Conference speakers’ evaluation template

As an undergrad/grad student, you already attended several seminars so far, may be new conference are on your schedule. I think everybody believes that conferences are great place to share ideas and learning. Conference is not limited for learning only, but there is a high chance of hangout with your potential job manager at the beer bar.  You will meet great scholars in your area, wonderful people in your area.

How many of you remember the seminars you have been attended? Who were the speakers? What was their presentation title? What was their research and findings? So, I think it would be a better to make a habit attending presentation with paper and pen. 

You can write down notes as in the flowing template for your memory.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE GEOGRAPHY CONVENTION SPEAKER EVALUATION

Speakers	Research Questions & Presentation Questions	How answered? How well answered? Strengths and weakness of research.	Research Evaluation	What were the presenters’ style and presentation organization (Which is separate from the   organization of the research)? What were the strengths? Weakness?	Presentation Evaluation
Dr. Shannon O’Lear (University of Kansas)	Research How accurate is the information provided to the public by environmental stakeholders? -          Depends upon stakeholder’s power and geographic scale they studies. What role has power played in environmental politics? -          Carbon neutralizing, Carbon offset How clearly are geographic phenomena presented it the scale is changed? -          As an example of Coffee such as where it was build and how it was packaged.  Presentation What are the powers of Global Science? -          Cheat neutral, Carbon neutral, and so forth. Why is the public ignorant about food security? -          Trust in the science and government policy. Is there any uncertainty about the accuracy of Global Climate Change model? -          Of course, uncertainty as understood by scientist modelers vs non- scientist , and uncertainty  in the scale as to focus on  regional issues  derived from global one.	Strong points -          Tries to aware people about the influence of power and scale in global environment change and its problems. Weak points -          Does not provide the solution for the problems.	1-2	Strong -          Strong participation with audience. -          Lively presentation Weak -          Not open for Q/A session.	1
Dr. David Lanegran (Macalester College)	Research What is the history and appeal of MN mapping? -          Compares the map from 1720 to 1920 and later. What factors helped decision makers set the boundaries between MN and surrounding states? -          State filled with comment interest people and physical infrastructure to support the sustainable development. -          Size How do maps help people know the history of places and territories? -          Description abt. Iowa era, Wisconsin era, and formation of Dakota Territory. -          After the concept of maps as place makers in late 1880s. Presentation How do maps increase the popularity of MN? -          Advertisement as MN where dreams still comes true and 1000 lakes society makes sophisticated maps. What features must a formal map have? -          Detailed geo-political boundaries, cities, roads, states etc. Why Dakota territory is cut off from MN? -          Ideal size of MN to became a state. When did MN become a popular tourist destination?	Strong Points -          Series of maps help to understand the “Geo-politics” behind the MN state formation.	1	Strong - Strong audience   hooking. - Picture speaks more than words. Weak -          Not open for Q/A session.	1-2
Dr. John Fraser   Hart (University of Minnesota)	What are the relationships between retailing, land use planning, and the public good in MN? -          Relates by showing hotspots of dairy farms, Ag farm in MN. -          Depicts the influence of Interstate for farm development. Why and how do gender differences play important roles in farm management? -          Talks based upon field based data collection, won experience and open the new ideas for further research. What role does technology play in modern farming? -          Increase productivity and less labor cost- as an example of chicken farm.	Strong points -          Presenting the geography that happening daily around us that are unnoticeable by many people, in fairly simple and easy manner.	1-1	Strong -Strong audience hooking. -Picture speaks more than words. -Presenting his experience. Weak -          Not open for Q/A session.	1-1
Dr. Stanly Brunn (University of Kentucky)	Research What are the impacts of geography in other disciplines such as natural science and   engineering? -          It helps to bridge the various disciplines to empower the human life. What role has geography played in the improvement of human life? -          By ending wars, racial discrimination, support advocacy groups etc Presentation Why does geography have more opportunity than other branches sciences? -          Going abroad, field work, opportunity to learn new languages, expanding visualization knowledge etc. What kind of discipline is GEOG? -          Spatial discipline, bridge discipline, empowering disciple, caring discipline etc. -            What can geographer do and not do? -          Depends upon perception of relating phenomena to geography or not. In what ways is the life of geographer good? -          Cultural DNA (have experience of meeting diverse people). -          Roles on improving human conditions by ending wars, racial discriminations.	Strong points -          Shows the diverse field of geography in effective way, which is very helpful for carrier planning. -          Shows the bond between GEOG and other disciplines. Weak points -          Does not talk about negative of geography.	1-4	Strong -Open for the Q/A session. -Good audience hooking	1-3
Dr. Brad Rundquist (University of North Dakota)	Research How and why does remote sensing help detect invasive species? -          Large area coverage from aerial photo and -          Provide constant monitoring on the species. What are the challenges in indentifying and locating invasive plants? -          To detect the invasive plants among the vegetation. What are the quantifying patterns in invasive plant habitat in North Dakota? Presentation Why should we study and monitor invasive plants? -          Harmful for vegetation and human. How has the introduction of exotic plants changed the lakes of North Dakota? -	Strong points -          Remotely sensed data is cross- validated with field collected data for the accuracy. Weak points -          Research is limited only among 12 species among 40 species.	1-3	Weak -          Redundancy in presenting materials -          Not strong audience hooking Strong -Open for the Q/A session	1-4

evaluation