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Issues and FAQs relating to Individual Projects / Group Design ProjectsTable of contents 1 This pageIs updated constantly to address new queries that arise. You find the last modification date in the footer at the very end of this page. Any information and material provided here is given in addition to the material at http://www.soton.ac.uk/ses/resources/ugprojects.html. 2 Blackboard submission of report/poster2.2 Do you get an error message like please enter a valid file?If you are using firefox3 or Google Chrome, then this is a documented bug. Here is an explanation of possible workarounds from iSolutions (from 28 April 2009):
2.3 Problems submitting large files?Apparently, the connection to blackboard may time out if large files are submitted through slow(ish) connections. If you have problems submitting your files and they are large, try to do this from within the university (as the network is much faster). 2.4 Cannot submit file because submission is already completed?If, for some reason, you have already submitted a file (or blackboard thinks you have), you need to get that submission cleared by an instructor before you can submit again. In this case, please email Hans Fangohr <fangohr@soton.ac.uk>. 2.5 Other problems?Please contact the serviceline <serviceline@soton.ac.uk> explaining your problem in sufficient detail, including what you have tried to do and what error you experienced. If there is an error message, then do cite the error (copy and paste into email). Please Cc your email to the service line to Hans Fangohr <fangohr@soton.ac.uk> so that we are aware of any issue that exist. 3 IP Poster for Viva3.1 Should the poster be A1 or A3?The coursebook mentions an A1 poster -- this is a mistake. The authorative information is that the poster should be printed in A3 for the viva. If your poster is selected to be one of the 10 best project posters, it will be presented at the Industrial Advisory Board during the summer. For that purpose we will reprint it in A1 (from the pdf file that you submit electronically), and you will be invited to present your poster there. The board will also select the best presented poster and award a cash prize. 3.2 Should the poster be designed for A1 or A3?Roughly speaking, either size should lead to the same font sizes: the A3 poster is of course much smaller when printed, but readers (the assessment team in the viva) each have a copy and can read this like a book, i.e. hold it sufficiently closely to read normal font size. At the poster presentation at the industrial advisory board, the A1 poster is printed much bigger (and thus the fonts will come out larger), but this is required as the reading audience will not be able to stand quite as close to the poster. 3.4 Where can I get a landscape poster template example?Here. This template will shortly be added to http://www.soton.ac.uk/ses/resources/ugprojects.html. 3.5 Which school logo should be use - eps, jpeg or what?EPS and PDF scale and look best when printed (whereas bitmap formats such as PNG and JPEG will show pixels when they are made sufficiently large, often the pixels can be seen when printed while they cannot be detected on screen). The EPS or PDF version should therefore be the first choice if your Poster-creation-software (often this will be MS PowerPoint) supports these file formats. If you cannot use the PDF or EPS file, then try PNG before -- as a last resource -- you use JPEG. 4 The poster presentation4.1 What is a poster presentation?The presentation of a product / work / research using a poster as the visual medium. 4.2 Can I use OHP transparencies or PowerPoint slides to deliver the presentation?No. Students are expected to use their poster as their talking/discussion point or point of reference during their presentation - OHP slides cannot be used. 4.3 Where are poster presentations used?Many scientific conferences have large poster sessions where conference attendees circulate around poster boards which are manned with (a small fraction of the attendees) who stand next to their posters, ready to present them and to answer questions. The presentation of the work delivered by poster presenter to a 'visitor' (of the poster) can take different forms:
In the IP viva, we will use scenario 1: you have 7 minutes to talk the audience through the poster, and they will then ask questions. Note that product presentations at industrial trade shows follow the same poster presentation and interaction model. In this case, a 'poster' or 'information wall' will be complemented with the display of a product or prototype, the presenter would want to sell the product, and the visitor is typically a potential customer. 4.4 How to use the poster to deliver your talk?You structure the poster as you would structure a talk. Usually, one would have most of these sections:
In a conventional presentation based on, say, OHP transparencies or Powerpoint slides, you would display the corresponding transparency when you talk about it. In a poster presentation, the same poster is displayed from the beginning to the end of your talk, and you direct the attention of your audience to the corresponding part of the poster (that is area on the poster) when you speak about each section. Direct the attention by pointing to the relevant part (with your arm and hand or a pointer) and by also stating the obvious: "To introduce the work, I would like to show you ...", "The method we have used", "I will now move on to ...", "The central result of the work is shown here, and ...", "Next, I discuss", "To conclude,..." Try to avoid using notes if you can. Instead: look briefly at the poster (as does your audience) and use the poster as a reminder what you need to say. (The same technique to avoid reading notes should be used when delivering talks using slides/transparencies -- this is not specific for poster-presentations.) This is worth practicing. |