Week of Feb. 28 - March 6

Here is what's listed on the Schedule Page from Blackboard:

1). Read Chapter 14: Observing and Evaluating a Small Group (this is a really important chapter to read since the culminating project in this course is to observe a small group).

2). Quiz on Blackboard - Chapters 4, 5 & 14. Please log onto Blackboard and click on "Assessments" on the left hand side of the page. Quiz #2 should be available all week. Please have your quiz completed by Saturday at 11:59pm. Start early.

3). Start working on Assignment #2 - Movie Analysis. This is one of my favorite assignments since you get to watch a movie and apply concepts to the movie. Remember to include a reference page with the movie, course text and any other outside sources you can use to back up your ideas.

4). Discussion - this week's discussion has been canceled due to furloughs.

REMINDER: I hope that you all have started working on the semester long project (Observation of a Small Group). Get an early start to avoid the 'end of the semester' crunch.

Have a fabulous day everyone! :)

Group Facilitation Due Date - TONIGHT

REMINDER: Your Group Facilitation Papers are due by 11:59pm tonight. Please send your paper early to avoid a late penalty. Late penalties will be assessed after 11:59pm tonight. Go ahead and review the late policy on the syllabus in case you have any questions about it.

TAPES/DVD's/etc.... If you are planning on turning in a hard copy of an audio tape, CD, DVD, etc... I have extended the deadline until Monday since the Comm Studies Dept. Office is closed today due to furloughs.

This reminds me, I shouldn't be blogging since it's a furlough day. (If you don't tell anyone that I blogged, I won't either). ;)

Have a great day everyone!

Group Facilitation Reminders and Notes

Hello All!

I have already started receiving assignment submissions for the Group Facilitation Project. I have skimmed over a couple of them already and it seems like they are on target!

As a reminder, please have someone proof read your paper prior to submitting it to me. Have them check for sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, etc..... This will help you refine your paper, and make it more 'readable'.

Be sure to submit your youtube video as a link somewhere on your paper, or submit your audio tape to the Communication Studies Department office. I will not be by the office until next week, so I will extend the deadline for dropping off your audio tapes (or CD's) by Monday, March 1st. Since Friday is a furlough day, I will check to see if the Comm. Dept. office is open on Friday and post an update tomorrow (Thurs.). I will post the update to the bottom of this blog. I would hate for anyone to make a special trip down campus, only to find it closed. Look for an update tomorrow morning.

Friday is technically a furlough day, so I may not answer your emails confirming your paper submissions until Saturday.

Please submit your papers early. Every semester students push it to the very end, submitting papers at 11:59pm. While it's your decision to do this, a number of students have accidentally submitted papers late (after the 11:59pm deadline). As a reminder, if your paper is even 1 minute past the deadline it is considered late. Please review the late policy on the syllabus for information regarding a grade deduction for late submissions.

I will be available all day tomorrow on and off through email, and I will be holding normal office hours from 9am - 11am on Yahoo Messenger.

I'm very excited to read about your observations pertaining to the first assignment.

Until later.......

UPDATE: Friday is a furlough day. The Comm. Studies Office WILL NOT BE OPEN ON FRIDAY, FEB 26th. I have extended the deadline for tape/disk submission until Monday, March 1st. If you have uploaded your facilitation to youtube, please simply include a link on your final paper when you submit it.

When submitting your tape/disk, please ONLY submit the tape or disk as I will not be able to return individual tapes/disks to each person. Do not leave your tape recorder with the Comm. Studies Dept.

Week of February 21 - 27

Here is what's listed on the Schedule Page from Blackboard:

1). Read Chapter 4 - Phases of Group Development: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing
2). Continue to work on Assignment #1 - Group Facilitation
3). Assignment #1 is due on Friday, February 26th by 11:59pm. Please submit early. An assignment is considered late if it is submitted even 1 minute after the deadline. Please review the late policy on the syllabus as a refresher.

There is no discussion this week since your first paper is due on Friday. Work diligently on your papers this week.

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you have at least one other person read over your paper for grammatical errors and punctuation errors. Also, please review the grading sheet PRIOR to turning in your assignment. The grading sheet will inform you of additional requirements for the paper. Make sure you fulfill all requirements on the assignment sheet and grading sheet.

FURLOUGH DAY: Friday, Feb. 26th is a furlough day. I answer emails the following day.

Grades posted for 2/7-2/13

I posted grades for the week of 2/7-2/13. Please take a look at your grade and let me know if you have any questions. If you do have questions about your grade, when you email me, please include the following:

1). Time/date/word counts of the posts to your blog
2). Locations/date/word counts of the comments to other people's blogs

NOTE: The first few weeks of discussion have gone really well. I really like how folks are using personal examples in their posts. This is important because a variety of personal examples are being used due to the diversity of each student, which really helps to expand our understanding of the course content. Also, the comments are engaging and fairly detailed, which is a good thing!

Lookout for another post tomorrow morning with what is due for the coming week.

In the process.....

Hello Folks!

I am in the process of grading all blog posts and comments for the week of February 7th - 13th. I will post the grades to Blackboard at some point tonight. I will also post to my blog a bit later, so look out for that.

Until later.......

Grading

Hello Again!

Since I have started to post your grades to Blackboard, I thought I would give you some additional information about grading in this class so there is no question about how I grade blogs every week.

A bit about grading: If you ever feel any ambiguity in the evaluation process in this course, please email me. My goal for this course is total transparency for each student. However, since this is an online course, transparency begins with you as the student. I can only address issues if I know they exist. If this were a face to face class I would be able to easily explain how grading works, chat with you before/after class about your grades, etc... Online classes face many challenges and some of you are aware of these challenges due taking repetitive online courses. Others may have expectations that are not being met. I have mentioned a few times so far that I'm always available to chat through email, Yahoo Messenger and over the phone in case there are every any questions.

How I evaluate your blog posts and comments: As stated on the Participation Page, I look for a few things:
*Have you complied with the guidelines listed on the Participation Page?
*Does the content of your post/comment relate to our reading this week?
*Have you address the question in its entirety on your post?
*Have your given thought to the post you have commented on?
*Have you included the minimum number of words required in each post/comment?
*Is your post/comment within our discussion week?

If all of these questions have a 'yes' answer, there should be no reason why you earn anything less than full credit.

I hope this helps to clear up any ambiguity as it relates to the evaluation of your posts.

Have a wonderfully fabulous (and communication filled) day!!!

Grades Posted and Blog Reminders

Hello Class! Last week I updated grades to Blackboard for the first discussion week and some other things. Please look over your grade and let me know if you have any questions.

Here are some reminders about blogging and commenting (just to reinforce the parameters):

1). There are 3 questions per discussion week. Please answer those questions in 1 post each on your blog. Make sure your posts are at least 12 hours apart. Pay attention to your date and time stamp. Each post should be 150 words minimum - there is no maximum.

2). Comments should be on 3 different blogs. Each comment should be a minimum of 100 words each. There is no time restriction for comments, and can all be done at the same time. Make sure you are logged into your blogger account when leaving comments so your alias/display name appears.

3). I check the word count for all blog posts and comments. It is your responsibility to make sure your posts and comments meet the minimum requirement.

4). Your posts and comments need to be within a given discussion week. This means that if our week runs from 2/7 to 2/13, and you comment on a post that is not within that date range, you will not receive credit for that comment. I only check the posts and comments for that week. I do not go back and re-check past posts to see if someone has mistakenly commented on a past post.

5). It is recommended that you keep track of all dates/times/locations/word counts of your posts and comments. If you would like to email me about a grade, please include the following information in your email:
*Time and date of your posts including word counts
*Time and date of your comments including word counts

The information I have included here is located on the Participation Page on Blackboard. It is your responsibility to know everything that is on Blackboard and what is posted to my blog.

As a reminder, check my blog frequently for updates.

As always, I am available for questions through email, over Yahoo Messenger and of course to schedule a phone conversation at any time.

Week of February 14 - 20

Here is what's listed on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

Requirements:
*Read Chapter 5 - Diversity in Groups: The Strength of Different Perspectives

*Participate in this week's discussion. (3 posts to your blog, 150 words each and 3 comments on your colleagues blogs, 100 words each). Make sure your comments are within this week's discussion. Do not comment on past weeks posts.

*Email Instructor with some possible choices for your Small Group Observation project if you haven't already. (Assignment #3, which is a semester long project).

*Reminder: The Group Facilitation Project is due on Friday, February 26th by 11:59pm.



Class Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts at least 12 hours apart:

1). Are you, or have you ever been a member of a group that has been stereotyped? Does your experience reflect the concepts identified in this chapter? How? Are there differences? What are they?

2). Explain the concept "white men of privilege". Do you agree with the concept? Why or why not?

3). Pick one concept from either text, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

***Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs with this week's discussion. Make sure you are not posting a comment on a previous week's questions.


REMINDER: Monday, February 15th is a furlough day so I will not be conducting any university business that day. That means that I will not answer email, hold office hours or be available to students.

Observation of an Outside Group

The assignment has been posted to the Projects Page. I will update it with grading criteria and post an update to my blog when that is complete.

Small Group Observation

I will post the third and final project in the course tonight at some point. I apologize about the delay.

Email me with any questions you might have. Have a fabulous night all......

Week of February 7 - 13

Here is what's listed on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

Requirements:
*Read Chapter 3 - Norms, Roles, Cohesiveness, and Groupthink

*Read Chapter 9 - Decision Making and Problem Solving

*Participate in this week's discussion. (3 posts to your blog, 150 words each and 3 comments on your colleagues blogs, 100 words each). Make sure your comments are within this week's discussion. Do not comment on past weeks posts.

*Quiz on Blackboard - Chapters 1, 2, 3 & 9. Please log onto Blackboard and click on the left hand side "Assessments". Please read over the "Quizzes" page on Blackboard for the parameters of taking quizzes and tests in this course PRIOR to starting your quiz.

*Email Instructor with some possible choices for your Small Group Observation project (Assignment #3, which is a semester long project).

Class Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts at least 12 hours apart:

1). Are there group norms at SJSU? What are they? In the group of individuals that you spend time with, are there group norms? What are they? In both cases, how did you identify these norms? How did you adapt to these norms?

2). What are the functions of norms in groups? Can you give a personal example not already discussed this week? Have you ever experienced a violation of a norm? Explain.

3). Pick one concept from either text, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

***Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs with this week's discussion. Make sure you are not posting a comment on a previous week's questions.

Contacting Your Instructor

Believe it or not, there's a person at the other end of the computer - that would be me, The Blogging Prof! I know, I know, I'm stating the obvious, right? It's easy to forget that an online instructor is here to help you and converse with you just like an in-person instructor would be. I love love love chatting with students whether that be over the phone, in-person or otherwise. In fact, I often find myself staying after class (my f2f classes) chatting with students for quite a bit of time, sometimes hours. So yeah, you can say I love my students and I love my job!

Going from instructing classes in person to online classes was a bit difficult because it's hard to convey to students over the computer that you are there to answer questions and to help when needed. It is much easier to do that when you are in a classroom setting. But, I'm here to tell you that I'm available if you need to chat about something in class.

I strive to communicate with my students whenever possible and I have already had the pleasure of chatting with a number of you over the phone. I have also chatted with quite a few of you over Yahoo Messenger and through email.

Here is a little reminder about how you can go about contacting me. There are 3 ways:

1). Email. I check my email during the week, M-F numerous times a day. I also check my email periodically on the weekends, but response time may take a little longer than during the week. I am teaching on M&W in person, so my response time may take a little longer as I teach 4 hour classes on those day.

2). Yahoo Messenger. Download Yahoo Messenger if you haven't already and add me as a friend: carolperezcommclass As it states on the "Getting Started" page, I do not use Yahoo Messenger for personal use, so anytime day or night you see me online, feel free to message me. My 'official' office hours are on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 9:00am to 11:00am, but I am online quite a bit more than that. Even if you see me available at 2am and you have a question, feel free to pop in. I normally don't log onto Yahoo Messenger unless I'm ready to chat with students. (I guess I have no life). ;)

3). Phone conversations. I am always available to schedule a phone conversation whenever you'd like. If you have a question you don't think can be solved over email or yahoo messenger, we can certainly chat over the phone. It's just like on campus office hours, but quite a bit more convenient for you since you don't have to come down to campus.

I hope to chat with y'all in the near future.....

Happy Blogging!

FAQ's

Some of you have emailed me with questions and I thought it would be helpful if the entire class saw the answers. Here you go:

1). Q- Do I have to post on 3 different blogs? Or can I post two or three times on the same blog as long as they are different posts?
A- You should comment on 3 different blogs.

2). Q- How do you keep track of our posts and comments?
A- I keep track of every post and comment on a spreadsheet every week we have a discussion. Each post you make on your blog will have a date and time stamp and I keep track of them to make sure they are at least 12 hours apart. Then, I check all comments made for that week. I will record the location of your comments.

3). Q- If I comment on someones post from last week, will I get credit?
A- No, I only check the blog posts for that week. Make sure you are checking the dates of the posts you are commenting on and of course, the content of the question to make sure it is an appropriate post.

4). Q- Do comments have to be at least 100 words?
A- Yes, while posts require 150 words, comments need to be at least 100 words. I do word counts on all posts and comments to make sure you are reaching the word minimum. Of course you can post more than the minimum amount of words required, but please meet the minimum.

5). Q- Should I keep track of the location of my comments?
A- Yes. Please keep track of comments and locations in case there is a discrepancy in recording or grading.

6). Q- What do I post as a comment?
A- Whatever you'd like as long as it has to do with the content of the post and related to the question I have asked. You can agree, disagree, add to the comment, ask thoughtful questions to the poster,give feedback, etc.... The comment content is up to you as long as it relates to course material, and of course the post itself.

7). Q- If I comment back to someone on my blog, do I get credit for it?
A- In short, no. You will only get credit for your three posts and three comments on other people's blogs. However, when someone asks you a question face to face, do you ignore them or give them the courtesy of an answer?

8). Q- How do you grade posts?
A- Content, answering the question in full, expressed thoughtfulness of course content and of course word count.

9). Q- Can I post to my blog and comment at the same time?
A- Yes. You only need to worry about posting 12 hours apart on YOUR blog. You can comment anytime as long as it is within our discussion week (12:01am on Sunday through 11:59pm on Saturday). You can post to your blog and then comment at the same time.....or you can do all three comments at the same time. As long as the posts on your blog are 12 hours apart, go ahead and make three comments on three different blogs at any point during our discussion week. Make sure you comment on a qualifying post on the other persons blog. This means you must comment on a post that was made during the current discussion week.

More about Blogging

Since Sunday morning at 12:01am marked the beginning of our discussion week, I thought I would post a bit more about blogging. You can post anytime during the discussion week as long as it is between Sunday morning 12:01am and Saturday night at 11:59pm. Each post to your blog should be a minimum of 12 hours apart. There is no time restriction when it comes to commenting, meaning you can comment on three blogs at the same time.

To post to your blog, please log into your blog and hit the New Post button. Make sure to publish your post when you are finished typing your post. It is your responsibility to make sure that the posts to your blog are at least 12 hours apart.

After you post, make sure to go back and view your blog. If you can't see your post, neither can I or your classmates. You should check your blog to make sure your post appears, and that it looks the way you want it to look.

Date and Time Stamps: Each post you create on your blog will have a date and time stamp. I record each of these to make sure your posts are at least 12 hours apart (yep, it's a lot of paperwork). Again, once you have posted, go back and check to make sure your posts date and time stamp are at least 12 hours apart. Again, I can only see what is on your blog. If your posts are not at least 12 hours apart, your post will not count and you will not earn points for that post. Also, make sure each post to your blog is at least 150 words minimum.

Commenting: For every discussion week you should comment on at least 3 blogs. It is your responsibility to make sure your comments are within the discussion week. This means that if you post a comment to a blog and that comment was made on the previous week of discussion, you will not earn credit for your comment. Comments need to be 100 words minimum. To comment on another blog, please go to my blog and look at the list located at the lower right hand corner of my blog. Click on the names, read the post, and comment. The 'comment' button will be below the post. Again, I WILL NOT go back and check posts from a past week to see if you mistakenly commented on a post from a previous week.

Keeping track of posts and comments: I keep track of posts to your blog and comments. Because I'm human, sometimes I make mistakes. I HIGHLY recommend that you keep track of your posts and your comments. This should include dates/times/locations of your posts/comments. If you ever have any questions about your points total for a week, or if you think I'm missing a post or comment, YOU will need to provide the dates/times of YOUR POSTS and also the dates/times/locations of your COMMENTS. Please keep a log every week of where and when you posted and commented.

Display Names: If you haven't already, please go back and check your Display Name. There are directions on the "Getting Started" page on Blackboard.

Sunday Morning: I will post to my blog on Sunday morning everything that is due for the coming week. The information I will post to my blog will be the same as what is listed on the Schedule and Participation Pages on Blackboard. To get a head start, check out those pages.

Have a fabulous day!

Blogging Questions

I have been receiving some repetitive emails about how a few things in the course work. Please read the blog in its entirety:

Blogging:
Since we will be blogging throughout this course, I thought I would explain how blogging works. There is quite a bit of information located on the "Participation" page about how blogging works. Here is an abbreviated version.

We have all created a blogspot webpage. This is where we will be having discussions rather than on Blackboard. Each week that there is a discussion, you will write 1 new post for each question, every week typically has 3 questions. You should post your first blog, wait AT LEAST 12 hours, then you are able to post another blog. Blogging must be done at least 12 hours apart. For example, you can post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As long as the date/time stamp on your blog is 12 hours apart, you should receive at least some credit for your blogs. I record dates and times, and it is your responsibility to make sure they are at least 12 hours apart.

In addition to blogging, you will need to comment on 3 other people's blogs in the course during a discussion week. Log onto my blog and visit some other blogs. There is a list on my blog in the lower right hand corner that contains every one's blog in the class (yours should be there). Click on any of the icons and read the blog then comment on it by clicking on "comment" at the bottom of the post. You need to make sure that when you leave a comment, you see your alias name so I can record that you have actually left a comment. It is your responsibility to make sure your name appears on the other person's blog. It may take a few tries to get it right, but you will soon catch on and become an expert at blogging. You are more than welcome to practice by leaving a comment or two on any of my posts to make sure you are commenting correctly.

As I have noted on the "Participation" page located on Blackboard, each post is worth 6 points (which needs to be done on your blog as a "New Post"), and each comment is worth 4 points (which is where you comment on other people's blogs). There is NO TIME restriction for commenting on other people's blogs. You can comment anytime during the week, and it does not need to be 12 hours apart. Make sure you are commenting on a post from the CURRENT week of discussion.

So to summarize, you will post 3 times in a given discussion week. You will create a new post for each question and make sure your posts are at least 12 hours apart. You will also comment on 3 other blogs during a discussion week. Each post should be 150 words minimum and each comment should be a minimum of 100 words, otherwise there will be a point deduction.

Until later......