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The discussion generated around these two extreme positions has been very provocative and we plan to let the comments keep coming a couple days more. Both Randy and I agree that it is heartening to see so much support for the ocean and its inhabitants. We will wrap up the seafood discussion later…
I've been meaning to start blogging about this site launched last week, and as it turns out, I just received this press release via email. I am sure I will be coming back to the site with posts this week and in coming months. Definitely a new relevant resource on framing to check out. Below is…
I've just got the feedback on my final piece of coursework, and it's better than I expected:
A well written description of TrpM8 function in cold sensation. It is written clearly and in the context of experimental evidence. Some additional figures to summarise the results discussed would have been…
...I find it rather amazing that after all these months I'm still getting a steady, constant stream of traffic, probably at least a couple of dozen visits a day, to this old post from Your Friday Dose of Woo, all coming from this discussion on the JREF forums.
That forum must get a lot of traffic.…
Thanks for the link Bora!
1. Practice before the talk? Recognize that the audience will follow the speaker's eyes. If you're staring at your computer screen, that where the audience's eyes will be too. Agreed that "not making eye contact" is the first slide, but it's too nebulous - you must make constant eye contact and you must use your eyes to direct the audience's attention.
2. Know your audience and prepare accordingly. Too many times I've had guest lecturers come in and talk way over the head of the students. You must use a vocabulary they understand and deliver it in an appropriate manner.
3. Prepare the audience. Tell them when questions should be proffered. Can they just "popcorn" them, should they raise their hand, should they write them down and ask at the end.
4. As an occasional Art History lecturer, our department's mantra is that slides used in the lectures should be the visual argument, and your voice is the textual one.
5. Don't surprise the audience and stay on topic. Surprises tend to overshadow all other content, rambling confuses them. My first slide after the title one is "4 things you will know after this lecture." At the end of the lecture, I bring up each of the things on separate slides to drive home the point(s) of the lecture. I always draw test and essay questions from that pool of those things. I try to keep it down to 4 things because I work with lower division undergraduates (freshman and sophomores). See point #2.
Gratuitous use of annoying soundtracks should also be avoided. The audience may be struggling to hear the sound and miss the visual.
Oh and where's my comment to the Art History entry?! Gee I give you two innocuous links and it's held in moderation hell.
The most important thing isn't eye contact; it's mind contact.
Awww! Whaddayamean no surgery pics?
Well, OK, I have made most of those mistakes (in fact the phone rang just yesterday during a lecture I was giving to 40 people). BUT I am proud to say that I have never lost consciousness (Yet)