1) For my outreach project, I went with my fellow classmates to one of the dorms in East Campus Village, Rooker Hall, and do a presentation about the importance of composting. To prepare for this outreach, our class worked on a PowerPoint presentation that would describe the easiness of composting on campus to show to and educate the RA’s so they could teach their residents how to carry it out as well.
2) To prepare for this project, two classmates and I researched how to compost in an urban environment, while the rest of the class covered all the other aspects of composting. Our research showed there are two main ways one can compost while living in a city (such as Athens). The first composting method we found was commercial composting, and we even found a commercial composting company in Athens called Let Us Compost. The second composting method we found was a process called vermiculture that utilizes hundreds to thousands of worms to turn organic waste into fertilizer. Our research focused on using multiple sources and then compiling it all on one page in the WordPress site for future reference.
3) Besides researching ways how an urban dweller could compost, I also did my own personal research into how UGA composts its dining halls’ leftover food scraps. Little did I know, this additional information was included on the Rooker Hall presentation, while the urban composting information was not as prevalent. I decided to help on the day of the presentation by using the knowledge I had gained from my research to present the information about dining hall composting on campus.
4) Reflecting on our presentation, each of the characteristics of effective information delivery were used very effectively. The presentation was intellectually stimulating, which was evident when the RA’s asked us questions about their concerns or gave us suggestions for ideas. The presentation was relevant because the main audience who we made the presentation for were the RA’s at Rooker Hall. In order to keep the presentation creative, we added pictures to the presentation and made a colorful flyer that briefly summarized the information in an intellectually stimulating way.
5) I discovered that composting is quite simple, and I also learned that composting can be done in small, urban homes such as apartments. At first, I was shocked to learn that outside space isn’t necessary to compost, but indoor composting bins make composting much easier indoors. I learned that I can keep a level head during times of pressure or stress when we were forced to move locations from the Fireside Lounge inside Rooker Hall to a different dorm in order to present. We then learned that there was no projector in our new location, so we all had to adjust and figure out a solution. I assumed that the audience would be disinterested but they were very intrigued by what we had to present; I even saw a few RA’s taking notes during the presentation. We had technological issues because we didn’t have a projector, so we used (a classmate) Josh’s laptop which ended up working out. This proved to be a useful lesson, as I learned that it is important to have a backup in case something goes wrong.
6) I initially thought the RA’s would show little to no interest in composting, and that it would be challenging to convince them of how easy composting is. However, I soon discovered once we started presenting that this was not the case, as I saw that the RA’s were active during our presentation by asking questions and taking notes. For future communication efforts, I will try and make the presentation more stimulating by adding a few jokes in order to keep the audience more interested.
7) If I had to change anything about how the presentation went, I would have (1) asked my classmates to come a little earlier to make sure that we were all prepared for the presentation and ready to answer questions about the topic. Next, I would have (2) given us a projector so that our presentation could have followed somewhat of a more organized structure. Finally, I would have (3) prepared to answer questions about other people’s topics so that I could have been a little more active during the presentation.
8) This presentation introduced me to the importance of composting for the very first time. In addition to this, I learned how prepared and organized I have to be in order to present a topic to an audience. To do so, you must be well informed and be prepared to deal with unexpected obstacles. What I believe to be most important is that you also have to learn to take criticism very constructively in order to improve.
9) I believe I improved my group work skills and my communication skills through this presentation. This is in part because of the situation that occurred before our presentation where we had to change location. This made our presentation slightly disorganized because we were struggling to present without a projector. As a group, I believe we were successful in our presentation because we managed to persevere and present the information to the RA’s of Rooker Hall in a creative and stimulating way.
10) If our group was able to practice presenting a few times before we presented to the RA’s, I believe we all would have been more knowledgeable about the topic and better equipped to answer their questions. However, I still believe I performed well and I would like to improve my organization skills.
11) Overall, the assignment was very effective for me because I believe that one of the best ways to learn about a topic is to teach it to someone else. The feedback that the RA’s gave us was very helpful and taught our group what we were lacking on and improved what were doing well on.