First few sessions after the Xmas break

Hi everybody. This is how I plan to spend the first few weeks back after the holidays:

Tuesday 11th January 2011 - practise analysis of an oral presentation (in groups)
Thursday 13th January 2011 - finish off above and listen to Dave's presentation
Tuesday 18th January 2011 - assessment on presentation analysis (Oral Presentation Skills)
Thursday 20th January 2011 - finish off assessment / remediation as necessary
Tuesday 25th January 2011 - listen to radio programme on Language and answer questions (in groups)
Thursday 27th January 2011 - finish off questions / discussion as necessary - hand in essay (Evan's class)
Tuesday 1st February 2011 - assessment on listening (Comm 4 Listening outcome)

Many thanks, Mark

Presentation delivery, the final session!

I thoroughly enjoyed the talks today and well done to all presenters this morning for researching a wide variety of topics for us to enjoy and learn from. Thank you to our resident cameraman Christian who did a good job too. Today we listened to Anna discussing her oven baked cheesecake, Vesela on the beer making process (pefect pint pulling), Ellen's healthy lasagne, Gavin's not so healthy but certainly tasty Big Mac, Christie's juggling demo and Arron's perfectly cooked French Toast! Well done to all, you did very well this morning. Dave, as discussed this am via e mail, we will listen to your 'how to be awesome' presentation on Thursday 13th January. Have a great Christmas and Ne'er whatever you are doing and we deserve this break as we've all been working very hard! We have lots to do in 2011, but we'll make it, no sweat!

Take it easy guys, Mr H.

Presentations, phase III

Although I was coughing, wheezing and spluttering like a 19th Century consumptive, I really enjoyed the talks yesterday. And despite the French Toast being undercooked by a couple of minutes shall we say, the session went well. I look forward to seeing the rest of the presentations on Tuesday. All the best, Mark

Assessed presentations, round two

Well done to all four presenters this morning in a very entertaining (and informative) session. We had a varied selection box again to tuck into, and this time the contents were how to make chewing gum, how to poach an egg, how to tune a guitar and how to make the perfect espresso.

It was nice to see Alma, Sean and Luigi enjoying their presentations back on their memory sticks. Remember, this filming is optional and is personal to you, so there will be no You Tube videos, Facebook entries etc coming from me, but what you do with these works of art is entirely up to you!

So, we have three more talks to come on Thursday and that will be Christian, Gary and Aaron. All other students will now present on the last day of term, which is Tuesday 21st December. Hopefully Christie will deliver his presentation on Thursday as he missed out today.

Great stuff again, and I will see you all on Thursday, for the third set of oral presentations.

Stand free, Mark

Presentation delivery times reminder

Hi all, just a brief reminder of the assessment dates for the oral presentations:

Tuesday 14th December in 211 - Christie, Gavin, Dave, Leigham, Luigi, Alma, Sean and Lorena
Thursday 16th December in 425 - Aaron, Christian, Vesela, Gary
Tuesday 21st December in 211 - Ania and Ellen (and anybody else who either didn't pass or didn't attempt their talk in previous timeslots).

Please remember to either bring a USB with you on the day or e mail me your talk prior to delivery so that I can save it for you.

When we come back in 2011 (already, wow, where has the time gone I ask myself) we will look at another assessment for Comm 4, which will be listening. This will be a case of listening to a recording of a radio show on language and answering questions, similar to those asked for the reading assessment. That's all for next year, just keeping you all in the loop!

See you all tomorrow, Mark

Well done to our first three contenders!

Well done to Michal, Jon and Hanni who presented so well in their talks today. Subjects of the day were how a magnetic compass works, how to start a new religion from scratch and how to make tasty falafel. Well done to all and please have your presentation plans to hand for Tuesday if possible.

If anybody wishes to post any feedback on the talks (presenters or audience members), please do!

Have a great weekend all, Mark

How to do talks start on Thursday

Hi to all of you. I noted a lot of good work going on in the class today and a big hello to all those students who were unable to make it in today. I authorised your absence for today. As the Napier session is cancelled for Thursday, we can start the assessed talks. We have Jon, Hanni and Michal getting us started. Remember you should all complete your presentation plans before you deliver your talk, either handwritten or typed. They can of course be submitted after you do your talk as it is part of the assessment, but that wouldn't make much sense really! Great to see you back today, lets hope no more snow for a while! All the best, Mark

It's snow joke

A few silly gags just for fun - sorry!

What happened when the snowgirl fell out with the snowboy?
She gave him the cold shoulder!

What do snowmen wear on their heads?
Ice caps!

What's an ig?
An eskimo's home without a toilet!

What do snowmen eat for lunch?
Icebergers!

Where do snowmen go to dance?
Snowballs!

How do snowmen travel around ?
By icicle!

What sort of ball doesn't bounce ?
A snowball!

How do you know when there is a snowman in your bed ?
You wake up wet!

What do you get if cross a snowman and a shark ?
Frost bite!

How do you call an Eskimo cow ?
An Eskimoo!

Essays

I enjoyed today's session on essay writing and thank you to Christian for enlightening me on the referencing on Word, very impressive! When you have your essays back from Evan I can get them from you (either electronically or as a photocopy) and that will serve as an integrated assessment that we can use for one of the Comm 4 assessments. This means less work for you, 2 for the price of 1 - can't be bad! Have a great weekend. Unfortunately it looks like the football is ON this weekend, so that could be another loss for my team, grumble grumble...!

Presentation choices

I enjoyed the session on Tuesday where we piggy-backed from the session last Thursday to research for our next assessment, the 'how to do' oral presentation. I know that most of you have chosen a topic, and I have noted down some of the topics that I remember to demonstrate the wide range of topics to be delivered. These are not fixed and you are free to change your topic as long as you clear it with me!

• How to make porridge (or porage, depending on how you'd like to spell that)!
• How to juggle
• How to make money quickly
• How bubble gum is made
• How to make the perfect lasagne
• How to live in the Arctic
• How to create a new religion
• How to be awesome
• How to make the perfect Big Mac (aka deconstructing and constructing the BM)!
• How a compass works
• How to perform a magic trick
• How to tune a guitar

One thing is for sure - the presentations will be very interesting, entertaining and informative!

All the best, Mark

How to do the 'how to do'

Hi all,

I really enjoyed the briefing session today. We looked at lots of interesting ideas from my previous and present classes and we must have over a hundred ideas to 'juggle' with, ranging from performing origami to making lasagne, changing a tyre to getting your five a day, doing a wheelie (safely) to making the perfect espresso and being awesome to formatting a computer, amongst other ideas! I have popped the weblinks that we looked at on the blog for you and we have three Tuesday sessions with the PCs to research, write up the plan (typed or handwritten) and formulate the PP slides. I will type up the times for the presentation delivery too and give you them on Tuesday so you have a written record.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you all on Tuesday.

Mark

Feedback on the talks

Hi all, I would like you to add in a few comments about how YOU thought the practice talks went. I am interested to hear YOUR thoughts. You can make any comments, observations about your delivery and/or the delivery of others. Maybe you wish to comment on the feedback, nerves, using PowerPoint, stuff like that? Anything goes, so go on, what you thinking...

Overview of the unassessed talks

Well done to the thirteen students who delivered their unassessed talks last Thursday and today. They were fantastic and I hope you all learned something about your own delivery and the techniques of others. The subject matter was varied, from Jackson Pollock to Walt Disney and John McVicar to Bob Marley. And lets not forget the icons that are Sir Sean and erm, Godzilla! The talks were all researched well and I feel we all got a lot out of each talk. So a quick overview of the good and things to improve on then...

Room for improvement - time, completing the talk (something like 'thank you very much for listening, are there any questions'), taking the audience through the structure slide, not standing in front of the screen and having PowerPoint handouts.

The great - natural ability, being yourselves, time and effort put into the preparation of the talks, the variety of content, the use of visuals, the depth of knowledge, working with each other, involving the audience, being in control of the talks, upbeat delivery and many more facets besides.

I am in no doubt that the first assessed presentation on 'how to do something' will be interesting and straightforward for you all. Those who did not present for various reasons will now not get a chance to deliver a practice talk as I have a schedule I wish to follow to get us through assessments before Christmas.

I am very happy with the performances of the class, so a blooming big slap on the back all round guys!

PS - I am still awaiting a few Yearbook entries, so please do your best to get this done by Thursday if you can. Much appreciated.

All the best, Mark

Well done

To the four presenters this morning who gave excellent talks. I found them interesting, informative, thought provoking and illuminating. All four talks were delivered using well thought out structures, were visually appealing and gave us all a great range of topics to reflect on. I'm looking forward to Tuesday's session. All the best, Mark

Looking good!

Just a quick word to say that the PowerPoint slides for the unassessed talks are looking really good. Remember, if you don't have a memory / USB stick you should e mail me your presentation slides. I will bring the remote control presenter so you can move the slides with ease and are not hampered by the keyboard. I'm looking forward to the talks and I'm sure we'll learn lots of things over the two sessions. All the best, Mark

Schedule until Xmas

Hi all, here is the schedule until the Christmas break:

• Thurs 11th and Tues 16th Nov - delivery of unassessed presentations (as per agreed times detailed on previous post).
• Thurs 18th Nov - I will take you through the 'how to do' presentation assessment.
• Tues 23rd Nov - work on 'how to do' presentation.
• Thurs 25th Nov - look at essay writing.
• Tues 30th Nov - work on 'how to do' presentation.
• Thurs 2nd Dec - referencing.
• Tues 7th Dec - work on 'how to do' presentation.
• Thurs 9th, Tues 14th, Thurs 16th and Tues 21st Dec - assessed presentation on 'how to do'.

We will pick the dates for when you want to deliver your assessed talks after we have completed the unassessed talks. We will be mindful that some students may be travelling home near the end of term.

I have also contacted Evan to see how you are getting on with the History syllabus as we can double up an essay from his class which will help bring the workload down somewhat!

As a reminder, there are 13 assessments for Comm 4 and Oral Presentation Skills:

Comm 4

• 2 x writing (probably two essays, one of which will be integrated with Evan)
• 2 x listening exercises (we will look at a radio and a TV programme in the Ne'er).
• 2 x speaking - one presentation on an 'issue' lasting 8-10 minutes and discussions on agreed topics. We will split into groups for that and decide on what you'd like to discuss.
• 2 x reading assessments. You have all done the first one, the magazine article on Digital Books and we will do another from a newspaper sometime in the New Year.

Oral Presentation Skills

• 1 x 'how to do' presentation (done in December)
• 1 x presentation plan (on the 'how to do' talk)
• 1 x presentation on an 'issue'. You will be assessed for OPS at the same time as the Comm 4 talk to avoid over assessment.
• 2 x presentation analyses. Different to the Comm 4 listening exercise but looks specifically at how the presenter delivers their talk. One will be a presentation delivery from a film and one will be a presentation delivery from a formal presentation on an interesting topic.

I know it sounds a lot, but I had it in my mind that we would get three assessments done by Christmas and I am certain we can do that. It's all good, so lets keep going until Christmas guys!

Na zdrowie. (I hope that is accurate, please correct me if I am wrong!)

Unassessed presentation times

I really enjoyed the session today. It looks like everybody has picked a different subject to deliver their unassessed talk on - they are really varied which is great! I have added a few more helpful weblinks for you (on the right hand side of the blog) to give you supplementary information on presentation delivery.

Thursday 11th November in 425 at 11.15 - Ania, Ellen, Gary, Christie, Christian and Jon

Tuesday 16th November in 211 at 9.00 - Alma, Luigi, Vesela, Michal, Dave, Gavin, Sean, Hanni, Aaron, Lorena and Leigham.

NB - we are in the Learning Centre (on the second floor) on Thursday. I have only been able to secure six computers but am hopeful that we will be able to get a few more. In the case of us being unsuccessful, some of you can go to the library and I will flit between the two rooms. Now, where are those rollerskates of mine...

'Haitch' or 'aitch'? How do you pronounce 'H'?

Here is an interesting article from the BBC website worth a wee look perhaps - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11642588

What do you think? Mr Haitch, 'aitch, H...!

Randy Pausch

Here is the link to Professor Pausch's presentation (full version). Let me know what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo&feature=related

And this is a link to a website about him, complete with memorable quotes:

http://www.wisdomportal.com/RandyPausch.html

Oral presentation skills

Hi all, this morning was a great session on effective and ineffective oral presentation delivery. If you were unable to make the class today, please come and get the PP slides from the session. In addition to the factors affecting POSITIVE presentation delivery, the groups came up with the following points for discussion:

• The subject
• Being able to use PowerPoint effectively (and simply)
• Having a plan
• Using notes (but too many, and definitely NOT a whole script)
• Being prepared for the question and answer session
• Using language appropriate to the content of the talk
• How you dress
• Displaying and using statistics (where necessary) to enhance the information presented
• WORDS!
• Positive attitude
• Honesty, being up front
• Audience participation, integration, interaction
• Fun for the audience (where possible)
• Voice variation
• Articulation
• Hand outs for the audience
• Humour (if appropriate)

Well done all, Mark

Big Apple memories

Hi all, if anybody is interested, I wrote a blog of my experiences in New York. I was away with my best mate Vance, who used to teach in my team when I was working up in Aberdeen. It has been a wonderful experience, and I hope it isn't another 12 years until I am in the Big Apple again. The weblink is as follows: http://mrhanddra.blogspot.com/ I hope you enjoy the photo of the two Chairmen, entitled Mao and Me!

Cheers, Mr H

Happy holidays!

Just a quick note to say have a lovely holiday. I think we could all use one! See you all on Tuesday 26th October in 211. Take it easy, Mark

Feedback please

Hi everybody, now that you have all pretty much completed your first assessment for Communication IV, I'd like you to give me some feedback on the Communication class you have with me. We have covered lots of things so far, such as:

• icebreakers
• defining communication
• analysis of a short film
• evaluated a variety of local news articles
• discussed plagiarism
• an introduction to lots of interesting websites from Alma
• analysed writing styles
• worked in small groups
• handed in some reflective writing
• been given feedback
• you have commented on your thoughts on the first (reading) assignment
• visited the Scottish Poetry Library
• about to further develop our reflective writing by putting together our class yearbook
• completed (by and large) our first assessment (of 13!) on the 'Digital books are a threat to writers' article to name but a few!

After the well deserved October break I will be looking at oral presentation delivery.

I am keen to know what you are enjoying, what you are not, what you would like to see more of and how you think you are doing, that sort of thing. Please be honest and don't be afraid to be critical (as well as gushing in your positivity) for the feedback! I am really enjoying working with you, and hopefully my enthusiasm is coming through in my teaching!

Thanks, Mark

Access to Languages Yearbook

Hi all, for those who have finished their reading assessment, the session on Tuesday 12th October would be a great opportunity for you to start your yearbook. It shouldn't take you too long to put together and is to be a bit of fun. I ask that you e mail me your answers and a photo (more if you like) by 18th November. You can copy and paste the questions below to make things easier for you should you so wish. Cheers, Mark

Yearbook questions – Access to Languages

Please e mail me your answers and supply a favourite photo, or photos of you to mhetherington@stevenson.ac.uk

Please use the template below – if there are any questions you’d rather not answer, just leave them out. I will be doing one too!

About me

Name:

Nickname(s):

Favourite singer(s):

Favourite band(s):

Favourite film(s):

Favourite television show(s):

Like(s):

Dislike(s):

Who I am

· This is a story about me, John Doe.
· Where you are from.
· Where you were born.
· Any interesting stories about your name, or what it means, i.e. Smith was a name given to blacksmiths in the Middle Ages, so therefore anyone with the name Smith would have likely had a blacksmith as an ancestor. The name John comes from the bible and some people say it means ‘gift from God’. There are quite a few places on the Net where you can find information about names!
· Describe your physical characteristics i.e. height, appearance, hair/eye colour.
· What do other people say about how you look?
· Describe your personality.
· What do other people say about your personality?
· Note down some information about your personal interests – do you play any sports? Do you have any hobbies?
· Favourite website(s)?
· Why did you come onto the course you are currently enrolled on?

What matters to me?

· What are your earliest memories?
· Who or what makes you laugh?
· What object would you save in a fire?
· Which song is the soundtrack to your life?
· If you could meet any famous person who would it be, and why?
· What is your perfect Sunday?
· Who would attend your fantasy dinner party & what would you eat?
· Who did you text last and what was the message?
· If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?

If there is anything else you would like to add in about yourself, pop it in here. It could be some poetry that you have written, your philosophies on life, anything you like really!

I want you to have fun with this task. It will be a nice keepsake for you and to reflect upon in later life…maybe!

Reading assessment

Just a quick word to say well done on the first assessment. Overall, the work has been of a very good standard. I am hopeful that you will all have passed the first assessment by Thursday of this week. All the best, Mark

Remember, remember, the 5th of October...!

OK, well you get the point! Please remember that we will be doing our first assessment on Tuesday. You are allowed to use helpnotes, a dictionary, thesaurus etc. The questions will follow the types of things we were discussing in class this week, so remember to offer detailed responses and look for evidence from the text to back up your thoughts. In question one, the summary, you will be asked to use your own words where possible. I would say that a highlighter pen would be a good investment! Have a great weekend all, Mark

Reading analysis

Today's session was very good indeed. We covered summarising the text, target readership and type of text today. Your answers were very detailed and I was impressed with the level of application and concentration again. We will go over questions 4, 5 and 6 on Thursday and then we will be ready to start our first assessment next Tuesday and Thursday. I will give you all sample answers then for you to cross-reference. Well done, Mark

Weblinks

Hi all, thank you to Christian who pointed out that some of the links weren't loading properly. Hopefully I have rectified that now! Do keep posting on the blog as it is very much a two way process. All the best, Mark

Alma's session

A big thank you to Alma for giving up her library time to speak with us this morning. I hope that you will use some of the links in her presentation in your studies both here and when you go to University. See you all on Tuesday for our final reading practise before the first assessment. The topic of the reading article next week is on plagiarism, which ties in nicely with the research methodologies we learned about today! Cheers.

Off to a Flyer...

Hi all, I really enjoyed the class this morning and all four groups came up with some interesting comments about how the film could be analysed and interpreted. Like all things, we often have different opinions and that always makes learning, teaching and discussion all the richer! Like Hannah said this morning, it would be boring if we all thought the same and liked the same things, quite right! We looked at the text (the text being the film in this case) and had a good shot at breaking it down. For me, working in small groups and feeding back enhances our analytical and communication skills and I have been impressed with the level of industry shown in the classes we've had so far. Keep it up ladies and gents and I'll see you on Thursday for Alma's session (which Jordi will be attending too). All the best, Mark

Next few weeks schedule

Hi all, here is what I will doing with you over the next few sessions.

• 21st Sep - analysis of 'The Flyer'
• 23rd Sep - research skills (Alma from the library)
• 28th and 30th September - unassessed reading exercise (using reading helpnotes)

NB - 5th and 7th October - FIRST READING ASSESSMENT.

• 12th and 14th October - finishing off reading assessment / remediation as necessary.

Have a great Monday off and a lovely weekend and I will see you all, at 9am on Tuesday 21st.

Vodafone link

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7aLWbSv0Dg

This is the link to the advert linked to communicating with Vodafone, quite apt really!

Reading analysis

Hi all, today's session was very productive. We looked at four reading articles, covering issues such as snakes on the loose, yobs vandalising graveyards, the (arguably) ill-fated tram scenario and a 106 year old's secrets to longevity. We looked at summarising, purpose (why it could be written), target audience (who the articles may have been written for), evaluations (good and bad points) amongst other general discussions. We will revisit the idea of reading analysis shortly where will all read the same article and answer questions on it. I will also give you some reading helpnotes. Thursday's session will be a breather, where you will be doing a spot of reflective writing. See you then!

Summary Tips

•Summarise by sections/paragraphs
•Scan section/paragraph to find out main information/point – look out for key words/sentences
•Summarise statistical information or figures
•Use your own words
•Use a highlighter to help identify points

Definitions in pictures (and some words)!

Who says learning can't be fun!

Thursday 9th September class - types of comm

Hi all, this was a brilliant session. All four groups offered some excellent comments on types of Communication, both written and in the visual form. Amongst the types of communication we discovered were speaking, talking, listening, message in a bottle, internet, intranet, smoke signals, mime, telephone, msn, Facebook, Google, Bebo, Skype, pigeons, fashion, art, meditation, religion, traffic lights and signs, satellites, texting, acting, Braille, Morse Code, sign language (American and British), tattoos and many many others besides.

Wed 7th Sep - introductory session

Hi all,

I really enjoyed the session this morning and I was impressed with your ability to communicate clearly and effectively using the short reflective questions I set you. We had some cracking definitions too and here is a selection of what the three groups came up with.

Gavin's group - getting thoughts, feelings or pieces of information from one person (or group) to another. This can be achieved through different means.

Ellen's group - passing on information to others. Sharing, passing on, understanding information in many different ways, e.g. gestures, body language, signs etc.

Gary's group - the translating and swapping of thinking, language, ideas. Delivering or exchanging of information breaking down cultural barriers, common purposes etc. Interacting with others.

As can be seen, there seemed to be a consensus that communication involved a process where some form of information or meaning is passed between two or more entities.

These general thoughts about communication focused our attention on the communication processes that we will be encountering on the course. I highlighted that at times students will be the producers/senders of information and meaning through writing and presentations. At other times students will be receivers of information and meaning in their encounters as readers and viewers. Of course, generally we will be both producing and receiving information in a single activity (eg. discussions).

Superb stuff and we will continue on Thursday with TYPES of communication...

Rough schedule of work!

Access to Languages class

Communication 4 and Oral Presentation Skills classes – weekly plan

What follows is a schedule of what I plan to do with you for the next few classes. It could change of course!

7th September – Overview of the Unit(s), introduction to the class blog, mini verbal icebreaker, what is Communication? (part one)

9th September – What is Communication? (part two)

14th September (my birthday!) – Looking at various newspaper articles / analysis within small groups

16th September – Short writing exercises.

21st September – ‘The Flyer’ – watching a short film and answering questions on it (Listening)

23rd September – ‘Students learn the ABC of essay writing’ article discussion. (Reading).

28th and 30th September – ‘The World’s Language’ reading article – discussion and questions. Using reading helpnotes. (Reading).

5th and 7th October – first assessment, reading – ‘Throw in the vowel’.

12th and 14th October – remediation / completion of reading assessment as necessary.

19th and 21st October – HOLIDAYS

26th and 28th October – effective and ineffective oral presentation delivery. (Speaking).

At this stage, we will see how we are doing and plan our next stage of teaching and learning.

mhetherington@stevenson.ac.uk, Room 121.1

Scottish Poetry Library visit

Hi all, thank you to those who were able to make it along yesterday (31st August) to the Scottish Poetry Library. That building really is a hidden gem and I enjoyed Lizzie's talk. The link to their website can be found under the heading USEFUL WEBLINKS.

Introduction to your studies with me

You will be studying two Units with me - Communication 4 (EE3T 12) and Oral Presentation Skills (DON4 12). I'm sure we will have a few laughs over the course of the year, share experiences and I aim to learn from you guys too! The course attempts to develop your communication skills in reading, writing, talking and listening. There are quite a few assessments, but all of them come back to these basic, but important, skills. Furthermore, given the nature of the course, and the high calibre of the student, we like to stretch you a bit! The first session will be about getting to know you, defining communication and giving an overview to the programme of study.