TEDTalk: Why Being Outdoors is Beneficial Reflection

TED Talk: Why Being Outdoors is Beneficial Reflection


1. What I knew (and didn't know about my topic when I started out). 
I chose this topic because I felt like I knew a good amount on why being outdoors is beneficial to both adults and kids. I knew that being outdoors broadens someone's horizons on life. Whether this is in school or in everyday decisions, I knew that the outdoors can open up your mind to new thoughts and ideas. I also knew that the fresh air is good for someone's growth and development. although I did not how significant this effect of the outdoors is, I knew of its importance. I also knew about how someones physical health can greatly increase when outside. I did not know so much about the boosting mental health effects. To add on to this I also did not know that the outdoor can reduce inflammation. Scents from the outdoors can also improve someone's growth which I found very interesting.

2. Why I Selected This Topic. 
I chose this topic because I find myself always outdoors. I love and enjoy the outdoor activity more than anyone I know. I always want to be active outside rather than being inside. When my friends are over and want to be in the basement I have an urge to be outside and be doing an activity. Not only do I love to be outdoors but I love to broaden my horizons while I am outside. I try various activities and usually enjoy doing all of them. This can be basketball (or another sport) with friends, fly fishing, hunting, running, and many more activities I love to do outside. I mainly thought I would be able to talk about this topic because I am outdoors so much doing different things,  love my time outside, and being outdoors more than anyone I know.

3.  What I Learned--Research
I learned a lot from my research and had some great sources online to help me with my presentation. One of my favorite sources was from Natures Voice, Every Child Outdoors. This source helped me understand and expand my knowledge of why being outdoors is beneficial for children and young adults. I found that putting infants and young children into nature at a young age improves their brains and overall health down the road of life. Talking about nature, Every Child Outdoors says, "An important contribution to pupils’ future economic well-being and to preparing them for the next stage of their lives." Nature and outdoor activity is a critical part of someone's development in life. I was shocked that the outdoors can reduce therapy after a surgery. This was something I never knew being active outdoors could accomplish. The Harvard Health Letter says, "In one study, people recovering from spinal surgery experienced less pain and stress and took fewer pain medications when they were exposed to natural light." The natural light from the outdoors had a healing power on patients. Something I also learned through my research was that being outside can boost someone economically later in life. Northern Ireland's Education and Training Inspectorate says, “An important contribution to pupils’ future economic well-being and to preparing them for the next stage of their lives." Outdoor activity prepares everyone in all aspects of life.

4. What I learned-- Presentations
Overall I like to think of myself as a good presenter and comfortable talking in front of a group of people. I never really have done this long of a presentation before so I was a little bit nervous but I think I did pretty well. My challenge going into the presentation was creating a visual aid that wasn't overwhelming and using the reveal/conceal method to my advantage. I overcame this by creating a powerpoint of main pictures. I used very limited words on my powerpoint so the viewer would not be distracted by a ton of text on the screen. The pictures were used to reveal and conceal what I was talking about. I constructed notecards for my words I was going to say and the pictures went along with that. To help me execute the reveal and conceal method, I put red dots on my notecards wherever I needed to switch the slide to put my visual aid into action. I do think I succeeded in overcoming these challenges and I was happy with how I did. I believe I had a good presentation but I think I can work on having more eye contact and presenting a longer presentation. Other than that I think I did a quality job.

5. What the Audience Learned.
The TED Talk idea I introduced was changing the audience's perspective on the topic of being outside. I definitely feel as though I was successful in this mission. I presented the information that was shocking to me and stuff that I did not know so I figured the audience did not know as well. I know I executed my presentation and helped my audience learn a new aspect of the outdoors because I got compliments on what I presented from classmates.

6. Advice for future students.
Students in the future, take this talk seriously and practice. An 8-10 minute presentation is not easy and makes sure that you have the time down through presenting every day to friends and family. Also after you finish reading Please Ignore Vera Dietz, use the time Mr. Davidson gives you to work on your presentation wisely. Do not sleep during class and pay attention to the effective speaking and other TED Talk videos Mr. Davidson offers, as they are very helpful to success on your own speech. Overall practice your presentation. Know your slides. Know what you're going to say. Know your visual aids. Know everything about your topic you possibly can. Good luck.