Lightning Talk
Lightning talks, or for some know as ‘Pecha Kucha’, are designed to be short presentations between five to ten minutes long, but are usually capped at five minutes. In this short period of time a whole topic is delivered to the crowd with only a small amount of time per slide to keep it simple and interesting. Therefore, forcing students keep their speech effective and provide only core information regarding a specific topic. By doing this, it challenges students to increase the presenting students their understanding of the text.
On-campus
The activity takes about 0 to 10 minutes and could be done with more then 60 students in an on-campus setting.
It could be used as a blended learning activity. Students study the literature and prepare the presentation upfront.
Manual
Supplies Needed
- Powerpoint
- A topic or literature to present
- Timer
- Optionally: Pitch2Peer
Set-up classroom
Students present in front of the class, so set-up the classroom in a way that all students are able to see the presenter.
Optionally: when presenting to a larger crowd, a Learning Plaza could be used because of its size and flexible use.
Step 1. (Preparation)
Choose a topic, theme or literature which fits the short presentation format. Preferably a topic which could be presented as a story and can be supported with multiple images.
Step 2. (During class)
Explain the assignment to students and tell them the amount of slides they could use and the amount of time provided per slide. Important to stress that the slides should be minimalistic.
Step 3. (Preparation)
Students prepare their slides at home and share them with the teacher, so they are prepared.
Optionally: students can hand in their presentation using Pitch2Peer, so you can also provide additional feedback on the presentation upfront.
Step 4. (During class)
The students present their lightning talk during class. You could do it throughout the course or do a specific ‘presentation day’ in which students listen to each other in a ‘TED-talk’-way. Important to set a timer, so students are forced to present within the time.
Step 5. (Evaluation)
Start a small discussion after a lightning talk or ask students to provide feedback to their peers.
Optionally: before the presentation you could assign specific students to note down feedback, forcing them to reflect on the presenter and their own presentation skills.
Tools
Source
Erasmus University Rotterdam. Lightning Talk. Retrieved from: https://www.eur.nl/teacheur/lightning-talk
Online
The activity takes about 0 to 10 minutes and could be done with more then 60 students in an online setting.
It could be used as a blended learning activity. Students study the literature and prepare the presentation upfront.
Manual
Supplies Needed
- Powerpoint
- A topic or literature to present
- Timer
- Microsoft Teams
- Optionally: Pitch2Peer
Set-up classroom
Set-up a general channel in Microsoft Teams in which the presentation(s) are held.
Optionally: Using a Virtual Classroom could be suggested due to its extensive technical capabilities.
Step 1. (Preparation)
Choose a topic, theme or literature which fits the short presentation format. Preferably a topic which could be presented as a story and can be supported with multiple images.
Step 2. (During class)
Explain the assignment to students and tell them the amount of slides they could use and the amount of time provided per slide. Important to stress that the slides should be minimalistic.
Step 3. (Preparation)
Students prepare their slides at home and share them with the teacher, so they are prepared.
Optionally: students can hand in their presentation using Pitch2Peer, so you can also provide additional feedback on the presentation upfront.
Step 4. (During class)
The students present their lightning talk online in Microsoft Teams during class. You could do it throughout the course or do a specific ‘presentation day’ in which students listen to each other in a ‘TED-talk’-way. Important to set a timer, so students are forced to present within the time.
Step 5. (Evaluation)
Start a small discussion after a lightning talk or ask students to provide feedback to their peers.
Optionally: before the presentation you could assign specific students to note down feedback, forcing them to reflect on the presenter and their own presentation skills.
Source
Erasmus University Rotterdam. Lightning Talk. Retrieved from: https://www.eur.nl/teacheur/lightning-talk
Hybrid
The activity takes about 0 to 10 minutes and could be done with more then 60 students in an hybrid setting.
It could be used as a blended learning activity. Students study the literature and prepare the presentation upfront.
Manual
Supplies Needed
- Powerpoint
- A topic or literature to present
- Timer
- Microsoft Teams
- Optionally: Pitch2Peer
Set-up classroom
Suggested is to use a hybrid classroom due to its capabilities to provide hybrid classes.
On-campus students present in the front of the class and the camara is aimed at the students. The slides are also shared with the online students by sharing the screen in Microsoft Teams.
Step 1. (Preparation)
Choose a topic, theme or literature which fits the short presentation format. Preferably a topic which could be presented as a story and can be supported with multiple images.
Step 2. (During class)
Explain the assignment to students and tell them the amount of slides they could use and the amount of time provided per slide. Important to stress that the slides should be minimalistic.
Step 3. (Preparation)
Students prepare their slides at home and share them with the teacher, so they are prepared.
Optionally: students can hand in their presentation using Pitch2Peer, so you can also provide additional feedback on the presentation upfront.
Step 4. (During class)
The students present their lightning talk during class. You could do it throughout the course or do a specific ‘presentation day’ in which students listen to each other in a ‘TED-talk’-way. Important to set a timer, so students are forced to present within the time.
Step 5. (Evaluation)
Start a small discussion after a lightning talk or ask students to provide feedback to their peers. Keep in mind the online group.
Optionally: before the presentation you could assign specific students to note down feedback, forcing them to reflect on the presenter and their own presentation skills.
Source
Erasmus University Rotterdam. Lightning Talk. Retrieved from: https://www.eur.nl/teacheur/lightning-talk
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