Each student is required to give a three-minute research talk presenting existing work involving physical computing. In keeping with the scope of the course, please steer clear of projects involving projectors or video output since our focus is on projects centered on the embodiment of computing rather than graphics.
The short length is actually a challenge, it requires careful attention to developing and practicing a clear delivery of a few key ideas. This assignment provides practice in technical speaking and will serve to bring additional ideas into our discussion. Please see Related Work for starting points for finding sources to research.
The primary objective of this talk is to quickly convey the core idea of a project to your fellow students. Here are some prompt questions which may help you plan:
- What was the problem the project is addressing?
- Why is it important? What is the context?
- What new insight was involved in the solution?
- How well did it work?
- What is the one key takeaway lesson?
- Is there a way your peers could apply this solution?
In general, please focus on the thought process of the author, not your own reflections. I.e., it isn’t that helpful for your audience to hear about your personal reactions; once they hear the idea themselves they will have naturally have their own response, but a fair assessment requires a fair hearing.
Talks of this nature are usually accompanied by slides which show visual content which reinforces the explanation. Please refrain from plunking down lots of bullet-point text to read; we would prefer to hear your explanations verbally. Instead, please consider the available photographs, drawings, diagrams, or equations. Due to the short nature of the talk, video clips are not recommended unless extremely short.
For assistance with the written or oral communication assignments in this class, please visit the Global Communication Center (GCC). GCC tutors can provide instruction on a range of communication topics and can help you improve your papers and presentations. The GCC is a free service, open to all students, and located in Hunt library. You can make tutoring appointments directly on the GCC website: http://www.cmu.edu/gcc. You may also visit the GCC website to find out about communication workshops offered throughout the academic year.