In-class discussion of storyboards for BHB2802 Interpersonal Communication Project, Group 3

In-class discussion of storyboards for BHB2802 Interpersonal Communication Project, Group 5

BHB2802 Initial Project Meeting Discussion

These photos are from BHB2802 Group 5. They show various  project teams as they are discussing their research project's prospective topic focus.

BHB2802 Interpersonal Communication _ The Learning Portfolio

The Written Assignments

There are four mandatory writing assignments for the learning portfolio. Each of the portfolio assignments is explained as a submission below and should be completed as explained.

The Written Responses

For effective communication, it is essential that you learn to respond appropriately to what you hear, watch and read. For your learning portfolio in BHB2802, an essential component is the comments you make responding to your classmates’ posts.  Comments on at least three classmates’ posts should be made within the tutorial week following the one when you first uploaded your own post to the portfolio. (See in red below.)

Submission 1:  Formal Email: Self Introduction

Due by the start of the tutorial, Week 2

Post a formal email, addressed to me, in which you describe your educational and/or professional experience and what you would consider your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to communication. Try to be clear and concise and yet comprehensive in your description. The audience should be viewed as me as well as a group of professional peers.

This should be 250 to 300 words.

As you respond to your peers’ self-descriptions, try to give feedback that establishes a connection between their experiences and your own.

Submission 2: Reflection

Due by the end of Week 6

Post a reflection on an interpersonal communication problem you have recently experienced. Use as a framework for this reflection Gibb’s Model of Reflection (1988). You should describe the workplace (or other social) context, the problem scenario and possible root causes, and the persons involved. Also, be careful to explain how you felt about the situation, how you evaluated it, and what conclusions you could draw about the root causes and effects. DO NOT describe how the problem was resolved.

The purpose of this assignment is for you to get feedback from your classmates on how they think your problem can be resolved. In fact, I think I had mentioned in class how you should frame the ending of the scenario described with a question.

Let me give you an example.


Let's say I recently ordered pizza online. When the pizza arrived, I found that it was not my order. So instead of keeping my cool, I acted angry with the delivery guy and refused to pay. At that point the delivery guy called his store and connected me with the person who had taken my order. At that moment I realized that the person to whom I had given the order had a strong English accent and was definitely not a native speaker. He might not have comprehended correctly the first time I called as I placed the order. This time I am assured though that a new order would be prepared, for no charge, and so I have calmed down. At this point I feel some guilt for frying the delivery man. How might I then make amends with the delivery fellow?

This should be 250 to 300 words.

As you respond to your peers’ reflections, try to offer suggestions for how they might solve the problem based on what you know and have learned about interpersonal communication so far.

Submission 3:  Project Synopsis

Due (first draft) by Week 8

Post a Project Synopsis, which describes each of the following:

·        a specific workplace context

·        your project’s thematic focus

·        the interpersonal communication problem being explored

·        the nature of your project’s professional importance

·        the objective and scope of your study

·        proposed data collection/research method

·        potential solutions/implementation for problem resolution

·        benefits to the workplace

·        concluding thoughts

Your synopsis should be persuasive: In it you must convince an audience of peers that the interpersonal communication problem you have chosen merits study and that your team has developed an approach to solving such a problem. 

This should be 1000 to 1200 words.

Formative feedback, based on criteria provided by the instructor, will be provided first by a peer team during a peer review session and then by your instructor during a consultation. The final draft will be evaluated. All drafts should be included in the portfolio.

Submission 4: Critical Reflection

Due by the start of the tutorial, Week 13

Post a critical reflection on your learning experience from the project in this module. In the reflection, you should explain in detail what you studied and what you learned, why you did it, how the process made you feel, and how the experience might have changed your views and/or any future behavior. You should conclude by discussing how you might be changed by what you have learned and how this might impact you in the future.
This should be 250-300 words.

As you respond to your peers’ reflections, pay particular attention to how they state they have been changed by the experience. Try to connect what you have learned about interpersonal communication with what your peer describes, explaining common points and differences.

2017. Hold on to your seats...

SIE2016 Presentation Showcase 1 December 2016

Die Slowly (a poem translated from Portuguese)

Die Slowly    by Martha Medeiros

He who becomes the slave of habit,
who follows the same routines every day,
who never changes brand,
who does not risk and change the color of his clothes,
who does not talk to people he doesn't know,
dies slowly.

He who makes television his guru
dies slowly.

He or she who shuns passion,
who prefers black on white, 
and the dots on the "i" to a whirlpool of emotions,
precisely those that recover the gleam of the eyes,
smiles from the yawns,
hearts from the stumbling and feelings,
dies slowly.

He or she who does not turn things topsy-turvy,
who is unhappy at work, 
who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
die slowly.

He who does not travel,
who does not read,
who cannot hear music,
who does not find grace in himself,
dies slowly. 

He who slowly destroys his self love,
who does not allow himself to be helped,
who spends days on end complaining about his own bad luck,
about the rain that never stops, 
dies slowly.

He or she who abandons a project before starting it,
who fails to ask questions on subjects he doesn't know,
he or she who doesn't reply 
when they are asked something they know,
dies slowly.

Let's avoid death in small doses,
reminding ourselves that being alive requires an effort
far greater than the simple fact
of breathing.

Only burning patience will lead
to the attainment of a splendid happiness.

Important Web Links for Blackstone's TLM1010, Technical Communication 1, Trimester 1, 2016-17

TLM1010 Technical Communication 1

1) Link to the Symbaloo page

http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/tlm1010

2) Link to the Google Docs

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B__L-vx3a2PqaGZQdmVvWGltZEk

The Learning Portfolio in SIE2016, Trimester 1, 2016-17

Traditionally, learning portfolios have been based on single-draft hard copies submitted to an instructor by an individual student. This format generally has led to one-way communication, from the student to the teacher and back to the student. In SIE2016, the learning portfolio is ‘soft,’ in an individual blog created by each student. This allows for a conversation to take place within a ‘community of practice.’

For this e-portfolio continuous assessment, you will post writing assignments on your blog throughout the term. The core of those assignments will be responses to the course writing tasks described in the instructional units, including reflections, multiple drafts of the summary/reader response, and various documents that form the technical report. Another key aspect of the portfolio is subsequent written interaction about those assignments with your instructor and classmates. In fact, one of the most critical components of the portfolio is the feedback you give to at least three of your peers for each post.

Portfolio assignments should be completed as follows:

Submission 1:  Due by the start of the second tutorial, Week 2

Post a descriptive reflection on the topic “My English Language Learning Journey” or “The Importance of English for Me”.  This should be 250 to 300 words.

Submission 2:  Due by the start of the second tutorial, Week 3

Post the first draft of your summary _ reader response to one of the reading articles included in the module Resource List. This draft should be 500 to 600 words.

Submission 3: Due by the start of the second tutorial, Week 7

Post a draft of at least one section of the technical report that you have written. This might include the personal statement, the transmittal letter, the intro, various sections of the body, and/or the conclusion. This is at the discretion of your instructor.

Submission 4: Due by Friday, midnight, Week 10

Post an analytical reflection on your recent oral presentation experience. In it detail one aspect of the presentation: preparation, your delivery, the use of audio-visuals, teamwork or overall impact. This should be 250-300 words.

Submission 5:  Due by the start of the second tutorial, Week 12

Post a critical reflection on the topic “The Role of Peer and Tutor Feedback."

Explain your view of that feedback, how it impacted your developing writing skills and content understanding, and  whether/how you might transfer content, organization and language skills learned in the course to writing assignments within any other module at SIT.  This should be 250 to 300 words.

Blogging in SEM2902 _ Spring 2016

Here are the basic e-portfolio instructions.

Please write 250-300 words for each assignment listed below, and then post it on your blog by Sunday evening of the assignment week. By Saturday of the week you posted, you should have made relevant comments in a paragraph or so on at least three classmates’ posts.

Week 1/ Blog set up

Create your blog (or wordpress.com or blogger.com) and forward your blog address to your tutor’s e-mail (or post it on an instructor-created Google doc). You should also share your address with the members of a blog group that will be assigned during the first lesson. You might also post the links for your classmates’ blog addresses on your own blog.

Week 2 / Descriptive Reflection: Strengths and Challenges in Communicating (Blogpost #1)

For your first post, describe your strengths in communication and the challenges you have when communicating with others. 250-300 words. (Post by Sunday night January 17^th.)

After you have posted, read at least two of your blogging group members’ posts and at least one post by a member of your class group at large and leave comments. There is no limit, of course, on the number of posts you can read. However, what is most important is the quality of your response. You should reflect on each one of the posts in light of your own understanding of effective communication skills, and you should offer appropriate insights in the comments section of each post that you read.

Week 5/ Evaluating Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior (Blogpost #2)

For this post, you need to conduct an observation of a verbal or nonverbal interaction between two or more people, then describe it in as much detail as possible. Briefly evaluate the interaction in terms of how culture, gender or age seem to influence communication. (Post by Sunday night February 7th.)

As you read your classmates' posts on the same topic, take note of the description and evaluation, and then provide your own insights.

Week 8/ Resolving Interpersonal Conflict (Blogpost #3)

For this post, describe in detail an interpersonal conflict situation, real or hypothetical. Describe the context of the conflict, the people involved, the main problem, and the possible causes. Try to identify the feelings and/or motivations of the people involved. Finally, while considering the main problem and your search for a solution, solicit feedback from your readers in the form of ONE question. Again, clarity and conciseness are important, as is completeness in your story-telling. (Post by Sunday night February 28.)

As you read your classmates' posts on the same topic, analyze each in light of your understanding of interpersonal competence, conflict management and other principles of communication, and then provide feedback with appropriate insights and a possible solution. The key here is for you to provide commentary that is based on what you have learned about effective interpersonal communication.  

Week 13 or 14/ Critical Reflection on Project Learning (Blogpost #4)

For this post, you should choose one focus of the project and critically reflect on your learning in the project with specific points discussed. As one possibility, you might discuss, for example, your own oral presentation skills. In that case, you could explain how the various presentations you gave helped you enhanced your verbal and nonverbal skills. You could also discuss the challenges you faced initially in terms of delivery and how you improved. You should not just explain what you did and whether you liked it. You must also explain what you learned about yourself and others in the process. How has the experience changed your view of learning in general and interpersonal communication in specific? Finally, you could explain what you might take forward from this experience.  (Post by Sunday night, April 10th.)  

After you read your classmates’ posts, give them appropriate feedback on their reflection.  

Week 15/ Additional course-related documentation (extra posts)

For this post in the last week, you should upload documentation from the Project, the Presentation Pitch (PP) and the Project Oral Presentation (POP). This could include meeting minutes, the notes from your storyboard of the project video, your outline for the PP, and notes or a script for the POP, and the video itself.

Though no student feedback is required for these posts, comments are welcome.

Once you have created your blog, please post the address on this Google Doc if you are in Group E: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aZUbWpC2p_ML_d8p5i8EExTntdytlPFmglbibG-rbbA/edit?usp=sharing

...if you are in Group F:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K37xWGxzrI7ACAA-09u-GwIRj-sUAml-8UTixdSPuuo/edit?usp=sharing

Effective Communication: The e-Portfolio for SIE2016/PEV2011

THE “WHAT”

In SIE2016/PEV2011 posting writing on your blog is as an integral part of the portfolio.

Essentially, your e-portfolio is an individual blog that you will create as a home-base for most of your module writing. The core of that writing will be responses to the course writing assignments -- reflections, multiple drafts of a summary/reader response and then various documents that form a technical report / inquiry-based proposal -- and subsequent interaction about those assignments with your instructor and classmates. In fact, one of the most critical components of the e-portfolio is the feedback you give to and receive from peers.

THE “WHY”

Blogging, as you may know, is a form of self-publishing, online. Once a writer has set up a weblog, or blog, he or she can post on a variety of topics and receive feedback from anyone with an Internet connection.  This can be useful when writing is shared within a particular community, whether a special interest group, class or any other blogging group. 

In SIE2016/PEV2011, blogging will serve as a way for you to:

1)      reflect on course content in writing in a semi-formal manner;

2)      develop and share your ideas with an audience that is not limited to your

          instructor;

3)      learn about the ideas of your classmates and your tutor;

4)      comment on the ideas of others; and

5)      refine your writing skills. 

Your various interactions in cyberspace have the general objective of allowing you to connect with classmates and your instructor outside of class; encouraging you to ask questions, give opinions and share information; and helping you better understand the role of social media in shaping effective communication within the academic community.

THE “HOW”

Setting up a blog: To create your own blog website, go to http://www.blogger.com/, www.wordpress.com or any other blog site. At these sites, follow the instructions to create your own site. To make your site easily recognizable to classmates, your address could have SIE2016/PEV2011, and your given name, family name or nickname on it. Once you have created a blog for our course, within that you can eventually begin to post assignments.  The title of your course-related blog might be something like “Effective Communication” or “SIE2016/PEV2011. Eventually, share your blog address with me and your classmates. We will post the link to your blog on our own blogs.

Blogging groups: In your class/tutorial group, you will be assigned a blogging group of 4-5 members at the start of the trimester. For every written post that you make, you should read and respond to the posts of at least two members of this blogging group. The purpose of this is for you and your blogging group members to share written ideas with each other. In this way, you might also develop greater familiarity with each other and assist each other in creating the most appropriate and effective posts possible. A second purpose is for this smaller class group to have an opportunity to demonstrate the skills needed to become a cohesive social unit.

The four-stage blogging process:

Stage One -- Having setting up your blog, read the blog assignment for the first post (see schedule on the course website), and write a response of 150 to 200 words, preferably as a word document. Later you can copy and paste this doc into the new post section of your blog.

Stage Two -- Publish your post on your blog by the assigned date.

Stage Three -- Access the blogs of at least two other members of your blogging group, and read their posts for the same topic/assignment. After reading each post, leave a comment.  In your commentary, you might answer questions such as these: What do you think about the post?  Does it respond to the assignment? Is the content clear and well expressed? Is the content impressive or not?  If it is, what makes it so? Is it concise, coherent, cohesive? Is the answer complete? Are you in agreement or disagreement with any opinions stated? Is the writer courteous (and are you)? How clear and accurate is the language use?

Once you have reacted to the posts of at least two members of your blogging group, you can visit and comment on the blogs of other classmates. These 'comments' should be made by the first tutorial after the weekend when the posts were first uploaded to your classmates' blogs.

Stage Four -- Return to your post to see what commentary has been left by your peers. Follow that up, if you like, with comments back to your readers.

Feedback: There is formal assessment of your e-portfolio. Part of this will involve your posting various drafts and rewrites of the main writing assignments: the summary/reader response and the technical report/proposal. On these you will receive feedback with a focus on the content & organization, and language use of your writing. You also receive feedback on the reflective writing that you do. This will include descriptive, analytical and critical reflections. Most of the feedback you receive in this regard will come from your peers. 

At the same time, the punctuality of your posting and the manner, frequency and accuracy of your comments on your classmates' posts is also important for the final evaluation of your e-portfolio. For further information, please see the rubric for the portfolio.

THE ‘WHEN’

Blogging assignments should be completed as follows:

Assignment 1:  Due by Friday, midnight, Week 1

Write a reflective post on the topic “My English Language Learning Journey” or “The Importance of English for Me,” or an instructor-approved variation of one of these topics.  This should be 150 to 200 words.

Assignment 2:  Due second tutorial, Week 3

Write the first draft of your assessed reader response essay to one of the reading articles included in the module resource reading list. This draft should be 400 to 500 words.

Assignment 3: Due by the start of the second tutorial, Week 7

Post the draft of each section of the inquiry-based proposal that you have written. This must include a personal statement, and might then also include the transmittal letter, the intro, various sections of the body, and/or the conclusion.

 Assignment 4: Due by Friday, midnight, Week 9

Write an analytical reflection on your recent oral presentation experience. In it detail one aspect of the presentation: preparation, your delivery, the use of audio-visuals, teamwork or overall impact. This should be 150-200 words.

Assignment 5:  Due by the start of the second tutorial, Week 12

Write a critically reflective post on the topic “The Role of Peer and Tutor Feedback." Explain your view of that feedback, how it impacted your developing writing skills, and  whether/how you might transfer content, organization and language skills learned in the course to writing assignments within any other module at SIT. This should be 300 to 400 words.

Your 'comments' on classmates’ posts should be made by the first tutorial after the weekend when the posts were first uploaded to your classmates' blogs.

A necessary condition for an assessment of excellent in the Portfolio portion of our course grade is that you read and react in writing to at least a total of three classmates’ posts per blog assignment, and that you do so in a timely manner.