Krystian's Blog Post #2

   I just recently did a presentation with my group on change makers of the 1800's. Each group did their own time period: starting from the constitutional writers all the way to the 2000's - present time. As an individual, I studied John D Rockefeller and spoke about the great things he has done in this world with his wealth. I learned alot during my time researching and presenting, not only about Rockefeller but all the other change makers my group members researched. During this assignment, I improved my public speech and research skills. I felt more confident this time when I was speaking (I was nervous before my part, though) and felt a lot more knowledgeable talking about my change maker. This was due to the presentation's interesting topic. Learning about the change-makers was definitely the best part of the whole project, and I am sure my classmates would agree with me. My group and every other one did a great job presenting our projects, and we're all getting better with every single one, bit by bit. Here are my short analyses of every presentation from each group.

    Group 1 did the 1700's, studying names like James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, etc. They did a great job presenting information on their chosen change makers. During this time America was gaining its independence from Europe and laying the foundation of the American government. They used YouTube videos to assist with the explanation of their change maker, and had very nice, designed slides with important bullets of what they were speaking about. Each and every member presented useful and significant information. Unfortunately, one of their members wasn’t able to show up to present their portion (which was then presented separately before group 3’s speech); nonetheless, their slides were great and appealing to the eye, and each and every group member did a great job with their speech, managing to finish before class ended.  

              Group 2, my group, did a great job as well. As stated earlier, we were presenting the topic of change makers in the 1800’s, with names like Frederick Douglas, Clara Barton, Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller and more.  During this century, there were many wars that caused major damage to institutions and individuals who needed help. Some of the change makers presented played a significant role in assisting with medical care for injured civilians and soldiers. My group members attained valuable, interesting information on their change makers, teaching me that every single one of them played a big role in making the world a better place. From anti-slavery movements to making medical achievements and saving countless lives. Everyone did a great job presenting their information and utilizing other forms of media to their advantage.

              Group 3 did the 2000’s – the present. Just to mention straight off the bat and to get it off my chest, they had a lot to say this presentation. This speech ended up going on until the following class, which shows that it was a lot. They did a great job with their research, presenting people such as: Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and more. During this presentation, I didn’t learn as much as the others due to everything being more recent, being information I have already heard throughout of my life because of its youth. This group also utilized a YouTube video to further explain and portray the significance of their change maker. The one significant attribute of their presentation I have to point out is the amount of information their was on the slides. Instead of keeping the info on the slides to a minimum, they put in most of what they would say directly on it. For a public speech, they should be focused on speaking and not reading information. Even though the speech was long and filled with a lot of information, it was still presented well and had valuable information.

              Group 4 presented change makers from the 1900’s, during this time both World Wars happened, equal rights were sought and fought for, etc. Containing change makers such as Martin Luther King Jr, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alice Paul, and many other more. Just as the other groups, they used external sources to further develop their explanation and presentation with videos of their change makers. Not only was that similar but also their researched information was very intriguing and informative. Their slides were sort of bland, not many colors and few images were utilized throughout the presentation, which made the presentation a bit less engaging. They did a good job with the amount of information that was written down on the slides, just containing key details and the rest spoken out loud. Overall, they also did a phenomenal job at their speech and presentation, with this one being the last one.

              In conclusion, I believe everyone who worked and presented rightfully deserves an A. The process of researching valid sources and going beyond to make appointments with librarians, finding YouTube videos, and reaching out to organizations to fill our speeches with the most authentic and legit information was a great form of practicing our research skills for any important thing that may require it in the future. With every project, I have noticed improvement, and I also believe the same thing for my peers. I feel that we all have gained important skills during our time doing this. Not only that but we also learned a lot of valuable, important history during these 4 presentations. Most of what was showcased were things I never knew about, and I am sure our professor Sherri Sinkoff learned just as much as I did. I would like to say thank you to all my group members who put in the effort to get everything done on time and helping out each other whenever difficulties would arise. So far, this was the most entertaining assignment/project we have done for this class during this semester and only hope for even better in the future. Thank you for reading.