I teach computer mediated communication at the University of Albany. I am always looking for activities that will connect my students to the real work so that 1) they can get feedback from someone other than just myself and their classmates, who they will end up getting to know very well in class, and 2) so they can see how what we learn in class can be used in the real world.
This is the reason I decided to use #digiwrimo to work on online writing. Surprisingly, this is a topic rarely covered in CMC classes. I will be focusing on audience, format, message, and medium. We will begin with a twitterchat from 3:00-3:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Then we will discuss the different forms of digital writing I have examples of for this class. These examples include writing for academic audiences, writing instructions, writing for a professional audience, writing for mobile technology, writing for social media, and writing for video clips. Part of the writing process will be getting feedback on their writing and measuring its impact.
Finally, students will be asked to choose 3 mediums and produce writing for each. In preparing for their writing, they will need to include who the audience is, their message, special features/considerations for digital platform they've chosen, and how they will measure impact (this worksheet will be available on Googledocs).
They will then share their digital writing via twitter, linkedin, and facebook.
Showing posts with label communication education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label communication education. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Integrating service learning and blogs into communication courses
In a recent twitter conversation with Mike Morrison at RapidBI, I mentioned that I felt the current unemployment rate for teen in the US was having an impact on the skills students were coming in with. It used to be that students would learn work skills on the job in low level entry level jobs. These skills included basic jobs skills such as understanding what is expected in a job (being on time, dressing correctly, knowing when to take initiative, knowing when to ask questions, understanding chain of command in a given work situation, company culture), communication skills (interacting with irate customers, problem solving, finding and giving information), and self regulation (taking responsibility for actions, changing behaviors to fit corporate culture, interacting with coworkers, taking initiative). All of these skills can be learned (with support from workplace mentors and training structures) on the job. However, what happens when teens no longer have access to these types of jobs?
My background (as many who read my blog know) is in experiential learning. This means that I am always trying to figure out how to give my students real life situations that they can learn within and try out new skills without the fear of failing the class. I use Kolb's model: experience, reflection, generalization, experimentation. For me, the biggest challenge is to find real life situations that my students can use (simulations are nice, but there is not the same level of complexity and lack of predictability for my students to feel the discomfort of "not knowing" what they are doing, yet having others rely on their work). So, for the last 3 years, I have had my students do various types of service learning projects.
This semester, I have also decided to have them blog about the projects. There are two reasons for this: 1) It forces them to reflect on the project beyond the required documents they are required to produce, and 2) They are publicly accountable for the project.
The Projects
This semester, I am teaching two different levels of group communication. The lower level focuses on understanding group processes and developing communication skills (writing and oral) for effective group processes. I have students working in two different groups throughout the semester simultaneously so they understand how different groups, group purposes/tasks, and communication requirements will result in different group processes and challenges. One of the projects is an open service learning project in which students must work 5 hours per person (i.e. 20 hours for a group of 4, 25 hours for a group of 5) with a non-profit organization. They must keep me informed first by writing a project proposal, then creating a group code of conduct, submitting a progress report, writing a description of their project on a service learning blog, and writing a final report which includes evidence of their hours/work (i.e. letter from organization they work with, receipts, schedule). I allow students to choose whichever organization they want to work with, but they must propose the work and organization and get it approved by me before they start the work.
The second class I teach is an upper level class that focuses on group leadership. For this class, students were given 5-6 books to start off with, and then collect 4 more books per person (20 for a group of 5, 24 for a group of 6). Next they need to find an organization to donate the books to that is outside of our region. Once a week, they are given a different task to complete to help them find books, find an organization to donate to, and deliver the books to the organization (outside of our region). This project may include fund-raising for postage or soliciting various groups for books that are related to the organization to which they are donating.
In both cases, students will be asked to document their work and then create a blog which can be used by the university, the students (for future jobs), and the organizations they are working at (for more publicity and perhaps future contributions and help).
What My Students Learn
Over the last 3 years that I have done these service projects, my students initially are resistant in doing the projects. Many complain that it requires too much outside time with their busy schedules. However, by the end of the semester, the majority are very pleased to have participated and many continue to do the volunteer work started through this class. In addition to being a resume builder, students believe that this project gave them a realistic experience in which they learned to communicate. They were able to use the tools they were taught in class and reflect on their impact on communication in a real world experience. Many students have indicated that they have used those same tools in subsequent internships. They also feel more confident in using the communication skills because they have had to use them in a comparatively low risk situation (the service project) yet being held responsible for using them in a real life situation.
My background (as many who read my blog know) is in experiential learning. This means that I am always trying to figure out how to give my students real life situations that they can learn within and try out new skills without the fear of failing the class. I use Kolb's model: experience, reflection, generalization, experimentation. For me, the biggest challenge is to find real life situations that my students can use (simulations are nice, but there is not the same level of complexity and lack of predictability for my students to feel the discomfort of "not knowing" what they are doing, yet having others rely on their work). So, for the last 3 years, I have had my students do various types of service learning projects.
This semester, I have also decided to have them blog about the projects. There are two reasons for this: 1) It forces them to reflect on the project beyond the required documents they are required to produce, and 2) They are publicly accountable for the project.
The Projects
This semester, I am teaching two different levels of group communication. The lower level focuses on understanding group processes and developing communication skills (writing and oral) for effective group processes. I have students working in two different groups throughout the semester simultaneously so they understand how different groups, group purposes/tasks, and communication requirements will result in different group processes and challenges. One of the projects is an open service learning project in which students must work 5 hours per person (i.e. 20 hours for a group of 4, 25 hours for a group of 5) with a non-profit organization. They must keep me informed first by writing a project proposal, then creating a group code of conduct, submitting a progress report, writing a description of their project on a service learning blog, and writing a final report which includes evidence of their hours/work (i.e. letter from organization they work with, receipts, schedule). I allow students to choose whichever organization they want to work with, but they must propose the work and organization and get it approved by me before they start the work.
The second class I teach is an upper level class that focuses on group leadership. For this class, students were given 5-6 books to start off with, and then collect 4 more books per person (20 for a group of 5, 24 for a group of 6). Next they need to find an organization to donate the books to that is outside of our region. Once a week, they are given a different task to complete to help them find books, find an organization to donate to, and deliver the books to the organization (outside of our region). This project may include fund-raising for postage or soliciting various groups for books that are related to the organization to which they are donating.
In both cases, students will be asked to document their work and then create a blog which can be used by the university, the students (for future jobs), and the organizations they are working at (for more publicity and perhaps future contributions and help).
What My Students Learn
Over the last 3 years that I have done these service projects, my students initially are resistant in doing the projects. Many complain that it requires too much outside time with their busy schedules. However, by the end of the semester, the majority are very pleased to have participated and many continue to do the volunteer work started through this class. In addition to being a resume builder, students believe that this project gave them a realistic experience in which they learned to communicate. They were able to use the tools they were taught in class and reflect on their impact on communication in a real world experience. Many students have indicated that they have used those same tools in subsequent internships. They also feel more confident in using the communication skills because they have had to use them in a comparatively low risk situation (the service project) yet being held responsible for using them in a real life situation.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
The importance of multiple languages to understand communication
Lately, my son has decided he needs to learn more languages to get into graduate school for History. He studied Spanish from grade 2-12, then took Italian for a year and a half, and Latin for a half a year. After studying in Italy for a semester, he came home this summer ready to tackle French. The second summer semester in which he would study French 2 was cancelled, so he decided to get a copy of his university's syllabus, order the book, and with help from me (I received certification to teach French in the state of Vermont), he is tackling French 2 so he can study French 3, German, and Latin next year.
Now, while it sounds as if he is a gifted language learner, the fact is that after 12 years of Spanish, a third and fourth language became easier to learn. I went through the same process, first studying Spanish in High School, then French in College, then studying at the University of Fribourg where the majority of my courses were taught in French.
In watching the process from afar (from my son), I realized how important it is to learn multiple languages to understand the communication process and one's own language. It also is important to be immersed in another language to understand linguistics, semantics, non-verbal communication, expressive language/language choice, and symbolic representation of language (writing in its various formats).
Studies on bi-lingual speakers have confirmed that bilingualism helps to create cognitive flexibility. I see this with my own niece who is English/Slovakian bilingual. It has helped with her reading comprehension, expressive writing skills, and critical thinking.
It is not enough to learn a second language, however. Learning a third language helps to establish language patterns from which speakers can understand differences and similarities. We don't stop teaching math at just algebra or science at just biology. There are some universal truths in each discipline, but just as many differences that create a deeper understanding through disruption of patterns.
This is a reality that is very difficult to convey to the majority of American teachers (especially ELA) who are monolingual. I have had many discussions in education, writing, and communication classes, workshops, and/or conferences in which the monolingual teacher does not understand the cognitive process that happens in speaking a foreign language. It is hard to articulate the communication process in understanding others who language does not fit the boundaries of native speakers (although at other times, different accents and non-standard language does fit the boundaries). This is where socio- and anthrolinguistics comes in. But this is difficult to understand if someone has never experienced when cultural boundaries of language are tested.
So my recommendation is that all linguistics, ELA, Writing, communication, and reading teachers be exposed to multiple language learning (we would be taught in a non-familiar language such as Thai, Chinese, Portuguese, or Hindi for the introduction of each topic in my language acquisition class), if not required to study at least 2 foreign languages and study in a non-English speaking country or territory.
Now, while it sounds as if he is a gifted language learner, the fact is that after 12 years of Spanish, a third and fourth language became easier to learn. I went through the same process, first studying Spanish in High School, then French in College, then studying at the University of Fribourg where the majority of my courses were taught in French.
In watching the process from afar (from my son), I realized how important it is to learn multiple languages to understand the communication process and one's own language. It also is important to be immersed in another language to understand linguistics, semantics, non-verbal communication, expressive language/language choice, and symbolic representation of language (writing in its various formats).
Studies on bi-lingual speakers have confirmed that bilingualism helps to create cognitive flexibility. I see this with my own niece who is English/Slovakian bilingual. It has helped with her reading comprehension, expressive writing skills, and critical thinking.
It is not enough to learn a second language, however. Learning a third language helps to establish language patterns from which speakers can understand differences and similarities. We don't stop teaching math at just algebra or science at just biology. There are some universal truths in each discipline, but just as many differences that create a deeper understanding through disruption of patterns.
This is a reality that is very difficult to convey to the majority of American teachers (especially ELA) who are monolingual. I have had many discussions in education, writing, and communication classes, workshops, and/or conferences in which the monolingual teacher does not understand the cognitive process that happens in speaking a foreign language. It is hard to articulate the communication process in understanding others who language does not fit the boundaries of native speakers (although at other times, different accents and non-standard language does fit the boundaries). This is where socio- and anthrolinguistics comes in. But this is difficult to understand if someone has never experienced when cultural boundaries of language are tested.
So my recommendation is that all linguistics, ELA, Writing, communication, and reading teachers be exposed to multiple language learning (we would be taught in a non-familiar language such as Thai, Chinese, Portuguese, or Hindi for the introduction of each topic in my language acquisition class), if not required to study at least 2 foreign languages and study in a non-English speaking country or territory.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Twitter update: Are you a follower or do you follow
As mentioned last week, I am playing around with twitter for a computer mediated communication course I will be teaching next semester. Thanks to one of my blog readers, Anne Marie, I got a good jump on how to be a follower on twitter. She recommended:
I got so caught up in looking through her list, I forgot to "follow" her! I found, though, that others had followers that were interesting. So I looked at who some of my favorite bloggers were following. One problem with this is that sometimes you loose the context of who they are, so I made sure that I also looked at their biography.
So lesson #1: make sure that you have a "vision" for twitter (just as you would for blogging) and that is evident in your biography.
Lesson #2: check out your favorite bloggers and their followers/people they follow. This helps you to create a network that will be helpful to you.
One thing that I noticed was that I had 3 readers immediately. What was odd to me was that none of them had followers and they had no tweets. This got me to wondering why they would follow someone and not tweet. One possibility is that they use twitter as a resource to find out about certain resources. At least one of my followers appears to be this as she is a marketing blogger. She may follow any one who has "communication" in their description to capture trends and resources.
Another possibility is that they too are new to Twitter and I am a follower of someone that they know, but being new to twitter don't have anything at this point to tweet (or rather are too nervous).
The third possibility is much more nefarious. Like with Linkedin or Facebook, they may want to get a large following so when they finally tweet, it will have a greater impact, putting them on the "favorites" page immediately.
Getting a following
I'm not sure how I got the initial following. However, I did get a few more followers through becoming a follower myself. This is like friending on facebook in which a person has the ability to reciprocate the "follower". I may not want to know about the person following me, so I don't feel obliged to reciprocate (nor do any of those I follow need to feel obliged).
In getting others to follow me, I need to let them know how to find me on twitter. Just like when I began blogging, I have to decide how public I want to make this. As I will be using this with my class, and I am still new to it, I decided to go with a pseudonym.
I also need to figure out how to tie my twitter account to my blog. Of course, as I write this, I realize that I should have named my twitter account something like @connecting2. Oh well, this is something I will need to work out in the future.
I would appreciate any suggestions from my readers on how to expand my following. You can also follow me (I'll post new blog post titles on twitter) at Comprof1 (that is the number 1 at the end) unless I decide to change name in the next week or so (let me know if you think I should keep what I have or change the name or create a new twitter account that is dedicated to the blog and items related to the blog).
If you want some people to follow have a look at this list of people who I have labled as 'learning' http://twitter.com/#/list/amcunningham/learning
I'm not sure what you mean by 'follow twitter sites'. You follow accounts not sites.
It's not necessary to get any notifications my email. But I still allow notifications to my usual email address of DMs (direct messages).
How to access twitter? I think the best way is to download a desktop application such as tweetdeck. It's easiest to see everything that is happening then. But the main webpage is still manageable.
I got so caught up in looking through her list, I forgot to "follow" her! I found, though, that others had followers that were interesting. So I looked at who some of my favorite bloggers were following. One problem with this is that sometimes you loose the context of who they are, so I made sure that I also looked at their biography.
So lesson #1: make sure that you have a "vision" for twitter (just as you would for blogging) and that is evident in your biography.
Lesson #2: check out your favorite bloggers and their followers/people they follow. This helps you to create a network that will be helpful to you.
One thing that I noticed was that I had 3 readers immediately. What was odd to me was that none of them had followers and they had no tweets. This got me to wondering why they would follow someone and not tweet. One possibility is that they use twitter as a resource to find out about certain resources. At least one of my followers appears to be this as she is a marketing blogger. She may follow any one who has "communication" in their description to capture trends and resources.
Another possibility is that they too are new to Twitter and I am a follower of someone that they know, but being new to twitter don't have anything at this point to tweet (or rather are too nervous).
The third possibility is much more nefarious. Like with Linkedin or Facebook, they may want to get a large following so when they finally tweet, it will have a greater impact, putting them on the "favorites" page immediately.
Getting a following
I'm not sure how I got the initial following. However, I did get a few more followers through becoming a follower myself. This is like friending on facebook in which a person has the ability to reciprocate the "follower". I may not want to know about the person following me, so I don't feel obliged to reciprocate (nor do any of those I follow need to feel obliged).
In getting others to follow me, I need to let them know how to find me on twitter. Just like when I began blogging, I have to decide how public I want to make this. As I will be using this with my class, and I am still new to it, I decided to go with a pseudonym.
I also need to figure out how to tie my twitter account to my blog. Of course, as I write this, I realize that I should have named my twitter account something like @connecting2. Oh well, this is something I will need to work out in the future.
I would appreciate any suggestions from my readers on how to expand my following. You can also follow me (I'll post new blog post titles on twitter) at Comprof1 (that is the number 1 at the end) unless I decide to change name in the next week or so (let me know if you think I should keep what I have or change the name or create a new twitter account that is dedicated to the blog and items related to the blog).
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Entering the world of "Twitter"
As many of my loyal readers know, I don't do "twitter". This, however, is about to change as I prepare to teach a course in computer mediated communication next semester. In fact, I don't think I can teach CMC without looking at the type of communication used in twitter and facebook. So for the next few weeks, I will be setting up a twitter account and blog about my journey in trying to figure out 1) how to use twitter; 2) communication strategies for twitter; and 3) how to incorporate it into my class.
What I've learned so far
In preparation for using twitter, I went to the website. I was impressed at the amount of information and support in setting up twitter there was. This may be a reason why it has taken off in the last couple of years.
I know that when I set up my twitter account, I should not only be interested in getting people to follow my account, but also I should begin by following other people based on my interest.
I also know that twitter consists of short messages which I assume means little context in the tweets. This is why so many who use twitter connect to a webpage or blog. The webpages and blogs can give context that short messages cannot. I relate this to the difference between telegrams and letters in the 19th and early 20th century. Telegrams gave basic information that without context made very little sense. A follow up letter would give the details that would give a telegram context or there needed to be personal/shared experience that would give a telegram meaning.
Twitter works well with mobile technology. However, twitter users tend to be older or professionals (corporations). I also read a report that said that twitter was used more by African Americans than facebook. Little is known why there is that preference except that twitter works well with cell phones.
What I don't know
In the next few weeks, I will need to identify some people to follow.
The twitter site gives some ideas on how to do this. However, I'm interested in knowing how others set up their twitter followers.
The site also gives advise on how to follow twitter sites. I am going to need to figure out how to do this without overfilling my email. Do others use a separate email account? What about something similar to RSS feeds? Are there RSS feeds or readers for twitter like with blogs?
How are tweets different than other forms of online communication? Can they be stored and accessed later? Nancy White recently had a post in which tweets were pieced together to create a story/dialog. Can this be done in a central location (i.e. facebook's wall to wall which shows discussions between two people)?
I'd appreciate any help you can give me and I will continue to post my progress.
What I've learned so far
In preparation for using twitter, I went to the website. I was impressed at the amount of information and support in setting up twitter there was. This may be a reason why it has taken off in the last couple of years.
I know that when I set up my twitter account, I should not only be interested in getting people to follow my account, but also I should begin by following other people based on my interest.
I also know that twitter consists of short messages which I assume means little context in the tweets. This is why so many who use twitter connect to a webpage or blog. The webpages and blogs can give context that short messages cannot. I relate this to the difference between telegrams and letters in the 19th and early 20th century. Telegrams gave basic information that without context made very little sense. A follow up letter would give the details that would give a telegram context or there needed to be personal/shared experience that would give a telegram meaning.
Twitter works well with mobile technology. However, twitter users tend to be older or professionals (corporations). I also read a report that said that twitter was used more by African Americans than facebook. Little is known why there is that preference except that twitter works well with cell phones.
What I don't know
In the next few weeks, I will need to identify some people to follow.
The twitter site gives some ideas on how to do this. However, I'm interested in knowing how others set up their twitter followers.
The site also gives advise on how to follow twitter sites. I am going to need to figure out how to do this without overfilling my email. Do others use a separate email account? What about something similar to RSS feeds? Are there RSS feeds or readers for twitter like with blogs?
How are tweets different than other forms of online communication? Can they be stored and accessed later? Nancy White recently had a post in which tweets were pieced together to create a story/dialog. Can this be done in a central location (i.e. facebook's wall to wall which shows discussions between two people)?
I'd appreciate any help you can give me and I will continue to post my progress.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Prezi, a new way of thinking about presentations
Yesterday I gave my first presentation using Prezi. I had heard about the software and had even registered for the educational version, but then had promptly forgotten about it. Then one of my students used it in a class assignment. So giving a presentation on Presentations to my daughter's class, I decided to try it out. As this is the first presentation I've given using Prezi, it is still in the basic mode. Also, I'm not sure what the difference is between the educational version and the commercial version. So here is my review of Prezi's EDUCATIONAL version (this is free to educators and students...other users will need to pay for it).
Advantages
What I particularly like about using Prezi in a presentation is that I don't have to present linearly. For example, yesterday, I found that many of the students were much further along in some aspects of presentation skills and needed a lot of help in other aspects. Also, as this was a classroom presentation, certain questions and issues came up "out of sequence." Students would ask questions for which I had planned to cover later in the workshop. However, because of the none linear nature of Prezi, I was able to go to that part of the prepared presentation that addressed the issue or question. This made my presentation much more flexible.
Likewise, Prezi was very easy to use, especially as they had a basic interactive video pop up each time you use Prezi (you can override this) which helped instruct on how to use Prezi. Their supporting videos and resources were really excellent. Some of the most useful features included an automatic YouTube link which makes it easy to embed YouTube clips right into the video...no having to go outside of the presentation like PowerPoint requires.
Shortcomings
There are some features that I think Prezi can work on. The first would be the ability to embed any video link as easily as You Tube is. In order to embed other sites, you must first cut and paste the URL address into the Edit mode of Prezi, then leave the site, click on the link, then go back to edit mode and click on the site again. This is very cumbersome. You must also remember what the URL address goes to whereas the YouTube clip comes up on the Prezi presentation.
I also found the show part of the presentation a bit difficult to work with. I feel this would probably be easy to learn, and it would be a good alternative to self directed training as a click will focus on those areas of the presentation that you want someone to see in sequence. However, it is also possible for someone to take control of their own learning and override the "show" function.
Another problem was that the program was very easy to use with a mouse. But the computer I used for the presentation used a finger pad. Now, I'm the first to admit that I don't like finger pads and am not the best in using them. However, it was next to impossible to use Prezi with the finger pad. I ended up borrowing a mouse.
One final minor problem was that whenever I clicked a certain way on the presentation (I'm not sure what that was though), the presentation would rotate. Fortunately, there was a rotate icon which I used to straighten out the format. But this was very irritating.
Advantages
What I particularly like about using Prezi in a presentation is that I don't have to present linearly. For example, yesterday, I found that many of the students were much further along in some aspects of presentation skills and needed a lot of help in other aspects. Also, as this was a classroom presentation, certain questions and issues came up "out of sequence." Students would ask questions for which I had planned to cover later in the workshop. However, because of the none linear nature of Prezi, I was able to go to that part of the prepared presentation that addressed the issue or question. This made my presentation much more flexible.
Likewise, Prezi was very easy to use, especially as they had a basic interactive video pop up each time you use Prezi (you can override this) which helped instruct on how to use Prezi. Their supporting videos and resources were really excellent. Some of the most useful features included an automatic YouTube link which makes it easy to embed YouTube clips right into the video...no having to go outside of the presentation like PowerPoint requires.
Shortcomings
There are some features that I think Prezi can work on. The first would be the ability to embed any video link as easily as You Tube is. In order to embed other sites, you must first cut and paste the URL address into the Edit mode of Prezi, then leave the site, click on the link, then go back to edit mode and click on the site again. This is very cumbersome. You must also remember what the URL address goes to whereas the YouTube clip comes up on the Prezi presentation.
I also found the show part of the presentation a bit difficult to work with. I feel this would probably be easy to learn, and it would be a good alternative to self directed training as a click will focus on those areas of the presentation that you want someone to see in sequence. However, it is also possible for someone to take control of their own learning and override the "show" function.
Another problem was that the program was very easy to use with a mouse. But the computer I used for the presentation used a finger pad. Now, I'm the first to admit that I don't like finger pads and am not the best in using them. However, it was next to impossible to use Prezi with the finger pad. I ended up borrowing a mouse.
One final minor problem was that whenever I clicked a certain way on the presentation (I'm not sure what that was though), the presentation would rotate. Fortunately, there was a rotate icon which I used to straighten out the format. But this was very irritating.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Free speech, free will, and will you say no?
Three issues have made national headlines in the US this month: the bullying problem that has resulted in adolescent suicides, the question of free speech currently being decided by the US Supreme Court, and, today, the case of the University of Notre Dame student videographer who was killed while taping the ND football team's practice in 60 mph (90kph)winds.
On the surface, it appears that these have nothing in common. However, looking deeper into it, they all have a common thread: civil discourse and communication.
In the case of bullying, the problem has become worse due to social media. Don't get me wrong, I am a strong advocate of social media. However, it also has the potential to create an environment in which bullying (either intentional or unintentional) occurs. There are two parts to bullying that many in the media fail to recognize: the bully and the person being bullied. In some cases, the person receiving a message may ignore the message; may feel hurt and confront the "bully"; may feel hurt and internalize the hurt, keeping it secret until they can't stand the pain and take their own life; or work in creating a social atmosphere in which perceived bullying is socially unacceptable. The other half is often over looked, however. It is assumed that the bully KNOWS that he or she is bullying. But sometimes it is just that the bully does not know how to engage in civil discourse. Name calling, teasing, put downs are all images they see on TV, in sports, and on the internet. Often, I will read something written to my kids on facebook and be outraged, my perception being that this is bullying. However, they do not perceive it in the same way. This divide between what is appropriate and what is not appropriate to say is magnified when someone misinterprets the intention of another person.
So does this mean that some people need to "toughen up" and that bullying is not taking place? No, it means that the way to overcome "bullying" is to create an environment in which there are clear communication standards and rules so there is not a divide between perception between people. And if there is a difference, there is a way to resolve the problem before it is unmanageable.
Another aspect of civil discourse has to do with taking responsibility for what you say. In the US, freedom of speech is a basic right. However, over the years, some citizens have wanted the right to speak without having to pay the price should what they say be hurtful, cause pain, cause damages to a person's reputation, job, or business, or be inaccurate, an outright lie, or a distortion of the truth. Just as someone has a right to free speech, the listener has the right to be upset, angry, or not agree with the speaker. Likewise, the listener then has the right to speak back.
There are those in our country who use the label "politically correct" as an insult, thus limiting the voice (and right of free speech) of the listener. A person who self proclaimed as being "not politically correct", is often saying, "I don't want to hear your anger because I have already told you I am not concerned with other opinions than my own." Related to this are those that must place blame or, in essence, say "whatever" or (the phrase I HATE, agree to disagree...in other words, I'm right and will not listen or try to understand your position). The current Supreme Court case is case in point. A group's protest outside of the funeral of a soldier killed in action (the protest was allowed as a right of free speech) resulted in psychological problems for the father. He sued group. This is not a question of free speech; the group was granted it. It is a question as to whether those that exercise free speech must be accountable. There are many more examples of this including the firing of Dr. Laura, a talk show host.
So what we need to do is go back to the notion that with freedoms, come responsibility for what you say. It is not enough to say, "I hear you. I take full responsibility." (Although this is a good first step). Rather, we need to teach children AND adults that what they say may have repercussions for which the speaker must take responsibility for. In other words, freedom of speech does not mean freedom of speaking before you think or considering the impact of your words on those that may hear or read them.
Finally, the death of the Notre Dame student yesterday is especially worrisome to me as I see my children develop into adults. In this current economy, many people feel powerless to say no to something that instinctively they feel they must. When a person in power asks them to do something, they feel that they do not have a voice to contradict someone that has power over their school, job, or even community. As a result, they may post their misgivings on facebook, or complain to coworkers/classmates about their environment, but they never tell the person in power that they have misgivings, and ultimately "no". This is a conversation I have had for a long time with my students. The fact is, our educational system rewards those that will do what they are asked. The best students, the best athletes, the best children are those that are "respectful" and those that "conform". For many, "respectful" is synonymous with agreeable.
But there is a difference. It is important that we teach our children to be civil, but to also disagree (respectfully) especially if their instincts are telling them what they are being asked to do is not right. Heaven knows, if the student had just listened to his instincts (his tweets indicated he was scared) he might be living today.
On the surface, it appears that these have nothing in common. However, looking deeper into it, they all have a common thread: civil discourse and communication.
In the case of bullying, the problem has become worse due to social media. Don't get me wrong, I am a strong advocate of social media. However, it also has the potential to create an environment in which bullying (either intentional or unintentional) occurs. There are two parts to bullying that many in the media fail to recognize: the bully and the person being bullied. In some cases, the person receiving a message may ignore the message; may feel hurt and confront the "bully"; may feel hurt and internalize the hurt, keeping it secret until they can't stand the pain and take their own life; or work in creating a social atmosphere in which perceived bullying is socially unacceptable. The other half is often over looked, however. It is assumed that the bully KNOWS that he or she is bullying. But sometimes it is just that the bully does not know how to engage in civil discourse. Name calling, teasing, put downs are all images they see on TV, in sports, and on the internet. Often, I will read something written to my kids on facebook and be outraged, my perception being that this is bullying. However, they do not perceive it in the same way. This divide between what is appropriate and what is not appropriate to say is magnified when someone misinterprets the intention of another person.
So does this mean that some people need to "toughen up" and that bullying is not taking place? No, it means that the way to overcome "bullying" is to create an environment in which there are clear communication standards and rules so there is not a divide between perception between people. And if there is a difference, there is a way to resolve the problem before it is unmanageable.
Another aspect of civil discourse has to do with taking responsibility for what you say. In the US, freedom of speech is a basic right. However, over the years, some citizens have wanted the right to speak without having to pay the price should what they say be hurtful, cause pain, cause damages to a person's reputation, job, or business, or be inaccurate, an outright lie, or a distortion of the truth. Just as someone has a right to free speech, the listener has the right to be upset, angry, or not agree with the speaker. Likewise, the listener then has the right to speak back.
There are those in our country who use the label "politically correct" as an insult, thus limiting the voice (and right of free speech) of the listener. A person who self proclaimed as being "not politically correct", is often saying, "I don't want to hear your anger because I have already told you I am not concerned with other opinions than my own." Related to this are those that must place blame or, in essence, say "whatever" or (the phrase I HATE, agree to disagree...in other words, I'm right and will not listen or try to understand your position). The current Supreme Court case is case in point. A group's protest outside of the funeral of a soldier killed in action (the protest was allowed as a right of free speech) resulted in psychological problems for the father. He sued group. This is not a question of free speech; the group was granted it. It is a question as to whether those that exercise free speech must be accountable. There are many more examples of this including the firing of Dr. Laura, a talk show host.
So what we need to do is go back to the notion that with freedoms, come responsibility for what you say. It is not enough to say, "I hear you. I take full responsibility." (Although this is a good first step). Rather, we need to teach children AND adults that what they say may have repercussions for which the speaker must take responsibility for. In other words, freedom of speech does not mean freedom of speaking before you think or considering the impact of your words on those that may hear or read them.
Finally, the death of the Notre Dame student yesterday is especially worrisome to me as I see my children develop into adults. In this current economy, many people feel powerless to say no to something that instinctively they feel they must. When a person in power asks them to do something, they feel that they do not have a voice to contradict someone that has power over their school, job, or even community. As a result, they may post their misgivings on facebook, or complain to coworkers/classmates about their environment, but they never tell the person in power that they have misgivings, and ultimately "no". This is a conversation I have had for a long time with my students. The fact is, our educational system rewards those that will do what they are asked. The best students, the best athletes, the best children are those that are "respectful" and those that "conform". For many, "respectful" is synonymous with agreeable.
But there is a difference. It is important that we teach our children to be civil, but to also disagree (respectfully) especially if their instincts are telling them what they are being asked to do is not right. Heaven knows, if the student had just listened to his instincts (his tweets indicated he was scared) he might be living today.
Monday, March 1, 2010
A series on culture
This semester I'm teaching one of my favorite courses: international marketing. The one area that my students are really having a problem with is culture. As I began to gather new and updated materials on this topic, I began to have a new understanding of what culture is and how it impacts everything in our life.
With this in mind, I have decided to write a series of posts on culture, some of the theories, the impact on things such as learning, technology, and communication, and areas needed for future research.
With this in mind, I have decided to write a series of posts on culture, some of the theories, the impact on things such as learning, technology, and communication, and areas needed for future research.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The dangers of good communication in the networked society
This week was very busy in our region as the president came to one of the community colleges in the region. It was very exciting as both my children were able to listen to his speech, the president's motorcade went by the son's school, and one of my daughter's teachers attended the speech live (they had a police escort for their school bus from the farm where they were doing scientific field work so she could attend in shoes borrowed from one of the students as she was wearing heavy boots coated with mud!).
I took the time out from my day to listen to the speech as it was telecast live on our campus. But for the second time now, I have been disappointed in one of the president's speech. Upon reflecting about my disappointment with the president's speech, I realized what the problem was. I feel as if there is a role for me to participate in the healthcare, economic, and educational discussions going on at the federal level. The White House has done a good job of setting up incoming messages. However, I feel they need to close the loop. I feel as if my messages posted on their site is just one out of a million (just like buying a lottery ticket) and it just goes into the cyber black hole. How are my posts any different than discussing my opinions with my husband as we watch the president speak. I KNOW my husband's not listening to my remarks and could care less about MY opinions. Rather, my husband would like to get HIS point across and have me agree with him. Although it took a number of years of marrige to figure it out, now I just agree with him and keep my opinions (if they are contrary) to myself.
I feel the same way with the communication system the way it currently is set up at the White House. I don't see an online community developing where there are public discussions of what others have posted, nor is there anyone facilitating these discussions online. The closest has been links to blogs where there are some discussions. Likewise, when you send an email comment, you are put on the listserv, but you don't get a message saying, "Thank-you for offering your opinion on ....(the issue, which can be electronically generated). The messages ...(explain what happens to the messages: chosen randomly to be read, all read by volunteers and passed on to policy makers, deleted the next day and not read?)." This at least allows the writer to feel like they are being heard.
Implications for others developing communication policy
As the communication technologies allow us to connect with larger networks and communities outside of our geographic location we can learn from our current administration.
Lesson 1: People want to be heard. This includes having their opinions VALIDATED even if the listener doesn't agree. "I understand what you are saying, but I don't agree," or "that's a good point, but..." Even a message that states, "We have so many comments that we may not be able to respond personally. However, be assured that we are reading your comments."
Lesson 2: Let those you are communicating with know what your processes are. How will communications be used? Who reads and responds to the communication? What are the time frames?
Lesson 3: Understand the networks. Usually, networks are based on common values and ideas. An perceived insult or snub can be very damaging, but a note of encouragment can have positive ripples through a network. Only imagine the impact had the president sent an email (even if it were a form one) to my daughter's school or teacher. This could then be forwarded through each of the students' own social networks.
Lesson 4: Don't ask for feedback unless you are going to use it. This is something marketers and researchers learn early. Related to this is make sure you are asking the right questions. I always begin with very broad questions, then narrow in on the discussion. The broad questions will help you to determine where the conversation/dialog should be steered.
Lesson 5: Understand that those who use new technologies have high expectations. It is difficult to control those within a network and someone that uses web 2.0 must prepare for those who are receiving your messages to disagree and want to give their opinions. As a result, it is important that some policy is developed on how to handle "audience" reaction.
I took the time out from my day to listen to the speech as it was telecast live on our campus. But for the second time now, I have been disappointed in one of the president's speech. Upon reflecting about my disappointment with the president's speech, I realized what the problem was. I feel as if there is a role for me to participate in the healthcare, economic, and educational discussions going on at the federal level. The White House has done a good job of setting up incoming messages. However, I feel they need to close the loop. I feel as if my messages posted on their site is just one out of a million (just like buying a lottery ticket) and it just goes into the cyber black hole. How are my posts any different than discussing my opinions with my husband as we watch the president speak. I KNOW my husband's not listening to my remarks and could care less about MY opinions. Rather, my husband would like to get HIS point across and have me agree with him. Although it took a number of years of marrige to figure it out, now I just agree with him and keep my opinions (if they are contrary) to myself.
I feel the same way with the communication system the way it currently is set up at the White House. I don't see an online community developing where there are public discussions of what others have posted, nor is there anyone facilitating these discussions online. The closest has been links to blogs where there are some discussions. Likewise, when you send an email comment, you are put on the listserv, but you don't get a message saying, "Thank-you for offering your opinion on ....(the issue, which can be electronically generated). The messages ...(explain what happens to the messages: chosen randomly to be read, all read by volunteers and passed on to policy makers, deleted the next day and not read?)." This at least allows the writer to feel like they are being heard.
Implications for others developing communication policy
As the communication technologies allow us to connect with larger networks and communities outside of our geographic location we can learn from our current administration.
Lesson 1: People want to be heard. This includes having their opinions VALIDATED even if the listener doesn't agree. "I understand what you are saying, but I don't agree," or "that's a good point, but..." Even a message that states, "We have so many comments that we may not be able to respond personally. However, be assured that we are reading your comments."
Lesson 2: Let those you are communicating with know what your processes are. How will communications be used? Who reads and responds to the communication? What are the time frames?
Lesson 3: Understand the networks. Usually, networks are based on common values and ideas. An perceived insult or snub can be very damaging, but a note of encouragment can have positive ripples through a network. Only imagine the impact had the president sent an email (even if it were a form one) to my daughter's school or teacher. This could then be forwarded through each of the students' own social networks.
Lesson 4: Don't ask for feedback unless you are going to use it. This is something marketers and researchers learn early. Related to this is make sure you are asking the right questions. I always begin with very broad questions, then narrow in on the discussion. The broad questions will help you to determine where the conversation/dialog should be steered.
Lesson 5: Understand that those who use new technologies have high expectations. It is difficult to control those within a network and someone that uses web 2.0 must prepare for those who are receiving your messages to disagree and want to give their opinions. As a result, it is important that some policy is developed on how to handle "audience" reaction.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Examples of multiple assessments: traditional course
As promised, below is an example of the assessments I used for a college course on Speech Presentation and Composition. The goal of the assessments is to let students have some choice to work on areas they may need help. As this is a required entry course for the major, I have students coming in with a wide range of skills. Some have very good oral presentation skills, some have very good speech writing skills, others have very good skills but inappropriate for professional communication, while others (many in fact) have public speaking anxiety, and a few have no public speaking skills or experience (especially those from inner city public schools). As a result, it is important for the students to work on those skills they feel they need.
There is a core of mandatory assignments I use for students to demonstrate their ability to prepare, write, and present speeches. Students that only hand in these mandatory assignments doing a good job demonstrating their abilities will pass, but not excell in the class. Students can bring up their grade by doing as many of the optional assignments up to 200 points. Students can off-set problems with mandatory assignments (often freezing on the first or second speech) with extra credit assignments.
Note that many of the mandatory assignments are used to assess student's understanding of the core concepts they need by the end of the course, while the optional assessments are more reflective and targeted towards an individual's own needs. The optional assignments use reflection for students to assess their own abilities and come up with their own plans on how to improve. It also allows students to practice skills they have learned in the mandatory assignments, especially if they had trouble with the mandatory assignments (e.g. audience analysis and audience impact analysis work sheets).
I find the assessment in this class works like a dialogue between the student and instructor. In addition, I provide my students with a number of formts to choose from to demonstrate their knowledge including blogs, YouTube, face to face interaction, and work sheets.
Assessment tools
Mandatory (Total Maximum Possible Points=775 Points)
(25 pts) Audience Analysis: Conduct an audience analysis for speech I using the worksheet attached at the end of this assignment handout (also available on WebCT). You should try to identify multiple audiences in the class for your hometown. This might be based on geographic locations (upstate/downstate, rural/urban, regions of New York state and out of stators), type of student (major/non-major, commuters/residents, older/younger students), or life-style (travelers/non-travelers, partiers/non-partiers, single/couple/family).
(25 pts) Audience Impact analysis for speech II. Students must fill out a worksheet (attached at the end of this handout and available on WebCT) analyzing the impact various speech points on the intended audiences.
Speeches (4 speeches, Speech evaluations for 5 students assigned by the teacher, written manuscript for Speech II, References for Speech III):
Speech I (50 pts): Your Hometown
Audience: Classmates Time: 5-7 minutes
Purpose: You want to inform you classmates about your hometown. You may include graphics (computer, posters, handouts). This is an informal speech.
Speech II (100 pts): Your Hometown
Audience: Professional Group interested in Hometown Time: 3 minutes
Purpose: You may decide which professional group you are delivering the speech to depending on your interests and town (i.e. investors, economic development group, town council, school board, press). You will be presenting on your hometown, but specific speech points and message will depend on your audience analysis. The speech will be a formal informative and persuasive speech and you must make sure that all the information in the speech manuscript is delivered accurately to the audience. You will not be allowed to use graphics or visuals as supporting information. Some of the information you will be presenting will be new, so you may have to persuade the audience to listen to you.
(25 pts) Typed copy of complete speech II (see above).
Speech III (150 pts): Persuasive Speech. Topic will be assigned randomly based on student suggestions.
Audience: Opponents of the topic Time: 3-5 minutes
Students will be asked to write down a persuasive speech topic. These topics may be modified depending on complexity of subject given the time constraints of the speech (i.e. only parts of complex issues may be used), the duplication of a topic, or the class position (choosing the contrary position of an issue upon which the entire class is in agreement, e.g. taxes should be lowered would be changed to taxes should not be lowered). Each student will randomly choose a topic. Students will also be given specific audiences that are opponents of the topic. The specifics of the speech should be based on the analysis of the history of the issue, the audience’s position, and the action expected from the audience.
References (25 pts) Make a list of at least 10 references that will be used to prepare speech III. The references should include at least one magazine, one reference book, an internet source, and a personal interview reference. Each reference should be listed using an approved citation method (APA, MLA, University of Chicago). After each citation you should note which side the reference supports and the purpose of the reference (inform, persuade, evoke).
Example: Research Question: Our school should use less group activities
Barker, V., Abrams, J., Tiyaamornwong, V., Seibold, D., Duggan, A., Park, H., & Sebastian, M. (2000). New contexts for relational communication in groups. Small Group Research, 31 (4) 470-503. For group activities: inform.
Mary Smith. Interview October 23, 2004. SUNY Communication major. Against group activities: evoke.
Note: Your text has citation styles in Appendix B
In addition to the 10 references, answer the following questions:
1. What are the (at least 2) positions?
2. How did the “debate” begin?
3. How has it been addressed in the past?
4. Has each side had equal voice?
5. What do the two sides agree on? Has this changed over time?
6. What do the two sides disagree on? Has this changed over time?
7. What have been some of proposed options to resolve this issue? (list at least one from each side)
This information will be used to help you prepare your speech.
Speech IV (200 pts): Final Speech
Audience: Choice of students appropriate to Speech Time: 7-10 minutes
Topic: The speech topic will be a pitch to a group for any topic you want. You will try to persuade the audience on an issue (change in policy, purchase a product, hire your company, vote for a candidate or piece of legislation).
Audience: You will need to identify the specific audiences based on your specific topic. However, it is assumed that each audience will include each of the following three groups:
1. Policy Makers: these could be CEO’s of companies, industry leaders, law-makers, regulators, government officials, social leaders
2. Mainstream listeners: this group has never really been involved with the issue directly. They may have some general ideas or opinions based on second-hand information (magazines, TV, public discussion). Most likely, these will be your secondary audience.
3. Those directly affected by your pitch: This group could be divided two ways: those that will be positively affected and those that will be negatively affected. Both of these groups may have a very powerful voice with the policy makers, or may have historically been ignored by the policy makers.
Format: You may choose whichever format you feel is appropriate for your subject and audiences. You may use graphics, posters, handouts, other people; you may inform, persuade or evoke; you may use any of the information organizational formats we have covered (cause and effect, problem solution, spatial, chronologic, hierarchical, comparative) and any of the reasoning (direct, indirect, causal, analogical).
The following questions might help you to focus on what needs to go into your speech: (Extra Credit, 10pts: type up the answers to the questions.)
1. What role have policy makers had in the past to establish the issue you would like to change? How might they be affected if they do implement the change? What assumptions have they made about the mainstream listeners and those affected by the change? How were those assumptions formed (what is the history of the change)?
2. What would the average person know about this issue? Where would they get their information from? How would that information bias (positive or negative) you proposal? How would you be able to use or overcome those biases? How will the change affect the average listener? Do you think they will understand the implications? How will that affect the way your speech is organized?
3. Have those that will be affected by your pitch ever had a voice in the policy making on this issue? Why or why not? How will that affect the way in which you approach the issue? What assumptions do they have about the issue? Why? If the impact is negative, how will you get them to accept it? What reasoning can you use? What type of supporting information? If the impact is positive, will this audience believe you based on past experience?
Speech Evaluations: There are 4 different evaluation sheets each speech (forms at the end of this handout). For each speech, students will be assigned 5 students to evaluate. These evaluation sheets will need to be filled out, handed into the teacher for grading (5 pts each for the first speech, 10 pts each for the following 3 speeches), then given to the speaker as feedback. Please review the syllabus for course conduct expectations when giving feedback.
Additional Assignments (Maximum possible points=325)
Students can submit as many assignments as they want earning up to 200 points in total. For example, students can submit all the assignments, receiving credit for 207 points out of 325. Only 200 points will count toward their final grade.
Speech evaluation
Students need to present a typed :
(25 pts) Speech Analysis. Review the speech by Christopher deCharms, Looking inside the brain in real time (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/christopher_decharms_scans_the_brain_in_real_time.html) and answer the following questions:
• What is the general purpose of the speech? What is the specific purpose of the speech?
• What are some of the non-verbal communication cues he uses to make his point(s)? What obstacles does he need to overcome in giving his speech? How effective is he in overcoming those obstacles? Why or why not? How does he establish credibility? How does he interact with the audience?
• What type of introduction does he use? What type of conclusion? Are they effective? Why or why not? What assumptions does he make about the audience? How does that effect his speech?
• What does he do well in the speech? If you were to give him suggestions for improvement, what would they be?
(25 pts each) Randy Pausch (Last Lecture: Achieving Your Dreams) http://www.youtube.com/user/carnegiemellonu and Barack Obama’s (Jan. 10, 2009) http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaweeklytransition10.htm speeches (each will be graded separately).
Questions:
• What is the general purpose of the speech? What is the specific purpose of the speech? List at least 3 speech points the speaker makes. What supporting information does the speaker use to make the point? What type of reasoning (ethos, pathos, or logos) does the speaker use? How does the speaker arrange the supporting information? What style of speech does the speaker use? Why? How does the speaker interact with the audience? How does the speaker establish creditability? What assumptions does the speaker make about the audience? How does that affect the type of speech chosen? How does it affect audience interaction? What does the speaker want the audience to do? How do you know this?
• Compare the written speech to the audio/video. How does the speaker use his/her voice the alter the speech? What are the differences between how the speech can be interpreted when reading it and when listening to it? Why?
(50 pts) Video, podcast, or CD of Speech II. Students may prepare a Video, podcast, or CD of Speech II. They will then do a self-analysis of their speech, identifying speech points, organization of ideas, and effectiveness of the speech given their identified audience. They are expected to make suggestions based on their review of the tape. This should be a 1-2 page (double spaced) analysis.
(25 pts) Audience Impact Analysis: Conduct an audience impact analysis for speech III-IV using the worksheet attached at the end of this handout.
(75 pts) A self-analysis blog in which students will analyze each of their first three speeches after reviewing student and professor feedback. Students need to set up a blog, or use their own separate blog space and give me the URL address. The blog will include four separate entries: Speech I, Speech II, Speech III, and What I have learned. Each entry should include a description of preparation of the speech, including assumptions made about the audience, analysis of speaker’s perception of the speech, analysis of teacher and student feedback, similarities and differences in perceptions between each group, outline of how this will impact the speaker’s next speech (i.e. changes in style, assumptions, and/or preparation). The last module should include your analysis of how you have improved, what areas you still need to work on, and how your analysis of others speakers have changed due to class assignments.
(25 pts) Students may attend or watch a formal speech (i.e. on campus speaker or presidential campaign speeches) and answer the following questions:
• What is the speaker’s position? How do you know that? What type of reasoning does the speaker use? What type of supporting information? Is the support relevant? Reliable? Representative? What bias does the speaker have? Is this implicit or explicit?
• How does the speaker motivate the listener? What type of appeal does the speaker use? Does this appeal work for you? Why or why not? Is the appeal appropriate for the audience? Why or why not? Is the appeal appropriate for the message? Why or why not?
• What credentials does the speaker have? How does the speaker establish credibility? How does the speaker establish rapport with the audience? How affective is the speaker in establishing creditability and rapport?
• What does the speaker want the listener to do? Is this explicit or implicit? Does the speaker have an ethical or moral stance? How do you know? If you had to make suggestions in improving this speech, what would they be? What was affective about this speech?
(50 pts) Diversity interview. Step I:
Imagine that you want to find a pen pal on the internet. Write a description of yourself in 30 words or less in the space below:
Step II
Locate someone outside of the class to interview that does not match the characteristics you used to describe yourself in step I.
Before interviewing them, reflect on the following questions:
What is your culture? Which groups do you identify with? How does that affect your communication? How does this affect who you speak to and how?
What assumptions do you make about the other person’s culture?
What assumptions do you make about the other person based on their culture?
Step III
Find out the following information in your interview:
What are the perceived similarities between the two cultures?
What are the perceived differences?
How can you tell the difference between a personal belief and a group’s belief?
What is the best way to find out about the culture?
What is the most unfamiliar part of your culture to the person being interviewed? (What do they have trouble understanding about your culture?)
What is the best part of your culture according to the person being interviewed? Why?
Can they give an example of conflict between your culture and their culture? How do they handle that situation?
Step IV
After you have interviewed this person, I want you to reflect on the following questions:
How did your assumptions affect your interview?
Were you able to learn anything new about that person?
What (if anything) surprised you about their answers?
How could this information help you in composing speeches for diverse audiences? Audiences of a different culture than your own?
(25 pts) Speech IV References: Identify 10 sources as you did for Module 3. In addition to identifying the position of the author and the reason for the resource (inform, evoke, or persuade), identify which groups the author(s) would represent and their position on change. As in Module 4, write a brief summary of the history of the issue, the various positions, how the policy or issue was originally established, and who has had a voice in the process?
Extra Credit (Maximum Total Points=60)
Students can submit as many extra credit assignments as they want earning up to 40 extra credit points.
(10 pts each) Self Evaluation. Students will fill out an evaluation sheet for their own speech.
(10 pts) Speech IV typed focus questions. Type up the answers to the questions.
1. What role have policy makers had in the past to establish the issue you would like to change? How might they be affected if they do implement the change? What assumptions have they made about the mainstream listeners and those affected by the change? How were those assumptions formed (what is the history of the change)?
2. What would the average person know about this issue? Where would they get their information from? How would that information bias (positive or negative) you proposal? How would you be able to use or overcome those biases? How will the change affect the average listener? Do you think they will understand the implications? How will that affect the way your speech is organized?
3. Have those that will be affected by the change ever had a voice in the policy making on this issue? Why or why not? How will that affect the way in which you approach the issue? What assumptions do they have about the issue? Why? If the impact is negative, how will you get them to accept it? What reasoning can you use? What type of supporting information? If the impact is positive, will this audience believe you based on past experience?
(10 pts) Visuals. Review your evaluations from Speech III and the visuals. Type up the answers to the following questions:
1. How did the visuals contribute and/or hinder your presentation? Your message? Audience reaction?
2. How would you change your visuals to improve your presentation?
3. What rules could you develop for creating effective visuals for your presentations?
There is a core of mandatory assignments I use for students to demonstrate their ability to prepare, write, and present speeches. Students that only hand in these mandatory assignments doing a good job demonstrating their abilities will pass, but not excell in the class. Students can bring up their grade by doing as many of the optional assignments up to 200 points. Students can off-set problems with mandatory assignments (often freezing on the first or second speech) with extra credit assignments.
Note that many of the mandatory assignments are used to assess student's understanding of the core concepts they need by the end of the course, while the optional assessments are more reflective and targeted towards an individual's own needs. The optional assignments use reflection for students to assess their own abilities and come up with their own plans on how to improve. It also allows students to practice skills they have learned in the mandatory assignments, especially if they had trouble with the mandatory assignments (e.g. audience analysis and audience impact analysis work sheets).
I find the assessment in this class works like a dialogue between the student and instructor. In addition, I provide my students with a number of formts to choose from to demonstrate their knowledge including blogs, YouTube, face to face interaction, and work sheets.
Assessment tools
Mandatory (Total Maximum Possible Points=775 Points)
(25 pts) Audience Analysis: Conduct an audience analysis for speech I using the worksheet attached at the end of this assignment handout (also available on WebCT). You should try to identify multiple audiences in the class for your hometown. This might be based on geographic locations (upstate/downstate, rural/urban, regions of New York state and out of stators), type of student (major/non-major, commuters/residents, older/younger students), or life-style (travelers/non-travelers, partiers/non-partiers, single/couple/family).
(25 pts) Audience Impact analysis for speech II. Students must fill out a worksheet (attached at the end of this handout and available on WebCT) analyzing the impact various speech points on the intended audiences.
Speeches (4 speeches, Speech evaluations for 5 students assigned by the teacher, written manuscript for Speech II, References for Speech III):
Speech I (50 pts): Your Hometown
Audience: Classmates Time: 5-7 minutes
Purpose: You want to inform you classmates about your hometown. You may include graphics (computer, posters, handouts). This is an informal speech.
Speech II (100 pts): Your Hometown
Audience: Professional Group interested in Hometown Time: 3 minutes
Purpose: You may decide which professional group you are delivering the speech to depending on your interests and town (i.e. investors, economic development group, town council, school board, press). You will be presenting on your hometown, but specific speech points and message will depend on your audience analysis. The speech will be a formal informative and persuasive speech and you must make sure that all the information in the speech manuscript is delivered accurately to the audience. You will not be allowed to use graphics or visuals as supporting information. Some of the information you will be presenting will be new, so you may have to persuade the audience to listen to you.
(25 pts) Typed copy of complete speech II (see above).
Speech III (150 pts): Persuasive Speech. Topic will be assigned randomly based on student suggestions.
Audience: Opponents of the topic Time: 3-5 minutes
Students will be asked to write down a persuasive speech topic. These topics may be modified depending on complexity of subject given the time constraints of the speech (i.e. only parts of complex issues may be used), the duplication of a topic, or the class position (choosing the contrary position of an issue upon which the entire class is in agreement, e.g. taxes should be lowered would be changed to taxes should not be lowered). Each student will randomly choose a topic. Students will also be given specific audiences that are opponents of the topic. The specifics of the speech should be based on the analysis of the history of the issue, the audience’s position, and the action expected from the audience.
References (25 pts) Make a list of at least 10 references that will be used to prepare speech III. The references should include at least one magazine, one reference book, an internet source, and a personal interview reference. Each reference should be listed using an approved citation method (APA, MLA, University of Chicago). After each citation you should note which side the reference supports and the purpose of the reference (inform, persuade, evoke).
Example: Research Question: Our school should use less group activities
Barker, V., Abrams, J., Tiyaamornwong, V., Seibold, D., Duggan, A., Park, H., & Sebastian, M. (2000). New contexts for relational communication in groups. Small Group Research, 31 (4) 470-503. For group activities: inform.
Mary Smith. Interview October 23, 2004. SUNY Communication major. Against group activities: evoke.
Note: Your text has citation styles in Appendix B
In addition to the 10 references, answer the following questions:
1. What are the (at least 2) positions?
2. How did the “debate” begin?
3. How has it been addressed in the past?
4. Has each side had equal voice?
5. What do the two sides agree on? Has this changed over time?
6. What do the two sides disagree on? Has this changed over time?
7. What have been some of proposed options to resolve this issue? (list at least one from each side)
This information will be used to help you prepare your speech.
Speech IV (200 pts): Final Speech
Audience: Choice of students appropriate to Speech Time: 7-10 minutes
Topic: The speech topic will be a pitch to a group for any topic you want. You will try to persuade the audience on an issue (change in policy, purchase a product, hire your company, vote for a candidate or piece of legislation).
Audience: You will need to identify the specific audiences based on your specific topic. However, it is assumed that each audience will include each of the following three groups:
1. Policy Makers: these could be CEO’s of companies, industry leaders, law-makers, regulators, government officials, social leaders
2. Mainstream listeners: this group has never really been involved with the issue directly. They may have some general ideas or opinions based on second-hand information (magazines, TV, public discussion). Most likely, these will be your secondary audience.
3. Those directly affected by your pitch: This group could be divided two ways: those that will be positively affected and those that will be negatively affected. Both of these groups may have a very powerful voice with the policy makers, or may have historically been ignored by the policy makers.
Format: You may choose whichever format you feel is appropriate for your subject and audiences. You may use graphics, posters, handouts, other people; you may inform, persuade or evoke; you may use any of the information organizational formats we have covered (cause and effect, problem solution, spatial, chronologic, hierarchical, comparative) and any of the reasoning (direct, indirect, causal, analogical).
The following questions might help you to focus on what needs to go into your speech: (Extra Credit, 10pts: type up the answers to the questions.)
1. What role have policy makers had in the past to establish the issue you would like to change? How might they be affected if they do implement the change? What assumptions have they made about the mainstream listeners and those affected by the change? How were those assumptions formed (what is the history of the change)?
2. What would the average person know about this issue? Where would they get their information from? How would that information bias (positive or negative) you proposal? How would you be able to use or overcome those biases? How will the change affect the average listener? Do you think they will understand the implications? How will that affect the way your speech is organized?
3. Have those that will be affected by your pitch ever had a voice in the policy making on this issue? Why or why not? How will that affect the way in which you approach the issue? What assumptions do they have about the issue? Why? If the impact is negative, how will you get them to accept it? What reasoning can you use? What type of supporting information? If the impact is positive, will this audience believe you based on past experience?
Speech Evaluations: There are 4 different evaluation sheets each speech (forms at the end of this handout). For each speech, students will be assigned 5 students to evaluate. These evaluation sheets will need to be filled out, handed into the teacher for grading (5 pts each for the first speech, 10 pts each for the following 3 speeches), then given to the speaker as feedback. Please review the syllabus for course conduct expectations when giving feedback.
Additional Assignments (Maximum possible points=325)
Students can submit as many assignments as they want earning up to 200 points in total. For example, students can submit all the assignments, receiving credit for 207 points out of 325. Only 200 points will count toward their final grade.
Speech evaluation
Students need to present a typed :
(25 pts) Speech Analysis. Review the speech by Christopher deCharms, Looking inside the brain in real time (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/christopher_decharms_scans_the_brain_in_real_time.html) and answer the following questions:
• What is the general purpose of the speech? What is the specific purpose of the speech?
• What are some of the non-verbal communication cues he uses to make his point(s)? What obstacles does he need to overcome in giving his speech? How effective is he in overcoming those obstacles? Why or why not? How does he establish credibility? How does he interact with the audience?
• What type of introduction does he use? What type of conclusion? Are they effective? Why or why not? What assumptions does he make about the audience? How does that effect his speech?
• What does he do well in the speech? If you were to give him suggestions for improvement, what would they be?
(25 pts each) Randy Pausch (Last Lecture: Achieving Your Dreams) http://www.youtube.com/user/carnegiemellonu and Barack Obama’s (Jan. 10, 2009) http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamaweeklytransition10.htm speeches (each will be graded separately).
Questions:
• What is the general purpose of the speech? What is the specific purpose of the speech? List at least 3 speech points the speaker makes. What supporting information does the speaker use to make the point? What type of reasoning (ethos, pathos, or logos) does the speaker use? How does the speaker arrange the supporting information? What style of speech does the speaker use? Why? How does the speaker interact with the audience? How does the speaker establish creditability? What assumptions does the speaker make about the audience? How does that affect the type of speech chosen? How does it affect audience interaction? What does the speaker want the audience to do? How do you know this?
• Compare the written speech to the audio/video. How does the speaker use his/her voice the alter the speech? What are the differences between how the speech can be interpreted when reading it and when listening to it? Why?
(50 pts) Video, podcast, or CD of Speech II. Students may prepare a Video, podcast, or CD of Speech II. They will then do a self-analysis of their speech, identifying speech points, organization of ideas, and effectiveness of the speech given their identified audience. They are expected to make suggestions based on their review of the tape. This should be a 1-2 page (double spaced) analysis.
(25 pts) Audience Impact Analysis: Conduct an audience impact analysis for speech III-IV using the worksheet attached at the end of this handout.
(75 pts) A self-analysis blog in which students will analyze each of their first three speeches after reviewing student and professor feedback. Students need to set up a blog, or use their own separate blog space and give me the URL address. The blog will include four separate entries: Speech I, Speech II, Speech III, and What I have learned. Each entry should include a description of preparation of the speech, including assumptions made about the audience, analysis of speaker’s perception of the speech, analysis of teacher and student feedback, similarities and differences in perceptions between each group, outline of how this will impact the speaker’s next speech (i.e. changes in style, assumptions, and/or preparation). The last module should include your analysis of how you have improved, what areas you still need to work on, and how your analysis of others speakers have changed due to class assignments.
(25 pts) Students may attend or watch a formal speech (i.e. on campus speaker or presidential campaign speeches) and answer the following questions:
• What is the speaker’s position? How do you know that? What type of reasoning does the speaker use? What type of supporting information? Is the support relevant? Reliable? Representative? What bias does the speaker have? Is this implicit or explicit?
• How does the speaker motivate the listener? What type of appeal does the speaker use? Does this appeal work for you? Why or why not? Is the appeal appropriate for the audience? Why or why not? Is the appeal appropriate for the message? Why or why not?
• What credentials does the speaker have? How does the speaker establish credibility? How does the speaker establish rapport with the audience? How affective is the speaker in establishing creditability and rapport?
• What does the speaker want the listener to do? Is this explicit or implicit? Does the speaker have an ethical or moral stance? How do you know? If you had to make suggestions in improving this speech, what would they be? What was affective about this speech?
(50 pts) Diversity interview. Step I:
Imagine that you want to find a pen pal on the internet. Write a description of yourself in 30 words or less in the space below:
Step II
Locate someone outside of the class to interview that does not match the characteristics you used to describe yourself in step I.
Before interviewing them, reflect on the following questions:
What is your culture? Which groups do you identify with? How does that affect your communication? How does this affect who you speak to and how?
What assumptions do you make about the other person’s culture?
What assumptions do you make about the other person based on their culture?
Step III
Find out the following information in your interview:
What are the perceived similarities between the two cultures?
What are the perceived differences?
How can you tell the difference between a personal belief and a group’s belief?
What is the best way to find out about the culture?
What is the most unfamiliar part of your culture to the person being interviewed? (What do they have trouble understanding about your culture?)
What is the best part of your culture according to the person being interviewed? Why?
Can they give an example of conflict between your culture and their culture? How do they handle that situation?
Step IV
After you have interviewed this person, I want you to reflect on the following questions:
How did your assumptions affect your interview?
Were you able to learn anything new about that person?
What (if anything) surprised you about their answers?
How could this information help you in composing speeches for diverse audiences? Audiences of a different culture than your own?
(25 pts) Speech IV References: Identify 10 sources as you did for Module 3. In addition to identifying the position of the author and the reason for the resource (inform, evoke, or persuade), identify which groups the author(s) would represent and their position on change. As in Module 4, write a brief summary of the history of the issue, the various positions, how the policy or issue was originally established, and who has had a voice in the process?
Extra Credit (Maximum Total Points=60)
Students can submit as many extra credit assignments as they want earning up to 40 extra credit points.
(10 pts each) Self Evaluation. Students will fill out an evaluation sheet for their own speech.
(10 pts) Speech IV typed focus questions. Type up the answers to the questions.
1. What role have policy makers had in the past to establish the issue you would like to change? How might they be affected if they do implement the change? What assumptions have they made about the mainstream listeners and those affected by the change? How were those assumptions formed (what is the history of the change)?
2. What would the average person know about this issue? Where would they get their information from? How would that information bias (positive or negative) you proposal? How would you be able to use or overcome those biases? How will the change affect the average listener? Do you think they will understand the implications? How will that affect the way your speech is organized?
3. Have those that will be affected by the change ever had a voice in the policy making on this issue? Why or why not? How will that affect the way in which you approach the issue? What assumptions do they have about the issue? Why? If the impact is negative, how will you get them to accept it? What reasoning can you use? What type of supporting information? If the impact is positive, will this audience believe you based on past experience?
(10 pts) Visuals. Review your evaluations from Speech III and the visuals. Type up the answers to the following questions:
1. How did the visuals contribute and/or hinder your presentation? Your message? Audience reaction?
2. How would you change your visuals to improve your presentation?
3. What rules could you develop for creating effective visuals for your presentations?
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sense making in language (first and second)
Ken Allen has pointed out in the past that I tend to leave rather long messages. I left the following on his blog and realized that it could stand alone as a post.
Many of us second language teachers feel that, yes, there is some difference in learning a first and second language. However, the traditional way of teaching second language was not effective because, like learning a first language, vocabulary needs context for it to be understood.
In other words, the meaning of a word with both first and second language learners is dependent on the context in which that word is learned. In first language learners and learners as a second language (those that are learning the language within the second language environment) the meaning of the word and the boundaries of that meaning are learned through experience. A child might call anything round "a ball". However, soon they discover that there are nuances in the language. "A ball" is not an orange or a circle.
Second language learners (learning in context) also have the first language to draw from. So they know that "Fruit" can describe an orange as can the name "orange" as long as they have been exposed to oranges in their own country. However, if that concept is not in their working vocabulary in their first language, then like a child just learning the language, they will learn the meaning of the words in context. I understand what a "resume" is in French from the context of use when I studied in Switzerland. I sometimes misuse it in English as we don't have an equivalent for how it is used in English. I understand the parameters of the word which would be difficult for me to articulate to someone who has not learned it in context. I learned this word much as an infant would learn this word.
The last group of language learners, learners of a language as a foreign language, only have their own understanding of a concept in their own language to work off of. Here, I would agree that they would need to have a working vocabulary based on their understanding of meaning of that word in their own context. In other words, they learn the words that they can translate directly, with the same meaning word for word.
However, learning language this way means a person is limited to only the ideas that have the same cultural meaning in both languages. This limits the language interaction between a native and non-native speaker to culturally shared values. This is why the traditional language teaching methods don't work in preparing language learners to COMMUNICATE in a foreign language.
When I taught English as a second language, we began with language learning strategies (how to learn a language) and non-verbal communication skills. We then taught commonly used phrases and had students generate their own list of vocabulary based on listening. Pronunciation was very important and these are the skills we worked on more than vocabulary building. In fact, my students were vary comfortable communicating with very few words and grammar, but good communication and pronunciation skills.
One group we were sending to the states for training was combined with groups from 6 other countries that had been trained using a more traditional method. While our group "tested" lower, they ended up translating for their fellow students and learning much more English while in the states (many returning quite fluent after 6 months training in the US). Did they have a wide variety of vocabulary and perfect grammar? No. Did they have the ability to make meaning from a situation even if they did not understand specific vocabulary? Yes.
Many of us second language teachers feel that, yes, there is some difference in learning a first and second language. However, the traditional way of teaching second language was not effective because, like learning a first language, vocabulary needs context for it to be understood.
In other words, the meaning of a word with both first and second language learners is dependent on the context in which that word is learned. In first language learners and learners as a second language (those that are learning the language within the second language environment) the meaning of the word and the boundaries of that meaning are learned through experience. A child might call anything round "a ball". However, soon they discover that there are nuances in the language. "A ball" is not an orange or a circle.
Second language learners (learning in context) also have the first language to draw from. So they know that "Fruit" can describe an orange as can the name "orange" as long as they have been exposed to oranges in their own country. However, if that concept is not in their working vocabulary in their first language, then like a child just learning the language, they will learn the meaning of the words in context. I understand what a "resume" is in French from the context of use when I studied in Switzerland. I sometimes misuse it in English as we don't have an equivalent for how it is used in English. I understand the parameters of the word which would be difficult for me to articulate to someone who has not learned it in context. I learned this word much as an infant would learn this word.
The last group of language learners, learners of a language as a foreign language, only have their own understanding of a concept in their own language to work off of. Here, I would agree that they would need to have a working vocabulary based on their understanding of meaning of that word in their own context. In other words, they learn the words that they can translate directly, with the same meaning word for word.
However, learning language this way means a person is limited to only the ideas that have the same cultural meaning in both languages. This limits the language interaction between a native and non-native speaker to culturally shared values. This is why the traditional language teaching methods don't work in preparing language learners to COMMUNICATE in a foreign language.
When I taught English as a second language, we began with language learning strategies (how to learn a language) and non-verbal communication skills. We then taught commonly used phrases and had students generate their own list of vocabulary based on listening. Pronunciation was very important and these are the skills we worked on more than vocabulary building. In fact, my students were vary comfortable communicating with very few words and grammar, but good communication and pronunciation skills.
One group we were sending to the states for training was combined with groups from 6 other countries that had been trained using a more traditional method. While our group "tested" lower, they ended up translating for their fellow students and learning much more English while in the states (many returning quite fluent after 6 months training in the US). Did they have a wide variety of vocabulary and perfect grammar? No. Did they have the ability to make meaning from a situation even if they did not understand specific vocabulary? Yes.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Using technology in a no-tech classroom
I just found out that one of the classes I'm teaching will not have a LCD projector or computer as part of the classroom. There is wireless computer access. The course is "Speech Composition and Presentation", which can be taught without technology. However, last semester I used a variety of video clips to illustrate concepts we were covering in class. In addition, I used technology such as a free teleprompter (web-based) or powerpoint, technologies that are becoming more and more important to use effectively for communicators.
So my quandary is how to teach this class with limited access to technology. I decided to open this up to readers in hope they had some suggestions. Next week, I will outline some of my ideas for addressing this problem.
So my quandary is how to teach this class with limited access to technology. I decided to open this up to readers in hope they had some suggestions. Next week, I will outline some of my ideas for addressing this problem.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Lessons learned about Wiki use
A post by Michael Hanley reminded me that blogging takes discipline and like going to the gym, if you give up on posting regularly because of other commitments, it is easy just to get out of the habit. (I have been remiss in both instances: the posting and the exercise!)
In my case, I have been trying to keep up with some great blog posts, including one from Ken Allen on support in learning, and the e-course on work literacy, along with my own research for my dissertation on organizational learning and research for my class on visuals and electronic aids in teaching speech composition and presentation.
However, this week is wiki week on the work literacy, and while I think the personal learning information is good on wikis, there is so much more to the use of wikis than the tool itself when used collaboratively in the classroom.
A Multiclass Wiki Project
One problem with using a wiki in formal training is that it is difficult to measure the actual learning that takes place in using the wiki, especially if the final product is a "mess". However, I found the more my students experimented and communicated through the wiki, more learning took place outside of the classroom and wiki.
I used the same wiki for an ongoing project between classes, to plan and execute an online conference. At the university level, this means that students could take part in a long term project outside of the semester. The first semester, a group of global communication students planned an online conference, including the title of the conference and audiences (international), along with some background material. Students in two different classes the next semester then performed different tasks that were laid out from a document from the previous class and my own format to help structure the work they would need to do outside of class.
Findings from Multiclass Project
Set up is important. I made the assumption when I initially set up the wiki that each group would be able to develop their own way of using the wiki. However, I soon found that unless they were granted ownership, and encouraged to use the wiki as "group" property, that they would not take ownership of the wiki.
I found that a front page that is used for logistics and acts like an aggregator or organizational tool (table of contents) for the group helped groups to develop their own group pages without feeling as if they were stepping on toes.
The wiki should have instructions on how it should be used for that specific wiki. I found that by establishing protacols such as color coding changes or adding icons to areas that had been changed or tasks that had been completed, helped establish the boundaries for the use of the wiki. Even though the changes would show up in a separate post, my students wanted to find the changes within the context of the page and quickly (i.e. seeing the icons).
Halfway through the second semester, a group of students and myself sat down to establish instructions that fit the groups' purposes. This might be necessary as groups change and/or the project requires a new structure.
The wiki should be perceived as a tool for collaboration, not a piece of collaboration. Once my students started using the wiki as a means of collaboration, the wiki itself became a mess. This meant that students would then need to go back in, edit and restructure the information so that it was accessible for readers outside of the group. This editing process was much more of a learning tool than the final product. When I asked students to give a presentation on what they had learned, the wiki was a vital center piece to their learning process. However, the learning they presented to me was not obvious in the wiki view.
I belive one reason for this might be the tacit learning that wikis promote through the collaborative writing process. There are also group processes that happen outside of the wiki space, such as leadership, conflict resolution, group organization, the development of group norms, inter and intragroup relations, the development of trust (cognitive and affective), group assumptions, and shared cognition. Of course, this will make the use of wikis less than desirable for organizations that want proof of learning.
It's the process, not the product. All of these points leads to the conclusion that the process of creating the wiki is where the learning is. As such, work on the wiki should include assessments that allow students to demonstrate what they have learned, not just the final product that they come up with. For example, I had my students blog about what they were learning as they used the wiki. I also had them give a presentation on the project they worked on. Often the wiki was a record they could go back to which gave some evidence of what they had done. However, they admitted that the work on the wiki (e.g. mistakes made that needed to be corrected, misunderstandings that were resolved, identification of resources from multiple sources) was much more important to their learning than other activities they did in class or the final outcome.
In addition, the wiki was a document that only those that went through the process could really understand. Therefore, something that looked like a mess to me, was understood by the group members as it fit their communication and group norms.
Wiki products/documents may need to be "translated" or interpreted for the outside reader. My students found that they also learned through the comments and questions features (although not as much as I feel they could have) and through class discussions with others outside of the class. They were often surprised when others outside of their group had difficulty following the way their document read. It is important, therefore, when a wiki is used for learning or even within an organizational environment, that feedback be actively solicited. It is not enough to ask readers to "post their comments". The feedback should be targeted. This is one reason why we established an icon protacol to help monitor tasks.
The wiki should be easy to read and follow. One complaint I had from my students was that the document was boring and hard to read based the set up. They wanted pictures and better design (e.g. text boxes with additional information). They also would have appreciated more audio visuals such as podcasts or embedded videos. Many of the wiki software now includes templates for those with limited programming and software design skills.
The uses of Wikis in formal learning
Finally, there are three main uses of wikis in formal learning: sharing and communication of information, collaboration, and developing a permenant record of information.
My students used the wiki as part of their conference to keep track of the logistics of the conference. The conference went on for 12 hours. Each group had a designated "trouble shooter" for 4 hours at a time. The students chose times for check in during the day to identify any problems. For example, the group taking care of registration, needed to "dump" the names into an excel file on a regular basis so that the limited file space of the free registration software they used would free up (they were only allowed 50 names at a time). At the beginning of the conference, the registration closed out. The group keeping track of the promotion were contacted by various people trying to register for the conference indicating that the registration would not work. They posted this problem on the wiki so those in charge of registration and technology were appraised of the problem within the first check in period. By the next check in period the issue was resolved, so other members of the trouble-shooting team knew what was going on.
In another of my classes, students put together a wikipage for an online class presentation that drew resources from a number of places. Students used the wiki first as a collaborative space, in which they learned about the choice of technology in instructional design through colloborating on the presentation.
The wiki then became an information tool as they used the document to present how a specific technology worked ( a wiki in one case, and a podcast in another).
In my case, I have been trying to keep up with some great blog posts, including one from Ken Allen on support in learning, and the e-course on work literacy, along with my own research for my dissertation on organizational learning and research for my class on visuals and electronic aids in teaching speech composition and presentation.
However, this week is wiki week on the work literacy, and while I think the personal learning information is good on wikis, there is so much more to the use of wikis than the tool itself when used collaboratively in the classroom.
A Multiclass Wiki Project
One problem with using a wiki in formal training is that it is difficult to measure the actual learning that takes place in using the wiki, especially if the final product is a "mess". However, I found the more my students experimented and communicated through the wiki, more learning took place outside of the classroom and wiki.
I used the same wiki for an ongoing project between classes, to plan and execute an online conference. At the university level, this means that students could take part in a long term project outside of the semester. The first semester, a group of global communication students planned an online conference, including the title of the conference and audiences (international), along with some background material. Students in two different classes the next semester then performed different tasks that were laid out from a document from the previous class and my own format to help structure the work they would need to do outside of class.
Findings from Multiclass Project
Set up is important. I made the assumption when I initially set up the wiki that each group would be able to develop their own way of using the wiki. However, I soon found that unless they were granted ownership, and encouraged to use the wiki as "group" property, that they would not take ownership of the wiki.
I found that a front page that is used for logistics and acts like an aggregator or organizational tool (table of contents) for the group helped groups to develop their own group pages without feeling as if they were stepping on toes.
The wiki should have instructions on how it should be used for that specific wiki. I found that by establishing protacols such as color coding changes or adding icons to areas that had been changed or tasks that had been completed, helped establish the boundaries for the use of the wiki. Even though the changes would show up in a separate post, my students wanted to find the changes within the context of the page and quickly (i.e. seeing the icons).
Halfway through the second semester, a group of students and myself sat down to establish instructions that fit the groups' purposes. This might be necessary as groups change and/or the project requires a new structure.
The wiki should be perceived as a tool for collaboration, not a piece of collaboration. Once my students started using the wiki as a means of collaboration, the wiki itself became a mess. This meant that students would then need to go back in, edit and restructure the information so that it was accessible for readers outside of the group. This editing process was much more of a learning tool than the final product. When I asked students to give a presentation on what they had learned, the wiki was a vital center piece to their learning process. However, the learning they presented to me was not obvious in the wiki view.
I belive one reason for this might be the tacit learning that wikis promote through the collaborative writing process. There are also group processes that happen outside of the wiki space, such as leadership, conflict resolution, group organization, the development of group norms, inter and intragroup relations, the development of trust (cognitive and affective), group assumptions, and shared cognition. Of course, this will make the use of wikis less than desirable for organizations that want proof of learning.
It's the process, not the product. All of these points leads to the conclusion that the process of creating the wiki is where the learning is. As such, work on the wiki should include assessments that allow students to demonstrate what they have learned, not just the final product that they come up with. For example, I had my students blog about what they were learning as they used the wiki. I also had them give a presentation on the project they worked on. Often the wiki was a record they could go back to which gave some evidence of what they had done. However, they admitted that the work on the wiki (e.g. mistakes made that needed to be corrected, misunderstandings that were resolved, identification of resources from multiple sources) was much more important to their learning than other activities they did in class or the final outcome.
In addition, the wiki was a document that only those that went through the process could really understand. Therefore, something that looked like a mess to me, was understood by the group members as it fit their communication and group norms.
Wiki products/documents may need to be "translated" or interpreted for the outside reader. My students found that they also learned through the comments and questions features (although not as much as I feel they could have) and through class discussions with others outside of the class. They were often surprised when others outside of their group had difficulty following the way their document read. It is important, therefore, when a wiki is used for learning or even within an organizational environment, that feedback be actively solicited. It is not enough to ask readers to "post their comments". The feedback should be targeted. This is one reason why we established an icon protacol to help monitor tasks.
The wiki should be easy to read and follow. One complaint I had from my students was that the document was boring and hard to read based the set up. They wanted pictures and better design (e.g. text boxes with additional information). They also would have appreciated more audio visuals such as podcasts or embedded videos. Many of the wiki software now includes templates for those with limited programming and software design skills.
The uses of Wikis in formal learning
Finally, there are three main uses of wikis in formal learning: sharing and communication of information, collaboration, and developing a permenant record of information.
My students used the wiki as part of their conference to keep track of the logistics of the conference. The conference went on for 12 hours. Each group had a designated "trouble shooter" for 4 hours at a time. The students chose times for check in during the day to identify any problems. For example, the group taking care of registration, needed to "dump" the names into an excel file on a regular basis so that the limited file space of the free registration software they used would free up (they were only allowed 50 names at a time). At the beginning of the conference, the registration closed out. The group keeping track of the promotion were contacted by various people trying to register for the conference indicating that the registration would not work. They posted this problem on the wiki so those in charge of registration and technology were appraised of the problem within the first check in period. By the next check in period the issue was resolved, so other members of the trouble-shooting team knew what was going on.
In another of my classes, students put together a wikipage for an online class presentation that drew resources from a number of places. Students used the wiki first as a collaborative space, in which they learned about the choice of technology in instructional design through colloborating on the presentation.
The wiki then became an information tool as they used the document to present how a specific technology worked ( a wiki in one case, and a podcast in another).
Saturday, September 13, 2008
New type of communication with facebook?
One thing I have been interested in the last few years is how people set up their computers. To me, it is like setting up a kitchen. Each person has their own habits and how to set things up. When I go to my mother's house, I can't find anything as she organizes things in a completely different way than I do.
I find the same thing with computers. My kids will go in and change something on the computer and both my husband and I will be lost for days looking for it!
Today, I looked over the shoulder of my son as he went through his facebook account. I can access his "wall", but I only get one side of the conversation. In order to get the other side, I will need to be friends with those that uploaded onto the wall. As many in his network are included in his friend's network, he can see their postings. It was interesting to see him follow the conversations by going back and forth. But the conversations were not the usual linear, monocronic conversations found on IM's or even in discussion forums. Rather, facebook allows for members to "listen in" on written conversations, follow the threads that they want to follow, and, if they are all part of the same group, to have an idea of what is going on between group members.
At any time, however, a group member can be "kicked out" by taking him or her off the friend's list. However, they can still be part of the group perrifially, as long as someone in the group maintains him or her as a friend. This has been my role to date. While I can read what is going on in the group through the eyes of my son, this is only a one sided conversation. There are many assumptions I need to make to really understand what is going on.
I see this as an emerging new method of communication in which the rules are still evolving. It will be interesting to see where it goes. I would be interested in knowing if there is a different style of facebook, how it's used, how it's set up, what happens in the the network, what happens around the fringe of the network, for different languages.
I find the same thing with computers. My kids will go in and change something on the computer and both my husband and I will be lost for days looking for it!
Today, I looked over the shoulder of my son as he went through his facebook account. I can access his "wall", but I only get one side of the conversation. In order to get the other side, I will need to be friends with those that uploaded onto the wall. As many in his network are included in his friend's network, he can see their postings. It was interesting to see him follow the conversations by going back and forth. But the conversations were not the usual linear, monocronic conversations found on IM's or even in discussion forums. Rather, facebook allows for members to "listen in" on written conversations, follow the threads that they want to follow, and, if they are all part of the same group, to have an idea of what is going on between group members.
At any time, however, a group member can be "kicked out" by taking him or her off the friend's list. However, they can still be part of the group perrifially, as long as someone in the group maintains him or her as a friend. This has been my role to date. While I can read what is going on in the group through the eyes of my son, this is only a one sided conversation. There are many assumptions I need to make to really understand what is going on.
I see this as an emerging new method of communication in which the rules are still evolving. It will be interesting to see where it goes. I would be interested in knowing if there is a different style of facebook, how it's used, how it's set up, what happens in the the network, what happens around the fringe of the network, for different languages.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Define Communication
I found it interesting that in the draft report on skills for the 21st century that "communication" skills came up. What is interesting is that:
1) there are many types of communication
2) most "communication" departments are subsections of other disciplines or at least share faculty
3) while often a requirement for most schooling, very little is few programs include a separate communication course as a requirement for education degrees. In addition, communication education usually is within the interdisciplinary communication departments (if at all) and very little training and research is focused on teaching communication.
I think there needs to be greater focus on how communication is being taught, especially in the lower grades.
1) there are many types of communication
2) most "communication" departments are subsections of other disciplines or at least share faculty
3) while often a requirement for most schooling, very little is few programs include a separate communication course as a requirement for education degrees. In addition, communication education usually is within the interdisciplinary communication departments (if at all) and very little training and research is focused on teaching communication.
I think there needs to be greater focus on how communication is being taught, especially in the lower grades.
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