Presentation and Web 2.0 Project

Many careers in today's business world require extensive knowledge and use of technology.  For the past several years, software programs such as PowerPoint and Keynote have provided presenters with a powerful set of tools to convey meaningful messages and captivate audiences alike.  Yet, these programs provide merely a foundation for a successful presentation in today's business environment.  With the use of numerous Web 2.0 applications available to enhance a presenter's content, slide shows now have the ability to come alive while providing the audience with a truly memorable experience.

For my Presentation and Web 2.0 Project, I chose to solicit donations for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.  This non-profit organization provides grants to restore music education programs in America's public elementary and middle schools.  In the presentation, I grab my audience's attention by first detailing my struggle to learn the guitar at a very young age without any formal training available in my public school system.  Following my personal story, I elaborate on the current state of music education in our schools and the need for music to ensure the academic success of our children.  The presentation continues with an explanation of how VH1 Save the Music began along with the Foundation's contributions to America's young people at both the national and local levels.  Finally, I provide the statistics to support the benefits of music education in our children's lives from personal, academic, and professional perspectives before soliciting the first donation.  Constructing this logical sequence allowed me to build a story, to connect me with my audience in the hopes that they would be touched emotionally.

As I developed my presentation, I attempted to anticipate questions my audience may have of the organization; the benefits of music education on young children; and the ways in which the audience could contribute to ensure music education remains in their community's public schools.  To validate my claims throughout the presentation, I obtained statistics from research conducted by noted professionals in the areas of cognitive development, psychology, and neurological science, along with results from prominent surveys.  With so much information to present, avoiding clutter and ensuring readability of the slides was crucial to the success of my presentation.  Therefore, I employed very little text in the PowerPoint slides and thus relied primarily on my narration, digital images, and music to paint the picture for my audience.

In addition to analyzing my own presentation, I also had the opportunity to critique additional presentations from other students.  In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed observing the work of my peers.  After staring at your own presentation for hours (or sometimes days), viewing another student's work was refreshing.  Besides, the work displayed by my peers often inspired me.  Indeed, the amount of creativity and effort exerted in many of the projects I reviewed was truly remarkable.  By providing my fellow students with feedback, I portrayed the audience to their respective presentations.  Furthermore, I inquired about content that was unclear and offered a critical observation of their work.  This effort allowed me to consistently return to my own presentation and analyze my own content with a fresh perspective.

Finally, while working on this particular project, I had the opportunity to work with Camtasia Studio, a Web 2.0 application designed to enhance my PowerPoint presentation.  Camtasia allowed me to insert additional layers of audio into my presentation along with the ability to manipulate various elements of the audio, including the individual volume levels of both my narrative and original music tracks.  This software completely changed the look and feel of my conventional PowerPoint slides.  With the embedded music track fading in and out between slide transitions and vocal narratives, the presentation seemed to breathe on its own.  As a musician and former music major, this project became more than just a slide show.  The project actually turned into a labor of love.  In fact, I plan to create another presentation in Camtasia for an internet start-up shortly after the completion of this project with the hope of uncovering even more of the program's potential.