In April 2012, my 15-year-old son had a homework assignment to develop a PowerPoint presentation on a career he would like to pursue. The goal of the presentation was to conduct research on the education requirements and provide details of the aspects of the career. With a passion for engineering, he decided to research a career in robotics, and what it takes to get there.
When he explained the goal of the presentation, I showed him an online DIY animation software video development program called Xtranormal (http://www.xtranormal.com). He decided that an animation video would be a great introduction to illuminate his Robotics PowerPoint Presentation.
About 30 minutes later, he had developed and downloaded his animation video using the online software. What caught my eye as a speaker, trainer, and speech coach were:
1) His quick grasp of the software
2) Instant focused creativity
3) Subtle use of humor
4) The video is short (40 seconds) and relates to his presentation material (not just humor for the sake of it)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TNETmwmsW4[/youtube]Workplaces presentations – what can we learn from generation “Y”?
1) Technically competent
2) Technology excites them
3) They want to have fun
4) Giving them this type of work can increase engagement
5) His audience- high school students- and his teacher loved it
Some useful links:
1) Text Version – How to use the Xtranormal software – use the following link or just do an online search using the key words: “Making a Movie in Xtranormal Movie Maker: The Beginner’s Guide”
2) Video Version – How to use the Xtranormal software – use the following link or just do an online search using the key words: “Xtranormal instructions YouTube”