Presentation ToK Presentation: Past Experience and Tips

[pigsonthewing]

tip: show personal input. that is, give as many personal examples as possible to support your argument.

I did my presentation on Artifical Intellegence and got 18/20 as the examiners felt my discussion was too philosophically academic and formal rather than..well, personal.

Did you have any personal input at all?

I did have personal input, as I was presenting arguments of my own and not of anyone else. however, the examples I used to support those arguments (and counter-claims ; you need those, very IB ;P ) were not at all personal (that is, I did not say " *yadayada presenting argument*..I had in fact experienced this myself. for example, when I was walking my pet fish Lola......yadayada occured...yadayada"

I understand. What was your official title for your TOK presentation? If you worded it "Artificial Intelligence" then I understand whow it would have been difficult to find some personal connection to it to achieve maxium marks for that.

That's probably what got you a 4 instead of a 5 on that section of the grading.

Indeed. it was worded somewhat differently I believe because it wasn't simply "Artifical Intellegence (dot)"..[i focused on the various ways we humans gain knowledge (ze vonderful WoKs) and attempted to find to what extent they also apply to AIs].

[globopoplollipop]

I chose beauty and subjectivity as my topic but i do not understand what the TOK presentation is, my teacher did not explain it he only asked as to chose a topic to do a 10 minute presentation. Can you use videos, pictures or powerpoint presentations to help you? Does it have to be exactly 10 minutes? Can you make the audience participate (eg. ask them which girl is more beautiful for them?). How is it marked? Any tips on how to do it? Should i just talk about beauty and how it can be diferent to everyone, or should i relate it to myself/personal experiences?

how long should it be? can you interact with the audience? like show them 2 pictures and ask them which one they prefer?

Edited May 30, 2011 by Keel

[Malaak]

I actually did my TOK presentation about subliminal messages. My question was "To what extent are subliminal messages legal?"

My tips to you are that you should ALWAYS relate your topic to TOK issues (Ethics, perception, human sciences, etc.), NEVER read from note cards or papers, DO NOT waste your time on videos, NEVER BE biased in any part of the situation, SPEAK from different perspectives, THINK of a good topic, MAKE it controversial and DON'T SAY I.

[jess1ca]

Question: how are we supposed to show different perspectives and make it personal at the same time?

Also, I don't really understand the presentation marking form. What is the point of it? My self assessment won't affect how the teacher is assessing me...

[Ice Cream is really yummy]

Question: how are we supposed to show different perspectives and make it personal at the same time?

Also, I don't really understand the presentation marking form. What is the point of it? My self assessment won't affect how the teacher is assessing me...

You can show different perspectives by using the different AOKs in your work, and using data from a variety of sources (different age groups, scholars vs. every day teens, articles from different nations). This is kina like relating it to when you write essays, you need to find counter claims, right? So try to do the same thing, to show the different ways of looking at your information.

I know that, in my project, my partner and I actually wrote our own definition for the word "art" (our presentation was about art). And so, that was us giving OUR definition of what the word represented for US. We didn't pick some random definition (IB dosen't want you to do this, even for essays). This also shows the examiner that you clearly understand WHAT it is that you are doing and talking about.

You can also be personal by giving examples in your own life. In our presentation, we showed art works which kinda made us "disgusted". Our TOK real life issue was a personal example. We showed the art work to the class, and let think about it for a moment. We then told them why we didn't like it, and why we didn't really consider it "art". Perhaps this type of personal input only worked because we were working on "art", and so we talked about why things are considered art.

Now for the second part of your question. That self evaluation part is really just for yourself. If you are honest with your grading, it will give the IBO examiner a chance to examine your input, and the plan you send attached to it will help justify your grade (especially if it's a near perfect, or perfect score).

[frogger]

I was considering doing "Can we justify the legalisation of marijuana using the ways of knowing" or "Would the legalisation of marijuana be ethical?"

Would these be okay? Or would they be too broad? I don't really understand the concept of a knowledge issue and my teacher hasn't been much help...

Thanks for any help!

[ChikkyD]

"Would the legalisation of marijuana be ethical" <-- Much too broad in my opinion. Also, the "is this ethical" questions are a bit overdone and somewhat not recommended because of that. Your first question is much better If it is reworded to include the ways of knowing you would like to discuss, for example "Can the legalisation of marijuana be justified through the ways of knowledge of reason and emotion?", then it sounds a lot better, more specific, and much more focused for a 10 minute presentation .

A knowledge issue is a bit difficult to explain. It took me a while to understand the concept too. You have the knowledge claim, which is something you deem to be true, and knowledge issues are (usually) open-ended questions which question and find holes the claim... if that makes ANY sense .

Example:

Claim: There are no distinctions between truth and fallacy.

Issue: To what extent are actions deemed true or not, with reference to the reasoning processes used to distinguish between truth and fallacy?

Something like that

[Kiran K]

ok so here is my problem....

in my school we started with this TOK teacher who was pretty good...then 3 months after school started he up and left...

we never got a TOK teacher after that...my second year is gonna start in August and i have to start writing my essay but i have no idea what to do as i dont even understand the subject!

any advice? pls reply

[Guest Mo Rahman]

I'm doing my final ToK presentation next Wednesday (20th July). The topic I decided to look at was 2012 and the whole Mayan end of the world idea focusing on 'can we know if the world will end in 2012?'. Do you think this topic is relevant enough to get me a "high" mark? I'd appreciate any general and specific advice. (Just for your information, I'm doing it with one other person so I have 20 minutes of presentation time so I have the capacity to put in more information)

Thanks

[Arrowhead]

I did my ToK in finding amusement in another's tragedy: Schadenfreude. Whether its justified or not from a Psychological and then Religious perspective. Throughout my presentation I kept cracking really racy jokes about blondes, asians, indians, muslims, christians, americans, it was pretty heated in my classroom as a result. I also started my presented with a Tom and Jerry video and commented on people laughing at Tom's pain, even if he arguably deserved it.

I really had fun with my presentation.

Edited July 15, 2011 by Arrowhead

[kijly]

How is oral presentation like? what are they looking for or whatsoever?

[White94]

I did mine on the situation in Libya and whether foreign intervention is appropriate or fair. It's vital to try and mention the knowledge issues as much as possible. I got feedback from the teacher (not my grade just comments) and we were told that our presentation was one of the best because we didn't ramble on about the topic but the knowledge issues related to the topic.

Mention more knowledge issues, less of the issue itself.

Hope this helps

[Salky]

I made mine about virtual reality, I used a lot of Platon for my analysis which was praised. It helped that I'm a ITSG whiz aswell.

Got 19/20

Edited September 15, 2011 by Salky

[hellwo]

We have to do several and pick the best at the end in my school but so far I have done one on the beauty of mathematics and one on the transformation of physics through time and its transient nature. They were alright but my teacher is an easy grader so I got a 19 and a 20.

[sarahkmaedel]

does anybody have the tok oral criteria rubric? I really need one....

[Beyond366]

Im doing my presentation on the topic 'Can music be objectively judged?'

What KIs could I have in this?

[Bad Boys of Boston]

Im doing my presentation on the topic 'Can music be objectively judged?'

What KIs could I have in this?

I'm guessing you can involve all of them to a certain extent, though I'm unsure about reasoning and sense perception; here are some starting ideas.

Language: Language is a social construct with its own flaws in the large possibility of meanings of words. Music, at least ones with vocals, can be interpreted differently by different people.

Emotion: A must have KI. Music is an art which expresses the feelings of the artist. The extent of the effects on the person listening can also vary.

[Sixthrain]

Hey guys! I just finished my presentation and got a 20/20. Here are a few tips I would give to those who are still anticipating their presentation

On creating the presentation

- I would strongly advise against having a lot of words on powerpoint/keynote slides. It distracts the audience, especially if what is written is different than what you are saying. Either use short 1-6 word bullets, or read out a more lengthy point word for word.

- Try to keep your presentation smooth. Don't think Windows - think Mac. Clear, edgy font (NO PAPYRUS), readable, clean colour palette.

- I used a ton of transitions and effects. On each slide, I would have it completely empty, and each time I make a point I introduce something new onto the slide with a zoom in or a flash. Depends on if you like effects, but I would recommend it if you know how to make your effects catchy but not showy.

Oral

- If you can, try to obtain a clip-on microphone so that you have both hands free and you have more reign over moving.

- If you can, obtain a "clicker" so you can switch slides/transitions/effects without having to stand near your laptop and repeatedly mash the space button. Essential for walkers (which I was), because you really don't want to walk away and then hurriedly run back to the podium to go to the next slide.

- Clear voice, look at the audience.

- There's no need to memorize your script, but know it well enough so that you are only glancing down once every few seconds, and that should you fumble, you know exactly where to pick yourself up.

Others

- I have an iPad, so I downloaded an app that had a HUGE visual stopwatch display and placed it on the podium. That way, I could check my time and pace myself.

- A very interesting tip my friend gave (unfortunately I didn't implement it in my presentation) is to time yourself during a practice, and on your script, mark the time you should be at on every or every other paragraph. So if your script says you should be at 2:00 and you are at 2:30, you know you should speed up.

Hope that helped some!

Edited October 15, 2011 by Sixthrain

[Award Winning Boss]

On creating the presentation

- I would strongly advise against having a lot of words on powerpoint/keynote slides. It distracts the audience, especially if what is written is different than what you are saying. Either use short 1-6 word bullets, or read out a more lengthy point word for word.

- Try to keep your presentation smooth. Don't think Windows - think Mac. Clear, edgy font (NO PAPYRUS), readable, clean colour palette.

- I used a ton of transitions and effects. On each slide, I would have it completely empty, and each time I make a point I introduce something new onto the slide with a zoom in or a flash. Depends on if you like effects, but I would recommend it if you know how to make your effects catchy but not showy.

I just want to say a few things about the presentation bit too. I'd go against bullet points in general really unless they are 1 or 2 words. The reason for this is because you're expecting people to take into account everything you've written PLUS what you're saying. People aren't that smart

I always found transitions extremly annoying but maybe that's just me simplicity is the key

Anyway congrats on full marks! That's amazing

If anyone wants an example of some good powerpoints check this : http://www.slideshare.net/joaopalves/simplicity-1833751

[sarahkmaedel]

I just did mine and I got 18/20 which is only a B luckily I get to do it again. It was on perception and how the media shaped our perception of Michael Jackson before and after his death. I got a 5 for criterion a) Identification of Knowledge issues and a 5 for criterion c) Knower's perspective. What dragged me down was criterion b) Treatment of knowledge issues and criterion d) Connections. I got 4 for those two. Which killed me. Make sure you ask lots of knowledge questions and show that you understand what you are asking and really understand the knowledge issue you are looking at. GOOD LUCK!