Beyond the page: Postgrad passions

by Lara Sanderson, Megan Anakin, Lien Trinh & Keely Blanch.

 It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, 

that man finds his supreme joys. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

In this collaborative post we welcome both new and regular contributors to this blog to reflect on their passions beyond the page. This marks the beginning of a series of posts celebrating not only the postgrad but the lives! Often encouraged to write a thesis in an area we are passionate about (so we maintain our focus), it is not surprising that our passions can in fact reflect our topic or vice versa. However, when deep in the thesis writing or research it is also those passions that tend to take a back seat to the task of producing a thesis. This can lead to a mourning the loss of those passions, yet as Megan reflects, its the everyday passions that can be incorporated so you never have a sense of 'missing out' or it can be a big reward like overseas travel as Lien discusses.

1. What are you most passionate doing outside of your research?
 

Photo: Lien Trin, Puppet Colony, Jaipur

Megan: (other than my family) riding my bicycle. For example, on Friday morning I went out for a stellar ride - meaning I was out at 5am with the star draped heavens above me. There was no moon and the air was dry so you could see every star in the sky. Riding in the pitch black can be hazardous, such as not seeing the road, but the benefits of being bathed in starlight make it worth the challenge - kind of like doing a PhD isn't it?

Lien: Photography, video shooting/ editing, traveling (backpacking) 

Lara: I am passionate about many things but my current 'obsession' would be the ukelele orchestra that I play with - the Uni Ukes 

Keely: Hmmm, my initial thought was that some days it feels like I don't do anything except couch potato, but then I actually looked at what I have been doing lately - worked on the NZ Ethics Committee; Twittered/Facebooked/blogged; did a bit of sewing/crafts; read a few books ranging from total trashy romance novels to thrillers; beach walks or hikes with the family (weather-permitting); and yes, I did do some couch surfing with Netflix. My ' passion' for any one activity varies depend on the day I've had. 


 2. Do you get time/make time for this? If so how often do you do it? 

Megan: Everyday if I can. 

Lien: Photography: once every 2-3 months Video editing: once a week Traveling abroad: once a year or once every 2 years 

Lara: I have the opportunity to jam with them once a week but this varies depending on writing stage

Keely: I tend to do these things in the evenings when I get home and I just can't thesis anymore, or in the weekends when I'm trying not to thesis. When life gets busy it's too easy to put a low priority on 'me-time' and fun pursuits, but I learnt my lesson with my MA about keeping some balance in there and not making it a habit to work 7 days a week except for rare occasional bursts. 

 3.How do you manage the Postgrad/Life balance? 

Photo: Lien Trinh, Puppet Colony, Jaipur

Megan: I struggle everyday. I find scheduling in time for my passions outside of research allows them to happen.

Lien: I try to work in the office, and once my son's gone to bed- I try my best to be involved in as many family activities as I can (I do struggle finding time for myself though- like doing things I love, not that I don't like doing things as a family) 

Lara: I don't manage - or at least I manage it very poorly - but then at times it seems that its going ok(ish) 

 Keely: Sometimes balance goes out the window if there is a deadline on and other commitments making demands, but for the most part I try not to work weekends or evenings after dinner. 

4. Words of wisdom to people struggling with the PG/Life balance 

Megan: Appreciate that it is a struggle and there's no silver bullet but sheer persistence - just like completing a PhD. 

Lien: Try to get a scholarship so you don't have to work part time. 

Lara: You are not alone! 

Keely: Treat your PhD like a job. If you don't prioritise time for you and your partner/ family then you will struggle to get through the MA year, let alone 3+ years of a PhD. 

Powerpointers: Quick tips for making your PowerPoints less boring and more 'blinging'.

By Lara Sanderson

We all have to present at least once during our academic apprenticeship so this blog post begins with the two most commonly asked questions about PowerPoint: “How do I make my PowerPoint look good?” and “What goes into an academic PowerPoint?” 

For the purposes of this blog post I am going to refer to Microsoft PowerPoint because this is the most commonly used in our department (and the most commonly asked about) but I recognise that there are other options like Slide Rocket and Prezi.

Where to start: I begin with my overall aim then I look at the setting – what type of conference/seminar/lecture is it. Always consider your visuals/PowerPoint as your audience would – they came to listen to you, not read your PowerPoint. Another way to think of your visual aids is like word association – a good set of visuals will be forever associated with that talk you gave at 'x' conference and your message will be remembered because of that (no pressure or anything though). Remember the images, remember me, and remember my message! 

The BASICS.

• Font size & type: 30pts – Nothing should be under 30pts small – ok, so I have transgressed in this one sometimes in order for a sentence to stay within the same line, but it was only down to 28 – 28 tends to be the smallest you can get away with, but it is not recommended. Text heavy slides are a big no. Limit to max 3 bullet points and between 7-10 words is a general guide to follow.  A good test to see if you have too much information on your slide is if you can read it clearly when it is printed out in small note form then its o.k. if it looks to cluttered or too hard to read  then go back and cull! Have the same font all the way through – I like interesting typology as much as the next person but for readability and accessibility please use a sans serif like Arial – not Times New Roman, or Garamond which are Serif and designed for documents.  


• Structure: The structure of your PowerPoint changes with context. For your basic structured PowerPoint think of it like an article or your thesis outline – start with a title page with your contact e-mail and your institutional details. Then the intro – introduce the background to your research and yourself – as a novice researcher people don’t know you so give them some personal info – not just your c.v. Then the theoretical framework, method, findings and conclusion. Don’t forget that important THANK YOU slide with your contact info, and I put selected references. Contact and institutional info should also be put on your front slide 'cos if you like me I tend to forget to put the last slide up! If you don’t have a findings etc., the organisational structure of beginning, middle, and end is an oldie but a goody.


• How many?: There are many theories – some say 6, some 10 slides per half hour – I feel comfortable at about 12 for a half hour presentation bearing in mind that 2 of these are a title page and a thank you page.

Introducing the BLING 

Design is important to making your PowerPoint slides look good– It's a balance between making it look pretty, yet functional – how can you achieve this?

• Image size – lots of different images all different sizes can be distracting – if you have lots of images make them a consistent size or even consider using the same image throughout your slide presentation.

• Colour can be away to bring consistency – think of it like decorating your room – what’s the most easy on the eye – monochrome or busy detail– not to say busy detail doesn’t work you’d just have to have consistency in another way – an anchor to the busy, colour blocking is a good way to achieve this if you must have busy. 


• Story telling – this sounds weird, but think of your PowerPoint as the picture book of your presentation – let the images tell part of the story (but not the whole story). If you have a distinct beginning and end PowerPoint it helps organise the stuff in between 


• Theme: be it through colour or imagery, a theme helps develop and continue consistency within your PowerPoint. If you are thinking about having a solid colour (which is a good way to introduce consistency) then use a dark colour – I have used black with white writing, which was effective, and I have used an institutional blue one, which was an electric blue 'graphic' slide and not so easy to read. Pale colours often don’t translate well through projects that may need new bulbs or a good dusting. Dark colours provide a pleasing contrast.


• Needing more bling? The use of multimedia like YouTube clips is good too (in moderation) - IF it helps convey your message or you have been talking for ages (an hour) and need a break! A big academic no-no is the use of music. I feel this is a bit sad – I like music filtering in as people walk in, but I haven’t used that since my Masters so maybe give that one a miss. Also give slide animations a miss they are distracting.

How do I find a suitable, usable, free image? Is the third most asked question and a difficult part of the visual, choosing an image or images that convey your message.. In past posts both Keely and I have suggested places to go find suitable, useable, and free, images including Morguefile and Google Advance Image Search (filtered by free to use). The quality of your image matters - stock images from places like Morguefile add an air of professionalism.

Sometimes it is hard to visualise an overall concept, don’t fear - a block colour with a repeated motif can be just as graphically effective as a collection of images. If you use a template take time to personalise it, change the colour etc. I know you don’t want to spend ages on it and you will get faster as you go on – hey you may even develop a personal style that means you only have to switch it up for context – do make it look though that you have given your visuals a little consideration, they make your talk memorable.

I hope you found this post useful – these are my tips based upon my experiences and reading. You may receive differing advice from supervisors and such. There are lots of cool websites that help you with design so take a look in our resource page. Please comment and share if you have other tips or anecdotes about your presentations, useful resource pages etc.

Finding free Images for presentations

by Keely Blanch

Want to add a bit of pzazz! to your poster or presentation? Unless you are a talented artist or photographer (neither of which apply to me!) you'll be heading to the web for inspiration. But..... tempting as it is to grab that perfect picture, do you have permission from the image-creator to use it? Ethics isn't confined to the data collection process. It is also important to consider respectful and ethical use of other people's work online - be a good digital citizen : )

Some image producers issue their pics under a Creative Common licence, but many more depend on their images to make a living and therefore copyright them. Which is where the following resources come in.

Free Web Graphics: Where to Get Them (Legally!) 

Greekgeek provides a list of sites providing images and requirements for attribution on each site.

Meanwhile, Dustin Stout is in the process of publishing a post series on The Essential Guide to Sharing Images Online. 

Among other points he makes, he notes that the creator of the image retains copyright even if you pick it up from another online source. The image creator never loses the ownership rights. Even if they do not put a visible copyright symbol on the image. Even if you alter the image before using it.

The good news is that Dustin does provide a list of free-to-use images provided by generous content creators so there are photos you can use. Check out this post on finding free images.

As an example, the following image is just one of the many available on morgueFile - a link from Dustin's post.

Once you have your images, don't forget to check out Lara's post on snazzing up your presentation

Ciao!

Getting in touch

By Keely Blanch

Phew, we're slowly getting things up and running.

We've now initiated a Facebook group called 'UOCE Postgrads' and a link is on the sidebar if you'd like to join that. We're hoping the FB group can become a supportive social environment for Otago Education postgrads. We'll also be putting links to new blog posts on this group page.

But I don't use facebook, you say? No problems - we have another link on the sidebar for you to subscribe by email to new posts. This is done through Feedburner and we do not have access to your email addresses. And don't worry - you won't be spammed! No new posts = no email. :)

Got something you'd like to share? Or want to become an author on the blog? Drop us an email via the contact form over on the bottom of the sidebar, or post a comment, or post on the FB group.

When its not "hip to be square": A short how to guide for shape cropping your pictures and images

By Lara Sanderson

Chuck away your square sided images! Ditch the rectangle! If you want to know how to change the shape of your image, now you can create hearts, triangles, inverted triangles whatever is in the shape art gallery in MS Word or MS Powerpoint. I thought I would share what Google search shared with me...

Using a photo got from the creative commons website fotopedia- I found a nice image of Lilly of the Valley that I would show you but my computer is quietly having a hissy fit. So in four simple steps

1: Go to drawing tools,

2. Crop function,

3: Crop to shape,

4: Choose your shape and voila!

Enjoy! It makes jazzing up those posters and presentations that much easier when you know how!