Presentation reactions

Today we had the final round of practice presentations before the final. Each of the groups showed improvements over their previous presentations, though there were still some a few issues to work out before the final. My reactions:

Automaton

• The explanation of the app was much clearer and easier to follow than last time. I liked that they had included a slide explaining the more important parts of the game.
• The demo itself was also a little easier to understand (and I noticed that they added tooltips over the icons that are dragged and dropped onto the main board). However, if I was someone who was using this app for the first time, I feel like I might really struggle to understand what is going on and what is expected to complete a certain level. My suggestion for them would be to include a demo tutorial on a simple level so the user can see how everything works before they start on their own.
• Handout is good, but I agree with Fernando that the blue is too dark. I looked back at their previous hand-out and the blue on that one was much lighter (maybe due to using a different printer) and was much easier to read.
• The presenters themselves did better than last time, though the demo did seem to go by really fast, so slowing down the talking will probably be good for the final presentation.
• They mentioned that a user can create and upload a level but didn't demo it...maybe this could be something they could include as well to add some time to the presentation.

VisualScheduler

• The slides had more of an impact this time, especially the one containing the ridiculous number of windows that you must click through just to find and register for once class on myUNM (though the sheer number of windows also made some of the text on the slide go out of the display zone, so this should probably be fixed).
• I noticed that they had moved the calendar feature to be below the list of classes. Personally, I'd prefer it in another tab as well since I hate scrolling, but this way does provide a quick way to check if your schedule has conflicts.
• Not related to the presentation, but I like their addition of the automated schedule generator. That is a pretty nice feature since I (and probably every other student at UNM) has to go through the agony of trying to determine how to create a "nice" schedule that includes all the classes you need to take.
• Also noticed that Zach kept looking up at the slides and turning his whole body away from the audience, which was distracting and seemed to imply that he was really relying on the slides for guidance instead of just turning to them to point something out, gesture to something, etc.

G.E.R.A

• Not sure exactly how to spell G.E.R.A. Is it is G.E.R.A or G.E.R.A. (with a period after the "A"?). The slides had both versions while the handout and the website only appears to have G.E.R.A (with no period after the A). I would assume that since it is an abbreviation, it would have the period after the A, but I'm not sure what they are going for.
• The handout was much easier to read, though they did include a pie chart on a dark background with tiny, dark grey text that was impossible to read. I think that this should either be removed entirely or the colors should be changed. 
• They mentioned spendable points during the presentation but didn't really explain what exactly these bought. I'm assuming that it would be buying things from the "Armory", but it wasn't really clear.
• The presentation itself was much improved. It appeared that Ben made a real effort to memorize his notecards, which helped a lot and made the presentation flow better and look more convincing. He did mess up on one slide, but if he can power through his mistakes instead of focusing on them, I think he will have a pretty good presentation.