TIPS FOR PRESENTING A WINNING BRAG BOARD

Nancy Franz spoke to the VMGA members at the August 8 Bimonthly Meeting concerning the MG College Brag Boards and Search for Excellence (SFE) competition. Nancy has been a judge for the Brag Boards at MG College for several years and is a Professor and Extension Specialist in Program Development.

She discussed the guidelines for judging and critiqued three of this year’s entries. From this discussion and critique these are some of the things to be considered when developing a winning brag board.

1. Entries should follow one of the SLM objectives.

Protection of the environment

Youth education

Value of the landscape (literal economic value)

Community food resources and nutrition

Health and quality of life

2. Tell the story with –

Color - use color but not too much and stay away from red and green because

some folks are color blind.

 

One story - one focus or project

 

Readability – make sure it’s easy to read. Make sure people know what the theme or topic is.

 

Sound – use all the sounds. If there is background noise, use head phones.

 

Interaction – use of a quiz or touch

3. As a judge they look for -

Did you follow the rules?

How many entries are there in category? (In the past there were lots of youth entries, look for something different)

Are you able to read my mind? (Know the judges’ expertise.)

What are the results of your project? (Tell how you used the results.)

How well does the project meet the Mission of VCE?

Impact on Community – was it economic change, saving the environment, social change or other? There are five ways to collect your data (interviews, focus groups, secondary data, case studies, and observation).

                  What learning took place – change in attitudes, knowledge, aspirations, etc.

Ease of replication – can someone else go home and do the same thing