Monday, November 8, 2010

Session 12


Session 12
SESSION 12: REVIEW
This week (as well as last week – session 11) is presentation week for TWC. Last week, 3 groups of students made their presentations. This week, the number of presentations increased to a grand total of 5. In case you missed my previous post, groups of students are required to present their findings and research to the class as part of their group project. Presentations were assessed on 3 aspects:
·      Quality of Content
o   Was the information provided reliable?
o   How detailed was the information provided?

·      Innovativeness of Approach
o   How did the group decide to present their findings? Was it innovative?

·      Flow and Logical Consistency
o   How well was the group able to communicate their findings to the audience? Was there a logical flow in the presentation?
The 5 groups that presented during session 12 were:
1.     EBooks – how have they affected us?
a.     Members: Anzie Chong, Kuah Qing Yun, Timothy Foo, Kevyna Pang, Jolyn Teng, Michael Ha
This was my group presentation. In order to avoid a biased review, I shall not comment. J

2.     Nuclear Power to Drive Green Regime
a.     Members: Joseph Lee, Melissa Lim, Michelle Gwee, Brennan Neoh, Teng Ta-Wei, Yusuf Sufi bin Jaafar
b.     Website: http://bit.ly/nuclearenergy
Like last week, the presentations this week were of very high quality. This presentation was no different. The only thing that I feel could improve this presentation would be the  length of the presentation. It was too long – almost 30 minutes. More summarization and focus on the important points would definitely improve the presentation.
I really liked the website. Information was organized very well into neat tabs. The only thing that I did not like was the background of the website. It was a bit too “busy”. Everything else was very good though. (Note: the website link provided is an old one. They changed their link at the last minute. Will try to get the new link ASAP. All the content is there, though.)

3.     Technology and Weather Control
a.     Members: Rachel Foo, Khor Pek Yee, Sophia Lim, Olivia Loke, Alison Toh
This group managed the attention of the audience well. Not too much time was spent on each section, maintaining the audience’s attention however sufficient time was allowed for the processing of ideas leading to a very nicely flowing presentation.
The website was very attention grabbing. Information was displayed in a virtual journal with simulated pages. (If you’re not sure of what I’m talking about, visit the website and you’ll know what I mean.)

4.     Technology and development in the film industry
a.     Members: Dora Tan, Wu Kuan Liang, Chen Jinghan, Stuart Ho, Chua Zi Hao, Leong Jing Hao
Despite the initial technical issues, the presentation was still very good. The presenters were very confident of their knowledge on the subject and managed to present their points clearly. The transition between speakers was also very smooth. I question the use of the Japanese Horror Film in the start. I noticed some of my classmates (mostly the female ones) were quite squeamish when the intro was shown.
The website was of good quality. However, certain parts of the website were quite cluttered – Too much was fit into too little. The use of videos in the website illustrated their points perfectly!

5.     Genetic engineering and its problems in the world today
a.     Members: Aishwarya Singhal, Bronson Oh, Daizy Rustomjee, Imran Shahid Hamid, Debbie Low, Teo Yi Chun
The presentation was very clear. Most of the presenters spoke clearly and were slow enough to allow for easy listening and processing of the ideas they were presenting save one. I did not notice any other flaws in the presentation.
The website, like the presentation was very clean. Sections were nicely labeled and it was very easy to find information within the website. I highly recommend reading the section on Synthetic Biology. The possibilities explored within are absolutely amazing!
Personal Ratings
(7.5/10) The presentations during this session were very informative. Presentations for session 11 and 12 were equally interesting. However, I gave this session a 0.5 rating increase over the previous session because there were more presentations. Other than that, session 11 was as good as session 12. 
This will be my last blogpost as a student taking Technology and World Change under the excellent guidance of Prof. Gurinder Shahi. Fear not dear reader, I hope to be able to continue posting my thoughts on this space. :D

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Session 11


Session 11
SESSION 11: REVIEW
This week (and the next – session 12) is presentation week for TWC. Instead of the usual TWC class, 3 groups of students presented their findings and research as part of their group project. Presentations were assessed on 3 aspects:
·      Quality of Content
o   Was the information provided reliable?
o   How detailed was the information provided?

·      Innovativeness of Approach
o   How did the group decide to present their findings? Was it innovative?

·      Flow and Logical Consistency
o   How well was the group able to communicate their findings to the audience? Was there a logical flow in the presentation?
The 3 groups that presented during session 11 were:
1.     Technology and beauty
a.     Members: Charlotte Goh, Lee Guojun, Lee Li Xuan, Lee Pei Xi, Loo Zhu Yie, Phua Zhi Zhen
This presentation was fairly interesting. It was done in the style of a skit. Each character had a specific role to discuss the different aspects of cosmetic technology. However, I found certain animations within the website to be greatly distracting. Overall, this presentation earned a 7/10 from me. Good job! J

2.     Technology and Crime: Friend or Foe?
a.     Members: Chia Hanfeng, Clarice Heng, Heng Guan Lek, Hu Jiaming, Lu Siqi, Vince Tan.
Yet another interesting presentation with a creative approach. The introduction simulated a hacking attempt by a hacker with a pseudo-russian accent. The rest of the presentation was pretty standard though. No theatrics here. One interesting thing I noticed on the website though – they used a picture of SHODAN from System Shock as the background for the website. Very fitting! This presentation earned a 7/10 from me too!

3.     Water and Water Technologies
a.     Members: Chua Ming Yin, Ng Jia Ming, Tay Wee Kiat, Wong Shi QI, Zhao Liwen
This presentation was very straightforward. No theatrics, or creative introductions were used. The presentation was clear cut, concise and altogether very well done. The website was very professional. Everything was clean and uncluttered and left me very impressed at the quality of work from this group. I give the website a 8/10 and the presentation a 7/10.
Personal Ratings
(7/10) The presentations during this session were very interesting and really exposed me to many new ideas. I look forward to the next presentation session next week.