touched my face a lot during the speech. I assume this just means I was nervous about people looking at me. Even though that I had some flaws in my speech I guess it wasn’t really that bad. I just need to stay positive in what im saying and il be fine. My plan of attack for my next presentation will to do a lot of what I usually do. But this time I know that I need to just stop worrying about what I say and just be myself. I also need to actually have fun with the presentation instead of just acting like im doing cause I have to. Another thing that I must work on is eye contact. That basically makes up a lot of how people react to your presentation and without that it will appear sorry. If I do these things for my next presentation I believe the outcome will be much greater, in my point of view and on m
In my presentation on obesity and the Obesity Society overall I didn’t do as bad as I thought I did. I honestly thought that while I was up there and right before I watched it I would look very stupid and look like I didn’t no what I was doing. Although I didn’t think I did as bad as I thought, there was still some things that I could definitely do better. For starters throughout my entire speech I always caught myself keep looking at the picture instead of looking at the class. The class can already see it so I shouldn’t have to keep looking back and forth at it cause I already know what it is. Another thing I kept doing was saying “I guess” and “like” a lot. I don’t really no why I say it because I know what I want to say I just sometimes question my thoughts because I think they will sound dumb. Because I think I do a good job of knowing what im going to say it seems like when I get up there I get really nervous and don’t look like im enjoying myself at all. That is a problem because on the grading scale you get points for enthusiasm and I could tell by watching the video that I didn’t really have any. Another thing was that I got so nervous I would keep losing my place and finding it again resorting in saying stuff out of order. This caused my presentation to not flow like the way I wanted it too. Another thing is I touched my face a lot during the speech. I assume this just means I was nervous about people looking at me. Even though that I had some flaws in my speech I guess it wasn’t really that bad. I just need to stay positive in what im saying and il be fine. My plan of attack for my next presentation will to do a lot of what I usually do. But this time I know that I need to just stop worrying about what I say and just be myself. I also need to actually have fun with the presentation instead of just acting like im doing cause I have to. Another thing that I must work on is eye contact. That basically makes up a lot of how people react to your presentation and without that it will appear sorry. If I do these things for my next presentation I believe the outcome will be much greater, in my point of view and on m
Presentation Critique
My presentation was not that bad! I feel as if I did a lot better than what I thought I did. When we wrote the free write about how we thought our presentation went I wrote about how I forgot a lot of words and could not think of them. I thought that I stumbled on words a lot more than I actually did in the presentation. What I did write about that was true and something that I really need to work on is practicing. I’ll be honest in the fact that I did not practice this presentation. I hate practicing in front of the mirror because I feel stupid, but I feel a lot stupider when I get up there and stumble on words because it is the first time I am presenting this topic. I believe that if I practiced even a total of two times in front of the mirror at home I would get a lot better score on my presentation grade. The scores I received from the class were really a lot better than I thought they were going to be as well. I didn’t receive below a 4 in any of the areas. Something that the student scores told me that I did not realize I needed to work on was my volume. I got a score of 4.2 on volume so that tells me I could be a little louder. After watching the video I do agree with the fact that I should be a little bit louder. That is something I would have never realized if I had never watched the video or gotten back my scores from the presentation.
While watching my presentation something that I noticed a lot was the common problem of saying “um.” I said it constantly! I said it when I couldn’t think of the word I wanted to use, I said it when I was introducing the next topic, and I said it when I was done with that topic. I knew I had to of said “um” a lot, just because it is one of the most common mistakes in presenting, but I had no idea I said it that much. That is something that without seeing this video I would have never known I needed to work on. Another thing that tends to be a common mistake as well is my lack of eye contact. That is something I knew I needed to work on even before I watched the video of my presentation. For this particular essay, it was about an image. I looked up at the image the majority of the time during my presentation. I really need to work on eye contact and looking at the audience for my next presentation. I also need to work on my hand gestures. From the class scores I got a 4.4 on gestures and that was my second lowest score. I hold my note cards with both hands for the most part and need to steer away from that.
I think that the best way to change my presentation would be to first look at the St. Martin’s Handbook the day before I give my presentation. Then, remember those guidelines while I practice my speech at least once or twice in front of my mirror at home. I never really get too nervous when speaking in front of others, although a little more self confidence could help me a lot in the long run.
While watching my presentation something that I noticed a lot was the common problem of saying “um.” I said it constantly! I said it when I couldn’t think of the word I wanted to use, I said it when I was introducing the next topic, and I said it when I was done with that topic. I knew I had to of said “um” a lot, just because it is one of the most common mistakes in presenting, but I had no idea I said it that much. That is something that without seeing this video I would have never known I needed to work on. Another thing that tends to be a common mistake as well is my lack of eye contact. That is something I knew I needed to work on even before I watched the video of my presentation. For this particular essay, it was about an image. I looked up at the image the majority of the time during my presentation. I really need to work on eye contact and looking at the audience for my next presentation. I also need to work on my hand gestures. From the class scores I got a 4.4 on gestures and that was my second lowest score. I hold my note cards with both hands for the most part and need to steer away from that.
I think that the best way to change my presentation would be to first look at the St. Martin’s Handbook the day before I give my presentation. Then, remember those guidelines while I practice my speech at least once or twice in front of my mirror at home. I never really get too nervous when speaking in front of others, although a little more self confidence could help me a lot in the long run.
presentation critique
Nobody is a harsher judge on me than myself. Ill will probably judge myself way worse than any other person does just because I believe in the fact that if you are your biggest critic you can only make yourself better. Watching my presentation many things stood out to me right off the bat. My eye contact first off was terrible and the class seemed to think so to because that was my lowest rated thing at a 3.7. I personally would give it between a one or a two based on the fact that I seemed nervous and that caused me to either stare desperately into my note cards or the picture being projected on the wall.
The class rated me second lowest on the gestures aspect. I noticed this to when watching the video, if it was based on how still you keep your arms I would have killed it, because in the video my arms and hand remained at the same angle the entire time; only with the slight change to point something out about the picture. I blame this on the note cards but the fact is the only reason I was able to go the whole five minutes is because of the note cards.
The note cards also extremely helped me with organization without them I would have been like a babbling child trying to give a speech, probably similar to the e-trade baby.
My poster was rated the best thing by the class, I don’t really know why because it seemed to me that my head was down staring at the note cards the whole time. So that one is beyond me but I’m glad people think I have good posture.
I believe volume and enthusiasm kind of go hand in hand. If our excited about what your presenting than your going to speak louder, I think it’s just human nature. Me personally I was not excited to present more like dreading it I get really nervous in bigger crowds one of the reasons I never speak out in class its just one of those personal things. Because of this I found myself taking deeper breaths and trying to slow my heart which seemed to be running a race. You can’t tell in the video but I distinctly remember my leg twitching and shaking through out the entire presentation
A few other things I noticed were I said uh and so a lot I don’t know if this was to re capture were I was going or what but it seemed to annoy me re-watching my presentation. I also noticed that a few points throughout my presentation I stuttered a little bit. This could be a side effect of being nervous but I’m going to concentrate not to do that as much in the next one. On kind of a side note that has nothing to do with my presentation, I didn’t know my voice was that deep. I don’t tend to watch or listen to myself a lot so this came to kind of a shock to me.
Going by the presentation guide lines in the St. Martin’s handbook I do believe my presentation captured the specifications of the project. However I don’t think I got the audience’s attention, I doubt they wanted to listen to another skinny person rant about McDonald's for five minutes. I did practice my presentation about five times to make sure I could get to the five minute mark even though I learned later that it only had to be four minutes. And my visuals were prepared well because there was only one that was just projected the whole time.
So over all I feel that I did decent on this presentation I’m going to have to work and practice harder for project three and even more so for project four though.
The class rated me second lowest on the gestures aspect. I noticed this to when watching the video, if it was based on how still you keep your arms I would have killed it, because in the video my arms and hand remained at the same angle the entire time; only with the slight change to point something out about the picture. I blame this on the note cards but the fact is the only reason I was able to go the whole five minutes is because of the note cards.
The note cards also extremely helped me with organization without them I would have been like a babbling child trying to give a speech, probably similar to the e-trade baby.
My poster was rated the best thing by the class, I don’t really know why because it seemed to me that my head was down staring at the note cards the whole time. So that one is beyond me but I’m glad people think I have good posture.
I believe volume and enthusiasm kind of go hand in hand. If our excited about what your presenting than your going to speak louder, I think it’s just human nature. Me personally I was not excited to present more like dreading it I get really nervous in bigger crowds one of the reasons I never speak out in class its just one of those personal things. Because of this I found myself taking deeper breaths and trying to slow my heart which seemed to be running a race. You can’t tell in the video but I distinctly remember my leg twitching and shaking through out the entire presentation
A few other things I noticed were I said uh and so a lot I don’t know if this was to re capture were I was going or what but it seemed to annoy me re-watching my presentation. I also noticed that a few points throughout my presentation I stuttered a little bit. This could be a side effect of being nervous but I’m going to concentrate not to do that as much in the next one. On kind of a side note that has nothing to do with my presentation, I didn’t know my voice was that deep. I don’t tend to watch or listen to myself a lot so this came to kind of a shock to me.
Going by the presentation guide lines in the St. Martin’s handbook I do believe my presentation captured the specifications of the project. However I don’t think I got the audience’s attention, I doubt they wanted to listen to another skinny person rant about McDonald's for five minutes. I did practice my presentation about five times to make sure I could get to the five minute mark even though I learned later that it only had to be four minutes. And my visuals were prepared well because there was only one that was just projected the whole time.
So over all I feel that I did decent on this presentation I’m going to have to work and practice harder for project three and even more so for project four though.
Starting this assignment trying to think back to how I really felt at the beginning of the presentation wasn’t too hard for me. I remember back the night before the presentation I went over my speech before I went to bed. I timed and voice recorded me on my phone. During my practice I tried working on my volume and clarity. My pup joker was my only audience member so the eye contract part wasn’t too hard overcome. Often people complain because they say I talk to low or mumble my words together, these are the reasons I chose these two sections to spend my time practicing. During my midnight practice my timing was correct, my speech was organized and my volume was too bad either. I thought I had the presentation down pat, everything seemed right on the first time, I felt like there was no need for a secondary midnight practice so I went to sleep on that note. I think that’s where I went wrong in a way.
The next day I woke up feeling ready for class, I had reviewed my note cards one last time and left house. When I got to class it wasn’t that bad, I still felt as though I had it all under control. As it came closer to my turn is when my nerves started taking over. The suspense throughout my body was starting to increase, as I walked in front of the class. I have had to present a couple time in my life and every time it’s the same story. Everything is fine while I’m sitting in the back looking at the rear side of everyone’s head but as soon as I walk in front of the faces of all my class members it seems as though my world changes. As I stood in front of the class my mind went blank, the organization I had practice was all a blur. Now not being able to remember what I had just previously looked over, I had to wing it. (which doesn't always turn out a bad thing). I stood in front of the class and said whatever came to my mind first, the note cards weren’t of much use either because as I looked at them they would just make me more confused because I hadn’t started my speech in the order I had previous written out. The whole time I felt like I wasn’t giving enough eye contact so I continuously tried to just look up every so often trying to connect with the people who actually seemed a little interested. Even doing so I still felt that was going to be one of my bigger issues.
After getting my evaluation sheet back it showed that the class as my audience felt different about my presentation and after watching it on blackboard I in a way did also. On my evaluation shit my highest area was my volume, it was averaged at 4.5 so I felt my practice may have helped a little in that area. But after watching my video I look back and realized that my eye contact wasn’t too bad compared to a few others. That section also being my 3rd highest rated on my evaluation sitting at 4.2. Overall I felt good after watching and getting back the results of my project two presentation. I learned you never know how other people think your performance was until you hear from the audience.
Wendell Fisher
The next day I woke up feeling ready for class, I had reviewed my note cards one last time and left house. When I got to class it wasn’t that bad, I still felt as though I had it all under control. As it came closer to my turn is when my nerves started taking over. The suspense throughout my body was starting to increase, as I walked in front of the class. I have had to present a couple time in my life and every time it’s the same story. Everything is fine while I’m sitting in the back looking at the rear side of everyone’s head but as soon as I walk in front of the faces of all my class members it seems as though my world changes. As I stood in front of the class my mind went blank, the organization I had practice was all a blur. Now not being able to remember what I had just previously looked over, I had to wing it. (which doesn't always turn out a bad thing). I stood in front of the class and said whatever came to my mind first, the note cards weren’t of much use either because as I looked at them they would just make me more confused because I hadn’t started my speech in the order I had previous written out. The whole time I felt like I wasn’t giving enough eye contact so I continuously tried to just look up every so often trying to connect with the people who actually seemed a little interested. Even doing so I still felt that was going to be one of my bigger issues.
After getting my evaluation sheet back it showed that the class as my audience felt different about my presentation and after watching it on blackboard I in a way did also. On my evaluation shit my highest area was my volume, it was averaged at 4.5 so I felt my practice may have helped a little in that area. But after watching my video I look back and realized that my eye contact wasn’t too bad compared to a few others. That section also being my 3rd highest rated on my evaluation sitting at 4.2. Overall I felt good after watching and getting back the results of my project two presentation. I learned you never know how other people think your performance was until you hear from the audience.
Wendell Fisher
Self-critique
I couldn't hear what was being said in my presentation first of all. Speaking in such a small room to a smaller crowd contributes to that some but I would like to work on speaking a little louder for the next presentation. It was also very obvious to me that I was completely uncomfortable. The more that time progressed the more rigid I became. More preparation might help with that but I also believe that more exposure to public speaking would help that. I also have a tendency to rock, even when I'm not in front of a crowd. It comes from always rocking a baby. I am making a conscious effort not to rock and watch speech patterns when I talk. By watching speech patterns I hope to eliminate the filler words/sounds and the 'likes'. I also noticed that I was very mobile during the presentation. I would like to see a little less movement while I'm speaking and I also need to figure out what to do with my hands. I noticed that as I became more rigid my grip on my hands became stronger and stronger. I need to breath.
Self- critique project 2
Watching my presentation from project two was a fairly tedious task. I remember writing down everything I wanted to talk about and only getting through about half of those ideas. Watching the video it is clear that I did not rehearse or give much thought to the actual presentation. I can see myself trying to drag out each point, stumbling with "ums" and other fillers to try to lengthen my speech because I did not know how long it would talk me. I was afraid I would breeze through and talk about everything and be left without many original ideas because I had already seen them all. In St. Martin's Handbook there are tips about presenting with note cards. It talks about ordering the note cards which I always do, but I don't just put one point on them like it suggests. This is probably a good idea because I had crammed all my ideas onto 5 or 6 note cards, but if I had them numbered and well planned I would have realized how much time I was spending on ideas that didn't matter as much.
I also didn't have as strong of an introduction as I thought because I started to ramble. I know it is one of the most important aspects of a presentation because it sets the tone for the rest of the presentation. I definitely did not have a strong conclusion because when i saw the 5 minute card go up I realized I wasn't near done and I spent time rushing through my notes looking for things that needed to be discussed. however, I did notice that as I scanned through the rest of my notes I tried to bring the presentation full circle as much as possible. I had introduced the image talking about who it was by and where it was, and where the view could be seen today. I was talking about how it was 69 floors above Rockefeller center and how it had been immortalized. I ended talking about the photographer and how his personality shines through the image in the angles and manner in which he decided to present it. I think this was the best I could do to relate the beginning and end at that time because if I had veered too much it would have seemed out of place within the presentation.
I remember this day and how I didn't care much to dress for the presentation. For the first one, I dressed casual but looked presentable, unlike for the second one. I can see that I was not ready to be in front of the class for this amount of time unprepared and come across confident. My posture looks overly-casual also, both things that the books says are not good because of respect for the audience. I also don't seem interested or enthused about my topic or the act of presenting at all. I also didn't do a good job at appealing to my audiences interests because I clearly didn't think about how I was going to do this. Although not my favorite blog assignment, I am glad I had to watch this for future reference. I swore I would never do a speech unprepared again and then this happened. Now I can assure you I will be prepared for ALL future speeches.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Blog assignment #4
When I looked back to my presentation of project 2, I found there were some weaknesses. Just as the score on the evaluation sheet shows that I didn’t do a good job on eye contract. I only scored 3.3 on this. So I watched my video of my project 2 presentation and I felt that was true that I was looking at the screen for the most of the time. I ignored the audience.
I think the reason why I did like that is I was nervous and unprepared. There was a blank in my brain when I was trying to say something. So my sight was moved around between the screen and the note card that I ignored the audience. I also think I should point out the important part of my speech. That may helps me to talk much more fluent because I can talk through the connection of each point. In this way, it would contribute to my organization as well.
And also I scored 3.9 both on word speed and enthusiasm. I don’t think I did very well on the word speed. I felt that my speaking was not fluent. It was always interrupted because I was nervous and unprepared. I wish my speaking English would as fluent as the native speakers. Although it is not good yet, it is getting better. I am not sure about my enthusiasm during my speech; I think I’ve showed my enthusiasm through the speech, maybe it was just not obvious.
To improve my speech, I think a good preparation is an effective way to solve those problems. A good preparation includes a good sense of what is going to talk about. So memorize the things that I am going to say is very important and point out the main idea of each part is important as well. Try to relax very before giving a speech, so that I would not be such nervous. While I am giving the speech, I would look at the audience and communicate with them by the sight in the most of the time. The voice should be loud but not scream. Smiling is the best way to show the confidence. During the speech, it is necessary to clear the connection from the beginning to the end. Because the audiences judge your organization is good or not.
All in all, I wish I would give a excellent speech in the future.
blog assignment 4
What I was worried about the most was my eye contact, how much i gestured, my enthusiasm, and i kept repeating phrases. I kepting looking at my powerpoint, but most of the time that was when i was pointing stuff out. I talked with my hands A LOT. Before i watched the video i knew that i said a few phrases such as "like that" a lot. When i watched the video, it actually wasnt has bad as I thought it was. I also looked out to the classroom more than i thought I did. Before I watched the video of my presentation i also thought that i had problems coming up with words and that there were long pauses. When watching the presentation i found that it actually wasnt as bad as I thought. My lowest score from the class was in Enthusiasm which i knew i had problems in already. I also need to work on my volume. I was too soft. I also pulled at my shirt a few times, so i will have to try to stop doing that.
A few successes i had during the presentation was that i was within the time limit and i didnt talk way too fast like i did for the first presentation we did. My presentation was also organized well. The average class rating on my organization was a 4.8. What was also good was that i wasnt as nervous was I was before.
For the next presentation i am going to try to have my powerpoint where i dont have to point at it so i will look at the class more. I will also keep in mind that i will have to speak up. Now that I know i wasnt loud enough, it will be an easier fix. I am also going to work on my enthusiasm. I will practice more in hopes that I will be able to think of all my words better and faster and work on my word speed while i do that as well.
A few successes i had during the presentation was that i was within the time limit and i didnt talk way too fast like i did for the first presentation we did. My presentation was also organized well. The average class rating on my organization was a 4.8. What was also good was that i wasnt as nervous was I was before.
For the next presentation i am going to try to have my powerpoint where i dont have to point at it so i will look at the class more. I will also keep in mind that i will have to speak up. Now that I know i wasnt loud enough, it will be an easier fix. I am also going to work on my enthusiasm. I will practice more in hopes that I will be able to think of all my words better and faster and work on my word speed while i do that as well.
Presentation Critic
The first think I noticed when watching my presentation was that my voice is not loud enough. I am not exactly sure how to fix this problem. I also continued to fidget with my hair throughout the entire presentation because that is a habit I have when I am uncomfortable. Although I took the time to organize my thoughts and important things from my essay that I wanted to mention I felt like my presentation came across unorganized. I feel the reason was because I was so nervous I could read my note cards. I also felt like some of the important things in my essay are often lost with the rest of the information because of my lack of confidence with speaking in front of an audience. I talk incredibly fast when I am nervous. So I was very relieved when I met the required time. I felt like I need to add more enthusiasm because the audience’s faces looked bored. I feel like I know a lot of information about what I was presenting I was just so nervous it left my mind. I made a conscious effort to make more eye contact. I think I did better than my first presentation but I need more work on that area. I say like way to much!! I talk so fast I have to take huge breaths and it looked silly. I also might have rolled my eyes a couple time not sure what that was about.
To improve my public speaking in the future I think more practice in front of the mirror might help with my nervous jesters. I legitimately attempted to talk louder. The funny thing was when I watched myself the first time I thought there was no sound because I turned the volume up and still couldn’t hear myself. When I am writing my note cards I don’t need to cram everything I want to say one card. I should writer larger and on multiple note cards. I want to stop saying like so much. I want to try and emphasize the more important points so that they stand out from the others I make. I want to look more at the audience and less at the screen I should practice the information in front of more than one person. I want to be and appear more confident when speaking in public I guess this comes with practice. I want to find away to relax before speaking. I practice my speech in front of people and the mirror I never talk as fast as I did when I presented. I need to make physical cards that say slow your speech down. I never remember to talk slowly when I get up there. I should pick the more interesting points about my essay to present keeping the audience’s attention and so I will naturally be more enthusiastic. Basically I want to improve all aspects of my presentation skills.
class blog assignment #4 self-critique.
Chuls
John Barbour
ENG 104
25 july, 2010
The biggest strength of my speech was that I tried to pronounce exactly each word and express exactly my information as long as I can, even if I couldn’t speak English very well. As you see my presentation, to achieve this goals, I spoke English pretty slowly, which let peers understand my words. Also, the volume of my speech was pretty appropriate to convey the content that I wanted to let audience know to the classmates. In addition, it seemed that my posture and gestures during the presentation was pretty natural to the peers. Although I have the handicap with speaking English, I really tried to do presentation the best. I love the enthusiasm by myself.
However, the biggest weakness of my speech was that I could not make the eye contact with many peers and professor a lot because I somewhat got nervous and did not have confidence on having eye contact at that time. I think it might also give audience tension and make them not focus on my presentation. Also, the organization of the speech was somewhat silly and awkward because I think I just planned to speak easy words, sentence, and organization than other peers during the presentation, which resulted in the poor grade on the organization of evaluation sheet. This is because when preparing for the presentation, I thought, if easy word and sentence are used, it might be easier way for peers in class to understand what I saying. I did not know that evaluation sheets might contain organization. Finally, my presentation is just for 4mintues 21 seconds including my hesitation. It means that content in presentation was very lack and short.
By watching the presentation you recorded, I get to know the important thing. I remembered that my posture and gestures was really natural and good. I took a good grade on this idem for granted. However, in my opinion, I think that some behavior and attitudes during presentation was weird and strange because I crossed my leg and touch my hair again and again. If next time I get opportunity to do presentation, I will definitely fix this problem.
I learned a lot of things I should have done and have to fix in the St.Martin’s handbook. First of all, next time, I am going to make introduction to get more audience’s feeling and attention. In former time, I just started to speak my main ideas without the introduction. To achieve this goal, I will take the introduction into consideration and organize my content based on logical flow. Also, to get the confidence on presentation, I am going to prepare for that for a long time and practice that, setting the time until being done very well. Also, for audiences to understand my purpose and main ideas of presentation easily and quickly, I will prepare for necessary visuals and audios with the power point program. I would also expect these kinds of materials to help peers focus more on my presentation, not being distracted. Through this assignment, I feel like that I can overcome the disadvantages of presentation.
John Barbour
ENG 104
25 july, 2010
The biggest strength of my speech was that I tried to pronounce exactly each word and express exactly my information as long as I can, even if I couldn’t speak English very well. As you see my presentation, to achieve this goals, I spoke English pretty slowly, which let peers understand my words. Also, the volume of my speech was pretty appropriate to convey the content that I wanted to let audience know to the classmates. In addition, it seemed that my posture and gestures during the presentation was pretty natural to the peers. Although I have the handicap with speaking English, I really tried to do presentation the best. I love the enthusiasm by myself.
However, the biggest weakness of my speech was that I could not make the eye contact with many peers and professor a lot because I somewhat got nervous and did not have confidence on having eye contact at that time. I think it might also give audience tension and make them not focus on my presentation. Also, the organization of the speech was somewhat silly and awkward because I think I just planned to speak easy words, sentence, and organization than other peers during the presentation, which resulted in the poor grade on the organization of evaluation sheet. This is because when preparing for the presentation, I thought, if easy word and sentence are used, it might be easier way for peers in class to understand what I saying. I did not know that evaluation sheets might contain organization. Finally, my presentation is just for 4mintues 21 seconds including my hesitation. It means that content in presentation was very lack and short.
By watching the presentation you recorded, I get to know the important thing. I remembered that my posture and gestures was really natural and good. I took a good grade on this idem for granted. However, in my opinion, I think that some behavior and attitudes during presentation was weird and strange because I crossed my leg and touch my hair again and again. If next time I get opportunity to do presentation, I will definitely fix this problem.
I learned a lot of things I should have done and have to fix in the St.Martin’s handbook. First of all, next time, I am going to make introduction to get more audience’s feeling and attention. In former time, I just started to speak my main ideas without the introduction. To achieve this goal, I will take the introduction into consideration and organize my content based on logical flow. Also, to get the confidence on presentation, I am going to prepare for that for a long time and practice that, setting the time until being done very well. Also, for audiences to understand my purpose and main ideas of presentation easily and quickly, I will prepare for necessary visuals and audios with the power point program. I would also expect these kinds of materials to help peers focus more on my presentation, not being distracted. Through this assignment, I feel like that I can overcome the disadvantages of presentation.
Friday, July 23, 2010
project 4 vidoe idea
I was able to find an example of what I want to do. I have a different soundtrack in mind though.
http://current.com/groups/random/89666002_requiem-for-sunset-and-vine.htm
Candace
http://current.com/groups/random/89666002_requiem-for-sunset-and-vine.htm
Candace
Thursday, July 22, 2010
class blog assignment #4
Mary McCormick
ENG 104-020
John Barbour
14 July 2010
Class Blog Assignment 4 self-critique
My first concerns were the scores that my peers gave me on their evaluations of my presentation. I got mostly 4.1 and 4.2 but I scored lowest on eye contact (3.6) and gestures (3.9) so I realized that was actually eye contact because that what I listed as one of my concerns about how did on my presentation. I remember that in preparing for my presentation that I ran short on time so I wrote everything I wanted to say down on 6 pieces of paper and try to space out my presentation into 1 minute topics to add up to the 6 minutes I needed. But it didn’t work out well because I lost my place and even though I had practiced and knew the material I couldn’t find my place because I had written too small. So I knew that my eye contact scores would be low. I spent the majority of the time looking at the paper in my hands. And it was obvious when I abandoned plan A with the notes in my hand. Because I just put them up.
Gestures being scored second to lowest didn’t surprise me either because I am sure I appeared nervous and unprepared, those both partial truths. I hadn’t slept but a couple hours after driving home from Buffalo, NY less than 6 hours before class. I also had to trudge threw a rain downpour to get to class so I was wet and in casual clothes with flip-flops that still squeaked walking up to the front of the room. I would image that I didn’t gesture toward my image at all. I was nervous once I lost my spot and gave up on my notes.
My word speed and volume were the things I would score myself higher on than other things but my peers scored me higher on posture and enthusiasm.
I learned in St. Martins a lot of things that would have been helpful in my last presentation that I will do differently in my next. Like how to prepare your note cards and the use of signpost words. Helps keep things in order and draws attention back if you have lost your audience. Making a different color highlight for things that can be skipped so if you are running out of time. And you will not cut your conclusion short because of time. The beginning and ending are what people remember.
I realized looking back at my presentation that I didn’t really have a conclusion. So I will definitely work hard at drawing things to a close and having a define conclusion instead of just the “tad da” or wait for the gong sound. I read in St. Martin’s how important it is to have a start and end. So I plan to improve my conclusion and try to get some rest the night before. If I use note cards I will use only a few keywords with signpost words as flags. I will plan out the eight minutes based on start, topic, end and space out my time. Practice timing myself doing the presentation at least ten times and two of those being right before class.
ENG 104-020
John Barbour
14 July 2010
Class Blog Assignment 4 self-critique
My first concerns were the scores that my peers gave me on their evaluations of my presentation. I got mostly 4.1 and 4.2 but I scored lowest on eye contact (3.6) and gestures (3.9) so I realized that was actually eye contact because that what I listed as one of my concerns about how did on my presentation. I remember that in preparing for my presentation that I ran short on time so I wrote everything I wanted to say down on 6 pieces of paper and try to space out my presentation into 1 minute topics to add up to the 6 minutes I needed. But it didn’t work out well because I lost my place and even though I had practiced and knew the material I couldn’t find my place because I had written too small. So I knew that my eye contact scores would be low. I spent the majority of the time looking at the paper in my hands. And it was obvious when I abandoned plan A with the notes in my hand. Because I just put them up.
Gestures being scored second to lowest didn’t surprise me either because I am sure I appeared nervous and unprepared, those both partial truths. I hadn’t slept but a couple hours after driving home from Buffalo, NY less than 6 hours before class. I also had to trudge threw a rain downpour to get to class so I was wet and in casual clothes with flip-flops that still squeaked walking up to the front of the room. I would image that I didn’t gesture toward my image at all. I was nervous once I lost my spot and gave up on my notes.
My word speed and volume were the things I would score myself higher on than other things but my peers scored me higher on posture and enthusiasm.
I learned in St. Martins a lot of things that would have been helpful in my last presentation that I will do differently in my next. Like how to prepare your note cards and the use of signpost words. Helps keep things in order and draws attention back if you have lost your audience. Making a different color highlight for things that can be skipped so if you are running out of time. And you will not cut your conclusion short because of time. The beginning and ending are what people remember.
I realized looking back at my presentation that I didn’t really have a conclusion. So I will definitely work hard at drawing things to a close and having a define conclusion instead of just the “tad da” or wait for the gong sound. I read in St. Martin’s how important it is to have a start and end. So I plan to improve my conclusion and try to get some rest the night before. If I use note cards I will use only a few keywords with signpost words as flags. I will plan out the eight minutes based on start, topic, end and space out my time. Practice timing myself doing the presentation at least ten times and two of those being right before class.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Overlooked Spot
My Secret Spot
I have gone back to this spot a total of three times now. Although the scenery has not changed, the many things going on around this spot have changed. The first time I went back to this spot I decided to take my dog. She had a great time running and playing fetch in the open field. Once she got some of her energy out we both sat down under a big tree for some shade and simply watched. It was very hot that day and I noticed that once again families had hung up their laundry to dry. I thought about how if I had the space to do this I would. It not only saves energy, your clothes have the fresh scent of the summer air. As we sat there, I noticed the same Asian man I had seen on my previous lookout. It looked as if he was on the phone this time and was pacing the sidewalk up and down talking to someone. This made me think of how tiny the family dorms must be, and he must always be going outside for a much needed break and time to speak on the phone alone. On that particular trip I didn’t see any other people that particular day. I think it was because I went around 5:00 p.m. and most people were thinking about dinner. Whether they had gone out for dinner or were cooking at home, most people were inside at this point. I did notice the slight smell of a cookout, although there was none in sight. I imagined some college kids down the road off Woodland Ave. grilling burgers and hotdogs for dinner.
The second time I visited a little earlier. I went around 12:30 p.m. and realized that this was the time to go! My little spot was bustling with activity. There was a playground that I have never seen used but was not filled with young kids screaming and playing. There were two moms sitting on the bench most likely discussing their husbands and children. There were about seven kids on the playground. It looked as if some of them had brought friends for the day. Also, their hair was wet and they had swimsuits on under their clothes. It seemed to me that that seemed like the perfect day; cooling off early in the morning at the pool, then going crazy on the playground. Another thing I noticed was that there were no clothes hanging up on the clothes line. Maybe it was too early in the day for the wife to of done laundry yet. I did not see the man that I normally see walking around or talking on his cell phone. He was perhaps in class or at work. Also, I did not bring my dog this time, but I did see another young college girl with her Beagle. This is a great place to come alone with your dog because of the size, yet the entire field is bordered by dorms and buildings. I saw college kids for the first time ever at this spot. They wore backpacks and it looked as if they were walking to/from class. It is probably because of the later times that I went I never saw college kids before. But during this time it was prime time for summer school kids to be walking to/from class.
On my third visit there was not much going on. It was an early Sunday morning around 10:30. I sat on the bench by the playground that was empty. I did see clothes on the clothes line, but no one anywhere near the dorms. Maybe because it was an early Sunday, with most college kids had a rough Saturday night, and most families going to church. I did hear the sound of a band practicing somewhere close. It wasn’t very loud but I could tell that they were fairly close. In all, I love this spot. There is just enough activity to make it fun, yet not too much for it to be enjoyable. I will continue to walk my dog here and let her run and play in the open yet small pretty little field.
I have gone back to this spot a total of three times now. Although the scenery has not changed, the many things going on around this spot have changed. The first time I went back to this spot I decided to take my dog. She had a great time running and playing fetch in the open field. Once she got some of her energy out we both sat down under a big tree for some shade and simply watched. It was very hot that day and I noticed that once again families had hung up their laundry to dry. I thought about how if I had the space to do this I would. It not only saves energy, your clothes have the fresh scent of the summer air. As we sat there, I noticed the same Asian man I had seen on my previous lookout. It looked as if he was on the phone this time and was pacing the sidewalk up and down talking to someone. This made me think of how tiny the family dorms must be, and he must always be going outside for a much needed break and time to speak on the phone alone. On that particular trip I didn’t see any other people that particular day. I think it was because I went around 5:00 p.m. and most people were thinking about dinner. Whether they had gone out for dinner or were cooking at home, most people were inside at this point. I did notice the slight smell of a cookout, although there was none in sight. I imagined some college kids down the road off Woodland Ave. grilling burgers and hotdogs for dinner.
The second time I visited a little earlier. I went around 12:30 p.m. and realized that this was the time to go! My little spot was bustling with activity. There was a playground that I have never seen used but was not filled with young kids screaming and playing. There were two moms sitting on the bench most likely discussing their husbands and children. There were about seven kids on the playground. It looked as if some of them had brought friends for the day. Also, their hair was wet and they had swimsuits on under their clothes. It seemed to me that that seemed like the perfect day; cooling off early in the morning at the pool, then going crazy on the playground. Another thing I noticed was that there were no clothes hanging up on the clothes line. Maybe it was too early in the day for the wife to of done laundry yet. I did not see the man that I normally see walking around or talking on his cell phone. He was perhaps in class or at work. Also, I did not bring my dog this time, but I did see another young college girl with her Beagle. This is a great place to come alone with your dog because of the size, yet the entire field is bordered by dorms and buildings. I saw college kids for the first time ever at this spot. They wore backpacks and it looked as if they were walking to/from class. It is probably because of the later times that I went I never saw college kids before. But during this time it was prime time for summer school kids to be walking to/from class.
On my third visit there was not much going on. It was an early Sunday morning around 10:30. I sat on the bench by the playground that was empty. I did see clothes on the clothes line, but no one anywhere near the dorms. Maybe because it was an early Sunday, with most college kids had a rough Saturday night, and most families going to church. I did hear the sound of a band practicing somewhere close. It wasn’t very loud but I could tell that they were fairly close. In all, I love this spot. There is just enough activity to make it fun, yet not too much for it to be enjoyable. I will continue to walk my dog here and let her run and play in the open yet small pretty little field.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Avery Williamson
John Barbour
English 104
7/8/10
The place I chose for my blog entry was Smith playground. I chose this place because it seemed so out of the ordinary. Why would there be a playground on a college campus? So I set out to discover what went on in this area. The days that I went I saw a lot of different things that can’t be noticed if you do not look at the place over a period of time. The loudest thing was the noises coming from the air conditioners. They seemed to run non-stop every day I went. The weather was pretty warm most of the time and I seemed to sweat quite a bit. Since there hasn’t been any rain for the last couple of weeks the grass went through a change. Everything seemed to be turning brown. I did happen to see squirrels and birds, but no butterflies. A paper plate and a Lays potato chip bag were laying on the sand behind the swing set. There were still children on the swings each time I went there surprisingly. They only seem to be there in the evening. The children I saw were all foreign and spoke different languages. Didn’t see any more beetles only bugs that could fly. It’s cool how this one spot had so many occurrences going on and around it. I never saw them from far away. It just goes to show that small things can’t be noticed unless you put forth the effort to find them. I’ll probably never go back to that spot for the rest of my college career, but I’ll definitely remember everything about it. All these small events that go on in this spot make our everyday lives. From the air conditioning units to the bugs crawling on the ground, they all they are all a part of life. This park showed me that you never know what you are going to run into and that you should always be on the look out for that little unexpected spot when you travel or are just taking a walk. These places give you the opportunity to experience a special feeling or event when you least expect it.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Commons Market
For my observation place I chose a little bench next to commons market where I eat with the football team. The bench is a little one and its located directly under a tree. While I was at the bench I noticed a couple of things that were pretty cool. On the tree that the bench was under I first heard things moving around in it, To my surprise it was two squirrels playing. It seemed as if they didn’t even know I was there. It was also very very windy at the time. I also could hear a lot of birds chirping and leaves rustling. When I was sitting there I saw 5 different people walk by: one with his laundry, one with some food, two were holding hands, and the last one was on his bike. The smell that I got while I was there was just smooth clean air. I also noticed a lot of ants walking around at my feet as if they were racing. Another thing that I noticed was that there are 10 trash cans in like a 40 yard distance. I think that’s good for keeping our campus clean. Another cool thing is that the tree directly across from the bench was very tangled. The branches were all twisted together and it was interesting. That was about everything I saw while sitting at the bench.
2nd Visit
For my second visit to my bench at the commons market I chose to at around 12:00 pm on Saturday. Not much had changed I mean the tree was still there as well as all the garbage can but this time I saw 13 people walk by. First it was one man who was dribbling a basketball so I was guessing he was leaving the Johnson Center. The other person was another man who was in pajama pants and no shoes, so im guessing he just woke up. The rest of the people that I saw was in a huge group who all were walking together. One had a basketball but he was wearing sandals and the rest were just talking or on there cell phones. The tree was still there and I saw two birds that kept flying back and forth from the tree across from me and another tree behind me. I also saw at one of the trash cans a burger king cup laying on the ground beside it. The smell was still the same fresh smooth air that was there the first time I was there. And once again I noticed tons of ants roaming around looking like they were having fun. That was about it for that time.
3rd visit
For my third visit I visited my bench at 8:15 Tuesday morning. While I was there for my ten to fifteen minutes I did not see but one person. It was a tall skinny man who had his backpack on and dress clothes. He looked older so he may have been a professor or maybe a grad student or something. While he passed me he was very friendly and said good morning and I returned with a morning sir. While he was leaving I noticed that his shoe was un tied but I didn’t tell him and I kind of felt like a jerk when he kept going. Other than that I didn’t really see much. Although I never could find them I heard some birds chirping back and forth to one another. it sounded as if they were singing a song together. This time instead of smelling fresh air I smelled what seemed to be biscuits. It was coming from the commons market but there wasn’t anyone going in. They smelled really good and it made me hungry. I didn’t happen to see any ants this time though and I wondered if they had found a new place to hang out and play.
4th visit
For my final visit to the bench I chose to go at 9:30 at night on Wednesday. I saw a lot of people at this time of night. I saw groups of people ranging from 3 to 4 too 10 to 20. They all seemed like they were having fun and no one looked frustrated. One of the people that I saw was our old classmate Jerrell. He was with some girl that I didn’t know and he winked at me when he walked by. This time at my visit I observed the tree a little more. I saw 2 squirrels, 4 birds, and a couple of flies. They all were just running or flying around minding their own business not even noticing I was there. There once again I could smell the clean fresh air that I love so much to smell. It was very relaxing and refreshing and I will definitely be sure to visit back to my bench on occasion.
For my observation place I chose a little bench next to commons market where I eat with the football team. The bench is a little one and its located directly under a tree. While I was at the bench I noticed a couple of things that were pretty cool. On the tree that the bench was under I first heard things moving around in it, To my surprise it was two squirrels playing. It seemed as if they didn’t even know I was there. It was also very very windy at the time. I also could hear a lot of birds chirping and leaves rustling. When I was sitting there I saw 5 different people walk by: one with his laundry, one with some food, two were holding hands, and the last one was on his bike. The smell that I got while I was there was just smooth clean air. I also noticed a lot of ants walking around at my feet as if they were racing. Another thing that I noticed was that there are 10 trash cans in like a 40 yard distance. I think that’s good for keeping our campus clean. Another cool thing is that the tree directly across from the bench was very tangled. The branches were all twisted together and it was interesting. That was about everything I saw while sitting at the bench.
2nd Visit
For my second visit to my bench at the commons market I chose to at around 12:00 pm on Saturday. Not much had changed I mean the tree was still there as well as all the garbage can but this time I saw 13 people walk by. First it was one man who was dribbling a basketball so I was guessing he was leaving the Johnson Center. The other person was another man who was in pajama pants and no shoes, so im guessing he just woke up. The rest of the people that I saw was in a huge group who all were walking together. One had a basketball but he was wearing sandals and the rest were just talking or on there cell phones. The tree was still there and I saw two birds that kept flying back and forth from the tree across from me and another tree behind me. I also saw at one of the trash cans a burger king cup laying on the ground beside it. The smell was still the same fresh smooth air that was there the first time I was there. And once again I noticed tons of ants roaming around looking like they were having fun. That was about it for that time.
3rd visit
For my third visit I visited my bench at 8:15 Tuesday morning. While I was there for my ten to fifteen minutes I did not see but one person. It was a tall skinny man who had his backpack on and dress clothes. He looked older so he may have been a professor or maybe a grad student or something. While he passed me he was very friendly and said good morning and I returned with a morning sir. While he was leaving I noticed that his shoe was un tied but I didn’t tell him and I kind of felt like a jerk when he kept going. Other than that I didn’t really see much. Although I never could find them I heard some birds chirping back and forth to one another. it sounded as if they were singing a song together. This time instead of smelling fresh air I smelled what seemed to be biscuits. It was coming from the commons market but there wasn’t anyone going in. They smelled really good and it made me hungry. I didn’t happen to see any ants this time though and I wondered if they had found a new place to hang out and play.
4th visit
For my final visit to the bench I chose to go at 9:30 at night on Wednesday. I saw a lot of people at this time of night. I saw groups of people ranging from 3 to 4 too 10 to 20. They all seemed like they were having fun and no one looked frustrated. One of the people that I saw was our old classmate Jerrell. He was with some girl that I didn’t know and he winked at me when he walked by. This time at my visit I observed the tree a little more. I saw 2 squirrels, 4 birds, and a couple of flies. They all were just running or flying around minding their own business not even noticing I was there. There once again I could smell the clean fresh air that I love so much to smell. It was very relaxing and refreshing and I will definitely be sure to visit back to my bench on occasion.
Blog assingment #3
The relatively un-noticed bowl behind the library is the spot I chose to visit three times once at 10:45pm, once again on the 4th of July at 9:00pm, and a final time at around 7:30am. Only once was I there and the sun was actually shining and even that day it had just risen to the east. I don’t know if it was because I was there at awkward hours or what but every time I went there was almost no one around. There were a total of three or so that surrounded the bowl each time I went I choose to sit at a different one.
On the first night I went it was extremely late, 10:45pm. The only reason I went that late was to escape the boredom of my dorm room in smith hall. Upon arrival there were a group of three girls walking to their car in the parking lot to the side of the library. Without seeming like a stalker I tried to eaves drop on what they were saying. The girls were just talking about the upcoming midnight release of eclipse and if they were going to see it the very next morning. Also at this time the fire flies were lighting up the inside of the bowl like a fresh poured bowl of corn pops, “Gota have my pops” I assume they felt safe from the birds it being 10:45 and all. As time progressed I saw no more people come around, my assumption was they were all in for the night seeing how it was a Tuesday I couldn’t blame them, I didn’t even no why I was out. The helicopter flew over head and the occasional car driving on Woodland Avenue behind me were about the only thing too see afterwards.
July 4th was quite an evening to be sitting out at the bowl. Having no other plans and tired of watching all six episodes of Star Wars on spike T.V. I decided to go out and get some ice cream and check out the fire work scene behind the library. There was no professional show going on at the time which extremely disappointed me, but I still enjoyed the armatures getting drunk and putting on their own show. To my left I could see mortars occasionally flying up and exploding with a thunderous boom from Eculid avenue where all the for rent houses were, and even Cooperstown apartments straight ahead of me were launching little bottle rockets for the kids. Once again at this time I didn’t see anybody, my assumption was everybody went on vacation for the weekend or out celebrating. Me being from Florida here with no car I was pretty much stranded like a hermit on an island. As I laid on the bench as I did the very first night I was there for blog assignment two I wandered to myself, what watching the shows from the circling helicopter must have been like? They had to have been able to see a whole lot from the height they were at. Then into even deeper though of how if the space station was over North America at the time what they were seeing if anything.
The final visit to the bowl was at a much more reasonable hour, kind of. At 7:30 a.m. I just finished working out at the Jonson center and decided to go ahead and get my final visit over with. Upon arrival there was already much more activity. Janitors were driving around on golf carts spraying flowers and getting to their next destination. A few students wearing book bags exited the library they seemed pretty fatigued and I couldn’t blame them it was still a little early to be out studying, and the worst part about it was I think they were headed for class. Since iv been there it was the first time I could actually look up at the library and see people studying at the desks by the window. Down in the actual bowl instead of fire flies like the previous nights there were what seemed like little baby rabbits, and squirrels running around looking for breakfast. It was overall a very pleasant experience during all four times there.
On the first night I went it was extremely late, 10:45pm. The only reason I went that late was to escape the boredom of my dorm room in smith hall. Upon arrival there were a group of three girls walking to their car in the parking lot to the side of the library. Without seeming like a stalker I tried to eaves drop on what they were saying. The girls were just talking about the upcoming midnight release of eclipse and if they were going to see it the very next morning. Also at this time the fire flies were lighting up the inside of the bowl like a fresh poured bowl of corn pops, “Gota have my pops” I assume they felt safe from the birds it being 10:45 and all. As time progressed I saw no more people come around, my assumption was they were all in for the night seeing how it was a Tuesday I couldn’t blame them, I didn’t even no why I was out. The helicopter flew over head and the occasional car driving on Woodland Avenue behind me were about the only thing too see afterwards.
July 4th was quite an evening to be sitting out at the bowl. Having no other plans and tired of watching all six episodes of Star Wars on spike T.V. I decided to go out and get some ice cream and check out the fire work scene behind the library. There was no professional show going on at the time which extremely disappointed me, but I still enjoyed the armatures getting drunk and putting on their own show. To my left I could see mortars occasionally flying up and exploding with a thunderous boom from Eculid avenue where all the for rent houses were, and even Cooperstown apartments straight ahead of me were launching little bottle rockets for the kids. Once again at this time I didn’t see anybody, my assumption was everybody went on vacation for the weekend or out celebrating. Me being from Florida here with no car I was pretty much stranded like a hermit on an island. As I laid on the bench as I did the very first night I was there for blog assignment two I wandered to myself, what watching the shows from the circling helicopter must have been like? They had to have been able to see a whole lot from the height they were at. Then into even deeper though of how if the space station was over North America at the time what they were seeing if anything.
The final visit to the bowl was at a much more reasonable hour, kind of. At 7:30 a.m. I just finished working out at the Jonson center and decided to go ahead and get my final visit over with. Upon arrival there was already much more activity. Janitors were driving around on golf carts spraying flowers and getting to their next destination. A few students wearing book bags exited the library they seemed pretty fatigued and I couldn’t blame them it was still a little early to be out studying, and the worst part about it was I think they were headed for class. Since iv been there it was the first time I could actually look up at the library and see people studying at the desks by the window. Down in the actual bowl instead of fire flies like the previous nights there were what seemed like little baby rabbits, and squirrels running around looking for breakfast. It was overall a very pleasant experience during all four times there.
Post #2 pt.2
I have been back to the same comfy chairs in the Fine Arts Library many times since my last post. I still see the same black pavement with neon yellow lines. The same trees and landscapes as before. There are still multiple lawn structures adding art in places that give this scenery some character. I have also seen the same white community trucks and vans most times I have been back, these things you notice quite often around campus. I have seen kids rushing to class and rushing home, bikers zooming around and swerving to avoid pedestrians. What i have notice two of the times I have been back are groups of parents and prospective students walking around enjoying the quiet of campus in the summer. They look to have veered from the tour, or decided to explore together some more after the tour has finished. I can see them walking slow and taking in the sights almost as attentive to detail as I was trying to be. I can still hear the tapping of the keyboards, but no crinkling professor these last few times. It must be the time of year, because there are usually many more people surrounding this peaceful place in the library. I see some squirrels prancing from the grass to the trees, doing a sort of dance or ritual within this situation.
I have been to this place many times over the years. The thing I like the most is that I am able to see this busy part of campus without being a part of it. I am almost safe from the bustle and college community for a little while. It is a gorgeous view, sometimes I like it because I can see Avenue of Champions and it gives me a little escape, until I remember that I have class shortly. Sometimes this is the type of experience you need during a break between classes, but this is the first time I have sat here and thought about it during the summer. It offers a new perspective on campus, a quieter version.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Blog Assignment # 2 part 2
I went back to the medical library on Monday of this week. I sat in the same spot I did the previous week at a desk in front of the door way to the back room of the basement. I noticed the same musty smell the buzzing lights and the still silence. There was college age male in one of the study rooms of the back room of the basement. It is unusual to see people in these rooms. For the most part Monday’s observation was very similar to my first. I went back Tuesday in the morning instead of the previous afternoon visits. When I made my way down the aisles of books to the back room I could see a cleaning man standing in the middle of the back room. He Moved chairs around to reach all the dirty areas. He stood humming a song unaware of my presence. He hadn’t finished mopping by the time I was leaving. No other soul was in sight that morning. I went again to the library on Wednesday going back to my original time because it seemed to be busier around this time. Down the aisles towards the back room of the basement I started to notice a different smell… paint. I increased my pace; the entire back room was rearranged. My favorite super huge medical journals were missing. More tables where added to this already cramped room and the fresh paint covered the graffiti I had carved into the wall before I ever attended this college. All these observations made me realize how quickly things change and how little time we spend just taking it all in. I still think that the back room of the basement of the medical Library is my favorite place to study!
Assignment #3 final observation
The first time I went to there again was the afternoon. I was on my way to go home after finishing my classes. Before, I have seen a lot of people taking a picture with that place. There were people who enjoyed that place, leaping for the joy. However, unlike before, there were little number of people. They just passed out memorial hall with fast-paced walking. During ten minutes, I only saw nearly 20 persons who just passed out there for any other purpose. I think they want to get out of there because sunshine was strong and the weather was hot outsides. Also, the level of humidity was so high that even I couldn’t stand there for five minutes just observing some people. I was covered with sweat, and the clothes was soaked with sweat as well. And I saw squirrels that jumped one tree into another tree. They seemed looking for the food competing with other squirrels. This is because after any one squirrel found out the food and then eat that, another squirrel who was chasing the squirrel changed his direction toward another tree. In addition, I realized that squirrel’s pace of running is somewhat slow than before. Also, I heard sound sung by the bird, and noisy sound by the cars. What I figure out from observing this area is that hot weather play a significant role in the behavior of someone, no matter it is person or animal.
The second time I back to there in the night. At that night, I noticed that the light of the memorial hall was excellent because its light has changed based on every time per five minutes. I just stared at the light without concerning about anything. I felt like I came to the king’s palace. I took fresh air and heard quiet sound from nearby. And I saw only seven people. Unlike the afternoon, it is likely that they walked out with peaceful and comfortable feeling, due to little hot weather than before. Thanks to that, I could also stand this area for the ten minutes with comfortable emotion. I could hear the droning of a cicada loudly because there were few people as well as cars. What I learned from observing this area is that people including me could feel relaxing in the same space by seeing those who would feel comfortable.
The last visiting in this area was dawn. There was little sound. I could just hear the sound of birds and train. Also, there was nobody in this area. Because any people or animals did not show up, I felt alone and wanted to go back home. Thus I just decided to stare at this building. However, right after feeling like this, I noticed that the color of the sky was very beautiful to me. Moreover, the color from the sky and the light from that building were a good match, which made a grotesque sight. I felt like I was refreshed by that sight and got more energy and stamina to make a living. What I learned from observing this area is that by seeing beautiful scenery, people are able to get some energy and take a break for a while.
assignment 3-- The 90.
The spot I chose was a spot popularly known around campus as the “90”. Its know for this name because of the angle the street forms as you follow the road up woodland avenue until you are forced to take a sharp right onto Hilltop avenue. This place is know by almost everyone who attends school at the University of Kentucky, and I’m not sure exactly why. My lack of knowledge on the subject is what made me want to understand a little more about it.
As a student at UK I am aware of the area which the 90 is located, I’m just not exactly sure why it’s used so much in reference to so many people that it is surrounded by. As a freshman, having friends always come and pick me up from the dorms, the 90 seemed very convenient in the sense that it was both is to be found and easy to get away from. In a way I kind of think of it as a friendly drive through allowing people to pick up/drop off both friends and items without having to pull into a parking lot or find a parking space.
As I observed this area walking home from class each day I spend around 5-10 mins trying to figure out what it actually was that made the 90 such a special, well-known and noticed landmark. Each day observing from the same exact position, acting as though I were a student waiting on a ride I would stand directly in the corner of the 90 degree angle formed by the two streets and observed everyone and everything I saw, smelled, heard and felt. While standing there, the first sense I used was my nose. I smelled around, and after reading the example, i thought that the smell of cigarettes would linger in the air, but it didn’t. As I stood there with my GF we actually shared a breath of fresh air and were able to chill out under the shade being provided by the extremely tall and fully leaved trees leading to the University’s dorms housing buildings.
As I began trying to observe the area using my visual senses I noticed that the 90 wasn’t much but just a busy street. Cars sped past one after another for an almost continuous 10 mins. There were little gaps of silence when no cars where passing but they didn’t last very much longer than a few seconds. One other things I saw a repetition of was the number of people jogging by. Each day I would count at least 5 people running past within my ten minutes of observation. Male and female genders both able to be found using it as a shortcut of some sort. I would stand there and out of nowhere someone would just cut through the 90 coming from places I never even knew led anywhere. As I continued to see this happening I began to wonder and think about jogging there myself. i started to ask myself, how long would it take to get from there to my house, and then I realized what was going on, I caught myself falling into the “90” fad that I had so curiously been trying to crank and figure out. The only reason I had the thoughts and Ideas I was having was because I had stood there watching people analyzing and putting myself into their shoes. While in reality I didn’t care much about the jog around commonly overlook street corner.
During my last visit at the 90 I felt that I understood a little more about the location and why it was often over looked and popularly noticed. People use the 90 for all sorts of things, short-cuts, both driving and while on foot. It’s often used a reference for people to be found or to guild someone to you. After completing this assignment I look at the 90 with open eyes, noticing many aspects of its use and how different people use it for wide variety of different things. I don’t think the 90 has the same meaning to everyone, as I did beginning the assignment. I enjoyed this being involved in this activity and hope there are more like it down the road.
As a student at UK I am aware of the area which the 90 is located, I’m just not exactly sure why it’s used so much in reference to so many people that it is surrounded by. As a freshman, having friends always come and pick me up from the dorms, the 90 seemed very convenient in the sense that it was both is to be found and easy to get away from. In a way I kind of think of it as a friendly drive through allowing people to pick up/drop off both friends and items without having to pull into a parking lot or find a parking space.
As I observed this area walking home from class each day I spend around 5-10 mins trying to figure out what it actually was that made the 90 such a special, well-known and noticed landmark. Each day observing from the same exact position, acting as though I were a student waiting on a ride I would stand directly in the corner of the 90 degree angle formed by the two streets and observed everyone and everything I saw, smelled, heard and felt. While standing there, the first sense I used was my nose. I smelled around, and after reading the example, i thought that the smell of cigarettes would linger in the air, but it didn’t. As I stood there with my GF we actually shared a breath of fresh air and were able to chill out under the shade being provided by the extremely tall and fully leaved trees leading to the University’s dorms housing buildings.
As I began trying to observe the area using my visual senses I noticed that the 90 wasn’t much but just a busy street. Cars sped past one after another for an almost continuous 10 mins. There were little gaps of silence when no cars where passing but they didn’t last very much longer than a few seconds. One other things I saw a repetition of was the number of people jogging by. Each day I would count at least 5 people running past within my ten minutes of observation. Male and female genders both able to be found using it as a shortcut of some sort. I would stand there and out of nowhere someone would just cut through the 90 coming from places I never even knew led anywhere. As I continued to see this happening I began to wonder and think about jogging there myself. i started to ask myself, how long would it take to get from there to my house, and then I realized what was going on, I caught myself falling into the “90” fad that I had so curiously been trying to crank and figure out. The only reason I had the thoughts and Ideas I was having was because I had stood there watching people analyzing and putting myself into their shoes. While in reality I didn’t care much about the jog around commonly overlook street corner.
During my last visit at the 90 I felt that I understood a little more about the location and why it was often over looked and popularly noticed. People use the 90 for all sorts of things, short-cuts, both driving and while on foot. It’s often used a reference for people to be found or to guild someone to you. After completing this assignment I look at the 90 with open eyes, noticing many aspects of its use and how different people use it for wide variety of different things. I don’t think the 90 has the same meaning to everyone, as I did beginning the assignment. I enjoyed this being involved in this activity and hope there are more like it down the road.
Assignment #3
My spot was behind the Anderson Tower.
I have noticed that when I go there are the same time I see a lot of the same people, but there are always a different person.
Here are my findings from the past 3 times i went...
This time I have come back to my spot at the same times as before (before class). i see some of the same people that i saw before, but there are some different faces. It is very quiet except for a few students quickly walking through and some, what look like lost parents on their phones looking around confused. There is the occasional biker that usually bursts through not really paying attention to predestrains very well.
There are two squirrels this morning. One is chasing after the other. The front one quickly jumps around the sidewalk as the other one follows its path trying to cut the other one off at times.
This morning, when i first came to the spot, there was a big box with a fan in the opening surrounded by a group of 4 men. I cant figure out what they are doing. They are just standing there looking at it, smiling, and laughing. Whenever someone walks past them on the path, they look at him or her.
The smells are the same, but it is hotter today and there isn't very much wind. It still feels really good in this shaded spot though.
My Next visit...
this time i came to my spot after class. That day there was a really big truck backed up to the building. I didnt know that a truck could get back here. Everyone had to go around the truck. It really disturbed the flow of things there. The usual low traffic was even lower.
This time, i didnt hear any birds. It may have been too hot and there was no wind.
Last Visit...
I went to my place before class again this time. Everything was basically the same except for this huge--and i mean HUGE--group of people passing by. I am guessing they were with the advising conference.
I have noticed that when I go there are the same time I see a lot of the same people, but there are always a different person.
Here are my findings from the past 3 times i went...
This time I have come back to my spot at the same times as before (before class). i see some of the same people that i saw before, but there are some different faces. It is very quiet except for a few students quickly walking through and some, what look like lost parents on their phones looking around confused. There is the occasional biker that usually bursts through not really paying attention to predestrains very well.
There are two squirrels this morning. One is chasing after the other. The front one quickly jumps around the sidewalk as the other one follows its path trying to cut the other one off at times.
This morning, when i first came to the spot, there was a big box with a fan in the opening surrounded by a group of 4 men. I cant figure out what they are doing. They are just standing there looking at it, smiling, and laughing. Whenever someone walks past them on the path, they look at him or her.
The smells are the same, but it is hotter today and there isn't very much wind. It still feels really good in this shaded spot though.
My Next visit...
this time i came to my spot after class. That day there was a really big truck backed up to the building. I didnt know that a truck could get back here. Everyone had to go around the truck. It really disturbed the flow of things there. The usual low traffic was even lower.
This time, i didnt hear any birds. It may have been too hot and there was no wind.
Last Visit...
I went to my place before class again this time. Everything was basically the same except for this huge--and i mean HUGE--group of people passing by. I am guessing they were with the advising conference.
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