Alberto Seara Blog Post #2
Reflecting on each other’s presentations:
Group 1: Specific Learning Disabilities:
Group 1's presentation first addressed their Study Guide which talked about topics such as communication, the perception we have of others and ourselves, how important and complicated listening is, and the importance of relationships and communication in our daily lives. Then, the second part of their presentation consisted of different learning disabilities such as dyslexia or ADHD, in which they delved into what they are, their causes, and how their research has evolved over time.
Regarding the Study Guide, one of the topics they talked about that I found very interesting was Listening. Not only did they explain the importance of being a good listener and how important it is to be a good listener in our daily lives, but they also explained the difficulties that can be encountered when it comes to being able to do it effectively. In addition, they introduced different steps and strategies on how to act in different situations to be a good listener. It seems to me that this chapter gives the importance that deserves to be a good listener, since it is something that many people do not value nowadays. In addition, if you manage to master it, it is something that will be useful for our whole life in the academic, personal, professional, etc.
Group 2: Autism Spectrum
Group 2's presentation first addressed their Study Guide which talked about topics such as nonverbal messages (body, voice, etc.), the importance of message delivery, and some good ways to present oral information, such as informative speaking or persuasive speaking. In the second part of the presentation, they dealt with the topic of autism, where they explained a little bit about what it is, the types of autism, their research in the last years, techniques to help people suffering from ASD, etc.
Regarding the Study Guide, a topic that I really liked what they talked about, and which is related to the one I mentioned in group 1, is Chapter 15 on Delivery. Beyond explaining what it means, they also explained that the best way to deliver is through a conversation, because then we can see exactly who we are addressing the message to. They also added some forms of delivery, such as impromptu speech, which comes out almost spontaneously. As I said about the Study Guide topic of Group 1, Delivery is very important when having a conversation. No matter what situation you are in, as long as you are able to deliver your message in a way that everyone understands and gets the idea, then you will be able to share your ideas to anyone. If we can master Listening and Delivery, we can almost always be successful in life, as we will be prepared for any situation, whether it is an interview or a conference at work, or a presentation you have to give to your class.
About their presentation of Autism Spectrum, I think they managed to explain everything in a very clear way. Although in some moments I thought that the presentation was a bit long, they managed to cover many very interesting topics, such as their own definition and characteristics, different types of autism (Asperger, Kanner, Rett, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, etc.), their research during the last years, among others. A topic that I really liked what they talked about, and that may have been overlooked by many, is the importance of understanding and helping as much as possible the people who suffers from ASD. I think they were very successful in adding this to their presentation, as it gives a more humanistic point of view to what autism is, making us understand a little more the complications they have, but promoting their full inclusion in society. While debunking some stigmas that society has about people with this, they also gave tips on how to treat people suffering from ASD, even giving some effective techniques applicable to help them.
Group 3: Anxiety
As for my group, as in the last presentation, I think we all did a very good job. Each one contributed very good information for each topic, doing it in a clear and precise way, so that anyone who listened/watched the presentation would understand it perfectly, or at least the general idea. From the beginning we were clear about what each one was going to do, and we all worked in unison so that no one was left behind. Whenever anyone had doubts, someone wrote through the group to try to help them. I think that at a visual level it was very engaging, especially because of the colors we used that capture the viewer's attention instantly, and we made little use (when possible) of text, so as not to overload each slide too much, avoiding it to become boring. Once again I would like to emphasize the work of Aliyah with her excellent introduction and conclusion of the theme, Valerie with the technical work of the presentation, and Katherine who once again led the group to try to make it as good as possible. I would also like to emphasize the work of my colleague Silvio who, besides having made very good slides, helped me to present the ones I had made because I was not feeling well enough to do it.
Conclusion:
To conclude, I would just like to say that once again I really liked the idea of these presentations. I feel that the topics we talked about are very important and that it is indispensable to know this information. We don't know if someday we will find ourselves in a situation where we will have to interact with someone with one of these problems, so knowing a little more about them will help us a lot. And I am not only speaking for the people in the class that saw the presentation, but all the other kids and adults that may see our presentation if it ends up being shown at MDC campuses as was the initial idea. If they show even 1 of the 3 that we did, I'm sure that information will be very valuable so that more people can learn about it and make society a safer and more inclusive place for people with these kinds of problems.
Excellent writing. I appreciate how you feel about showing the presentations at the college.
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