Multimodal Presentation on STEM Education

The moment I hear the phrase, "a concept that interests you…" the first concept I turn to is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.  It's not that I don't focus on anything else.  I am a triathlete.  I'm in karate.  I love to crochet and knit.  I am a mother and I love my husband.  But I have a serious passion for STEM, so my mind locked on and from there I created a Prezi based on defining STEM and the steps to fostering STEM careers for the future.

STEM Education

Self-Assessment of Multimodal Presentation on "STEM Education"

**Note: My Sensei reminds me all the time that I am "my worst enemy."  Here we go….

Readability

• Is the typeface attractive and readable?

I used very plain text and as bold and large as I could make them.  I believe every slide I typed text in looks good.  However, I do not like the first slide.  I don't think the quality of the STEM Lego is meant to be stretched as far as I have it, which makes it a bit blurrier than it should be.  Legible but blurry...

• Are there any statistics or other data that would be easier to read in a chart, graph, or table?

I have one statistic which states that by 2018 there will be 8,654,000 jobs.  That statistic by itself does not need a chart or graph.  However, I could add the current percentage or number of jobs available in STEM.  I could use a graph to show the difference or large leap to amplify this fact but I don't think it is necessary for the content.  

• Is high-contrast text, including boldface and all caps, brief enough to be legible? 

I believe they are all brief enough to be legible.  I kept all my words under the 5 word limit, except:  

The symbol "&" is not technically a word but I think grouping minorities and girls is a mistake.  I should elaborate on both or highlight one.

Images and Other Graphics

• What do images and other graphics contribute? Do they illustrate a concept? highlight an important point? show something that is difficult to describe in words alone? If the images and other graphics are only decorative, consider removing them.

The images and graphics are meant to highlight students engaged in STEM activities.  Engagement is the key to STEM - kids are "doing science" not just learning about it from a textbook.  The concept is the importance of STEM and why we need to engage our students early and all the way through school.  STEM is where the jobs will be waiting when our students graduate.  

Something that is hard to write in words alone is the collaboration of high school students to work towards a STEM related goal.  This is a picture of students using simple pieces of cardboard, clips, string, etc… to create a robotic arm that actually works.  The picture of their teamwork is beyond any words I can describe.  

• Are images and other graphics the right size—big enough to read or to see the important detail?

Prezi does a good job of zooming in for each slide.  The picture and words are both big enough for the detail needed.  What I don't like is that some of my pictures are possibly too close because you can see edges of them when they are not needed.  It makes my presentation look cluttered.  I want to change the format I used.  Possibly not use Prezi, even though I like Prezi.  Example:

• Do images have an obvious focus? Will readers see the part that matters? If not, consider if you can crop the image.

I cropped just about every picture to emphasize my focus.  So I hope that the focus is underlined for the reader.  I reassessed my presentation again just to make sure.  

• Are the charts, graphs, maps, or other graphics clear and informative? 

I only have one statistic and I think it is clear.  It would make it clearer if I added today's jobs numbers in the STEM field.  It would make the statistic really pop as a significant increase in job positions.  

• If color is used, is it appropriate to the audience and purpose? Does color direct emphasis where it belongs? Are too many colors used?

I used light blues (2 different shades) to hopefully ensure the color is reader friendly.  Text is done in black or white (with a blue shade background) depending on what I wanted to highlight.  Important points were done in white text.  Additional points were done in black.

Content Learning

• How do all the formal elements, pictorial as well as textual and symbolic, contribute to your emotional response or intellectual understanding of the concept? 

I wanted to emphasize the importance of STEM exposure from a young age on.  Therefore all my images reflect students participating in STEM activities.  My hope is also that the looks on their faces show their enjoyment in the activities.  It did not make sense to use pictures of students engaging in STEM for highlight questions such as "What is STEM?" and "What can we do?" Instead, I found the best representation I could find to highlight the question.  Man "face palming" made sense to me when asking "What can we do?" because students lose interest in STEM careers after 9th grade.