Starting presentations

After some problems with the technology, we finally got started on the presentations today. Thanks to the three students who agreed to go ahead today. Unfortunately, we had problems with the technology for one. So, we just ended up with two engaging and well-delivered talks. Well done!

Next week we will continue with the rest of the talks. If you can, try to email me a copy of your presentation (if it's on PowerPoint) before Thursday so we can avoid the problems we had today.

Sample presentation structure

The slide show below outlines a suggested template for the photography presentation. This is something that the class came up with. You don't need to use this, but it may give you some ideas ...

Sample template for photography presentation

View more presentations from Jerry O’Neill.

Previewing what needs to be done

After a good, long break we had a small group today (thanks to those who made contact who weren't here).

The presentations will be taking place two weeks today (6th May). I asked those who were in today to draft up a plan for the presentation. If you weren't here today, can you email a plan by next week?

The following will give you some idea of what your plan should cover: what is the presentation about?; how will you structure your presentation (ie. what will come first, second, third etc.) Some folk may structure their presentation around a chronology of the photographer's life - but there are other ways of doing it. Look at the post above for a suggestion of a presentation structure which you guys came up with. A plan should also mention something about the technical aspects of the presentation - are you using PowerPoint? How will you display the images if you aren't (you don't want to spend lots of time fiddling with different files on the computer).

The folk who were in today put their plans together in less than ten minutes - so you don't need to go into a lot of detail. We just need evidence that you have thought through how your presentation will be delivered.

I also mentioned that, after the presentation, there are two other tasks to complete. One is a written piece of about 600 words. We have some degree of flexibility with this, but the simplest option would be to write up your presentation (or part of it).

The second thing that needs to be done is a reading assessment which needs to be done in college. The evaluations you have been doing on websites will have prepared you for this. This can be done at any time between now and the end of the course (3 June). It will consist of answering a series of questions on a magazine article on the photographer Bob Carlos Clarke. Click here to get a flavour of his work.

As for next week, that will be the last week before the presentations and some people will be coming in to run through at least some of their talk in preparation for the week after.

Thinking about evaluations and presentations

Today we met as a class (a small one, but a class all the same) to review and preview what we are doing.

We took a look at some previous examples of evaluations written by students for their Higher project to get a sense of the structure, content and style of an evaluation.

We worked out the structure that both students used. The topics that they covered included: themes; problems; strengths; weaknesses; value of research; and the completed project's fit with the original brief.

I asked everyone to write a short evaluation of their progress to date in class. I'll give a copy to Tony as well.

I also collected and reminded folk of the research task that I had asked for by today. Some of you will be emailing the work later today.

Finally, I went over a suggested structure for the presentations which are due to start on the 6th May. I'll email a copy of the template that I put together based on your suggestions. Although, this is just a suggestion - remember the main point is that there is a logical structure to your presentation and that it lasts 15 minutes. I'd like to meet with you to chat about your presentation before the 6th. I'll be in contact. I need to see evidence of planning before you get up and do your presentation.

I think that's about it - take care and have a great Easter!

Individual consultations

Today I met with some students who weren't here last week. I explained how we were going to approach things from now on and everyone seemed happy enough about that.

Everyone should now have a copy of the Individual Learning Schedule (I gave that out last week). This may, like the best things in life, be a bit organic - ie. the details on specific tasks may change as we go. For example, you'll see from your schedule that I have put in a discussion on photographers for the 1 April. However, having talked to folk over the last couple of weeks, I might change the focus of that discussion a bit and instead focus it more on what you need to do for your presentation and your written evaluation. This seems to be the things that folk are concerned about. A discussion is a good platform to work some of these things out.

Most folk have now done a short talk on a source of information. Some have submitted their written evaluation on that. I am presuming that others are working on the second evaluation of a source. I asked everyone, for this second piece, to follow the sample one that I did on the extract from the Ansel Adams entry on Wikipedia. The main thing is that you focus on a text, or extract from a text, that can be summarised down to about a quarter or third of its length (around 200/300 words). That means that the original needs to be in the region of 800 to 1200 words.

Hope all of this makes sense. Again, there are links on the side to Skillswise which is a useful resource on various reading and writing skills including summarising. If you have any queries, get in touch. I'll see some of you next week and all of you the week after.

Organising individual learning schedules

We started off today with another short talk on a source of information used in research. Again, the point came out that the internet provides a lot of information on certain aspects of a photographer's work (mainly critical evaluations). However, the internet, it was observed, is often a poor resource when looking for more obscure or less well-known aspects of a photographer. What's more, and this came up before, the internet is not proving very useful in finding much out about particular photographer's techniques.

After talking to folk last week, having a look back at attendance patterns, and chatting to Tony, I think we've agreed that a more individualised and flexible approach to this class may be more suitable.

So, with that in mind, I devised a list of activities that need to be completed as part of the communication unit. Attendance is mandatory for some of dates. I handed out this list today in class and with some blank spaces for completion dates. As everyone is at slightly different stages, then these Individual Learning Schedules (for want of a snappier title) allow you to choose, up to a point, your own deadlines. I say "up to a point" as there are final deadlines for everything - but it does allow you to prioritise your time a bit more.

I hope this makes sense. If you weren't in today and are a tad confused talk to someone who was here today and they'll be able to fill you in.

Also, get in contact with me (see contact details on right-hand side) and I'll email you a copy of the Individual Learning Schedule.

And, as promised, here's the link to the film that I started off today's class with: http://en.tackfilm.se/ (This will probably only make sense if you were here).

More talks and a piece of writing

Thanks to all who made it in today. We had three very interested talks on some sources that are being used for reserach: two websites and one book. Thanks for doing these - they were focussed and well-structured.

One of the benefits in doing this type of activity is that we start to share information with each other.

At this stage, I'd like you to write up your talks using the questions I gave you. You've delivered an oral evaluation of a site or book. We now need to see how that looks as a written piece. I gave out an example today of the kind of thing I'm looking for. Again, a lot of what we are doing is associated with critical thinking.

Finally, I mentioned the SEC method for critical thinking. SEC stands for Statement-Evidence-Comment and it forces us to go beyond the general ("that's fantastic" or "that's crap") when communicating our thoughts about a piece of writing or, for that matter, a photograph (or, even better, anything really). I've put up a separate post on this (see post below).

The SEC method of Critical thinking

Everything sensible that you will say in Higher English (or, come to think of it, life) will, more or less, use the SEC (Statement – Evidence – Comment) method in some form or other.

You make a statement
Back it up with evidence
Then, and this is the crucial part, link the two by commenting on both.

For example;

Make a statement

I think that Sparklehorse have re-invented country music for a new generation

Back it up with evidence

For example, they will often use banjos and sampling in the same song

Comment on how the evidence helps to support your statement

The use of traditional instruments like banjos shows that they are indebted to the country music heritage. Yet, they re-vitalise a very traditional genre of music by their incorporation of samples: a technique that is associated with cutting-edge music.

Now just put all the bits together:

I think that Sparklehorse have re-invented country music for a new generation. For example, they will often use banjos and sampling in the same song. The use of traditional instruments like banjos shows that they are indebted to the country music heritage. Yet, they re-vitalise a very traditional genre of music by their incorporation of samples: technique that is associated with cutting-edge music.

The paragraph above looks like the type of paragraph that you would expect to see in a Critical Essay paper.

Your Critical Essays should follow the SEC method throughout. In fact, all persuasive and argumentative essays will also be built around statements, evidence and comments.

In Close Reading analysis and evaluation questions the “Statement” part is often provided by the question itself – all you need to do is provide evidence and comment (remember don’t skimp on comment; that’s usually where the marks are hiding).

As I have said, the statement-evidence-comment method is not just something that you should learn and then quickly forget for Higher English. All academic essays will require you to use this method in some form or other. As you progress in your education you will find that what changes (or should) is the level of sophistication and subtlety of your statements, evidence and comments.

Indeed, SEC is something that we do at every level of “argument”.

Take the scenario of a mother reading her favourite story from her childhood to her child, again:

Young child: This is boring! (Statement)
Mother Why do you say that?
Young child Because we’ve read it lots of time before. (Evidence)
Mother And?
Young child And I’m bored of reading the same thing over and over again. You like it, but I don’t. (Comment – neatly linking statement and evidence)

Once you look, you start to see SEC everywhere.

A final point. You may have noticed that the comment bit is the most challenging. It is quite easy for us to make statements. Think about people you know who react to a new film, a book, or a band with the comment "that's crap". When you ask them why they say that (ie. you want them to provide evidence and comment) they will often struggle and, eventually, merely provide you with the rather juvenile and completely unsatisfactory answer "because it just is". Then they'll possibly provide you with another range of negative statements (ie. "it's really crap; "I hate it", etc.). What they are struggling to do is to analyse and evaluate through evidence and comment. If they could provide evidence and convincing comment for their statement ("that's crap"), then we'd start to take their opinion seriously.

These are the skills that are at the centre of almost everything you do in Higher English.

Enough of that. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy some ............ Sparklehorse

Practice presentations on research

Thanks to the folk that made it in today.

Those who made it in all got up and had a go at a short presentation. I had asked for everyone to give a short talk on a source they used for their research for their chosen photographer.

Again, the purpose of this is to share some information on useful sources but also to get us to think critically about various sources. For example, after one of the talks today we had a chat about the kind of information that is found on the internet. One of you made the perceptive point that there are lots of examples of the work and information on the influence of specific photographers on the internet. However, it seems that it is more difficult to find out about specific techniques of photographers by just using the internet - often a textbook, it was argued, is more useful for finding out about technique.

Anyone who missed the opportunity to have a go at the practice talk can do that next week. We will also be looking at turning your oral evaluation of a source into a written piece next week.

We also had a quick chat about the morality of photo-journalism and I showed a poem by Carol Ann Duffy (poet laureate) called "War Photographer".

Thinking and practising the art of writing summaries

Today we looked at a core aspect of research and writing for academic purposes: summarising.

I gave out a copy of 675 words of text from part of the Wikipedia entry on Ansel Adams (the bit about his "Contribution and influence").

I gave out (and talked through) a handout on summary writing tips and then asked you to summarise the piece to about a third of its original length. This is not an easy task but you all worked hard on that.

Once you finished I handed out a copy of my 229 word summary and a copy of the original text with my notes on it.

I asked you to think about what you found it easy or difficult about it. Some common points came up in our discussion and your written reflections on the task:

• It can be quite hard to move away from the words of the original text. I showed one technique that I use which involves first using a highlighter and then making brief notes in the margin in my own words. I then use my scribbled notes in the margin, rather than the original text itself, as a guide when writing the summary. This may not work for everyone but a lot of students find that this is a useful way of producing a accurate and non-plagiarised summary.
• Another point was that the summary that you produce will be based on the purpose of the task and the reader's knowledge of the subject.
• More than one person commented that, once they had read my version, that the task may not have been as difficult as it first appeared.
• A very important point made in your written comments is that we need to understand something before we start to summarise.
• I like the comment that a summary is not just a shorter version of the original.
• More than one person self-confessed to waffling a bit too much - a common trait in all of us sometime.
• Some folk felt they could do a better job of they had more time. A valid point - and it goes back to the idea that in order to summarise we first need to understand or fully digest the information.
• And finally more than one person used the term "ruthless" - in the sense that, having seen my version, that they could have been more ruthless in cutting it down.

Anyway, thanks for your hard work today ...

... next time I see you, you will be doing a short (5-7 min) presentation on a specific source of information that you found useful for your research.

Getting started with research

Today we started on the work that you will be doing in this class over the semester.

As I said, the work that you will be doing is focused around the work that you are doing for Tony Scott.

To start things off we are looking at the research that you are doing on your chosen photographers. I asked everyone, at the start of class, to write down what they know about their photographer. I also asked you to think about what you need to find out.

We had some discussion about the areas of research that you might look at. These areas may also suggest a possible structure for a piece of writing or presentation:

Details about life, background
Style - technique (development of style)
Locations
Work - themes
Legacy

I set a task for the 25 February for a 5-7 min presentation of evaluation of a resource associated with your research.