Final Post

Hello Class!

This is the final blog post this semester. As mentioned in my email, here is the grade scale:


A 950-1000
A- 900-949
B+ 870-899
B 840-869
B- 800-839
C+ 770-799
C 740-769
C- 700-739
D+ 670-699
D 640-669
D- 600-639
F 600 and below

If you have questions, please contact me through the class email until May 31st. After that date, please refer to the email address I left in the final email to the class.

I have had a wonderful time with you all this semester and hope that you get a much needed break during the summer!!!

Calculating your grade

Hello Class! I will be returning your Concept Application Papers tonight before midnight. I wanted to take one last look at them before returning them to you.

In order to calculate your grade, please add up your total points and divide that by the total points possible in the class.

The class is out of more than 1,000. The syllabus states that the class is out of 1,000 points, but I mistakenly graded your Speech Critique out of 100 points instead of 75.

This weekend I will post a new grade distribution schedule so you can see what your grade is in the class. I will also send out one final email this weekend.

Until then.....

Final Exam Procedures

Hello Class! The final exam is finally upon us. Here is a summary of final exam procedures:

1). Download the final exam review sheet from the Handouts Page on Blackboard. This form has been available all semester.

2). Study Study Study

3). Print out the Proctor Form from the Handouts Page

4). Find someone 21 and over who is NOT associated with the class in any way. Ask them to observe you take the final. The proctor MUST watch you take the entire exam.

5). Take the final exam on Blackboard anytime during May 18th, May 19th or May 20th. The final exam will open at 12:01am on May 18th, and will close on May 20th at 11:59pm. PLEASE NOTE that you have 75 minutes ONLY to complete the final exam. Blackboard allows extra time, so please watch the clock to make sure you are ending your final exam WITHIN the 75 minute time limit. Any questions submitted after the 75 minute time limit will be disqualified from your final exam, and your grade will be adjusted accordingly.

6). Have the proctor sign the Proctor Form AFTER OBSERVING YOU take the final exam in its entirety and send it to me by *scanning in the form in emailing (preferred method), *faxing the form (see form for fax number), or *sending the hard copy through snail mail.

7). Once you have sent your proctor form to me, please email me and let me know how you have sent your form so I can look out for it.

8). I will not post your grade until I have the proctor form. Again, it is preferred that you scan the form into the computer and email it to me.

Good luck on your final exam!!! I will be available all weekend, and during finals week through email. I will also be on Yahoo Messenger from time to time, so if you see me online, go ahead and message me.

Last Week of Discussion

I must admit, the last week of discussion in this class is my favorite. I really enjoy reading about the concepts you found most interesting in the class. These posts help me to shape the class for future semesters.

I'm sure you noticed that I did not write an 'early bird' post this week. Since it's a short week, I assume that people will post early on in the week. Most everyone has posted at least once.

Note: Your Concept Application Papers will be returned during finals week.

As you know from the email I sent yesterday, I will not be holding office hours on Thursday. I extended my office hours on Tuesday, which some of you took advantage of (it was nice chatting with those of you that contacted me during extended office hours). I will also be online on and off all day today while grading papers, blogs, calculating grades, etc..... If you see me on Yahoo Messenger, feel free to pop in if you see that I'm online.

I hope you have a fabulous day!

Week of May 10-13

Hello Class! This is a short week, so please have your posts and comments completed by May 13th (Wednesday) at midnight.

Here are the questions for this week's discussion:

Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:

1). (Regarding Chapter 13) Which of the research methods listed in Table 13.3 seem the most interesting? Assume you want to study some aspect of deception. Frame a research question. Which method would you choose to answer the question. Why?

2). What concept/s in this class have you found most interesting? What was it about that concept/s that you found interesting?

3). Pick one other concept in the book that you feel needs further discussion?

Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs.

Please complete an online SOTE evaluation for Comm 105

Once again it is the time of year that students must complete SOTE ratings. Please have yours completed and submitted by Sunday, May 10th @ 11:59pm.

Please log into your "MySJSU" account and complete a SOTE evaluation for this course. Here are the instructions:

1). Log into "MySJSU"
2). Go to "Self-Service"
3). Click on "Online SOTE Ratings"
4). Complete the evaluation
5). Submit

Please be aware that once you submit the form, you will not be able to change what you have entered into the form.

Once you have completed the online SOTE evaluation, please send me a confirmation email that you have submitted the form. No need to enter text into the body of your confirmation email. Simply start an email and write "SOTE submitted" in the subject line.

Please email me if you have any questions about this. As always, I'm available by email, Yahoo Messenger and phone conversations.

I greatly appreciate your participation!

Office Hours

I will not be on the computer for office hours this Thursday. If you need to contact me, I will be on campus on Thursday and Friday. Send me an email and we can set up a time to either meet in person, or we can set up a phone meeting.

On Thursday and Friday I will mostly be away from a computer, but will have email access periodically. This means that I will be answering emails at various times throughout the day, but will not be able to check my email as much as I usually do, so I may not be able to get back to you as quickly as I normally do.

Prior to emailing the CAP

Before you email me your Concept Application Paper, it would be a good idea to download the Grading Rubric for the paper and look over it. It would also be a good idea to read over the rubric WHILE you are reading over your paper so you can revise your paper in accordance with the grading rubric.

I can't wait to read your papers!

Week of May 3-9

Hello Class! I hope today finds you well. Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

1). The Concept Application Paper is due this Friday, May 8th by 11:59pm. Please plan ahead in case you run into an technical difficulties. BE SURE to read through the grading rubric that is posted on Blackboard. Email me with any questions you might have.

2). There is a quiz this week on Chapters 11 & 13 on Blackboard. Please make sure you submit your quiz within the 20 minute time limit. Blackboard allows extra time (40 mins.), so it is YOUR responsibility to watch the clock to make sure you are ending the quiz within the required time frame, which is 20 minutes maximum. ANY ANSWERS submitted after the 20 minute time frame will be disqualified and your quiz score will be adjusted accordingly.

Final Exam Review Sheet

The final exam review sheet has been available all semester. Please download it and get started on studying for the final exam. I will post more details at a later time about the final, but I wanted to give you a gently reminder that they review sheet is available to you.

Concept Application Paper

With the semester winding down, that can only mean one thing - another paper is due! I have uploaded the Concept Application Paper Grading Rubric. You can find it on the "Projects" page and the "Handouts" page on Blackboard. Even though it is located on different pages, it is the same form. Please read over the assignment sheet AND the grading rubric to make sure you have included everything required in your paper.

If you have been using the rubrics all semester, you will notice that they are all quite similar. There should be no surprises with what is required.

Email me if you have any questions. :)

Grades Posted

Hello Class! I have posted the grades for the Cultural Event Paper. Please keep track of your grade by adding all the points that you have earned so far in the course, divided by the points possible. Let me know if you have any questions. :)

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! Here is a list of folks who have blogged already this week. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

aquarian1
Capone's Mom
CGH
Chip9
Events Dreamer
Goober
NYP
Paris
Siral
sjsueducatedfool

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start! Good job!!!!!

Grades Posted for April 19-25

I have just posted grades for the Discussion Week 4/19-4/25. Please log onto Blackboard to check your grades. If there is an issue with the blogging grade, please email me the following:

1). Dates/Times/Word Count of Posts to your blog
2). Dates/Times/Word Count/Locations of comments you made

I have noticed that some folks are commenting on blogs that are NOT within a discussion week. For example, for the week of 4/19-4/25, if you comment on blogs you need to make sure the post you are commenting on is within this particular week. If it is not, I will not see it, therefore you will not earn points for that comment. I do not go back and look at past blogs. I only check blog posts and comments for a given week.

Also, please check your grade on an ongoing basis and ask questions along the way. It will be difficult for both you and I if you do not check your grade, then have questions about past grades, especially as it pertains to discussion weeks.

As I have stated since the start of the semester, it is recommended that you keep track of your blogs and comments including dates/times/word counts, in case any issues arise.

All grades are on Blackboard, and are updated often, so there is little excuse for not keeping track of your grades on a continual basis. You are also able to calculate your grade at any point to figure out your standing in the class.

Please email me with any questions you may have. As always, I'm available to schedule a phone conversation. :)

Chapter Outlines Available

Hello Class! As a reminder, I have posted all of the Chapter outlines for the entire book. Go ahead and download those and use them to study! :)

Week of April 29-May 2

Hello Class! I hope today finds you well. Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

*Read Chapter 11 - Communication and the Mass Media
*Participate in Week 15 discussion
*Start working on your final project in this course. The grading rubric will be posted this week, so please review that PRIOR to starting your paper.

Class Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:

1). Have you made friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace? If so, how are they different from f2f relationships? If you have not formed cyber relationships, why not?

2). Do you agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message, i.e. that the format or logic of a medium is as important as its content and, in fact, determines what content will be broadcast through that channel? Evaluate his idea that television is a cool medium.

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that we have not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs during this discussion week.

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! Here is a list of folks who have blogged already this week. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

EventsDreamer
Goober
Nicciri
Paris
sjsueducatedfool

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start! Good job!!!!!

Cultural Event Papers Returned

Hello Class! I will start returning your Cultural Event Papers today. I will return a group of them today, tomorrow and finally on Thursday. So expect those in your email within the next few days. In the meantime, contact me if there are any issues or questions.

Grades Posted

Hello Class! I just updated Blackboard with your grades from the week of 4/12-4/18. Please look over your grade and email me with any questions. If you do have questions about your grade for the discussion week, please include the following in your email:

1). Post dates/times and word count (on your blog).

2). Comment location/date/time and word count (on others blogs).

Once you send me this information, I will be happy to discuss your grade with you.

As the semester winds down, it is common for some folks to miss a blog or comment here and there. Please be aware of your grade, which you can calculate directly from Blackboard so you know where you stand in the class. As always, blog and comments are worth points which can ultimately effect your grade.

Let me know if you have any questions. I am always here to chat with you. :)

Week of April 19-25

Hello Class! Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages on Blackboard for this week:

*Read Chapter 8 - Organizational Communication
*Participate in this weeks discussion.
*Quiz on Chapters 6 & 8. Please make sure you finish your quiz within the 20 minute time limit. Blackboard allows extra time (40 mins.), so it is YOUR responsibility to watch the clock to make sure you are ending the quiz within the required time frame, which is 20 minutes maximum. ANY ANSWERS submitted after the 20 minute time frame will be disqualified and your quiz score will be adjusted accordingly.

Class Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:

1). How are organizations tied to the environment? What is the relationship between the school you attend and the city or town in which it is situated? What, if any, ethical obligations does an organization like a college or university have to the local community?

2). Review the etiquette rules suggested in the text. Respond to each one. Have you ever been bothered by cell phone, answering machines, or beepers? What do you feel about call waiting? Is it rude to put people on hold to take another call?

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading (not already discussed for this week) that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

***Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs.

Cultural Event Paper

Hello Class!

I am out of town this weekend, so I will be returning your papers beginning/mid next week. If you need to contact me, I will be checking my email periodically throughout the weekend.

I hope you all are having a great week so far! :)

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! It is that time in the semester where we are tired, and start to lose motivation to work on our classes, trust me, instructors feel it too. :)

Even though there seems to be a mid-semester lull, these folks have jumped into the week full on and have posted already. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

CGH
EventsDreamer
Goober

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start and for fighting the mid-semester lull! Good job!!!!!

Week of April 12-18

Hello Class! Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

*Read Chapter 6, Interpersonal Communication.
*Participate in Week 13 discussion.

Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:
1). Which pattern (rigid complementarity, competitive symmetry, or submissive symmetry) do you think would be the most difficult to change? Why? Which would be the most damaging to a relationship? Which would be the most potentially damaging to the self-esteem of the individuals involved?

2). Think about the filters you use to eliminate people from consideration as potential romantic partners. What characteristics or behaviours lead you to judge others as unattractive? Does Duck's theory make sense to you? Have you ever eliminated someone by using a sociological or pre-interaction cue only to reconsider them based on interaction and cognitive cues?

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that we have no already discussed, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

***Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs.

Reminder

Hello Class! I hope you are all well on your way to completing your paper. Today I will be posting the grading rubric for the Cultural Event Speech. I would suggest that you download the rubric from Blackboard before turning in your paper.

I can't wait to read your papers and see what concepts you pulled out of the book to apply. (Remember to BOLD all course concepts again, as you did in the last paper).

Email me with any questions you might have! :)

Week of April 5-11

Hello Class!

Here is what's listed on the Schedule and Participation Pages on Blackboard:

*Read Chapter 7 - Group Communication.
*Reminder: There is a quiz this week. You will have exactly 20 minutes to complete the quiz. If you go over the 20 minute allotment, any answers submitted after the 20 minute time period will be disqualified from the quiz and your grade will be adjusted accordingly.

There is no discussion this week, however, your Cultural Event Paper is due by Friday, April 10th at 11:59pm. Please make sure you submit your paper early in anticipation of any technical difficulties that may occur. Around this time in the semester 'technical difficulties' seem to happen a bit more than at the start of the semester. ;)

I have heard from quite a few of you regarding your Cultural Event. There are still a few that I am waiting to hear from. As previously mentioned, I need to approve all events prior to you writing your paper.

I will post a grading rubric for the Cultural Event Paper at the start of this week and will email you when it is loaded on Blackboard.

Office Hours on Thursday

Hello Class! I will be holding office hours in person in room HGH248 on Thursday of this week from 11:00am to 12:00pm. I will not be holding office hours online for the remainder of the week. If you need to contact me, please email me. I will be periodically checking email over the next couple of days, but it will be quite sporadic.

I hope you all are having a good week, and I can't wait to read your blogs and comments. :)

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! Here is a list of folks who have blogged already this week. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

Chip9
EventsDreamer
Goober
Paris
sjsueducatedfool

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start! Good job!!!!!

Week of March 29 - April 4

Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope you all had a wonderful week off.

Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week, along with a reminder at the end of the post:

*Read Chapter 12 - Intercultural Communication
*Participate in Week 11 Discussion

Class Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:

1). Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are "creatures of our culture" and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?

2). Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that has not already been discussed during this discussion week, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs during this discussion week.

REMINDER: Your Cultural Event Paper is due next Friday, April 10th by 11:59pm. I need to approve ALL events prior to attendance, so please email me with your choice of event if you have not done so already. Any papers received without a prior approval will receive a grade deduction.

Week of March 22-28 SPRING BREAK

This week is Spring Break so there are no formal assignments. Please continue to work on your Cultural Event Paper. I will post a grading rubric like I did for the previous paper sometime this week or next week.

Have a wonderful break!

Grades Updated

I have just posted grades for the Speech Critique and Discussion Week 3/8-3/14. Please log onto Blackboard to check your grades. If there is an issue with the blogging grade, please email me the following:

1). Dates/Times/Word Count of Posts to your blog
2). Dates/Times/Word Count/Locations of comments you made

MIDTERM REMINDER:
The midterm is due this week by Saturday at 11:59pm. Please make sure you plan ahead in case you run into technical difficulties. Your midterm must be started at least 75 minutes prior to 11:59pm on Saturday in order to complete your midterm on time.

You have exactly 75 minutes to complete your midterm. Any questions that are answered outside of the 75 minute time period will not count towards your grade.

Email me if you have any questions. I hope you all have a fabulous day.

Cultural Event Update

Hello Class!

So far we have these events for the Cultural Event Paper:

Na Lei Hula I Ka Weiku (@ Berkley)
Korean Church
Highland Scottish Games
Celebrating 200 years of braille-past
Catholic Church Service
Women in the Military
St. Patrick's Day Parade
Middle Eastern Jazz Festival
Episcopalian Church

It sounds like there is a wide variety of events this semester - good job so far.

For those that have not yet emailed me for the Event Approval, please do so ASAP so you do not run out of options.

I hope you all are having a fabulous night!

Week of March 15-21

Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

Midterm Examination on Blackboard. Please log into Blackboard during the week of March 15th-March 21st to take the midterm exam. The midterm covers Chapters 1-5 & 9-10. A study guide of terms is available on Blackboard, so download that and use it to guide your study sessions. The midterm is open book, open notes. Please DO NOT share answers, give assistance or accept assistance from others, or reveal quiz answers/questions.

Please plan ahead to take the midterm. Your midterm must be submitted prior to 11:59pm on March 21st. It is highly suggested that you take the midterm early in case you run into any technical difficulties.

You will have 75 minutes to complete the 50 question quiz. MAKE SURE you submit your quiz PRIOR to the end of the 75 minute time frame - watch the clock carefully!!!! Blackboard WILL NOT stop you at 75 minutes! Any questions that are submitted after the 75 minute time period will be disqualified from the exam and deducted from your total test score.

As a reminder: Your second assignment, the Cultural Event Paper is due on April 10th. It is required that I approve each Cultural Event PRIOR to the attendance of the event, and of course prior to the paper's due date. Please make sure to email me with the event you would like to attend for approval.

Chapter 5 Outline Posted

Look out for the outline for Chapter 5 to be posted tonight. Please download it and use it for review, especially for your coming midterm.

Grades Posted for Disc. Wk 3/1-3/7

I have just posted grades for the week of 3/1-3/7. Please review your grade and email me if you have any questions. If you do email me about the posts this week, please include the following in your email:

1). Date/Time/Word Count of YOUR posts

2). Location/Date/Time/Word Counts of your COMMENTS

Once you send this information along, I would be happy to review your grade. As a reminder, please keep track of ALL of your posts and comments including the information above for each week.

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! Here is a list of folks who have blogged already this week. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

aquarian1
Goober
Paris
sjsueducatedfool

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start! Good job!!!!!

Nonverbal Communication

I am very excited about this week's discussion. These are the weeks I wish I could talk to you all face to face so we could really get into a deep discussion about nonverbal communication and share what we have learned through our reading, and of course through our experiences in life. While I was in school I participated in a Nonverbal Research Study as a research assistant, which was quite interesting. Although the statistics in that particular research study did not prove to be significant, my conjecture was that the sample size was too small.

Now that you are probably asking, "What was the study about?"....I'll tell you briefly in case you are interested. Dr. Tim Hegstrom who is the Dean of Social Sciences at this point in his career, videotaped dyads to see if their body positioning matched each other during the course of their 10 minute conversation. Most of the participants did have matching body language at some point in the discussion (An example of this would be where one person crosses their arm, and the other follows shortly after. This could either be matching or mirroring with body positioning with legs, arms, etc...). I analyzed the videos one by one (I think there were 50 or so 10 minute videos) and recorded their body positioning to reflect matching, mirroring, or no correlation at all. I stopped the video every minute and recorded their body positions. Like I said, when we ran the statistics through SPSS (a statistical database), the results were not significant. But, had the research been done a bit differently, it absolutely would have produced statistically significant results. Had it, we probably would have been published in a Communication Journal, but alas, it was not written in the stars. :)

Needless to say, Nonverbal Communication interests me quite a bit. My husband's family is constantly trying to figure out if I'm analyzing them. Just this past weekend, one of his family members looked over to a few people and asked me what their body language was saying. Of course this sparked a very interesting conversation between a few people, myself included.

Have fun with this weeks discussion, and don't forget to download the midterm study sheet from Blackboard to prepare for your midterm next week.

Speech Critiques Returned

I have returned a good majority of the Speech Critique Assignments. There are still a handful that I have yet to send back to you. If you are one that has not received the graded assignment back, I will be returning the remainder by Tuesday evening. If you are eager to receive your grade, simply send me an email.

I look forward to your posts this week. ;)

Week of March 8-14

Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

*Read Chapter 5: Encoding Messages: Nonverbal Communication
*Reminder, your midterm exam is due next week. Please print out the Midterm Review sheet from Blackboard.

Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:

1). Because nonverbal messages can be ambiguous, they are open to misinterpretation. Have you ever been wrong about the meaning of someones nonverbal message? Describe what happened. How can people increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal message?

2). Although nonverbal messages are more universal than verbal messages, nonverbals do not always carry the same meanings in other cultures. Can you give examples of some of the nonverbal displays that take on different meanings in other countries? If you have moved around within this country, have you ever encountered regional differences in nonverbal meaning?

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that has not already been discussed this week, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs during this weeks discussion.

Public Speech Critique Returned

As some of you have probably noticed, I have started to return your papers. The feedback for your paper and a grade is listed on the last page of your essay.

The grading rubric I attached to the end of your essay is the same one I posted to Blackboard the week before the assignment was due. If you will recall, I posted a reminder on my blog to check the rubric before turning in the essay so you are well informed about how I would be grading your essays (the reminder to check the rubric was posted on Feb. 24th). Grading in this class should be clear, and there should be no confusion about expectations or about how I will be evaluating each assignment. Prior to the next assignment I will also post a rubric that will be similar, but a bit different. It is advisable that you look over that rubric prior to turning in the assignment, just as you did for the Public Speech Critique.

Once you have received your essays back with a grade, look over the last page of your essay with the comments I have made and let me know if you have any questions. I am always here to chat over email and over the phone if you'd like.

I have enjoyed reading your Speech Critiques so far and can't wait to review the rest of them. :)

Chapter 3 & 4 Outlines

I have just posted the outlines for Chapters 3 & 4. Please go to the Handouts Page to download the chapter outlines.

I have been reading through some of your posts and comments about language differences and judging others. I must say, the perspectives some of you have are quite entertaining. The discussion this week is one of my favorite so far because it deals directly with perceptions and messages. There are also quite a few other concepts in Chapters 3 & 4 that do not have a formal discussion question, but are no less important. I look forward to reading those concepts you have chosen to cover this week in your individual posts.

As I have mentioned a few times already, your speech critiques should be returned by the end of the weekend. I will start returning them today, and will continue to return them throughout the weekend.

Keep those Cultural Events coming! :)

Grades for Discussion Week 2/15-2/21

Please check Blackboard for grades for the discussion week 2/15-2/21. If you have questions about your grade for this grading period, please email me with:

Posts to your blog - Dates, Time

Comments to other blogs - Dates, Times and Word Counts

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! Here is a list of folks who have blogged already this week. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

aquarian1
chip9
Goober
JaneJolie
MindofMovement
Paris
Therza

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start! Good job!!!!!

Week of March 1-7

Here is what's on the schedule for this week:

*Read Chapters 3 & 4
*Review the details of the Cultural Event Paper.
*Choose an event and email me for approval.

Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:

1). Is it possible to perceive others without, in some way, judging or categorizing them? If so, how? If not, how can we make the judgments we do make, more fair?

2). Do you agree that men and women use language differently? In what areas?

3). Pick one concept from the assigned readings, other than what has already been discussed this week, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Remember to post 3 comments to your colleagues blogs.

Note: I have received your papers. For those that submitted papers, they were all on time. Good job! I will be grading over the next week or so, and will be returning papers towards the end of the week and into next weekend. I will email you if there is an issue with your paper.

Email

I will be away from email for a good majority of the day today, so apologize about any delay in response you may experience. I look forward to receiving your papers tonight, and kudos to those that have submitted your papers early. :)

Reminder: I will be on campus today in case you want meet.

Paper Submission Guidelines

A class member has brought to my attention a mis-type on the assignment sheets. The submission requirements state:

Submission: Email your finished paper to me at comm105spring2009@gmail.com as an attached file in Rich Text Format. To save your Outline in Rich Text Format use the "Save As" command under the "File" menu and choose "Rich Text Format" from the format options. Label your file with your last name and the assignment, as with StephenGreene_speechcritique.rtf (note that PCs will automatically add the .rtf extension to the file).

The word "Outline" should read "Essay", as not outline is required for the assignments in this course. I will upload new assignment sheets on Saturday to reflect the revised submission requirements.

Meeting in Person

I will be on campus tomorrow from approximately 11am to 12pm tomorrow morning. If you would like to drop by and chat, or to simply meet me in person, drop by anytime from 11 to 12. :)

Paper Tip#2

Instead of posting a series of "Paper Tips", I decided (as I mentioned in my last post), that I would upload the Grading Rubric to Blackboard. Make sure you are looking over that before you turn in your paper tomorrow.

Reminder: take the quiz this week. Make sure you are watching your time. You have only 20 minutes to complete the quiz, and it is your responsibility to submit your quiz within that time period. Blackboard will not cut off your quiz. If you go over your quiz time, please be aware that I will disqualify any question that was completed after the 20 minute time period.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Public Speech Critique

I suspect most students are working on the Public Speech Critique that is due on Friday. Make sure you are clear about the directions on the assignment sheet I have posted to Blackboard. If there are any questions, be sure to send me an email early enough for me to respond.

I will on campus on Friday if you are interested in meeting with me in person about your paper, or any concerns you have about the course. I will be in my office from about 11:15 to 11:45 and various times throughout the day. My office is located in HGH248. If you want to come by to chat, shoot me an email and let me know so I can be sure to be in my office at the time you want to stop by.

I have posted to the Handouts Page something called "Public Speech Critique Rubric". Please look it over before turning in your paper. This is how I will be grading your first essay!

Until later....

Week of February 22-28

Here is what's on the schedule for this week:

1). Read Chapter 10
2). Complete the Quiz on Chapters 9 & 10 on Blackboard
3). Start working on your first assignment, Public Speech Critique
4). Turn in your first assignment through email by Friday, February 27th at 11:59pm.
5). Use Chapters 9 & 10, and any other outside resources you would like, for your Public Speech Critique Paper.

Paper Tip: I will be posting a series of Paper Tips throughout the week. Make sure you check back everyday to make sure you are getting all necessary information for your paper. I suggest writing the bulk of your paper ASAP, and revise your paper towards the end of the week.

Review the assignment sheet in full before you turn in your assignment. I will be posting a grading sheet to Blackboard at the start of the week. Please look that over so you are aware of how I will be evaluating your paper.

Paper Tip#1

Hello Class! I will soon be posting a series of tips about the first paper, and writing in general. These tips will help understand what is expected for your first paper.

I have enjoyed reading your posts this week so far. I will be commenting on your posts tonight and tomorrow.

Have a great night.

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! Here is a list of folks who have blogged already this week. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

aquarian1
CGH
chip9
Goober
haivanna
Nicciri
PARIS
sjsueducatedfool

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start! Good job!!!!!

Week of February 15-21

Reminder: Our weeks run from Sunday at 12:01am to Saturday at 11:59pm.

Here is what is on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

*Read Chapter 9
*Participation in the Discussion
*Start working on Paper#1 - Speech Critique Assignment
*Assignment #1 is due by Friday, February 27th @ 11:59pm.

Discussion:
Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hour apart:

1). Have you ever been influenced by a speaker? Think of the best speaker you've ever heard. What was it about that speaker that made his or her communication memorable? Think of the worst speaker you've ever heard. What do you remember about his or her message?

2). Consider a well-known speaker, for example, the current President of the United States. What is the speaker's strongest characteristics as a speaker? Is it credibility, attractiveness, power or all three? In what ways could the speaker build ethos in these areas?

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it. (Choose a topic that has not already been covered in this weeks discussion).

Remember: Post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs within the time period of Sunday 12:01am to Saturday 11:59pm. Please make sure that you are commenting on THIS WEEKS discussion, and NOT a previous weeks post.

Date Reminders

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Here are a couple of reminders from the Schedule Page on Blackboard:

Assignment #1, Public Speech Critique is due on February 27th by 11:59pm. Please email your paper in proper format to me by that date and time. Make sure your papers are on time, so plan ahead for technical difficulties etc...

Start looking for events for Assignment #2, Cultural Event Paper. Start looking for Cultural Events you are interested in attending. There are quite a few cities in the Bay Area and of course smaller towns that have Cultural Events. It may take some digging, but events should be plentiful.

Look for a post tonight or tomorrow with what is due for the coming week. I hope you all have a great day!

Blog Reminders

Here are the reminders about blogging and commenting I sent out last night:

1). There are 3 questions per discussion week. Please answer those questions in 1 post each on your blog. Make sure your posts are at least 12 hours apart. Pay attention to your date and time stamp. Each post should be 100 words minimum - there is no maximum.

2). Comments should be on 3 different blogs. Each comment should be a minimum of 100 words each. There is no time restriction for comments, and can all be done at the same time. Make sure you are logged into your blogger account when leaving comments so your alias/display name appears.

3). I check the word count for all blog posts and comments. It is your responsibility to make sure your posts and comments have a word count of 100 or more.

4). Your posts and comments need to be within a given discussion week. This means that if our week runs from 2/1 to 2/7, and you comment on a post that is not within that date range, you will not receive credit for that comment. I only check the posts and comments for that week. I do not go back and re-check past posts to see if someone has mistakenly commented on a past post.

5). It is recommended that you keep track of all dates/times/locations/word counts of your posts and comments. If you would like to email me about a grade, please include the following information in your email:
*Time and date of your posts including word counts
*Time and date of your comments including word counts

The information I have included here is located on the Participation Page on Blackboard. I also posted a blog on 2/1 about the first discussion week and reminded you of how blogging and commenting works. It is your responsibility to know everything that is on Blackboard and what is posted to my blog.

As always, I am available for questions through email, over Yahoo Messenger and of course to schedule a phone conversation at any time.

Social Constructionist Perspective

I am excited about the posts this week. I find this chapter very useful for a number of reasons. The first relating to the question posed about the Social Constructionist Perspective. The Social Constructionist Perspective assumes we see the world in a certain way and because of certain things. We build our world through our experiences and our symbolic, constructed reality.

Would you agree that we see our world through cultural blinders?

Do we follow 'social rules'? If so, what are examples of rules?

Does this approach have limitations?

Until later...

Early Bird Posts

Hello All! Here is a list of folks who have blogged already this week. Go ahead and stop by their blog to get a start on your comments for the week.

Goober
PARIS

Let's congratulate these folks for getting an early start! Good job!!!!!

Cultural Event Paper

I have only heard from a few people regarding the Cultural Event Paper. If you haven't done so, start checking newspapers and of course online for local events. Email me once you have made a decision about what cultural event you would like to attend.

Week #4 February 8-14

Listed below is from the Participation and Schedule Pages on Blackboard:

***Read Chapter 2 - Definitions, Models and Perspectives

***There is a Quiz this week on Chapters 1 & 2. Please go to Blackboard to take the quiz.

Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:

1). Consider the social constructionist perspective. How do we “build worlds” through communication? Think of some ideas we talk about in our culture that may not exist in other cultures. How do these concepts contribute to our happiness or success (of the lack of these) in our culture?

2). Consider the pragmatic perspective. Does it make sense to think of communication as patterned interaction? How is communication like a game? How is it different from a game?

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

***Remember to post 3 comments to your colleagues this week. As a reminder, the comments must be about the discussion this week. Posting on a past discussion will not count for credit.

Chapter 1 Outline Posted

I have posted an outline for Chapter One. You can access the outline by logging onto Blackboard and clicking on the "Handouts" page. Remember, the chapter outlines are not a replacement for reading the chapters. There is a plethora of information in the chapters themselves that is not on the outline. Please use the outline for review purposes.

Questions about Blogging

Some of you have emailed me with questions and I thought it would be helpful if the entire class saw the answers. Here you go:

1). Q- Do I have to post on 3 different blogs? Or can I post two or three times on the same blog as long as they are different posts?
A- You should comment on 3 different blogs.

2). Q- How do you keep track of our posts and comments?
A- I keep track of every post and comment on a spreadsheet every week we have a discussion. Each post you make on your blog will have a date and time stamp and I keep track of them to make sure they are at least 12 hours apart. Then, I check all comments made for that week. I will record the location of your comments.

3). Q- If I comment on someones post from last week, will I get credit?
A- No, I only check the blog posts for that week. Make sure you are checking the dates of the posts you are commenting on and of course, the content of the question to make sure it is an appropriate post.

4). Q- Do comments have to be at least 100 words like the posts do?
A- Yes, comments also need to be at least 100 words. I do word counts on all posts and comments to make sure you are reaching the 100 word minimum. Of course you can post more than 100 words, but 100 words is minimum.

5). Q- Should I keep track of the location of my comments?
A- Yes. Please keep track of comments and locations in case there is a discrepancy in recording or grading.

6). Q- What do I post as a comment?
A- Whatever you'd like as long as it has to do with the content of the post and related to the question I have asked. You can agree, disagree, add to the comment, ask thoughtful questions to the poster,give feedback, etc.... The comment content is up to you as long as it relates to course material, and of course the post itself.

7). Q- If I comment back to someone on my blog, do I get credit for it?
A- In short, no. You will only get credit for your three posts and three comments on other people's blogs. However, when someone asks you a question face to face, do you ignore them or give them the courtesy of an answer?

8). Q- How do you grade posts?
A- Content, answering the question in full, expressed thoughtfulness of course content and of course word count.

Contacting Your Instructor

Here is a little reminder about how you can go about contacting me. There are 3 ways:

1). Email. I check my email during the week, M-F numerous times a day. I also check my email periodically on the weekends, but response time may take a little longer than during the week.

2). Yahoo Messenger. Download Yahoo Messenger if you haven't already and add me as a friend: carolperezcommclass As it states on the "Getting Started" page, I do not use Yahoo Messenger for personal use, so anytime day or night you see me online, feel free to message me. My 'official' office hours are on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 10:00am to 11:00am, but I am online quite a bit more than that.

3). Phone conversations. I am always available to schedule a phone conversation whenever you'd like. If you have a question you don't think can be solved over email or yahoo messenger, we can certainly chat over the phone. It's just like on campus office hours, but quite a bit more convenient for you since you don't have to come down to campus.

I have been enjoying your first round of posts - keep it up. You will notice a bit later on this week that I will start commenting on your posts. You can comment back on your blog if you'd like by also leaving a "comment", but you are still responsible for 3 posts to your personal blog answering questions, and 3 comments on different blogs during any given discussion week (1 comment on 3 different blogs).

Assignment #2
Please review Assignment #2, the Cultural Event Paper. This assignment will take a bit of planing since you are responsible for finding a cultural event to attend. As the members of the class send me suggestions, I will post them to this blog, and tag the item "Cultural Events". Please start looking through newspapers, and of course browse online to see what qualifying events would take place before the due date of the paper. I would like every person to find at least one qualifying event and email it to me so I can post it for the entire class to see.

Chapter Notes
In the middle of every week that we have a reading assignment, I will post Chapter notes to the "Handouts Page". Please go to that page and download the notes. Of course these notes are not a replacement for reading the chapters, they should be used in conjunction with each chapter you are reading. If you rely on the notes alone, there will be quite a bit of pertinent information you will miss in the chapters. The information you read in the chapters will help in your success in this course.

Week of February 1 - 7

Welcome to your first week of completing assignments. Here is what's on the schedule for this week. Please be sure to pay close attention to deadlines (specifically dates AND times):

Our week started this morning at 12:01am and will end on Saturday at 11:59pm. Please have everything completed for this week by 11:59pm on Saturday.

1). Read Chapter 1: The Communication Tradition

2). Read over ALL three course projects. Public Speech Critique, Cultural Event Paper and Concept Application Paper. These are located on the "Projects" page on Blackboard.

3). Start searching for an event to attend for the Cultural Event Paper.

4). Complete Discussion Questions on your blog:
Answer one of the questions in each of your three separate posts, at least 12 hours apart. Please make sure you are creating a NEW POST for each question on your blog. You MUST WAIT 12 hours from the first post in order to create a second post. The same is true for the second and third post. I will record dates and times of your posts, so make sure they are at least 12 hours apart. EACH POST MUST BE 100 WORDS OR MORE.

*1). Think of a speaker you admire. Does his or her power to persuade come from ethos, pathos, or logos? Think about your own ability to persuade others. What personal qualities do you have that make you persuasive? Does Aristotle's classification scheme work for them, or do they fit into another category?

*2). The Greeks believed that to be an orator, an individual had to be morally good. Comment on whether you agree or disagree. What, if any, is the connection between goodness, truth, and public communication?

*3). Pick one concept from the reading assignment this week (Ch.1) that you found interesting or useful and and discuss it.

5). Comments
Remember to post ONE comment ON THREE DIFFERENT BLOGS between 12:01am on Sunday and 11:59pm on Saturday. This means that you will log onto MY BLOG at: http://comm105spring2009.blogspot.com/ and look at the lower right and corner to see a list of your colleagues blogs. Click on those blogs, read what was posted for this week, and respond. You need to make sure that you are responding to only what was discussed THIS WEEK. Comments posted to blogs that were NOT within this week will not be counted for points. Each comment must also be a minimum of 100 words.

Note: When you leave a comment, make sure you are logged into your blogspot account. In other words, you will need to make sure your "Display Name/Alias Name" shows up on the blog you are commenting on. I record the locations, dates and times of your comments as well.

Let me know if you have ANY questions about how blogging/discussions work.

Reminder: Check my blog everyday for updates, and check your email everyday in case there are emails you need to respond to pertaining to this course.

Happy Blogging!!!!