My Personal Reflection
Dear Readers,
I have officially presented my assignment to my peers, and I am extremely proud of its success! Not only did I think that I presented in a formal matter, but more importantly, I believe that my friends really got something out of it. Many of them now critically analyze where their food comes from, and one of my friends even committed to try to eat GMO free. This makes me ecstatic. The fact that I was able to make an impact on my community, is all I ever asked for. My goal for going into this assignment was to try to change the world, and I believe that I have made a substantial step towards this goal. My classmates have begun to open up their eyes to the mysteries behind GMOs, and even if for some it was ever so slight, almost every single person in my class walked out of the room knowing more about the dangers of the product. However, I was very fair in the sense that I was not forcing them to do one thing or another. I had mentioned both the pros and cons towards GM products, and let them decode for themselves. They’re the only ones who can make the decision about what they eat, and all I did was set them up with correct, accurate information.
As for the presentation itself, I really believe that I had improved from my last assignment in many aspects. Firstly, content-wise, I tried to touch upon every single aspect of the spectrum of information. I discussed information such as the effects on humans, the financial benefits, and even the quantities of GMO manufactured per year! Overall, I believe that I had informed my audience quite well on everything surrounding GMO. However, not only did I just mention everything, but for the more important facts, I attempted to go into as much detail as possible, while still attempting to stay within my time limit. I ended up being slightly over my allocated time, however I believe that it was worth it if I was able to share more information.
Not only was my content quite informative, but it was also unbiased, yet persuasive at the same time. I shared my personal thoughts at the end about the subject matter, however the facts were untouched truths. I did not bend reality, or exclude certain information. I had attempted to display both sides of the story, which I had done. However, when I say it was persuasive, I mean it as so: The negative facts were so astonishing as to likely convince any person not to use them. I am quite satisfied with my content, however if given the chance to redo my TTalk, there would be multiple changes that I would make. For example, it would have been beneficial to share more ways/innovations that gave been created in response to this issue. Perhaps sharing different ways to eat would help eating a GMO free diet more practical. Another thing that would have benefitted my presentation is if I had shared more statistics on the subject matter. I had mentioned a few, but if I had shared more of this information, then perhaps it would have engaged my audience to a higher degree. Lastly, in my presentation, I could have elaborated more on the process of creating GMOs, and the science behind it. This would have helped add more context to my pros and cons list.
I think that I had done quite a good job presenting my assignment as well. I used a large amount of eye contact, expression, I spoke at a good pace, didn’t fidget, and I tried to speak in a way that would interest my audience. I think that I had done all of those things effectively. Additionally, I had tried to engage my audience constantly too. I think that presentation-wise, I was quite successful, however, for the next assignment, I would like to go completely note-free, and speak off the cuff, like a more genuine TED Talk. This would help make my speech seem more natural, and would limit the chance of me losing my spot on the page, and temporarily pausing. I think that this is my main next step in creating a better presentation.
Overall, I loved this assignment. It gave me countless opportunities which I am so fortunate for. I would never have even been introduced to Earth Sustainability issues if it hadn’t been for my amazing teacher, and her course. This project not only let me perform research myself, and help me gain my own skills synthesizing the presentation, but I was also given a chance to listen to my classmates, and what they had discovered about their individual topics. Not only was I able to see the progress my peers had made, but I was able to learn about their topics as well, and how they related to sustainability. However, the most fascinating thing to me was being able to see the relationships between my peers’ topics. Everyone’s topics had a connection one way or another, and it was interesting to discover these.
This assignment had also allowed me to gain numerous skills. Firstly, my research skills have definitely been enhanced. I am now able to effectively decode information from a text, and it is a lot easier for me to detect bias in an article. These are both things that will aid me in my future. Secondly, my ability to plan has become more effective. For this assignment, I had used two techniques that I will definitely use for future assignments. For starters, creating an action plan was extremely beneficial. An action plan (schedule with different aspects of the assignment to get done) helped me stay on track, and helped me to make sure that I completed the assignment on time. A small section of my action plan was as follows:
1.Must Investigate More Knowledge Upon The Long-Term Effects of GMO Products. (November 1, 2016)
2. Must Obtain Knowledge of the Effects of GMO Products on the Human Body, as Well as on Alternate Animal Species, and the Environment. (November 1, 2016)
3. Must Broaden My Research Subject to GMO Products in General, as Apposed to Specific Elements. (November 8, 2016)
4. Must Gather Further Statistics to Support My Arguments. (November 10, 2016)
Next, early on, I had formulated a research question. A research question is a broad sentence that guides your areas of research. Mine had been, “How Have GMO Products Affected the Past, Present, and Future?”. This question helped me to accurately focus my information to what was necessary. The last skills that I had improved upon, were my presentation skills. Compared to previous assignments, my classmates had seemed to think that this was one of my better presentations and they thought that my large use of expression was really valuable, something that I previously wasn't amazing at. These skills are extremely beneficial, for my future will definitely hold many public speaking assignments. I am so appreciative that we were given this assignment, and I feel like it an amazing way to end off our unit on sustainability.
When looking at my peers’ presentations, I am quite glad with my overall presentation. I was completely blown away with everyone’s assignments, however there were some elements that I excelled slightly in, as well as there were some that I was inferior in. Yet, when looking in general, my personal report seemed as if I had expressed more information. This is a quality that I admire in myself, however it’s all based on personal preference. I loved looking at my classmates’ work. It was truly amazing to see what everyone has done, and I am extremely excited to be able to watch the rest of my peers have their chances to present!
When looking back, there was really only one major incident that I had run into throughout my entire process. That incident was that my presentation was getting quite lengthy, and I was getting quite concerned about how that would impact my audience. After shrinking it substantially, and gaining supportive advice from my teacher, I overcame this challenge and continued on with my report. In the end, I am glad that I had this hurdle. I strongly believe that it had given me a better presentation overall, regardless of the frustration.
The last time I wrote in my blog, I was quite vague about the special real-life example that I implemented into my TTalk. What I had done, was I went to our local grocery store, and took photos of every GMO Free Product I could find, and put them into my slideshow. This allowed me to show my classmates how in their very own community, eating this way is a very viable option.
I don’t want to babble on for too much longer, so I will conclude with one last section. I would like to extend a certain thank you to all of you readers at home, as well as my classmates. You guys have all been extremely helpful and supportive throughout this entire process and none of this could have been done without you.
Lastly, I would really like to thank my teacher for both her support, and for giving us this assignment. It has benefitted me significantly, and I am extremely grateful.
Thank you readers, and we will see you next time at Say No to GMO!
Noah J