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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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T.O.W. :: Topics of the Week [PRCA 3330 and COMM 4333]

In our PR Writing classes (PRCA 3330 at Georgia Southern University and COMM 4333 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 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

  • 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.)

WEEK THREE

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

WEEK FOUR

  • Last 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 above, describe your reactions to this course. Remember to include a  hyperlink to the course, too.

WEEK FIVE

  • Which Super Bowl ad was either your favorite OR least favorite? And in your discussion of the ad, be sure to discuss the publics that were targeted in the ad. (Be sure your readers can tell if you liked or disliked the ad.) If you missed the ads during the big game, no worries. I embedded them all in my blog.

WEEK SIX

  • What makes a story newsworthy?

WEEK SEVEN

WEEK EIGHT

  • Last week, you took the NewsU The Lead Lab course. Using the three-pronged approach described above, describe your reactions to this course. Remember to include a  hyperlink to the course, too.

WEEKS NINE & TEN

  • Create a profile at PR OpenMic, a social network developed by Auburn University’s Robert French. Connect with me there as a friend so that I know you have joined. Then for your topic of the week, describe what PR OpenMic has to offer to PR students and recent grads. Be sure to discuss at least three or four things you encounter at the site, and provide hyperlinks to the specific areas in the site for your readers.

WEEK ELEVEN

  • 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 12

WEEK 13

  • Working either alone or in a group of no more than three, create a list of at least 10 ways that PR people can sometimes drive journalists crazy. After each item on the list, indicate what the PR person could/should do instead. Hyperlink to sources as needed. (If you are working with others, each of you should post to his/her own blog, and note where else it is crossposted and who the co-authors are.)

WEEK 14

  • During Week 14, you will take the Five Steps to MultiMedia Storytelling course at News University.  Using the three-pronged approach described above, describe your reactions to this course. Remember to include a  hyperlink to the course, too.

WEEK 15

  • Just what is a “Social Media News Release”? When should a PR practitioner use a SMNR rather than (or perhaps in addition to) a “regular” news release? Be sure to include links to at least three websites/blogs that discuss SMNRs.

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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Tracking Your Blog Comments for Nixon’s Classes

For PRCA 3030, PRCA 3330, PRCA 3711, COMM 2332 and COMM 4333:

When you blog, you become a part of a community. And as a member of a community, you’re responsible for encouraging conversation. Commenting on others’ blogs is a great way to further conversations.

In addition to writing your own blog posts, you will also comment on others’ blogs; these comments will count as 25% of your grade on your blog. Aim to comment on two or three blog posts each week; you will need 25 comments minimum for the semester (except in PRCA 3030 / Social Media for PR, where you will need 30).

Aim to include a variety of blogs that you comment on, ranging from your classmates’ blogs to those of PR professionals.

To track your comments so that I can easily find them, create (and keep adding to) one blog post where you will include

  • Comment # (keep a running list)
  • Title of blog post you commented on, followed by the author’s name
  • Hyperlink to the blog post
  • Date of your comment
  • Your complete comment (copy and paste)

NOTE: In order for the comment to “count” as part of your grade for this course, it needs to be at least 100 words long. You are welcome (and even encouraged) to write comments of varying lengths, but for class credit, 100 words is the shortest I’ll accept.

And whatever you do, make sure your blog comments aren’t whack.

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Blogging Guidelines :: PRCA 3330 and COMM 4333

“You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing.” Doris Lessing

In addition to traditional writing assignments (news releases, feature stories, etc.) in our PR Writing course, all students in my PRCA 3330 classes at Georgia Southern University and COMM 4333 class at Southeastern University will also create and maintain a blog as part of the course. This post explains the types of content I expect you to write about in your blog for PRCA 3330 or COMM 4333.

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 “PRCA 3330” or “COMM 4333” along with at least one additional category. (If you do not categorize your posts with the name of the class, it will be much more difficult for me to find them.)

1. Reading notes – brief notes or key ideas from the reading assigned for that week’s class. Jot down 3-5 ideas that you believe are the most important & wish to remember. Be very brief, but write enough so someone who can’t read your mind understands what you mean and I am convinced that you actually did the readings. Remember to cite your source(s) when you paraphrase or quote materials from the readings; use a hyperlink to the book (either at the publisher’s site or at a bookseller like Amazon.com).

2. Topic of the Week – Together as a class, we will come up with a topic (or topics) each week for you to write about. You should have 15 of these before the end of the semester. See our TOW list (which will be updated weekly).

3. PR Connections – 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. You should write at least 10 of these during the semester.

4. 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. See Tracking Your Blog Comments for Nixon’s Classes for more information.

5. Personal – optional category. Use it for any posts not related to public relations.

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 wholistic 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 four blog checkpoints during the semester.
  • 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

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; do this no later than the end of January.

Questions? Just let me know.

barbara_is_listening

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.

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Getting Started with WordPress :: Spring 2010

So, you signed up for an account at WordPress, and you added an About page. Now what’s next?

FIRST: Let me know your blog address by replying to this post with a comment, sharing your name and blog address, along with the name of the class that you are in (such as PRCA 3330). by completing this Google Form.

NEXT: How do you go about learning more to create a blog that reflects your personality and style?

Fortunately, WordPress offers many FAQ screencasts to help you with the step-by-step instructions. Here are a few of the best ones to help you get started on the right foot:

And though you may have a good handle on the technical aspects of blogging, remember that the technical side is only part of the blogging equation. Corinne Weisgerber, a professor at St. Edward’s University and fellow PROpenMic member, created this presentation for her Social Media for PR class. The emphasis? How blogging can help you create your personal brand online. Take a look. It’s worth the time.

Blogging & Managing your Personal Brand
View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: commenting identity)
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GeorgiaVIEW Overview for #PRCA3330 #PRCA3030

If you’re a student of mine in PRCA 3330 (Public Relations Writing) or PRCA 3030 (Social Media for PR), viewing this short video will be helpful for you in navigating our GeorgiaVIEW courseroom. To view the presentation more clearly, maximize the video window (hover your mouse over the lower right corner of the video, and choose Maximize).

(PS — I apologize for the hiss in the microphone. My new one will arrive tomorrow.)
View on screencast.com »

via screencast.com

Posted via web from {Food for Thought}

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A Magazine, All About *You*

For ALL of my PR students at Georgia Southern University:

Here’s a fun assignment that you will help us get to know each other. Since our classes this semester are online, it’s even more important to help your class learn more about you since we won’t have the face-to-face time that we’d have in a traditional brick-and-mortar class.

Using your choice of software or online service (such as the Magazine Cover creator at  Big Huge Labs), create a magazine cover that depicts you (personality, background, aspirations).

The Assignment

  • The cover photo must be of you, taken at some point during the last year or so. (If the photo is a group photo, be sure to somehow let us know which person is you, if it’s not readily apparent.)
  • Include at least your first name somewhere in the design. The easiest place to do this is in the title of the magazine, but you can put it somewhere else.
  • Feel free to emulate an existing magazine cover’s look and feel.
  • Save the magazine cover as a JPG, PDF or some other format that can be shown in class.
  • Go into your class in GeorgiaVIEW and find the “Getting to Know Us” discussion area on our class’ home page. Click Create Message, then enter your magazine’s title into the Subject area. Attach the JPG or PDF. And write a bit about yourself in the Message area. Click Post to have the message appear.
  • Toward the end of the week, review several of your classmates’ magazine covers. Reply to their messages with your feedback, comments, etc.
  • This assignment will “count” as part of your participation grade in this class.

Questions?