Please log onto Blackboard and see the final column. Add 20 points to your grade, and then check to see where you fall in the grade scale.
A 950-1000
A- 900-949
B+ 870-899
B 840-869
B- 800-839
C+ 770-799
C 740-769
C- 700-739
D+ 670-699
D 640-669
D- 600-639
F 600 and below
Monday, May 25, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Calculating your grade
Hello Class!
You can calculate your percentage in the class by adding up all of your points, and dividing by the the total points possible in the class. This will give you your percentage so you know what your grade is in the class.
I will send one final email this weekend once I have finalized grades.
Until then.....
You can calculate your percentage in the class by adding up all of your points, and dividing by the the total points possible in the class. This will give you your percentage so you know what your grade is in the class.
I will send one final email this weekend once I have finalized grades.
Until then.....
Friday, May 15, 2009
Final Exam Procedures
Hello Class! The final exam is finally upon us. Here is a summary of final exam procedures:
1). Download the final exam review sheet from the Handouts Page on Blackboard. This form has been available all semester.
2). Study Study Study
3). Print out the Proctor Form from the Handouts Page
4). Find someone 21 and over who is NOT associated with the class in any way. Ask them to observe you take the final. The proctor MUST watch you take the entire exam.
5). Take the final exam on Blackboard anytime during May 18th, May 19th or May 20th. The final exam will open at 12:01am on May 18th, and will close on May 20th at 11:59pm. PLEASE NOTE that you have 45 minutes ONLY to complete the final exam.
6). Have the proctor sign the Proctor Form AFTER OBSERVING YOU take the final exam in its entirety and send it to me by *scanning in the form in emailing (preferred method), *faxing the form (see form for fax number), or *sending the hard copy through snail mail.
7). Once you have sent your proctor form to me, please email me and let me know how you have sent your form so I can look out for it.
8). I will not post your grade until I have the proctor form. Again, it is preferred that you scan the form into the computer and email it to me.
Good luck on your final exam!!! I will be available all weekend, and during finals week through email. I will also be on Yahoo Messenger from time to time, so if you see me online, go ahead and message me.
1). Download the final exam review sheet from the Handouts Page on Blackboard. This form has been available all semester.
2). Study Study Study
3). Print out the Proctor Form from the Handouts Page
4). Find someone 21 and over who is NOT associated with the class in any way. Ask them to observe you take the final. The proctor MUST watch you take the entire exam.
5). Take the final exam on Blackboard anytime during May 18th, May 19th or May 20th. The final exam will open at 12:01am on May 18th, and will close on May 20th at 11:59pm. PLEASE NOTE that you have 45 minutes ONLY to complete the final exam.
6). Have the proctor sign the Proctor Form AFTER OBSERVING YOU take the final exam in its entirety and send it to me by *scanning in the form in emailing (preferred method), *faxing the form (see form for fax number), or *sending the hard copy through snail mail.
7). Once you have sent your proctor form to me, please email me and let me know how you have sent your form so I can look out for it.
8). I will not post your grade until I have the proctor form. Again, it is preferred that you scan the form into the computer and email it to me.
Good luck on your final exam!!! I will be available all weekend, and during finals week through email. I will also be on Yahoo Messenger from time to time, so if you see me online, go ahead and message me.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Last Week of Discussion
I must admit, the last week of discussion in this class is my favorite. I really enjoy reading about your favorite speech, what was most useful and what you will be able to use in the future.
I'm sure you noticed that I did not write an 'early bird' post this week. Since it's a short week, I assume that people will post early on in the week. Most everyone has posted at least once.
Note: Your speech grades will be returned today (Wednesday). I will also update Blackboard with the rest of the grades. Of course I will not be able to post your last week of discussion today, nor your final exam grade. But everything else should be updated so you can calculate your grade on your own. I will try to tabulate the columns for you, but that might take until the end of the week.
As you know from the email I sent yesterday, I will not be holding office hours on Thursday. I extended my office hours on Tuesday, which some of you took advantage of (it was nice chatting with those of you that contacted me during extended office hours). I will also be online on and off all day today while grading papers, blogs, calculating grades, etc..... If you see me on Yahoo Messenger, feel free to pop in if you see that I'm online.
I hope you have a fabulous day!
I'm sure you noticed that I did not write an 'early bird' post this week. Since it's a short week, I assume that people will post early on in the week. Most everyone has posted at least once.
Note: Your speech grades will be returned today (Wednesday). I will also update Blackboard with the rest of the grades. Of course I will not be able to post your last week of discussion today, nor your final exam grade. But everything else should be updated so you can calculate your grade on your own. I will try to tabulate the columns for you, but that might take until the end of the week.
As you know from the email I sent yesterday, I will not be holding office hours on Thursday. I extended my office hours on Tuesday, which some of you took advantage of (it was nice chatting with those of you that contacted me during extended office hours). I will also be online on and off all day today while grading papers, blogs, calculating grades, etc..... If you see me on Yahoo Messenger, feel free to pop in if you see that I'm online.
I hope you have a fabulous day!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Week of May 10-13
Hello Class! Good job on your speeches on Friday. Overall, the class did very well. I will email back the results at the start of the week.
Here is what's on the Participation Page for our very last discussion week:
***Post Self-Evaluation on blog by the end of the discussion week, Wednesday, May 13th at midnight (see Self-Evaluation #3 assignment on blackboard) as well as participate in class discussion:
Class Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:
1). What concept or concepts from the class that you thought was the most helpful in preparing your speeches?
2). Which speech was your favorite and why?
3). What are you going are you going to take from this class that you think will be helpful in future endeavors?
***Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs.***
Note: You can comment on any of the three posts AND/OR the self-evaluation. Just make sure you have posted 3 comments on other blogs.
Here is what's on the Participation Page for our very last discussion week:
***Post Self-Evaluation on blog by the end of the discussion week, Wednesday, May 13th at midnight (see Self-Evaluation #3 assignment on blackboard) as well as participate in class discussion:
Class Discussion: Answer one in each of your three posts, at least 12 hours apart:
1). What concept or concepts from the class that you thought was the most helpful in preparing your speeches?
2). Which speech was your favorite and why?
3). What are you going are you going to take from this class that you think will be helpful in future endeavors?
***Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs.***
Note: You can comment on any of the three posts AND/OR the self-evaluation. Just make sure you have posted 3 comments on other blogs.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Please complete an online SOTE evaluation for Comm 20
Once again it is the time of year that students must complete SOTE ratings. Please have yours completed and submitted by Sunday, May 10th @ 11:59pm.
Please log into your "MySJSU" account and complete a SOTE evaluation for this course. Here are the instructions:
1). Log into "MySJSU"
2). Go to "Self-Service"
3). Click on "Online SOTE Ratings"
4). Complete the evaluation
5). Submit
Please be aware that once you submit the form, you will not be able to change what you have entered into the form.
Once you have completed the online SOTE evaluation, please send me a confirmation email that you have submitted the form. No need to enter text into the body of your confirmation email. Simply start an email and write "SOTE submitted" in the subject line.
Please email me if you have any questions about this. As always, I'm available by email, Yahoo Messenger and phone conversations.
I greatly appreciate your participation!
Please log into your "MySJSU" account and complete a SOTE evaluation for this course. Here are the instructions:
1). Log into "MySJSU"
2). Go to "Self-Service"
3). Click on "Online SOTE Ratings"
4). Complete the evaluation
5). Submit
Please be aware that once you submit the form, you will not be able to change what you have entered into the form.
Once you have completed the online SOTE evaluation, please send me a confirmation email that you have submitted the form. No need to enter text into the body of your confirmation email. Simply start an email and write "SOTE submitted" in the subject line.
Please email me if you have any questions about this. As always, I'm available by email, Yahoo Messenger and phone conversations.
I greatly appreciate your participation!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Eye Contact
Eye contact during your speech, and any speech in the future, is highly important. Your eyes should be meeting the eyes of your audience about 90%-95% of the time. This means that you should know your speech well enough to simply glance at your notecards for your next point, then focus on your audience.
Of course if you have statistics, facts, quotes, source citations, etc... you can look down at your cards, but as mentioned, the majority of the time you are focusing on your audience.
Eye contact, and interaction with your visual aid, along with your physical presentation (body positioning, fidgeting, etc...) will be weighted a bit more heavily during this final presentation. This is why practicing for the coming speech is SO INCREDIBLY important.
Please practice WITH your visual aid at least 7 times in order to get more comfortable with your visual aid, and get to know your speech more so you can make eye contact with your audience about 90%-95% of your total speaking time.
A good way to measure this is to practice your speech in front of someone and get their opinion about your eye contact and interaction with your visual aid.
Of course if you have statistics, facts, quotes, source citations, etc... you can look down at your cards, but as mentioned, the majority of the time you are focusing on your audience.
Eye contact, and interaction with your visual aid, along with your physical presentation (body positioning, fidgeting, etc...) will be weighted a bit more heavily during this final presentation. This is why practicing for the coming speech is SO INCREDIBLY important.
Please practice WITH your visual aid at least 7 times in order to get more comfortable with your visual aid, and get to know your speech more so you can make eye contact with your audience about 90%-95% of your total speaking time.
A good way to measure this is to practice your speech in front of someone and get their opinion about your eye contact and interaction with your visual aid.
Clear Course of Action
As you may already know, the last stage of Monroe's Motivated Sequence is the ACTION step. This is generally presented towards the end of your speech. As we mentioned in class during our last meeting, you should probably put this in your conclusion somewhere. The action step advocates a specific course of action.
For example, if your speech is about nutrition, in your conclusion you should mention eating 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day according to the new food pyramid. This statement advocated a specific course of action. You are actually telling the audience WHAT you want them to do. So decide what action you want the audience to take, then tell them in your conclusion.
Comment on this blog if you have questions about this.
For example, if your speech is about nutrition, in your conclusion you should mention eating 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day according to the new food pyramid. This statement advocated a specific course of action. You are actually telling the audience WHAT you want them to do. So decide what action you want the audience to take, then tell them in your conclusion.
Comment on this blog if you have questions about this.
Using your Visual Aid
Here is another tip for the coming speech. This one is about your visual aid.
Please practice with your VISUAL AID. You might want to put a reminder on your notecards about SLIDE CHANGES. This will cue you when you should push the button to go to your next slide and help you to focus more on your audience without looking at the projection screen (which you should try to avoid completely if possible).
If you need to present something on the slide to your audience, try to explain it in words while focusing on your audience (making eye contact) without focusing too much on the projection screen.
Your visual aid should enhance your speech, not hinder it. As beginning public speakers, sometimes we have a tendency to focus on the computer or projection screen because it's safe and comfortable. You should be focusing on your audience. Make MORE eye contact than you think is necessary. This will help to connect you with your audience. Along the same lines, you should know your speech well enough to focus on your audience without relying too much on your notecards.
More tips to come......
Please practice with your VISUAL AID. You might want to put a reminder on your notecards about SLIDE CHANGES. This will cue you when you should push the button to go to your next slide and help you to focus more on your audience without looking at the projection screen (which you should try to avoid completely if possible).
If you need to present something on the slide to your audience, try to explain it in words while focusing on your audience (making eye contact) without focusing too much on the projection screen.
Your visual aid should enhance your speech, not hinder it. As beginning public speakers, sometimes we have a tendency to focus on the computer or projection screen because it's safe and comfortable. You should be focusing on your audience. Make MORE eye contact than you think is necessary. This will help to connect you with your audience. Along the same lines, you should know your speech well enough to focus on your audience without relying too much on your notecards.
More tips to come......
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Preview and Review of Main Points
Hello Class! Here is a tip for the coming speech....
As we have been doing all semester, please make sure you are PREVIEWING and REVIEWING your main points. This means that you should PREVIEW your three main points in your introduction, and you should subsequently REVIEW your main points in your conclusion.
Previewing informs you audience of where you are going in your speech. When you review your main points, it summarizes what have just covered. As I have mentioned before, this may seem redundant or even unnecessary. However, redundancy helps your audience to remember/retain the information you have presented.
Look for more speech tips throughout the day tomorrow at various times.
As we have been doing all semester, please make sure you are PREVIEWING and REVIEWING your main points. This means that you should PREVIEW your three main points in your introduction, and you should subsequently REVIEW your main points in your conclusion.
Previewing informs you audience of where you are going in your speech. When you review your main points, it summarizes what have just covered. As I have mentioned before, this may seem redundant or even unnecessary. However, redundancy helps your audience to remember/retain the information you have presented.
Look for more speech tips throughout the day tomorrow at various times.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Speech Critique
As a reminder, the Speech Critique Essay is due on Friday in class. You should choose ONE of the two videos and write the paper on that. You do not have to watch both videos.
Actuative Outlines Returned
I will be sending back your outlines late tonight. Make sure to look over the feedback and make appropriate changes for your speech on Friday.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Week of May 3-9
Hello Class! The semester is quickly winding down, and I'm sure we are all feeling the pressure of final projects, papers, and of course speeches. Please keep an eye out this week for more speech tips that I will put under the label (lower right hand side of my blog) called "Actuative Speech Tips". If you click on that label, you will be able to see each tip that I have included, in date order.
Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:
1). Your Speech Critique Paper is due this Friday during our meeting. Please do not email me your paper, rather, bring it to class with your for our final meeting on Friday, May 8th.
2). You MUST practice your speech at least 7 times WITH YOUR VISUAL AID prior to our meeting on Friday. This is the culminating project in this course, and should be your best speech presentation. (There should be NO looking at the projection screen when presenting, you should NOT be relying on your notecards much, there should be LOTS of eye contact etc.... I will post more tips this week).
3). Your visual aid is due to me NO LATER than Wednesday, May 6th at 8pm. I will check each presentation to make sure it will work on my computer, and email you back if I cannot open the presentation.
4). You are REQUIRED to attend Friday's meeting. I will not be available to meet with students in person after Friday, May 8th, once our class meeting has adjourned (I will be available online and over the phone though). If you do not attend the meeting on Friday, you are fore fitting your opportunity to present a speech. This speech is approximately 30% of your grade.
I look forward to seeing you all on Friday. Remember to check my blog everyday this week for more speech tips.
Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:
1). Your Speech Critique Paper is due this Friday during our meeting. Please do not email me your paper, rather, bring it to class with your for our final meeting on Friday, May 8th.
2). You MUST practice your speech at least 7 times WITH YOUR VISUAL AID prior to our meeting on Friday. This is the culminating project in this course, and should be your best speech presentation. (There should be NO looking at the projection screen when presenting, you should NOT be relying on your notecards much, there should be LOTS of eye contact etc.... I will post more tips this week).
3). Your visual aid is due to me NO LATER than Wednesday, May 6th at 8pm. I will check each presentation to make sure it will work on my computer, and email you back if I cannot open the presentation.
4). You are REQUIRED to attend Friday's meeting. I will not be available to meet with students in person after Friday, May 8th, once our class meeting has adjourned (I will be available online and over the phone though). If you do not attend the meeting on Friday, you are fore fitting your opportunity to present a speech. This speech is approximately 30% of your grade.
I look forward to seeing you all on Friday. Remember to check my blog everyday this week for more speech tips.
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