After watching the presentations for the K-12 Online Conference, commenting on the discussion board, and then reading my classmates' comments, one thing that became very obvious is that though there may be effective and ineffective presentation techniques, a good presentation is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.
Clearly the presenters for the conference hold a wide range of viewpoints on how to make a presentation and as a class, we have different ideas about what constitutes a good presentation. I, myself, prefer a simple, straightforward presentation style. I would rather listen to a clearly-written, informative script alongside supportive text-based slides, or descriptive images than watch a lot of images with music, but little talking (and little information). In short, when I attend or view a presentation, I am not looking for the same experience I might seek at the movie theater. I am looking to learn something, not be entertained.
This being said, I actually think one of the largest determinants of whether or not I do enjoy a presentation is whether I am initially interested in the topic. If I am already interested in a topic, I am somewhat predisposed to like a presentation about it and will therefore forgive some faults in the presentation method. On the other hand, if I am decidedly not interested in a topic, it takes a superb presentation to win me over.
The presentations we watched for the K-12 Online conference were all about topics that initially I was only "mildly" interested in, which is to say, they were not topics about which I, myself, am passionate about. Therefore, I felt that I was truly able to view the presentations with an open mind and take note of effective and ineffective presentation methods and styles. As a result, I thought that it was an effective way to learn what I look for in a presentation and begin to plan what elements I want to include in my own.
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