Assessment 3

• Create and record a presentation for new employees and volunteers to understand how key historical events in U.S. history are connected to their work and impact society today.

Note: The first three assessments in this course build on each other; therefore, it is essential that you complete them in the order presented.

As you complete your Lessons From History Presentation assessment, you will combine all of the four skills you have practiced in this course to create and present a report about a specific issue based on historical events and sources. Just as if you were running for political office, you will need to understand the key principles of your presentation and maximize the capabilities of the medium you are using. And while this assessment focuses on one medium—a presentation in PowerPoint—your agility skill gives you the ability to choose other mediums (such as email, an academic paper, a video recording, or a public speech) in the future. No matter whether you are presenting at an industry event, welcoming a group of donors to an appreciation brunch, fighting a traffic ticket in court, speaking at your child’s career day, or petitioning your local town board, these same skills can help you continue to drive your message home in your life and career.

• Essential Skills

If you are getting a group of close friends together for lunch, you probably wouldn’t type up a formal invitation and mail it to them. If you are throwing a fancy wedding, you most likely wouldn’t tell your guests about it through a hasty text message with lots of misspelled words. If you decide to run for office, you probably would not announce your candidacy through a shaky video on a private Instagram account. You wouldn’t do these things because they would not send the right message (what you’re saying) to your audience, nor would they deliver that message through the best medium (how you’re saying it).

Being able to share relevant information in a way that is easily accessible and appropriate requires a combination of your technology, problem-solving, and communication skills, as well as your agility skill to help you understand when and how to pivot to reach your goals. You will continue learning to create and deliver a message (through your presentation) using your communication skill, and you will practice how to deliver that message using your technology skill.

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Skill Application

Get inspired to change the world—and meet your own academic and professional goals—by harnessing the power of effective oral communication! In the following media piece, you’ll explore examples of speeches throughout history and learn why they continue to stand the test of time. And you’ll discover how you can apply the same principles to forging your professional future.

• Four Speeches That Shaped History.

Are you comfortable getting a medical diagnosis that was determined by a computer? How about talking to Siri? Or allowing your kids to share the streets with self-driving cars? Staying ahead of the curve at work and in life means being able to adapt to changing technology, even though it can cause stress and even fear. In this media piece, discover how your agility skill can help you approach technological changes in your own life and career. And, learn how technologies we take for granted today—like radio, TV, phones, medical devices, planes, the Internet, and cars—were received in their time.

• Tackling Technophobia Through Time.

In the following Capella Stories, Justin Seeby and Ryan Graham, co-founders of a successful real estate firm, explain how they built their business by embracing new technology and using it to maximize their sales potential.

• Capella Stories: Presenting to Win.

In this media piece, we’ll check back in with Rod Hicks from the Society of Professional Journalists to learn the critical role that technology plays in modern politics. Rod will demonstrate how the skill of technology is giving groups like politicians the upper hand. How will your technology skill do the same in your own career?

• Real Talk: The Tech Advantage.

PowerPoint Resources

For this assessment you will be creating a PowerPoint presentation. The following resources can help you with basic PowerPoint skills as well as best practices.

• Skillsoft. (n.d.). Skillsoft. (n.d.). PowerPoint Office 365 (Windows): Creating presentations [Tutorial].o Running time: 55:00.• Skillsoft. (n.d.). Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 for Mac: Building and structuring a presentation [Tutorial].o Running time: 51:00.• Foulkes, L. (n.d.). Working with graphic, audio, and video content in PowerPoint 2016 [Tutorial]. Skillsoft. o Running time: 58:00.

Audio and Video Resources

You are required to record your presentation for this assessment. You are welcome to use any tools and software with which you are comfortable, but make sure you are able to submit the deliverable and faculty are able to access it. Capella offers Kaltura, a courseroom tool that records audio and video. Refer to Using Kaltura for more information.

• Note: The first three assessments in this course build on each other; therefore, it is recommended that you complete them in the order presented.

Overview

In this assessment, you will build on the work you completed for Assessment 1 and Assessment 2, continuing your focus on the issue you chose to examine. Create and record a presentation for new employees and volunteers to understand better how key historical events in U.S. history are connected to their work and impact society today.

Preparation

Review the Evaluating Historical Sources Worksheet you completed for Assessment 1 and the Historical Analysis Worksheet you completed for Assessment 2.

Instructions

Create and record a PowerPoint presentation (8–12 slides total) by incorporating your evidence and arguments from previous assessments. Refer to this assessment's Resources for PowerPoint and audio and video recording resources.

Step 1: Provide an overview of a chosen issue, including research questions and sub-questions that need to be answered to understand an historical event and its long-term impact.

• Include a title slide with the title of your presentation and your name.• Include 1–2 topic slides that provide: o Your primary research question from Step 1 in your Historical Analysis Worksheet you completed for Assessment 2.o Any additional sub-questions you identified in Step 1 of the Historical Analysis Worksheet you completed for Assessment 2.o An overview of your issue.

Step 2: Explain why each of your sources is or is not credible.

• Include 1–2 slides that describe the credibility and validity of your sources (based on the work you did in Assessment 1).

Step 3: Explain the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event.

• Include a minimum of three evidence slides that provide evidence and visuals that support your explanations.

Step 4: Use critical thinking to relate past challenges and strategies to a current organizational issue.

• Include at least one slide that connects past events to the current state of your issue. Explain how your historical research can be used to better understand your issue today.

Step 5: Communicate clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure.

• Prepare notes for your oral presentation and add them to the presenter notes in PowerPoint. You can type or copy and paste your notes into the Notes box below each of your slides.• Record a short (3–5) minute presentation on your topic. Keep in mind that your audience is new employees and volunteers where you work.

Step 6: Cite sources using author and year, and provide some reference information required in APA style.

• Include a reference slide with your list of sources.

Recording

Once you have created your slide presentation, you need to record yourself presenting it. You have two choices:

9. You can record and insert your narration into the presentation with slide timings.10. You can create a video of you giving your presentation. You are not required to be on camera.

Note: If you require the use of assistive technology or alternative communication methods to participate in this activity, please contact [email protected] to request accommodations.

Additional Requirements

Your presentation should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.• Citations: Include a complete citation for each source. When you refer to evidence within your presentation, be sure to include in-text references to your sources. Review current APA Style and Format guidelines for more information on how to cite your sources.• Number of references: Your presentation should include a reference page with at least four sources cited: two primary and two secondary sources, with up to two sources selected from the History Presentation Resource List [DOCX].• Length: 8–12 slides.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze historical resources to determine credibility and validity. o Explain why each source is or is not credible.• Competency 2: Determine the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event. o Provide an overview of a chosen issue, including research questions and sub-questions that need to be answered to understand an historical event and its long term impact.o Explain the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event.• Competency 3: Explain lessons learned from U.S. historical events and their potential influence on a current problem or situation. o Use critical thinking to relate past challenges and strategies to a current organizational issue.• Competency 4: Address assignment purpose in a well-organized manner, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences. o Communicate clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure.o Cite sources using author and year and provide some reference information required.• Lessons From History Presentation Scoring Guide

Lessons From History Presentation Scoring Guide 

Criteria 

Non-performance 

Basic 

Proficient 

Distinguished 

Provide an overview of a chosen issue, including research questions and sub-questions that need to be answered to understand an historical event and its long-term impact. 

Does not provide an overview of a chosen issue.

Provides an overview of a chosen issue but does not include research questions and sub-questions that need to be answered to understand an historical event and its long-term impact.

Provides an overview of a chosen issue, including research questions and sub-questions that need to be answered to understand an historical event and its long-term impact.

Provides a concise overview of a chosen issue, including clear and specific research questions and sub-questions that need to be answered to understand an historical event and its long-term impact. 

Explain why each source is or is not credible. 

Does not identify why each source is or is not credible.

Identifies why some sources are or are not credible but does not provide a full explanation for all of them.

Explains why each source is or is not credible.

Explains why each source is credible or is not credible using specific examples. 

Explain the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event. 

Does not explain the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event.

Attempts to explain the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event, but the explanation isincomplete or inaccurate.

Explains the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event.

Uses evidence to explain the causes and long-term impacts of an historical event, with supporting examples. 

Use critical thinking to relate past challenges and strategies to a current organizational issue. 

Does not use critical thinking to relate past challenges and strategies to a current organizational issue.

Uses critical thinking to relate past challenges and strategies to a current organizational issue, but the analysis is incomplete.

Uses critical thinking to relate past challenges and strategies to a current organizational issue.

Uses critical thinking to relate past challenges and strategies to a current organizational issue, using specific evidence. 

Communicate clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure. 

Does not communicate clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure.

Communicates but writing is unclear as a result of poor purpose, organization, tone, or sentence structure.

Communicates clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure.

Communicates clearly with clear purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure. 

Cite sources using author and year and provide some reference information required. 

Does not cite sources and does not provide reference information.

Cites sources but is missing either the author or the year, or includes minimal reference information.

Cites sources using author and year and provide some reference information required.

Cites sources using author and year with correct punctuation and provides most of the reference information required.