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Arrive, Survive and Thrive in Prof. Nixon’s Classes, Spring 2012 Edition

"Tilework at Florida Botanical Gardens" by Barbara B. Nixon

An Open Note to All of Prof. Nixon’s Students:

Welcome back to our Communication Department at Southeastern University; I hope your Christmas break was a blessed one. I spent a lot of much-needed time with family.

Syllabi for my two Spring 2012 on-campus classes are available at my Scribd site. If a syllabus is updated during the semester, you’ll find out in class, and the current version will always be available at Scribd.

Materials for COMM 3333 Journalism (Online Class)

Materials for COMM 4333 Writing for Public Relations and Advertising

Materials for COMM 4633 Social Media for Public Relations and Journalism

Getting Inside My Head

So that we can make the most of this semester, please (Please, PLEASE) take some time to read through the blog posts I’ve included here. I promise you, it will be well worth your time. (How often do professors let you get inside their heads, letting you know their tips for success and their pet peeves?)

Additionally, here are a few more tips:

  • When communicating with me via e-mail (or Facebook), always put your course number (such as COMM 4333) in the subject line to help me immediately identify who you are and frame your questions or comments. Do your best to write in full sentences, paying attention to standard English grammar and spelling. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name, as your e-mail address will not make that readily apparent to me.
  • When submitting an assignment in BlackBoard, always put your last name as part of the file name, and also include your name in the document itself. Papers submitted without your last name as part of the file name cannot earn full credit.
  • If an assignment is due in BlackBoard, the only way to get full credit for the assignment is to submit it in BlackBoard. (E-mailing an assignment to me can be risky; I receive 250+ e-mails a day, and there’s a chance I will not even see it in my inbox.)
  • Follow me on Twitter, if you really want to get inside my head. (What’s Twitter?)

Let’s make this a great semester together!

(PS: If you’re one of my Spring 2012 students reading this post, please leave a reply to this post so that I can know you have read it. If your reply doesn’t show up immediately, no worries — I may need to approve it before it appears, if you’ve never commented on my blog before.)

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2011 Taught Me 11 Things

Kevin, James and I got cross tattoos in memory of Kyle in the fall of 2011

Of all the years I’ve lived through, 2011 does not rank up there as one of my favorite ones. If you know me, or “know me” virtually, you will probably be able to predict why. But I’ll get to that soon enough.

  1. Twitter is a lot of fun and a great distraction for me. I’ve even won multiple contests this year, ranging from gift cards to Daytona 500 tickets to attending the penultimate space shuttle launch. Even though many of my students thought Twitter was a total waste of time, I was able to show them how businesses use it to engage with their customers and retain their loyalty.
  2. Photos are critical to me. I take them as a form of relaxation and use them to document my life. However this Christmas morning, I took very few pictures. Since we were missing one of our family members, I guess I just didn’t want to remember much about Christmas 2011.
  3. I miss taking long walks in the mornings. I used the age and declining health of my dog Jasmine as an excuse not to get out there on my own during these last few months. That needs to stop, and I need to get back out there on my own. And that will also help me catch up on the myriad podcasts that I’ve failed to listen to lately.
  4. Though I was quite grateful that my university had the confidence in me to become the interim chair of my department this summer, I am beyond relieved to be primarily back in the college classroom only — with very few administrative/leadership duties — starting in 2012. Being with the students and helping them to learn and become energized about the field of public relations is where I belong.
  5. God’s time is NOT my time. My husband and I never once expected to get that horrific phone call from East Alabama Medical Center on September 29 letting us know that our oldest son Kyle had unexpectedly and inexplicably passed away overnight. (We are still awaiting final results from the medical examiner, but that’s another story.)
  6. Without social media, I am confident that I would have struggled much, much more with the death of my 22-year-old son. Oh, don’t get me wrong:  I am still trying to come to grips with why (and even how) Kyle passed away. However, the immense outpouring of support and prayers I received on Facebook and Twitter, many times from friends of Kyle who didn’t even know me before, helped me get through that horrible first week and beyond. It helped me to understand how many lives Kyle impacted, especially once he left home for college.
  7. Having multiple people pray out loud for me, all at the same time, is an incredibly powerful and moving thing. As a Presbyterian on an Assemblies of God (Pentacostal) campus, this method of prayer felt uncomfortable when I saw others doing it. Until they did it for ME this year. Wow. It brought tears to my eyes, and I felt an incredible sense of calm the handful of times Southeastern University students and faculty prayed over me this year.
  8. Virtual relationships are great, but…. nothing can take the (complete) place of spending time physically in the presence of people you love. I was able to spend time in July with Linda in Maine, and in December with Deb at St. Pete Beach. Even when we weren’t talking about anything important, it was fabulous to know that they were right there, with each of us ready to listen when the other wanted or needed to talk.
  9. If you want to become an organ donor — and for the life of me, I don’t understand why anyone would not want to — you will make things much easier for your family if you let them know your wishes. Of all the phone calls I had to deal with after Kyle died, the one I received from the Alabama Organ Center was the easiest one to deal with. I knew that Kyle wanted to donate his organs, so my conversation about his wishes required no thinking. And he was able to help more than 100 people in need.
  10. Auburn University is an amazing institution. My husband and I both graduated from Auburn in the ’80s,and I went back there to teach briefly two times. We’ve often joked that we bleed orange and blue. Our oldest son was accepted to Auburn in the late ’90s. He was a graduating senior this fall. And the folks at Auburn were in constant contact with us after his death, making sure things were taken care of. Among the things they did for us were:
    • calling us several times a day during those first few, horrible days
    • writing a front-page article in The Plainsman about Kyle’s life
    • sending us a framed and matted Certificate of Attendance
    • honoring Kyle in a flag ceremony at Samford Hall, then displaying the flag with a plaque in the Student Act, then sending us both of them
    • awarding Kyle a posthumous Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
    • allowing our son James to walk across the stage at the Fall 2011 Commencement, to accept Kyle’s diploma

  11. Our children are an incredible source of strength for me, more than I ever realized. From 12-year-old Kat playing “Amazing Grace” on her flute at Kyle’s memorial services in Auburn and Lakeland, to 13-year-old Sam giving me those gangly over-the-top-of-my-shoulders hugs, to 22-year-old James confidently living on his own now here in Lakeland, I never realized how much strength I drew from them. And I need to remember to let them know it more often than I do.
So, those are 11 of the things that 2011 taught me. There are more, but many of them are too personal to post here online.

PS: The Bible verse in my tattoo at the top of this page is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” This verse is especially poignant because it was the verse of the day sent to Kevin’s Android phone on September 29; Kevin read that verse just before calling the hospital to learn that Kyle had passed away suddenly. With this tattoo, I get the strong feeling that Kyle’s hand is on my shoulder. It’s comforting.
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The ABCs of Public Relations by My #COMM2322 Class

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The ABCs of Writing for Digital Media from #COMM2423 Class

My Southeastern University class created this list of 26 things people should know about writing for digital media. Some focused on writing for digital media in general, while others focused on succeeding in her class of the same name. (Note: A couple of the letters are missing, as Twitter is being a wee bit wonky this morning. I will do my best to add in D and M as soon as I can.)

What other tips would YOU add to this list?

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Stocking Stuffers for Your College Student

Image Credit: "Christmas stocking for myself" by brookewill

In case Santa needs some ideas, here are a few thoughts about what college students might like to find in their stockings. All of these gifts are under $25.

What other things would you recommend that Santa put in college students’ stockings?

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25 Tips on How to Study for Final Exams

Image Credit: “a close reading of the text” by Kevin Rawlings

Final exams are approaching on college campuses around the world. Finals can be stressful, even for the most prepared students. Here are some tips to help you succeed:

Preparing for the Final

  1. Find out what your entire final_exam_fall_2011_12_schedule is so that you’ll know how many finals you will have on each day.
  2. Prepare a written schedule for yourself indicating when you will study for each test. Leave some time in your schedule for exercise and relaxation, too.
  3. If the professor offers a study guide, use it.
  4. If the professor offers a review session for the exam, go to it.
  5. If you study well in groups, form a study group.
  6. Know if the final is comprehensive (covering everything since the beginning of the semester or quarter).
  7. Find out what kind of exam it will be. You’d study differently for a multiple-choice (Scantron) final than an essay (blue book) one.
  8. If the final will be taken online, find out if you have to go to a specific computer lab on campus at a specific time, or if you’ll be allowed to take the final on your own computer. Also find out how many chances you will have to take the final. Assume it’s just one chance unless you hear differently from the professor.
  9. If you have your previous exams available, scour the exams for things that you think will be on the final. Flag your notes by highlighting or using Post-It notes.
  10. Don’t pull an all-nighter. (Though some people are successful with studying all night and then taking a test with no sleep, I wouldn’t recommend you try it for the first time on a final exam.)
  11. Calculate your grades in the class. Determine what score you will need to get the grade you’re hoping for in the class. You may discover that you can’t possibly get an A, no matter how well you do on the final, but to get a B, you only need to get a few questions right.
  12. If you’re an auditory learner, record yourself reading your notes aloud, then play the recording back several times.
  13. If the exam is an open-book exam, this does not mean that you don’t have to study at all. In fact, one of the most challenging exams I ever took as an undergrad was an open-book essay exam. Flag your textbook based on where you believe the questions will come from.
  14. Consider creating a detailed Final Exam Battle Plan.

On the Day of the Final

  1. Eat a meal and drink water.
  2. Don’t overdo it with the caffeine.
  3. Know what to bring with you to the final. Do you need a blue book? A Scantron? (And if you need a Scantron, which specific type do you need?) A pencil? A pen?
  4. Are food and drinks allowed in the classroom where your final will be? Sometimes, the rules are different for exam days than other days.
  5. Even if you don’t usually wear a watch, take one with you to the final. It’s unlikely you will be able to look at your cell phone to check the time during the final.

During the Final

  1. For a paper-based exam, read through the entire final exam before you start answering any questions at all. This way, you will know what you’re facing.
  2. If the final is an online exam, find out if you can revisit questions, or if after you click past a question you cannot go back to it again.
  3. If you’re using a Scantron and you skip a question to finish later, make sure you’re answering your questions next to the correct answers. (When I took my GRE to get into grad school, I skipped a question on the first page of the booklet, but never skipped a number on the Scantron. When I realized it, I only had 10 minutes to go back and put the answers with the correct questions. Talk about stress!)
  4. Keep a close eye on the time you have allotted.
  5. Some students benefit from answering the most difficult questions first, while others do better completing all the easier ones. Do what works for you.

After the Final

  1. Do not share with other students what was on the final exam. In most universities, this is a violation of the honor code at most universities.

Now it’s your turn: What final exam tips do you have to share? Please let us know through your comments below.

barbara_is_listening

[NOTE: Adapted from my blog for my First-Year Experience class, Making Connections: Facebook and Beyond, at Georgia Southern University]

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What Thanksgiving Dinner Has Taught Me About Being a Better Professor

Deep Fried Turkey by Demian, Heather, & Evelyn

As I sit here in the pre-dawn hours at my in-laws’ home in Biloxi, sipping my coffee in the dark, listening to nearly a dozen relatives snoring (mostly) quietly, I began to reflect on Thanksgiving and what it means to me. And inevitably, I started making connections between this traditional large family meal and my college classes. Why? I don’t know. But it popped into my head, so I went with it. I started thinking . . . what has Thanksgiving dinner taught me that has made me a better professor? And this is what I came up with.

Turkey: The best turkey I ever had was a deep-fried one. Mmmm. But boy oh boy can deep frying a turkey be a dangerous task. In my classes, sometimes I like to walk on the edge a bit with our discussions. I must always remember to keep the metaphorical fire extinguisher nearby, just in case of explosions.

Cranberry Sauce: It doesn’t all need to be sweetness and light in my classes. I can be tangy/tart and get some points across even better. I just need to watch for my snark level getting too high.

Dressing / Stuffing: Just like some folks prefer stuffing (cooked inside the turkey) and others prefer dressing (cooked outside), my students have preferred learning styles. If I want them all to learn, I need to offer both.

Rolls: At our house, the rolls were often an afterthought. Sometimes we baked them halfway through the meal and served them almost at the end. Great teaching ideas sometimes crop up last minute, too.

Gravy: The first time I had Thanksgiving with my in-laws, I saw my soon-to-be mother-in-law making hard-boiled eggs. When I asked, “What are the eggs for?” she looked at me quizzically and said, “For the gravy, of course.” It was that day that I learned that some of my preconceived notions about how things should be done were way off base. The gravy — hard-boiled eggs, gizzards & all — was wonderful. Sometimes I need to add something a colleague suggests, something that may seem off-base to me at first, into my classes just to mix things up a bit.

Green Bean Casserole: Has there ever been a tastier, yet less attractive, side dish? Sometimes the methods I use in my class may seem a bit slopped together, but I promise there is a method behind the madness, and it will all come out “tasting” wonderful in the end.

“Uncle Oscar”: I think everyone has that one relative — we’ll call him Uncle Oscar here — who you invite to dinner knowing full well he will attempt to monopolize the dinner conversation.  Consider making placecards and assigning seats for dinner. Whoever had the pleasure of sitting near Uncle Oscar last year gets to sit at the opposite end of the table this year. And in class, when I have an Uncle Oscar — the student who feels compelled to answer EVERY question I ask — I do my best to ask questions in a way so that Uncle Oscar doesn’t get the opportunity to answer first, at least. For example, I may say, “Let’s hear from two or three people who went to high school outside of the state of Florida,” knowing full well that Uncle Oscar is a local boy. Or “Let’s hear from the last person to take his or her seat in class today.” And many times, I’ll have whoever has just answered a question choose who answers the next question. This helps us hear from more voices and learn from more points of view than just Uncle Oscar, no matter how smart or sweet he is.

Black Olives: As I was growing up, my mother would always open a can of black olives and leave it in the fridge before Thanksgiving dinner. It always brought us into the kitchen so we could snitch an olive or two while she was cooking. Similarly, I leave a basket of candy in my office at all times. (I’m not confident my students share my affinity for black olives!) Some of the best conversations I have with my students are when they just happen to pop by for a Fireball, Nerds or a Snickers bar.

Dessert: My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is eating pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving. In my classes, I like starting with the fun stuff first, especially when the previous class (meal) was a bit on the heavy side.

Leftovers: With every Thanksgiving dinner, at least every Nixon one, comes leftovers. Lots and lots of leftovers. Well, we often have planned-overs (we cook extra of some of the food with intentions of having it for another meal later.) I frequently give students bite-size chunks of information on one day that I intend for them to repurpose another day in class. The key is getting them to remember the information from the previous day. If anyone has tips for this, please share!

So what has Thanksgiving dinner taught YOU about being a better professor — or better student?

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What a Turkey Can Teach You About Public Relations

"Les Nessman" with my infant son James and me (1990)

[Updated from a similar post in June 2010.]

As we get close to Thanksgiving time in America, it’s also time  in my Public Relations Applications class to watch a classic episode of the classic late ’70s / early ’80s TV show “WKRP in Cincinnati” :: “Turkeys Away.”

According to the Internet Movie Database:

“[Station manager] Mr. Carlson is beginning to feel useless at the new formatted rock station so he decides to create a big Thanksgiving Day promotion. His idea? Get a helicopter, with a banner attached to it saying “Happy Thanksgiving From WKRP…” Then, based on a botched promotion from a radio station in Arkansas, live turkeys are dropped from a helicopter. Chaos ensues.”

We’ll watch “Turkeys Away” in class today, keeping in mind what you’ve learned in COMM 2322 during the semester.

So what can public relations students learn about how NOT to do a promotion from Mr. Carlson’s fiasco? I’ll get the list started:

  1. Do your research! It’s best to learn ahead of time that turkeys don’t fly.
  2. Get permission before doing a stunt.

What would you add to this list? Add your thoughts in the comments below.