One Crazy Summer, Exam 2 – 10/19/20

For our second exam, we were instructed to demonstrate our knowledge of any book we had read in class so far. It could be in any format, so I chose to create a powerpoint presentation where I attached a recorded video of me talking through each slide. At first, I did not know how to approach the assignment due to the instructions being so open, but it put me in a position to use my critical thinking in a way I never had before. Eventually, I decided that the powerpoint would allow me to talk through my thinking in the most efficient way, while giving me an opportunity to practice my oral communication skills as well. I chose the book One Crazy Summer, because the characters and story resonated with me more than the other books we had read so far. Because of my connection to the story, it made discussing its elements much easier and less forced.

The biggest struggle I had with this project was the recording aspect. When delivering a presentation in person, one stutter or misstep is far less noticeable. In a recorded presentation, on the other hand, one feels the pressure to have a perfect run without any issues. As a result, I would be halfway through the presentation, realize I made a mistake, and then grumble in frustration as I stopped the recording. It was incredibly time-consuming! Eventually, I had to place a limit of only three chances to get it right and whatever I ended up with by the third chance would be what I submitted. This strategy surprisingly worked and I was able to get a nice recording. This taught me the important lesson of focusing on getting the content across in an effective manner first. Then, I can focus on delivering it in a clear and concise way. This was especially important to learn in the new age of Zoom and recorded assignments. Otherwise, I would never be able to get my assignments done in time.