1st - 3rd Year Pitch

Yesterday I managed a pitch group of six 1st - 3rd year Computer Arts students who were showcasing their work so far from the first semester. Here are my reflections...

- I found moderating the group quite interesting and since it was the first time meeting with them this year, it was an opportunity to gauge what level everyone was at in terms of skills and experience as it's not always as straightforward as the higher years knowing more than the first years.
- From past experiences at pitch/crit weeks, time management has never really been an issue as I have never attended a session where a group has run over the 2hr time slot. In this case then, I let each group member speak for as long as they needed to explain their coursework and allowed any comments or feedback to develop into discussions that could help (providing they didn't wander off-topic). At the end of each presentation, all members were invited to ask questions and provide feedback.
- If I'm honest, there was not too much critical feedback given as everyone seemed to have good ideas and a clear idea of their targets for each module. The main discussions in this areas were when someone was thinking about a few different ideas for their projects and it was useful to weigh out the pros and cons of each option.
- I tried to offer advice on areas the group members felt unsure of or subjects they seemed to have less work on. For example, suggesting linking together research in different modules and applying them to separate projects or pointing out technical issues that may arise in projects.
- I think I did well in making sure everyone was part of the discussion and inviting people to question or comment on others works and always making sure everyone got a few points of feedback to reflect on. I feel that I could make improvements on critical feedback if I take notes during each presentation as sometimes it is hard to remember each module for each student, and all the options they have explored in each. There were also a couple of resources I thought could help out with some modules but as I couldn't remember exact names or websites, I will need to remember to take these along next time!

I enjoyed getting to see some really nice work from all members and am looking forward to see how their projects have progressed next time!