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Social Media for PR Student Blogs :: Spring 2010

Want to see what my PRCA 3030 (Social Media for PR) students at Georgia Southern University are blogging? They’ve been assigned to create & maintain a blog using these guidelines. Most of them just started with their blogs this week; content will be added throughout the semester, so if there’s not much there yet, just wait . . . there will be plenty in a few weeks!

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PR Practicum Student Blogs :: Spring 2010

Want to see what my PRCA 3711 (PR Practicum) students at Georgia Southern University are blogging? They’ve been assigned to create & maintain a blog using these guidelines. Most of them just started with their blogs this week; content will be added throughout the semester, so if there’s not much there yet, just wait . . . there will be plenty in a few weeks!

NOTE: If you are a student in PRCA 3711/4711 and do not see your name on this blogroll, you need to submit your blog address to me right away.

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Keeping Organized in Online (and F2F) Classes

If I was paid a dollar this semester for every time I heard/read a student say this, I’d be rich. Well, at least I’d have enough for daily Starbucks.

It’s so confusing having an online class! I can’t ever remember when things are due…

Here’s my suggestion.

Create a Google Calendar for yourself. (Here’s how.) Your Google Calendar is available from any computer, and it can automatically synchronize with many popular smart phones (like the iPhone, BlackBerry or Palm Pre) — which means that you’ll have the ability to know when things are due no matter where you are, 24/7.

For my classes, look in BlackBoard/GeorgiaVIEW for deadlines for:

  • Assessments (quizzes, Readiness Assessment Tests AKA RATS, etc.) — note: not all my classes have formal assessments via BlackBoard/GeorgiaVIEW
  • Assignments

Look here on my blog for blogging guidelines and descriptions of when your blog posts are due. These vary by class. And remember to include your TOWs (Topics of the Week) for those classes that include them as part of the assignment (all but PRCA 3711/4711 and FYE 1220); TOWs are due Saturdays at midnight.

Create a calendar entry in your Google Calendar for each item that is due. Set interim deadlines for yourself for larger projects. You can tell Google Calendar to send you a reminder about any deadline you choose.

And that’s all there is to it. At least, except for the “completing the assignments” part.

Hope you found this helpful.

(NOTE: If you have another calendar method you prefer, and it already works well for you, USE IT. No need to switch. But if you’re having trouble staying on top of your classes, try this method. It’s how I keep myself organized.)

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T.O.W. :: Topics of the Week [COMM 2322]

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 should be posted by Saturday at noon at the end of each week.

Some weeks have 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:

  1. What did you learn?
  2. What surprised you?
  3. What do you want to know more about?

WEEK ONE

No TOW required. But if you would like to go back and write one, write about which types of social media you currently participate in (such as blogging, podcasting, social networking, etc.), which platforms you use, and why.

WEEK TWO

  • What is a “public”? Which publics are you a member of? How did you choose to become a member of those publics? (Choose and discuss at least three.)

WEEK THREE

  • Why are comments such an integral part of blogs? What advice would you offer on writing effective blog comments?

WEEK FOUR

  • 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 FIVE

WEEK SIX

  • Based on what you read in Chapter 4 of your Public Relations Strategies & Tactics 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

  • What advice would you offer to a student who is working on a resume or preparing for a job interview? Be sure to share links to three or more sites / blog posts that would be helpful for a PR student.

WEEK EIGHT

  • Something related to Spring Break

WEEK NINE

  • NONE

WEEK TEN

WEEK ELEVEN

WEEK 12

  • Watch my interview with Kneale Mann. Use the three-pronged approach to react to the interview. (And consider visiting Kneale’s blog and leaving a comment there for him on one of his posts.)

WEEK 13

WEEK 14

  • Public relations practitioners often use news releases to get their clients into the news. Provide 10 tips for writing an effective news release. (Be sure to link to at least two sources for your information.)

WEEK 15

  • Take the week off. 🙂

WEEK 16

  • What advice would you offer PR students who are new to blogging? Come up with your own Top 10 list.
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GSU Week Two of Online Classes :: 8 Tips for Success (Spring 2010)

We’ve now (almost) finished Week Two of my online courses at Georgia Southern University. On a daily basis, I am receiving e-mails from students saying they’re confused about what to do and when. I know that taking online classes is new for most of you. So here are some tips that should help clarify things:

  1. Read all e-mails I send to you at your georgiasouthern.edu account.
  2. Read the 10 FAQs About My Online Classes at GSU that I originally posted during my first week of class. (I updated the list slightly this morning.)
  3. Attend the “live” sessions I host, when you can, in the Wimba Live Classroom on GeorgiaVIEW. I know some of you have classes or full-time jobs that don’t allow you much flexibility in your schedule. For that reason, I have recorded ALL of the live sessions I’ve held. However, when I look in the Tracking, I see that just a small handful of students have accessed the archives. There is information I share “live” in those sessions that you may not find elsewhere. It’s in your best interest to attend / watch / listen. (Just like if you miss class for a traditional brick & mortar class you wouldn’t expect the professor to rehash everything for you individually, you should not expect it for an online class.) If you ask me a question via e-mail that I addressed in a live session, I’ll probably refer you to the live session archives to find the answer.
  4. When I schedule a “live” online class, I always send out a meeting notice via Google Calendar. Either accept or decline the notice so I can know how many to expect. (This also lets me know that you received the notice.)
  5. Buddy up with another person in your class. Keep in touch with him/her every few days. Rely on each other to work through issues/questions before e-mailing me. You can see the Roster for your class in GeorgiaVIEW.
  6. Check GeorgiaVIEW for the “regular” (as in non-blog) assignments & assessments. Many times, the brief description of the assignment in GeorgiaVIEW will have a link to the complete description here on my blog.
  7. To know what is expected in your blog, read the Blogging Guidelines for your specific class.
  8. Finally, if you’re overwhelmed by the amount of information available at my blog (some of which may not apply to your specific class), look on the left sidebar of my blog. You’ll see a widget titled “GSU Class Links.” Click on the Category that describes your class, and up will pop ONLY the blog posts that apply to your class.

The main reason I have everything here in one blog is that I have many students who are in multiple classes with me. It makes sense to centralize the information so no one needs to remember where to go to find their information. As long as you remember to click on the Category of your class, you should find my blog easy to navigate. And who knows, you may even learn something be reading about what is going on in other classes.

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COMM 4333 Student Blogs :: Spring 2010

Want to see what my COMM 4333 (PR Writing) students at Southeastern University are blogging? They’ve been assigned to create & maintain a blog using these guidelines. Most of them just started with their blogs this week; content will be added throughout the semester, so if there’s not much there yet, just wait . . . there will be plenty in a few weeks!


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Poynter’s NewsU Classes for #PRCA3330 & #COMM4333

For spring semester’s PR Writing courses that I’m teaching for Georgia Southern University and Southeastern University, I am augmenting my own content and our textbook with several courses offered by Poynter’s NewsU.

Here are the courses we’ll be using:

Each of the courses concludes with a quiz. Please have the quiz score come to my university e-mail account.

[UPDATE: Complete the NewsU quiz for the course by Saturday midnight during the week it’s assigned.]

Questions?

barbara_is_listening.

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10 FAQs About My Online Courses at GSU

[Updated with new links & info. Updates are in italics]
As our semester begins at Georgia Southern, students are asking me questions via e-mail about our online classes. Rather than responding individually (so only one student can benefit), I’ve created a list of FAQs so that all can benefit.

1. How do I find out when things are due? (And will you make us a calendar for all the due dates?)

The quickest, easiest way to find out due dates for assignments is to look at the Calendar feature in GeorgiaVIEW. You can also find due dates for Assignments on the Assignments tab and RATS/quizzes on the Assessments tab. [NOTE: Blog posts are the exception. Weekly blog posts are due in most classes, and they will not appear on the GeorgiaVIEW Calendar.]

2. Why do we need a headset/mic? What kind should we buy?

For the times that we’re meeting online at the same time (synchronously), you will need to be able to hear what I am saying and occasionally respond by voice. You can find inexpensive ones at Amazon, OfficeMax or Walmart.

3. What’s expected in our blogs?

See the post I’ve written about blog content for your specific course:

4. I will be out of town for a week. Will that impact my grade in this course?

Since our class is online, your engagement and participation will be evaluated by your continuous completion of assignments and blog posts. If you are out of town, just be sure that you are keeping up with due dates.

5. What’s the “Public Relations Matters” section on our GeorgiaVIEW home page for?

At the bottom of each page for our course in GeorgiaVIEW there is a section titled “Public Relations Matters.” What you will see there is an RSS feed of the last four blog posts that you find here on my blog. It’s just a quick and easy way for you to see what’s new on my blog.

6. When will we be meeting synchronously (online at the same time)?

The best answer I can give you for this is “on occasion.” Since we did not have a course time assigned in WINGS, it’s nearly impossible for us to find a time to meet at the same time. So what I will be doing is informing you when I will be online providing you information related to our course. If you can make it to GeorgiaVIEW/Wimba at that time, please do so. If you cannot (due to other courses or work), you’ll have the opportunity to view the “archive” (replay) of the session at a later time. When I schedule a synchronous session, I will always send a meeting notice to you via Google Calendar. Please either accept or decline the notice so I can know who will attend.

7. Can I use my Gmail (or other account) instead of my Georgia Southern account for e-mail?

For consistency and reliability, GeorgiaSouthern requires faculty members to use our university-provided e-mail accounts for communicating with students. What you may want to do is set up your Gmail to automatically fetch your GSU e-mail, so you’ll only have one place to look. (That’s what I do.)

8. How often should I check my e-mail?

Check your e-mail at least once a day, preferably more. For our class, I will not send you a same-day assignment; I don’t think that’s fair. But I do send occasional reminders or clarifications that could help you with assignments you are working on. I also typically will send a tweet (on Twitter) letting you know to check your e-mail.

9. How will you do your office hours?

You’ll be able to find me in a Wimba Live Classroom (found on your class’ GeorgiaVIEW home page) quite often throughout the week. My office hours are held in the room labeled Virtual Office for Prof. Nixon’s Virtual Office. When I am in there, you can ask questions via chat, audio or audio & video; I can respond using the same methods. I’ll have an office hours schedule ready during the second week of class.

10. My other professors haven’t used GeorgiaVIEW as much as you are using it. Can you show me how to use it?

GeorgiaSouthern has created several tutorials on using GeorgiaVIEW. Spend some time reviewing these tutorials; it will be worth the time you invest. I also created a short overview of how I use it. It’s best to ask another classmate first, then come to me if you have further questions on GeorgiaVIEW.

Do you have other questions?

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Resume Package Assignment :: PRCA 3711/4711

Worth: 250 points

Create a professional-looking resume package as if you are applying for a specific position within a real company.

The draft of the package is due in GeorgiaVIEW on February 4 by midnight. Learn from the feedback you receive on the draft, make changes, and submit your final version no later than April 5 at midnight.

Use the advice in Job Search: A Delightful Dozen Posts I provide in this blog, as well as the vast amount of resume & cover letter advice in WinWay Resume Deluxe, when working on this assignment. You will find the Resume Auditor in WinWay Resume to be especially valuable for you, as it will help you catch common resume mistakes. (Disclosure: I created the Resume Auditor function for WinWay Resume.)

The package will contain:

  • Job description or want ad from a specific company
  • Cover letter written specifically for this position
  • One-page resume, including the URL for your up-to-date LinkedIn profile
  • Reference page created specifically for this position

NOTE 1: If you choose not to complete a draft of this assignment for feedback from me, the highest grade you will earn on the assignment is 200 points (of the 250 available).

NOTE 2: Typographical or grammatical errors will count off one letter grade each. It’s THAT important to be error-free in your resume package. (Some employers will not consider an applicant who includes errors in the application process.) Proofread your resume package yourself, and also have at least three other people proof it for you.