Professional Practice in IT
Assignment 1 (Group presentation and reflection)
Due Dates
• Presentations must be delivered in tutorials in Week 6 (24 and 25 March) and Week 7 (31 March and 1 April).
• PowerPoint presentation and written summary / group reflection Word document must be submitted online, via Moodle, by 17 April.
Grading
Assessment Item Percentage
Individual presentation delivery 5%
PowerPoint slides 5%
Presentation summary 5%
Group reflection 5%
Group mark 5%
TOTAL 25%
The Task
You will form a group of between 3 and 5 members. The group’s mission is to deliver a PowerPoint presentation on a current IT topic e.g. cloud computing, mobile computing, big data, BYOD, social media, IT security, IT testing, etc.
Each group member will speak for 3 minutes and will cover a different aspect of the topic, using a PowerPoint presentation. These individual presentations will be delivered in sequence to form a cohesive group presentation, with a beginning, middle and end. It should use the same PowerPoint template, be consistent in appearance, and should not look like three separate, disconnected presentations.
The presentation needs to be aimed at an audience of young professionals who work outside the IT industry (no prior IT knowledge can be assumed).
Each individual presentation must contain references, including at least two from peer-­-reviewed publications, and referencing needs to be done according to Harvard referencing.
Assessment Criteria
Individual presentation delivery
The following items will contribute to your result for this component:
• Spoke in a well-­-informed and knowledgeable manner without reading out the presentation.
• Kept audience engaged.
• Presented enthusiastically.
• Had good grasp of the content.
• Demonstrated good control and variation of voice and maintained audience eye contact.
• Used appropriate language (e.g. explained any technical terms).
• Presentation ran to correct time.
• Content was coherent, relevant and of high quality.
PowerPoint slides
The following items will contribute to your result for this component:
• Correct font size and style so text is visible by audience.
• Sufficient white space.
• Images and graphics included, making slides interesting.
• Does not include unnecessary transition or movement effects.
• Consistent design.
• Appropriate choice of slide theme.
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct
• Correct Harvard referencing (in text and reference list).
Presentation summary (approx. 750 words)
Each person will submit a written summary of their own presentation (note that this is not a summary of the whole group’s presentation). This will be written as a short essay and must include correct Harvard referencing (in text and reference list).
The following items will contribute to your result for this component:
• Contains enough relevant material with clear development of ideas.
• Uses appropriate language.
• Matches presentation that was given.
• Includes at least two references from peer-­-reviewed publications.
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct.
• Correct Harvard referencing used.
Group reflection (approx. 750 words)
Each person will submit a reflection that summarises the processes the group went through in developing and delivering their presentation e.g. choosing the topic, dividing it up, getting a consistent presentation, etc.
The following questions will be asked (with around 200 words expected per question):
1. How did your team plan the group presentation?
2. What worked well during the group presentation?
3. What did not work so well during the group presentation?
4. If you had to do the presentation again, what would you do differently?
Responses need to be written in a clear, persuasive, and well-­-structured way and should demonstrate reflective thought. Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar are required. References can be included in this discussion but are not essential. If they are included, proper Harvard referencing needs to be used.
Group mark
The following items will contribute to your result for this component:
• Group worked as a “team”.
• Topic coverage was adequate.
• Good interaction between team members (e.g. introducing next speaker).
• Consistency across presentations.
• Evidence of co-­-operation.