The presenters have done a great job today, this is a major major milestone toward your project, make best use of the feedback. The audience, really proud of you guys, I've seen some incredibly good engagement in learning and critical discourse in the span of 75minutes.

Remaining Poster Day Presenters
11/19/07- Brandon F., Corrine S., Furat S., James S., Mallory E., Marc W., Miranda R.,
11/26/07 - Alex V., Beth S., Doruk O., Alex C. George P., Crystal D., Jimmy N.
11/28/07 - Neha H., Shannon G., Amanda L., Michael B., Datt P., Trevor L., Nathan A., Andrew B.,
12/03/07 - Jesse P., David J., David M., Brandon B., Shane L., Nina B., Bo H., Alani N., Zach W.

--------Response to Jesse's blog question on topic struggle----------
GIS would be on your comfort side, you know the peaks and boundaries of the area, so it's less uncertainty if you stick with that. The media topic is daunting precisely because you have no idea of peaks that stand out or knowing enough of the area to set proper limits.

Normally, the safe thing to do is usually to put together a polished work that builds comfortably on your existing knowledge. The difference here is in how this class is setup, grading isn't focused on the product - you will not be penalized for trekking unknown territory.

It is true that you will be able to answer your research question more comprehensively if you have a better grasp of it. For the most part, I am looking for evidence that you are able to take a critical approach to your project and be able to effectively gather and use good data to support a fact finding mission or specific perspectives.

In short, the questions need to be competently addressed, but it doesn't need to have an absolute answer. There may very well be no answer, by addressing I mean, you might lay out the factors you believe that contribute to the lack of an answer and support them with info you found.

My answer to you is the usual vagueness, up to you. I think you'd do well with either topic. The poster questions are used to gather information and generate critical feedback, don't frame your entire project around them. My praise for this first batch of posters was not for that they are comprehensive and covers everything they need for their project, it was for that they have established the necessary background knowledge to be able to focus on addressing their specific questions in the next phase of their work.

Much of my feedback were in the direction of alternative ways they might look at what they have now. The collection of the class feedback will get them rolling on options to dig into next. More than likely they need to do another round of exploration, but at this point they will be much more specific in what they are looking for. The background knowledge they built up to the poster + new feedback ideas + new focused search = enough compilation to start the analysis and writing for the project.

This is the big picture of the class, each of the assignments was a puzzle piece, it should make more sense now that you have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

Poster Feedback Questions

Your name________, today's date______, Proj abbr. title_____
Instruction:
1) Complete this for 5 posters, budget about 10-15min to collect and write about each. Take this seriously, it reflects the quality of your class participation.
2) Address the questions directly or indirectly, not necessary to hit every point, but responses should be thoughtful and to the point. 2 paragraphs in the very least, use the back if more space's needed.
3) Write legibly, write legibly, write legibly, messy is ok, but must be legible. Give them to the author when you're done.

Questions:
View the poster, ask the authors about their project in general, grasp what its about.
a) Focus: Are their research questions getting at the heart of what they are seeing about the topic area?
b) Depth/Substance: Are the components convincingly addressing the research question to the fullest extent possible (as a term project)? How so?
c) Relationship/Connections: Which parts, if any, seem out of place or disconnected? How?
d) Breadth/Coverage: In the context of the topic/question, any elements you expect should, but isn't addressed here? Why?
e) Sourcing: Are the key points well supported by highly relevant and strong sources? How so?
f) Clarity: Are you able to see the same vision that the author paints for their project?
g) Anything else you'd like to tell the author.

Respond to Author's specific question(s), required.