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PRCA 4330 Article Review

For my PRCA 4330 Public Relations Research class:Reading Well by moriza.

Review an academic article on public relations that appears in a peer-reviewed journal. Your review is due by midnight on Tuesday, September 1. Recommended journals include (but aren’t limited to):

Choose the article you will review by August 26 at class time, and reply with a comment to this blog post with your article choice. Use APA works cited style to tell me which article you will review.

Your 500-word minimum review could take the following form:

  • What did you learn from reading the article?
  • What surprised you in the article?
  • What do you want to know more about, now that you’ve read the article?

It is acceptable to use first person for this review. Be sure to cite your source–in text as well as in your reference section–in proper APA format. (Using Citation Machine might be helpful.) This assignment is worth 100 of your 1000 points in PRCA 4330.

Turn this assignment in using GeorgiaVIEW by midnight on Tuesday,  September 1. No hard copy is needed.

UPDATE: On her PRConnections blog, Purdue University’s Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu shares her tips for how to read a research article. This is a MUST read. See the PPT version of her blog post here at Public Relations Matters, also.

Questions? You know where to find me . . .

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/1704875109/

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PRCA 3339 Blogging Guidelines

In our PRCA 3339 (Public Relations Publications) course this fall, blogs are now a part of our curriculum. Below you will discover what components will make up your blog:

Your “About” Page

  • Write a short bio and post it on your blog’s About page (see some great tips)
  • Due: September 11, before class

Blog Post #1 :: CRAP: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity

  • Pick any one of these four elements of good design. Define it, and explain its importance to good design. Remember to give credit to Robin Williams (the writer and graphic designer, not the comedian).
  • Due: September 14, before class

Blog Post #2 :: Segmenting Publics

  • Thinking about your client for your brochure, how would you segment the client’s publics? How will your brochure design be impacted by how the publics are segmented?
  • Due:  September 21, before class

Blog Post #3 :: Typography

  • What factors go into a designer’s decision of which typefaces (fonts) to use? What sizes are considered best for business cards? For brochures? Where can beginning designers go to find legal, free fonts to use? Also, post a link to directions (written by someone else) for installing a font.
  • Due: September 28, before class

Blog Post #4 :: Photography

  • After completing the Poynter NewsU course “The Language of the Image,” respond to the following:
    • What did you learn?
    • What surprised you?
    • What do you want to know more about?
  • Due: October 26, before class

Four Additional Blog Posts

  • Write four additional blog posts about topics related to the content of PRCA 3339.  We’ll discuss potential topics in class.

Final Blog Post :: Top Ten List

  • Using PowerPoint and SlideShare, post the top ten things you learned about public relations publications this semester. (More details will be shared on this post as we near the end of the semester.)
  • NOTE: This blog post will be graded separately from the rest of your blog. It will count in with your participation points. This blog post will be worth 50 points, and take the place of your flyer (which we did not create this semester).
  • Due: TBA Wednesday, December 2, before classtime.

Each blog post should contain:

  • At least 250 words
  • Hyperlinks to relevant websites
  • The category or tag of Assignment PRCA 3339 (so that I can easily find the posts that you specifically wrote for this class)
  • Relevant tags

Blog posts can be written informally and in the first person; that is, they don’t need to sound like a term paper. However, there’s still an expectation for proper grammar, spelling and capitalization. If you have questions about how informal is “too informal,” please let me know.

When I evaluate your blog at the end of the semester, I’ll be looking for:

  • professionalism: clear, correct, thoughtful writing
  • frequency: sufficient posts
  • linking: identify other PR blogs (use PR Open Mic or my blogroll in my Delicious 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

Questions? Just let me know.

barbara_is_listening

NOTE: Many thanks to Dr. V at Clemson 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.

Photo Credit: http://www.aoddesign.com/blog/resources/xmas-wordpress-logo-icons/

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PRCA 2330 :: Final Blog Checklist & Rubric

As we discussed in PRCA 2330, I will begin evaluating your blogs as of midnight on Thursday, April 30. Here’s a copy of the rubric (grading form) I’ll use when I review your blogs: Blog Rubric (Grading Form).

Please complete this final blog checklist to be sure you’re on track and have all the required elements in your blog. (It’s fine to complete the form more than one time.)

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PRCA 2330 Top Tens

Number 10 by yoppy.

For your final (as in culminating, not exam) blog post in PRCA 2330, create a top ten list of things you learned in Introduction to Public Relations. Be very specific. 

For example:

  • Good: I’ll need to learn Associated Press Style to write news releases that will get published.
  • Not so good: How to write a news release
  • Awful: News release

Options:

  • Create the list in audio, and embed the audio to your blog. (Utterli is an easy way to do this.)
  • Create the list in PowerPoint, then embed the slidedeck into your blog. (I use SlideShare for this.) If you make your slides with mostly images and few words, be sure to put your details in the Notes portion of your slides.
  • Create a 10-minute or shorter video, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo, then embed the video into your blog.
  • Base your list on your favorite movie (for example: “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Intro to PR, I Learned in ______________”)
  • Simply write the list in WordPress (zzzzz…. boring)

This Top Ten List will be worth 50 points (from your Engagement points) and is due May 3 by midnight. Use the category of Assignment so that I can find it on your blog easily. 

NOTE: You also need to post a link to your Top Ten List as a reply to this blog post.

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Another 48 Hours (of Twitter!)

PRCA 2330 Students

Earlier this semester, you had the opportunity to try out Twitter and then write about your One Week of Twitter on your blogs. Some of you continued to use Twitter even after the assignment was over. Several have used Twitter as a way to connect with me personally (via direct messages).

Now you have the opportunity to jump back into Twitter one more time. Pick a 48-hour period ending no later than April 22 to engage on Twitter again. You should send a minimum of 10 tweets over this timeframe. Use the hashtag #PRCA2330 in your tweets so that others in our class can find them easily. Be sure to send me an @ message to let me know when you’re starting your 48 hours.

Ideas for things to tweet about

  1. Share (shortened) hyperlinks to sites on the topic of public relations.
  2. Respond to public relations professionals.
  3. Ask questions that could be answered by public relations professionals.
  4. Promote a campus organization or event that you’re involved with.
  5. Rave or rant about a brand.

Write a blog post about your Twitter experience

This post is due before midnight on April 22 and is worth up to 50 points. Use the category of “Assignment” so that I can easily find this post. Include all of the following:

  1. A hyperlink to your Twitter username (for example: “You can find me on Twitter @barbaranixon.”)
  2. How was this 48-hour experience different from your first week on Twitter? (Be specific.)
  3. What surprises you about using Twitter?
  4. What do you still want to know about, related to using Twitter?
  5. Recommend at least three public relations professionals (not including any of the ones I originally recommended), with a brief explanation of why you’re recommending other public relations students to follow them. (Hyperlink to their Twitter usernames.)

NOTE: You also need to post a link to your Another 48 Hours post as a comment on this blog post.

Questions?

barbara_is_listening

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PRCA 2330 :: Listening to PR Podcasts

I simply can’t imagine how I’d stay up to speed in the ever-changing world of public relations without listening to podcasts. My iPod stays filled with a variety of podcasts, and I listen to them on my 100-mile roundtrip commutes to Georgia Southern.

Since we have no class on Wednesday, April 1 (as I will be presenting twice at the Southern States Communication Association in Norfolk), here’s what you’ll do instead: listen and write.

  • Listen to at least one hour of a public relations or social media podcast. Here are some suggestions; or, you can choose one of your own.
  • Respond to this blog post with the name of the podcast you’ve chosen to listen to. (All you have to do is tell me the name of the podcast in the comment section of this post. No other information is needed here.) UPDATE: As of April 6, comments are closed.
  • In your own blog, write a minimum of 250 words about what you got out of the podcast. 
  • What did you learn?
  • What surprised you?
  • What do you want to know more about?
    • Include hyperlinks to the website or show notes of the podcasts
    • Be sure to mention the name(s) of the show’s host(s)
    • Use the category of PR Connections for the post
    • Due: No later than classtime on April 6
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    Seth Godin’s “Tribes”

    In place of class on Monday, you watched a video of Seth Godin discussing his latest book Tribes. Many thanks to Andrew Warner of Mixergy for providing this video. 


    Seth Godin on Tribes–via Mixergy.com from Andrew Warner on Vimeo.
     

    Based on what you saw and heard in the video, discuss the following in your own blog:

    • What did you learn?
    • What surprised you?
    • What do you want to know more about?

    Your post should be a minimum of 250 words and categorized as Assignment.

    Include in your post:

    • Hyperlink to the video (or embed the video if you’re bold!)
    • Hyperlink to Seth Godin’s blog (Google it to find the address)
    • Hyperlink to the book Tribes at an online retailer
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    Interview a Public Relations Professional :: PRCA 2330

    ? by Oberazzi.For this 50-point assignment, you will choose and interview a public relations professional, and then write about this interview at your blog. This post will be a minimum of 250 words. (It’s likely that it will take ~500 to answer these questions fully.)

    Though a face-to-face interview is preferred, a phone or webcam interview is acceptable. 

    Include an introductory paragraph that introduces the PR professional, including title and company, educational background, etc.

    Questions/Topics you need to include:

    • What’s a typical week like? (If no week is typical, then what was last week like?)
    • Tell me about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
    • How important is writing in your career?
    • What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR?
    • What do you do to keep current in the PR industry?
    • After interviewing this person, are you (the PRCA 2330 student) more or less likely to want to have a career in PR? Why?

    Some questions you may wish to ask:

    • Did your education prepare you for working in PR? How? 
    • What has surprised you the most about working in PR?
    • What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR?
    • How has PR changed since you entered the field?
    • How does technology affect your daily work?
    • When your company is hiring for an entry-level PR position, what makes a candidate stand out?
    • What professional organizations are you involved in? (For example, PRSA, IABC, etc.)

    Additional recommended questions, crowdsourced on Twitter:

    • Bruno Amaral: do you feel today’s students are prepared for the challenges of new PR?
    • Jessica Lawlor: what’s your most and least favorite part of your job?

    Some things you may wish to do:

    • Include a photo of your interviewee. (This can be a photo he or she provides or one that you take yourself.)
    • Link to your interviewee’s LinkedIn profile and/or blog.

    As we discussed in class, you can feel free to use a Q / A format.

    Questions?

    barbara_is_listening

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    Blog Checklist for PRCA 2330 :: Week of 2 February

    checking them off the list by numstead.There have been several questions about what’s expected with the blogs for our PRCA 2330 class up to this point (4 February). Here’s a checklist for you:

    • Create blog at WordPress.com
    • Let me know your blog URL. (Note: Most of you have already done this.)  
    • Visit my PRCA 2330 Blogroll to ensure I have noted your name.
    • Replace the blog title of your blog with something else. (For example, if your blog’s address is bnixon13.wordpress.com, the default blog title would be “bnixon13’s Weblog.) 
    • Replace the default tagline “Just another WordPress blog” with something else.
    • Create or edit the About page to have a brief bio of you.
    • Post your “One Week of Twitter” assignment; this should have been at least 250 words. Remember to use the category of Assignment. (Due 2 February)
    • Post your PR History recap. Use the category Reading Notes. (Due 4 February)
    • Check your Dashboard and check for comments you wish to approve.

    Questions? Check this blog first, then if you’re still unsure, ask. Please.

    barbara_is_listening

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    The Evolution of Public Relations :: A Discussion Exercise

    Tony Michetti at Watson Cafe by eqqman.Before our class discussion on the Evolution of Public Relations

    In class on Monday

    In Era Groups

    • Break up into groups based on your chosen (or assigned) era.
    • Each person states one important thing to know about the era, one person speaking at a time. Continue round-robin style until you no one has something unique to bring up.
    • As a group, come to a consensus on five or six important things from the era.
    • Each group member should write down the group’s consensus. You’ll need this for the next part of the activity.

    In Mixed Groups

    • Break up into groups so that there’s one era representative for each era. We may end up with as many as 15 groups in our class.
    • Each era rep should hold a brief discussion on the 5 most important things/people from their eras.
    • Remember to take some brief notes on what your classmates mention from their eras.

    After class, create a blog entry of about 250 words regarding the evolution of public relations, using these three questions to guide you:

    • What did you learn?
    • What surprised you?
    • What do you want to know more about?

    Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91273409@N00/260394731/