INTE 6710 ~ Creative Designs for Instructional Materials Project 1: Pecha Kucha Presentation Design Document

Dawn Turek
September 25, 2011

1. Significant Purpose Spay and neuter your cats ! ~The ASPCA estimates the feral cat population ranges up to 70 million. ~The average number of litters a fertile cat produces is one to two a year; average number of kittens is 4-6 per litter. ~Seven out of ten cats in shelters are destroyed simply because there is no one to adopt them. The purpose of this presentation is to inform viewers of the serious need to spay and neuter cats. Not doing so increases the problem with the feral cat population and the over crowded shelters who have no other choice but to euthanize thousands of cats. This presentation will inform the viewers of the many issues and problems with the feral cats and instruct them how to stop this issue by spaying and neutering cats. Many people dont think it is a big deal to spay and neuter cats. Because they either think its not so bad, or want to their kids to see the miracle of birth, or they take in an animal with no intention of actually taking care of it more than providing food and water. They dont realize that their kittens can get pregnant at the young age of 5 months. The problem is many people get cats and do not spay or neuter them and let them wander the streets. The cats then multiply sometimes known by its owners and sometimes not known. The kittens now are given away for free or left out on the street to multiply. The problem with giving a kitten away for free is that people like free stuff and dont see any responsibility in a free thing. They take it home give it food and water and dont have the money, care, and/or knowledge to do anything else. Again the cycle continues. The kitties born on the street unknown by their owners are left to fend for themselves and become very afraid and sometimes hostile toward humans. The kittens can then start to reproduce starting as early as 5 months. These colonies live on the streets and can become very ill passing diseases onto
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each other and other animals including your house cat. These colonies also can pose a great danger to wildlife and native species as well as attack your pet chickens and bunnies.

For male cats neutering is the most proactive step. Neutering is a simple surgery with a very quick recovery period. Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, neutering a male cat will make it less likely to develop certain problems and conditions males cats often have such as spraying, fighting, testicular cancer, the need to escape, stud tail (caused by overactive glands in tail), mammary cancer, feline diseases such as FeLV (Feline leukemia Virus) and FIV (Feline immunodeficiency Virus) and lastly neutered cats are less allergenic. Spaying your female cats also has its benefits. Not only in the stopping of unwanted pregnancies but anyone who has experienced a female cat in almost constant heat cycles will tell you it is not a enjoyable experience. Their loud screaming and often spraying to attract a mate are proof that they are possibly in physically in pain, uncomfortable and unhappy. Like male cats spaying also reduces the chances of mammary cancer and also ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and also a bacteria called pyometra which attacks the uterus of a cat and potentially fatal. The need to spay and neuter cats is unarguable. The shelters are flooded with cats which most of, even the tame ones, get euthanized. Most feral cats never get adopted and even more of them get euthanized right away. Since most feral cats are not tame and do not enjoy human companionship and some are even hostile toward humans most of them are not even given a chance. Knowledge is the way to stop this endless cycle of sadness and destruction. I will make this presentation memorable sticky by using emotion pictures and statistics. During which I will display many pictures that will give the viewers a clear and sad picture of what these cats look like and turn out to be with and without the proper love and attention needed. A story about Goober I woke up to a horrible screaming. Sounding almost like a child, I race to my child's bedroom to find him fast asleep. The screaming continued as I went outside to find its source. A young female cat 'Sugar' (I named her) was soon to be a mother at the young age of 6 months. She was giving birth this morning at 6:15 am. The whole neighborhood heard her screams of discontent. She did not deserve the pain of birth at such a young age only to
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discover three of her four kittens were stillborn. All because her owners did not have her spayed. The one living kitten who I named goober was much smaller than his dead brothers and sisters. I quickly picked him up as Sugar quickly scurried into the bushes. I called the local Vet to seek assistance but unfortunately all the shelters were full and no one had the time to take care of such a needy baby kitten. Since I felt a vested interest in this tiny kitten I bottle fed, fussed and worried about this kitten for over two weeks. After 2 weeks the kitten seemed to be struggling and I brought him to the vet and they gave him fluids and gave me some to take home. Unfortunately he lost his fight the next morning. He was just a tiny two week old kitten a small, seemingly insignificant being in the larger scheme of life. But he left behind a giant-sized hole in my heart. Little Goober was buried next to a great oak tree in our yard. Less than a month later I heard screaming again. I raced out to look for Sugar and found her. The young mother stray cat had been hit by a car and was paralyzed from the waist down. I quickly grabbed a box a carefully caught her with a huge struggle from such an injured cat. I then called animal services and they came and picked her up and the man told me she would most likely be euthanized since she is a stray and so badly injured. Five lives could have been saved only if someone had the heart to spay this one kitten. 2. A Picture of the Future Spay and neuter your cats. A picture of my ideal future is that the are minimal amounts of kittens and cats in the shelters. If they are to end up in shelters they are only in there for a couple days before they find loving home. Most importantly NO cat should have to live on the streets unloved or have to die because a human did not care. All kitties are in loving homes where they are cared for and loved. In the real world after this presentation learners will understand the need to spay and neuter cats and the consequences if they don't. The learners will know the benefits of spaying and neutering their cats as well as the problems that can arise if they choose not to. When cats are spayed and/or neutered it will reduce the amount of cats that have to be euthanized. Spaying and neutering cats will make for happier healthier cats that have loving homes and if in shelters are adopted quickly. Spaying and neutering your cats will reduce the amount of unwanted and abandoned cats living on the streets or in shelters.
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I became aware of the problem with people not spaying and neutering their cats about 5 years ago. I frequented a local pet food supply store and there was always a cage with kittens in it. I as always would sit and pet the ones at the front of the cage and always felt bad for the scared cats in the back. This beautiful October morning I became extremely interested in an orange and white cat who was meowing at me as I walked through the store. There was about five cats in the cage and she seemed to be saying my name. So I asked the woman at the counter about the cats. Turns out they were feral cats and she volunteers for the Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance (RMACA). She traps and neuters feral cats and releases them back onto the street (TNR). Because most feral cats are not use to human contact they are not good pets and if the shelters get them they are usually euthanized. If she finds young enough kittens she spays/neuters them, tries to rehabilitate them and find them homes. This cage was full of cats who have possibilities of becoming tame. So I told her I was interested in the orange and white one who was making all the noise. She said "great!" and asked if I wanted two cats? I thought about it for a minute then decided why not its nice to have a buddy. She talked me into one that was sitting in the far back with an unhappy face. She told me he was probably not going to make a great pet but he would be best if kept with a litter mate. So I felt bad for him and went ahead a got him too. This was just the beginning of my findings. I then moved to a neighborhood that was surrounded by a huge feral cat colony. There was always at least one cat on the front porch when I got home and I lived there for two years and tracked over 10 adults and found five litters (heard a few more but was not able to help). Most of them I tried to save some I was unable to save but all I tried to Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR). It was a heart wrenching time for me and I had heart ache every time I heard a meow. I did keep one of the baby kittens who I was able to rehabilitate so well that she is sitting on the top of my computer wondering why I don't have the time to pet her. Thankfully I moved out of that neighborhood and my heart is healing but I am still in full support of the cause. So it begins. I hope that by sharing my knowledge and stories of this issue more people will become aware of the problem at hand. They will not only spay and neuter there cats (and dogs but a whole different presentation of pet population control) but they will tell there friends and family and encourage them to do the same.

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3. Clear Design Values

Design Decision #1. I used pictures with emotion to capture the audiences attention. (Medina Rule 4, 2008, p. 79; With real pictures of cats and kittens I created an emotional presentation. Something that the viewer could actually see. not just an abstract idea with no visual emotional pull. (Heath & Heath, 2008, pg 17-18), slide/picture 8 in the presentation is a very good example of this emotion but I believe all these sad faces can cause an emotion. This emotionally charged topic is sure to stick in the minds of many. Design Decision #2. I utilized empty space. As in I didn't fill all the pages from corner to corner. Leaving room for some pictures to breathe. (Reynolds, 2008, p. 21), slide/pictures 7, 9, 10 this space allows the viewer to clearly see the picture and little to no chaos in the slide. Design Decision #3. On a picture I saturated the colors to make more appealing to the eye., (Garr, 2009, p. 70), slide 17, emphasis given to the cats and the background becoming plain. Design Decision #4. I made the text simple and minimal, sticking to the core Spay and Neuter your cat. I have a compact to the point and simple core message. This message is clear and not hidden by fluff and extras. (Heath & Heath, 2008, p. 45), The first slide, and 9, 10, these all have the core idea on it emphasizing what is important. Design Decision #5. In the few slides I include text on the text is clear and easy to read., (Garr, 2009, pg 44), slides 9, 10 The font is sans serif and aligned to the left.

4. Formative Evaluation Response

Peer Review Question #1. Do you now know why it is important to spay/neuter your cat/s?, this is to make sure my point has been received and absorbed, the actually peer review comments (cut and paste from the course shell), and an explanation of how you addressed the comments and/or why you chose not to. Both of my peer reviews were surprised to learn what a huge problem cat overpopulation is. They both now know the importance to spay and neuter cats is. They both were astonished and overwhelmed with the numbers of cats there are and felt educated after the presentation. Seeing that they both got the message of the presentation I will be keeping most of my content the same as before. Peer Review Question #2. Were all the slides narrated well?, to see if any slides needed more narration or less, the actually peer review comments (cut and paste from the course shell), and an explanation of how you addressed the comments and/or why you chose not to. This question I got conflicting answers. One review said the pauses seem unnatural and like I needed to rehearse my presentation a few more times. While the other

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review enjoyed the pauses. It gave her time to absorb the content and what I had just said. I would like to find a happy medium between these two reviews. I do not want to sound like my pauses are unrehearsed so I will rehearse a few times and make the pauses seem more natural and planned. Peer Review Question #3. Was I clear and easy to understand and hear?, to be sure my recording was not muffled, too soft, or too loud, the actually peer review comments (cut and paste from the course shell), and an explanation of how you addressed the comments and/or why you chose not to. Both reviewers believed that I had a clear speaking voice and I was clear and easy to understand. One reviewer mentioned that I became soft at times and tended to drop off toward the end of sentences. With these reviews taken in consideration I will try to keep a consistent tone and value to my voice and keep my head in the direction of the microphone o I do not drop off near the end of sentences. Peer Review Question #4. Was the music helpful, needed or more or a distraction to the message of the presentation?, to see if I need to omit the music, the actually peer review comments (cut and paste from the course shell), and an explanation of how you addressed the comments and/or why you chose not to. The reviewers both liked the music and the selection. It added the emotion I was looking for as one reviewer said like the ASCPA commercials with the sad faces and Sarah McLaughlin singing a sad song. This was exactly what I was going for and happy to see that response. Another comment was to possibly fade music down when speaking. Although I do like this idea I am not real sure how to do this, but I will take a look at this possibility? I just don't know if I can multitask this much? By reading my script, speaking into microphone and timing it to the pictures on a different screen I think I may already have my hands/brains full. Peer Review Question #5. Did this presentation catch your attention? why or why not?, to make sure I providing an entertaining presentation, the actually peer review comments (cut and paste from the course shell), and an explanation of how you addressed the comments and/or why you chose not to. I had both of the reviewers attention and they both now know the importance of spaying and neutering cats is. They were attracted to the facts and the cute and sometimes pitiful faces of my slides. One reviewer mention an unexpected meow at the beginning of the presentation may add a bit of 'unexpectedness' to the presentation. I think this is a great idea and I plan to use it. General comments that the reviewers made were that a graph would stir it up a bit. Since I do have so many pictures of cats I think this is a great idea. I have tried to locate on the web and have had no luck so far. I will try to create one myself? But I'm not sure how that will go. I did add a picture like graph to the presentation displaying a couple cats and their litter and how many cats can come out of that. I will continue this search fro a graph. She also mentioned that a personal story would add more emotion and to connect with the viewer more. I did have a couple stories seen above. However I was unable

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to fit them into such a short presentation. I believed the facts to be more important to the learning of this issue. The last comment I got is that youtube is doing something funny to the end of my presentation? I will keep that in mind as I post my new presentation to make sure this does not happen again? This is my first time using youtube so I'm not sure what the glitches are?

Bibliography
Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2008). Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive. New York: Random House. Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle, WA: Pear Press. Reynolds, G. (2009). Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

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