While the shutdown stopped many scheduled assessments due to online restrictions, including the double essays and other end-of-the-year projects, the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) presentations will still take place for juniors.
Instead of postponing the 10 minute presentations, which count for 20 percent of the class in both 11th and 12th grades, the juniors will film a video and share it with a few people over Blackboard Collaborate Ultra in breakout groups.
“The junior year typically affords students more time to work on this presentation,” TOK teacher Hendrick Booz said. “The TOK team also allows candidates to create a whole new presentation and present a [second] time, again on a new topic, during the senior year. That ability to reassess along with the need to focus on the TOK essay, burden of college apps and [the] time crunch means that the TOK team decided to go ahead with recorded presentations.”
IB Diploma candidate and junior Rachel Osman said she would rather have done the presentation in person because of the technical difficulties she and her partner ran into.
“My partner and I had to film so many times that it felt never-ending,” Osman said. “However, I am grateful to have the technology to successfully do the TOK presentation online. I know some students in other schools are not this lucky.”