COMM 2322 Student Blogs Fall 2011
Floral Photo Safari at Bok Tower Gardens, 9-11-2011
Rather than staying inside, glued to the television like many chose to do today, my husband and I made the short drive to one of our favorite places in Florida, Bok Tower Gardens, and spent the morning in nature.
It was the quietest, most serene day I have ever experienced at the gardens. We rarely saw other human visitors, and those we saw were generally silent. Birds chirped. There was occasional rustling in the brush; I pretended it was all squirrel noise (even though I know for sure there was at least one harmless black racer snake).
We walked slowly through the gardens, taking it all in. Twice, we were serenaded by the carillon in the Singing Tower.
For us, it was a peaceful, fitting way to spend 9-11-2011.
Here are a dozen of the photos I took with my Fujifilm Finepix S1800.
COMM 2423 Writing for Digital Media Student Blogs, Fall 2011
Dedicated to First-Year Student Me: Thriving in Your First Year at SEU
An Assignment for My COMM 2423 Writing for Digital Media Class
This fall, we’ve welcomed about 600 students who are brand new to Southeastern University, either as first-year or transfer students. Many of them are still finding their way on campus, in literal and metaphorical ways.
Think back to your first semester or so on our campus here at SEU. What do you wish you had known as you began your first year? What advice would you offer students new to SEU? Share three of your best tips as a reply to this blog post. If possible, include one tip in each of these areas: academic, social and spiritual.
Then, after reading the tips from your classmates, create a top ten list of advice for students new to SEU as a post on your own blog. (You can title the post as you wish.) You can use your own tips as well as those of your classmates. Remember that if you use your classmates’ tips to give them credit for the ideas, and link back to their blogs. Also, choose an appropriate Creative Commons licensed image to accompany your post.
NOTE: Your reply can count as one of your Blog Comments if you document it, and the post you write can count as one of your Writer’s Choice posts.
Topics of the Week for #COMM2322 PR Apps Fall 2011
For Fall 2011
In our PR Applications classes (COMM 2322 at Southeastern University), we’ll all blog about the same general topic each week during the semester. Your TOWs of 300 words or longershould be posted by Saturday at midnight at the end of each week, unless otherwise notified in class. (Posts that appear past the deadline may not earn any credit, so be sure to stay on top of your blogging deadlines.)
If you are unsure how to get started writing these TOWs, many times you can use this three-pronged approach:
- What did you learn?
- What surprised you?
- What do you want to know more about?
WEEK ONE
- [OPTIONAL]
WEEK TWO
- How would you define “public relations”? OR What are the similarities and differences of PR and advertising, journalism and marketing? (NOTE: You can post this week’s entry as late as Week Three, as you will not be creating your blogs until that time.)
WEEK THREE
- Using the three-pronged approach (above), what are your reactions to the NewsU Course you took on Dealing with Difficult Conversations? (NOTE: You can post this week’s entry as late as Week Three, as you will not be creating your blogs until that time.)
WEEK FOUR
- Write about a public relations crisis and your impression how it was handled. What might you have done differently?
WEEK FIVE
- If you could work in an era of PR history (from a time before you were born), which one would it be? What interests you most about this era and why?
WEEK SIX
- Based on what you read in Chapter 5 of your THINK Public Relations book, do you think it’s more beneficial for a new PR practitioner to begin his/her career in a PR department or in a PR firm? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
WEEK SEVEN
- One Week of Twitter (details TBA)
WEEK EIGHT
- What are some ways that a PR practitioner can measure the effectiveness of a campaign? Also, discuss the importance of measurement.
WEEK NINE
- Using the three-pronged approach (above), what are your reactions to the NewsU Course you took on Online Media Law: The Basics for Bloggers and Other Publishers?
WEEK TEN
- Chapter 9 in THINK Public Relations discusses Ethics and the Law. Which aspects of law do you believe public relations practitioners need to be most aware of, and why?
WEEK ELEVEN
- Participate in a public relations or social media Twitter chat. Petya Georgieva provides a list of 13 possibilities at her Higher & Higher blog. (I highly recommend #PRStudChat, but you are free to chose from any of the 13 options.) Before you participate in the chat, be sure to read Shonali Burke’s tips for how to make the most of a Twitter chat. After the chat, briefly describe the purpose and intended audience of your chosen chat. React to your own participation in the chat using the three-pronged approach (discussed earlier in this blog post).
WEEK 12
- Listen to at least one hour of PR/marketing podcasts (such as For Immediate Release, Inside PR, PRStudCast, The Creative Career, Coming Up PR, Trafcom News or Marketing Over Coffee). Briefly summarize what you heard. Discuss how listening to PR podcasts can benefit PR students or new PR practitioners. (Optional: Also, write a short review of the podcast at iTunes.)
WEEK 13
- Write a post about the aspect of public relations that you have chosen for your presentation this semester. If you have created a PowerPoint or Prezi, embed it into your post.
WEEK 14
- This week’s topic was inspired by Adam Vincenzini’s Be My Guest month: post something by a guest blogger. Connect with another blogger (it can, but doesn’t have to, be someone in your class) and exchange blog posts for the week. (You don’t have to write something new for the other blogger . . . share your favorite post you’ve written this semester.) In your own blog, make it really clear that the post is written by another person, and link to your guest’s blog.
WEEK 15
- Create a list of the top ten things you have learned about public relations this semester. (Remember that the post still needs to be 300 words minimum, so you will need to elaborate on your choices for the list.)
Blogging Guidelines for COMM 2322 (PR Applications), Fall 2011
Public relations practitioners are increasingly called upon to be well-versed in social media. This semester, you will blog as almost half of your grade in our class. You will add content to your blog weekly throughout the semester. Feel free to continue to use an existing blog of yours, unless you feel compelled to start fresh with a new blog for this course.
My WordPress 101 post will help you get started with your blog.
To make it easier for your readers to find what they are seeking at your blog, it’s important to use Categories. Please add a category for each type (listed below), and make sure each post is categorized appropriately. Each post for this class must have the category of “COMM 2322” along with at least one additional category.
1. TOW: Topic of the Week – Each week this semester, we will have a specific topic that all students will blog about. You should have at least 13 of these before the end of the semester. At times, you will watch a video, listen to a podcast, or read a specific blog post, and provide your thoughtful reactions. These posts must be a minimum of 300 words. We’ll keep our running list of TOWs for your class here at my blog (TOWs for PR Apps).
2. PR Connections – Provide commentary, reflections and opinions about PR issues/examples that were not addressed in class. These can be responses to other PR blogs you read, links to interesting posts or articles, embedded YouTube videos, etc. Some students like to choose a theme (such as entertainment or sports PR) and have each PR Connection be related to the theme. Though these don’t have a minimum word length, you will need to adequately discuss your subject in the post. You should write at least 10 of these during the semester.
3. Blog comments – whenever you comment on someone’s PR blog (whether it’s a PR professional or a PR student), add the comment to ONE post that you update throughout the semester so I can assess your online participation. Do this only for PR-related blogs. You should have a minimum of 10 comments by your Blog Checkpoint #2 and at least 20 (total) before the end of the semester. See Tracking Your Blog Comments for Nixon’s Classes for more information.
You may add other categories and sub-categories of your choice. Please keep in mind that when I evaluate your blog I will pay special attention to the categories listed above, but I will not ignore other posts. I will perform a holistic evaluation of your blog, looking for:
- professionalism: Clear, correct, thoughtful writing
- frequency: Sufficient posts in categories 1-3, posted throughout the semester. There will be at least two graded blog checkpoints during the semester. (See your syllabus for the specific Blog Checkpoint dates.)
- linking: Identify other PR blogs (use PR Open Mic or my blogroll in my Diigo bookmarks as starting points) and link to them. Respond to others’ posts. Become a part of the blogosphere. Blogging should not be lonely.
- readability: brief & concise writing style, use of white space, bold characters, images, bullet points
- proper credit and use of images in all Topics of the Week and PR Connections. (Use Compfight to find your images; be sure they are licensed for Creative Commons use. I’ll show you how to do this in class.)
SUPER-IMPORTANT: In order for you to get credit for your blog, I need to know where it is. Tell me your blog address by completing this Google Form; I will provide time in class during Week 3 for you to do this.
Questions? Just let me know.
NOTE: Many thanks to Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu at Purdue University, who allowed me to use her blogging guidelines from her PRinciples class. They were so well-written that I made just a few tweaks for my own class. Dr. V knows that Blogs Matter.
SEU COMM Majors and Minors Meeting :: Slides
On August 25, more than 100 Communication majors and minors met at Southeastern University to kick off the 2011-2012 year. And it was standing room only in Bolin Studio. What an enthusiastic group!
As promised in the meeting, here are the slides that were shared by our faculty and staff that night.
If you’re a COMM major or minor at Southeastern University, please leave a reply to this post letting us know one of two things:
- Yes, I attended the meeting OR
- I was unable to attend the meeting, but I read through the slides
Please use your first and last name when you reply so we can better track attendance. And if you want to let us know what you’re most looking forward to in 2011-2012, that would be wonderful.
Thanks!
(PS — If you would like to meet with me this semester, you can see my office hours online and sign up for an available slot — or just stop by my office in Bolin 217. Remember: I always have candy in my office!)Topics of the Week :: COMM 2423 Writing for Digital Media
In our Writing for Digital Media course at Southeastern University, we’ll all blog about the same general topic each week during the semester. Your TOWs of 300 words or longer should be posted by Saturday at midnight at the end of each week.
If a week has more than one topic listed; choose one of the available topics on those weeks.
If you have a topic to suggest, please add it as a comment to this blog post.
If you are unsure how to get started writing these TOWs, many times you can use this three-pronged approach:
- What did you learn?
- What surprised you?
- What do you want to know more about?
WEEK ONE
- OPTIONAL: Which types of social media do you currently participate in (such as blogging, podcasting, social networking, etc.), which platforms you use, and why? [NOTE: Since you are creating your blog after after Week One, you will go back and add this post in.]
WEEK TWO
- Read at least a dozen posts at one mainstream media blog. Briefly review the blog and explain how students in this class can benefit from reading a blog such as this one.
WEEK THREE
- Visit Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl’s website. Either read one of her blog posts or listen to one of her podcasts on an area of grammar that is troublesome to you. Write about what you learned (using the three-pronged approach above.)
OR
- This week, you took the NewsU Cleaning Your Copy course. There were four main topics in this course: Grammar, AP Style, Punctuation and Spelling. Using the three-pronged approach described at the top of this post, describe your reactions to this course. Remember to include a hyperlink to the course, too.
WEEK FOUR
- Discuss how writing for online reading is different than writing for analog reading. Offer 10 do’s and don’ts for writing for online reading.
WEEK FIVE
- Why are comments such an integral part of blogs? What advice would you offer on writing effective blog comments?
WEEK SIX
- Offer 10 tips for writing effective headlines for digital media.
WEEK SEVEN
- What is Storify, and how can it be used by journalists or public relations practitioners?
WEEK EIGHT
- This week’s topic was inspired by Adam Vincenzini’s Be My Guest month: post something by a guest blogger. Connect with another blogger (it can, but doesn’t have to, be someone in your class) and exchange blog posts for the week. (You don’t have to write something new for the other blogger . . . share your favorite post you’ve written this semester.) In your own blog, make it really clear that the post is written by another person, and link to your guest’s blog.
WEEK NINE
- Address several of the following questions about infographics. What are they? How could one be useful in a story for your client? How do you go about creating one? Create one if you can, and embed it in your blog post this week.
WEEK TEN
- Discuss your reactions to the TED video we watched in class on October 24, Eli Pariser: Beware online “filter bubbles.” Be sure to embed the video into your own blog, also,
WEEK ELEVEN
- TBA
WEEK 12
- Using the CoverItLive service, embed the live blog of an event assignment that you completed this semester. (See CoverItLive Support Center for directions on how to do this.) Provide at least one paragraph of context that will help your readers know something about the event and the organization that sponsored the event. Also, knowing now what you do about live blogging, provide at least five tips for students who may be live blogging an event in the future.
OR
- Use Storify to create a story about something of interest to students at Southeastern University. Also, knowing now what you do about Storify, provide at least five tips for students who may be live blogging an event in the future.
WEEK 13
- What advice would you offer students who are new to blogging? Come up with your own Top 10 list. (Note: Complete blog is due at the end of this week.)
WEEK 14
- Optional
WEEK 15
- Optional
WEEK 16
- Optional
Blogging Guidelines for COMM 2423 (Writing for Digital Media), Fall 2011
One form of writing for digital media is blogging. You will add content to your blog weekly throughout the semester. Feel free to continue to use an existing blog of yours, unless you feel compelled to start fresh with a new blog for this course.
My WordPress 101 post will help you get started with your blog.
To make it easier for your readers to find what they are seeking at your blog, it’s important to use Categories. Please add a category for each type (listed below), and make sure each post is categorized appropriately. Each post for this class must have the category of “COMM 2322” along with at least one additional category.
1. TOW: Topic of the Week – Each week this semester, we will have a specific topic that all students will blog about. You should have at least 13 of these before the end of the semester. At times, you will watch a video, listen to a podcast, or read a specific blog post, and provide your thoughtful reactions. These posts must be a minimum of 300 words. We’ll keep our running list of TOWs for your class here at my blog (TOWs for Writing for Digital Media).
2. Writer’s Choice – Provide commentary, reflections and opinions about issues/examples that were not addressed in class. These can be responses to other blogs you read, links to interesting posts or articles, embedded YouTube videos, etc. Some students like to choose a theme (such as entertainment or sports PR) and have each Writer’s Choice be related to the theme. Though these don’t have a minimum word length, you will need to adequately discuss your subject in the post. You should write at least 10 of these during the semester.
3. Blog comments – whenever you comment on someone’s blog (whether it’s a professional or a fellow student), add the comment to ONE post that you update throughout the semester so I can assess your online participation. Check with me if you unsure if a blog would count as a “professional” blog. You should have a minimum of 10 comments by your Blog Checkpoint #2 and at least 20 (total) before the end of the semester. See Tracking Your Blog Comments for Nixon’s Classes for more information.
You may add other categories and sub-categories of your choice. Please keep in mind that when I evaluate your blog I will pay special attention to the categories listed above, but I will not ignore other posts. I will perform a holistic evaluation of your blog, looking for:
- professionalism: Clear, correct, thoughtful writing
- frequency: Sufficient posts in categories 1-3, posted throughout the semester. There will be at least two graded blog checkpoints during the semester. (See your syllabus for the specific Blog Checkpoint dates.)
- linking: Identify other blogs (use PR Open Mic or my blogroll in my Diigo bookmarks as starting points) and link to them. Respond to others’ posts. Become a part of the blogosphere. Blogging should not be lonely.
- readability: brief & concise writing style, use of white space, bold characters, images, bullet points
- proper credit and use of images in all Topics of the Week and PR Connections. (Use Compfight to find your images; be sure they are licensed for Creative Commons use. I’ll show you how to do this in class.)
SUPER-IMPORTANT: In order for you to get credit for your blog, I need to know where it is. Tell me your blog address by completing this Google Form.
Questions? Just let me know.
NOTE: Many thanks to Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu at Purdue University, who allowed me to use her blogging guidelines from her PRinciples class. They were so well-written that I made just a few tweaks for my own class. Dr. V knows that Blogs Matter.
What ARE They Thinking? A Look Into the Minds of Today’s College First-Year Students
As a college professor — and a parent — I’ve long realized that it’s important to use relatable pop culture examples when talking with people, especially when the people are significantly younger than I am. If I tell a student to stop acting like Horshack in class today, I am met with the sound of crickets; 25 years ago, my students knew exactly what I meant.
Tom McBride and Ron Nief, two professors from Beloit College, have made it easier for folks like me to realize what’s going on in the minds of today’s college first-year students, at least in the United States, with their annual Mindset Lists. Just a few hours ago, McBride and Nief released the Mindset List for the Class of 2015. Below, I’ve cherry picked a baker’s dozen of my favorite items from the list. You can find the entire list at the Mindset List website.
- They “swipe” cards, not merchandise.
- Amazon has never been just a river in South America.
- Some of them have been inspired to actually cook by watching the Food Channel.
- Jimmy Carter has always been a smiling elderly man who shows up on TV to promote fair elections and disaster relief.
- Unlike their older siblings, they spent bedtime on their backs until they learned to roll over.
- Music has always been available via free downloads.
- All their lives, Whitney Houston has always been declaring “I Will Always Love You.”
- O.J. Simpson has always been looking for the killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
- Life has always been like a box of chocolates.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show has always been available on TV.
- Video games have always had ratings.
- McDonald’s coffee has always been just a little too hot to handle.
- They’ve often broken up with their significant others via texting, Facebook, or MySpace.
I encourage you to go take a look at the entire Mindset List for the Class of 2015; you just might find some ideas in there that will help you relate to today’s first-year student.
