Ignite Presentation - Final Project

As a rule I try my hardest to never doubt the teacher. It has been ingrained in me since I was young, you never go against what your teacher says. However, when my professor announced we would be giving an ignite presentation in lieu of a final exam, I was skeptical. First of all because I had no idea what an ignite presentation was. When I learned about the parameters: a 12 slide slideshow, with 15 seconds to present each slide it just seemed too easy. In my other classes I have 15 page final papers to do, or sit for a 70 minute exam. Not that I was complaining - but it just felt off, there had to be a catch. Quite frankly, I went in with the mindset that I would hate the assignment.

While creating my ignite presentation it still seemed like it was all too easy. I was weary about expanding on my ideas because I did not want to go over the fifteen second time limit. It wasn't until I began practicing my presentation that I ran into a problem. . .I was averaging 8 seconds per slide! And my slides seemed boring and dry. Thankfully, with the help of my very patient friends, they gave me some tips on improving my presentation. Honestly, I am used to nailing my presentations on the first try. However, working collaboratively with my friends to fix the problems ended up being a great experience for me. I had to focus in on finding the most important details of the class in order to make my presentation meaningful. I also learned the importance of adding media to make the slides brighter.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience creating my ignite presentation, but it was definitely just as hard as a traditional final exam. The work that you have to put into making an ignite presentation is definitely different than studying for a final exam, but it brings it's own challenges. Practice ended up being my best friend, but I felt like a little more practice would have benefitted my overall presentation. I think that ignite presentations are going to be another project I add to my arsenal of ideas. I think it's a challenging project that 21st Century students will love creating.