Daily Activity
Friday, December 6
In class:
DUE DATES:
Wednesday, December 4
Reflection Criteria:
Monday, December 2
In class:
Presentations continued:
For next time:
Monday, November 25
In class:
Friday, November 22
For next time:
Wednesday, November 20
In class:
For next time:
Monday, November 18
In class:
For next time:
Friday, November 15
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, November 13
In class:
In class:
For next time:
Friday, November 8
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, November 6
In class:
For next time:
Monday, November 4
In class:
For next time:
Friday, November 1
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, October 30
In class:
For next time:
Monday, October 28
In class:
For next time:
Friday, October 25
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, October 23
In class:
For next time:
Monday, October 21
In class:
Friday, October 18
Online class
For Monday, October 21:
Wednesday, October 16
In class:
For next time (no F2F meeting on 10/18):
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, October 9
In class:
For next time:
Like the Project 1 Reflection, this second reflective essay should summarize and analyze the key issues you encountered during drafting, planning, writing, and finalizing Project 2. You should aim to reflect on not just the product (i.e., the final documents you submitted) but also the process of working teams. In fact, the bulk of your response should reflect upon the intricacies of writing, working, and collaborating in teams.
Here are some questions that might help guide your thinking:
Monday, October 7
In class:
For next time:
Friday, October 4
In class:
For next time:
In class:
- Zach
- Taylor
- Amanda
- Course Wrap Up
DUE DATES:
- Project 4 Final Document: Wednesday, December 11 at midnight via email
- Reflection 4 and Cumulative Reflection: Wednesday, December 11 at midnight via Niihka blog
Wednesday, December 4
Reflection Criteria:
- Project 4 Reflection
- Cumulative Reflection
- Note: Both reflections are due Wednesday, December 11 at midnight via Niihka blog; you do NOT need to respond to your peers' reflections for these (but, of course, you are encouraged to read your peers' work)
Monday, December 2
In class:
Presentations continued:
For next time:
- Read: Rubric
- Write: a Google Community post (your last one!) that reflects upon the criteria of the rubric. After reading the rubric thoroughly, you should write a post that summarizes the work that remains for you. Perhaps think of the following question to guide your response: as of now, what area of the rubric deserves the most attention from you as you finish writing and/or edit your proposal? In short, consider this post as a reflective space to think through the final steps of the proposal.
You do not need to respond to your peers for this post.
Monday, November 25
In class:
Friday, November 22
- no class
For next time:
Wednesday, November 20
In class:
- Discussion questions
- Speaker 1 (Zimbardo); Speaker 2 (McGonigal)
- Developing Criteria for Rubrics
- Sign up for (optional) conferences
For next time:
- no class Friday--work on proposals/presentations/data visualizations at home
- Being a Good Colleague: Expectations for Presentations
- Look out for rubrics -- I will email final versions today
Monday, November 18
In class:
- Presentation sign up
- Prezis
- Designing Presentations -- 7 tips
- Critiquing PowerPoints: Sample 1; Sample 2
- Critique Your Own PowerPoint Presentation
For next time:
- View: Tips for Delivering Effective Presentations (YouTube); Overcoming Nerves When Giving a Presentation (YouTube); 10 Tips for Delivering a Memorable Presentation (Sliderocket)
Friday, November 15
In class:
- Project 4b: Creating A Data Display
- Project 4c: Presentation--Pitching Your Proposal
- Presentation sign up
For next time:
- Read: BAC Ch. 19
- Post to the GC: visit TED.com and view a presentation that interests you. In a GC post, analyze some of the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation you watch. How would you characterize the speaker's presentation style? What visual aides does the speaker use and is this method effective? From this analysis, you should also start to think about how you want to design and deliver your presentation. Do you want to imitate the speaker you watch in any way? Be sure to post the link to the video presentation you watch.
Wednesday, November 13
In class:
- Free write and discussion: What should charts, graphs, tables, and visuals do in your proposals?
- Guidelines for effective data displays / examples of effective data displays
- Group activity: Building Data Displays
- Project 4b: Creating A Data Display
- Bring to class the data you want to visualize in your proposal (be ready to work on your data visualization in class)
In class:
- More on Research!
- Browse sample proposals (activity): Proposal 1, Proposal 2, Proposal 3, Proposal 4, Proposal 5
- Develop an outline
For next time:
- Read: BAC Chapter 16
- Write: A Google Community post that reflects upon the reading and how you might incorporate visuals in your proposal. Consider this question: what visual (data display) do you think will be most compelling in your proposal? Why?
Friday, November 8
In class:
- Due Project 3
- Discuss Project 3 Reflection
- Coming back to the proposal
- Some resources: Qualtrics, Newspaper Database, Chronicle of Higher Education, Academic Search Complete
For next time:
- Due: Project 3 Reflection by 8:30 am (submit to Niihka Blog) -- don't forget to respond to two of your classmates' reflections
- Read: Proposal Writing: Stages and Strategies (read especially the section titled "Some Writing Tips")
- Reread: Your Pre-proposal and Problem Statement Memo
Wednesday, November 6
In class:
- Building a rubric
- Workshop -- work with people you haven't worked with yet!
- Processing the Peer Response/Workshop
For next time:
- Due by 8:30 am: Final Project 3--Job Ad, Cover Letter, Resume, Letter of Thanks *** bring in PRINT copies of your work to avoid formatting compatibility issues
Monday, November 4
In class:
- Resumes and Ethics (video and discussion)
- After the interview: Writing a Message of Thanks
For next time:
- Bring to class a digital copy of your most up-to-date resume and cover letter
Friday, November 1
In class:
- Evaluating a Resume / Evaluating a Cover Letter
- Peer response: resumes and cover letters
For next time:
- Read: BAC Ch. 14
Wednesday, October 30
In class:
- Finish LinkedIn Social Media Discussion
- The Basics of Cover Letters
For next time:
- Due: Rough Drafts of both resume and cover letter
- For further reading: Purdue Owl: Cover Letters
Monday, October 28
In class:
- Check-in on proposals
- LinkedIn and Social Media For the Job Search
For next time:
- Read: BAC Chapter 13
- Work on: Resume and Cover Letter (rough drafts due Friday, Nov. 1)
Friday, October 25
In class:
- Building a working template for your resume (in-class brainstorming)
- Discussion of CRAP and design
- Resume Design
For next time:
- Work on developing your resume over the weekend, with a special eye on crafting an effective and interesting design
- Post: Research job ads (see the assignment sheet for a list of job search databases) and post to the GC a description of one or two jobs to which you would be interested in applying. Note: you do not need to comment on each other's posts for this GC response.
- Don't forget about your proposal!
Wednesday, October 23
In class:
- How can you evaluate a resume?
- Analyzing sample resumes (in small groups)
- Building a working template for your resume
For next time:
- Due: Elevator Speech Final Video -- post to GC by the start of class
- View: "Designing CRAP" and "CRAP and Business Documents"
- Post to the Google Community: Using your cell phone or a digital camera, snap either a) an image of poorly designed poster, flyer, or handout that you've seen on campus OR b) an image of a nicely designed poser, flyer, or handout. After uploading the image to GC, briefly mention why its design is poor or good. How does it follow/not follow the CRAP principles?
Monday, October 21
In class:
- Reminder: Pre-proposal and Problem Statement Memo due today
- Introduce Project 3
- Discuss the "elevator speech"
- Interview Activity and Discussion
- Due: Rough Draft of elevator speech (post video to GC). As always, be sure to respond to two of your classmates' posts. For this response, you should offer a thoughtful response for helping your peer improve his or her video.
- Read/View (for elevator speech): Tutorial How to Post Your Video to GC; "How To Prepare a Self-Introduction"; The Perfect (Elevator) Pitch
- Example elevator speeches: Jake Hawes (pretty great, confident elevator speech), Marion Bertaud (nice description of past work; however, she admits that her video/presentation isn't too great-->something I'd never do), 3 Easy Steps (nice discussion-->I especially like his first two tips)
- Read (for resumes): HWI Sample Resume; Review samples in BAC (pp. 379, 388, and 389)
Friday, October 18
Online class
- Respond to your peer review group by 5 pm (10/18)
For Monday, October 21:
- Due: Pre-Proposal and Problem Statement Memo
- Read: BAC Ch. 12
Wednesday, October 16
In class:
- Review Problem Statements
- Discuss Possible Research Avenues--CQ Researcher, Pew Research, Google Scholar, McKinsey Institute, The Washington Journal, The New York Times, university websites, university documents (PW annual report, degree requirement check sheet, etc.), more?
- Discuss APA style
- Assign peer response groups and discuss expectations for Friday (10/18)
For next time (no F2F meeting on 10/18):
- Due: Draft of Pre-Proposal and Problem Statement Memo
- Online Activity: Peer response--make sure you've posted your Google Doc to the GC by 8:30 AM Friday
- Reminder for Monday 10/21: the final draft of the Pre-Proposal and Problem Statement Memo is due and read BAC Ch. 12
In class:
- Discuss Project 4 Assignment
- Discuss the Pre-Proposal and Problem Statement Memo
- Develop Problem Statements / Evaluate Problem Statements
- Discuss the types of support you might include in your proposal
For next time:
- Read: BAC 678-682; Browse Purdue OWL
- Skim: BAC CH. 15 (has information on where and how to look for sources)
- Write: Find 2 sources that you might use for your proposal. In a Google Community post, using APA style, write out the bibliographic information (what would appear on the reference page) for both sources. If you find errors or issues with other students’ entries, kindly and respectfully point them out.
Wednesday, October 9
In class:
- Freewrite
- Overview of Proposal Project--more specific assignment sheet to come!
- What is a Proposal?
- Finding a Problem: An Initial Brainstorm
For next time:
- Read: BAC Chapter 18
- Write: Project 2 Reflection (due Monday, October 14 at 8:30am)
Like the Project 1 Reflection, this second reflective essay should summarize and analyze the key issues you encountered during drafting, planning, writing, and finalizing Project 2. You should aim to reflect on not just the product (i.e., the final documents you submitted) but also the process of working teams. In fact, the bulk of your response should reflect upon the intricacies of writing, working, and collaborating in teams.
Here are some questions that might help guide your thinking:
- How did the process of Project 2 compare with that of Project 1? Put another way, how did teamwork change your process?
- How might you approach teamwork in the future?
- What positive teamwork experiences did you have? How might you build upon those?
- What problems did you run into? Did you resolve them? How might you anticipate those problems more in the future?
- Is there anything you wish you could change about your teamwork experience?
Monday, October 7
In class:
- In-class work time with teams
For next time:
- Due: Project 2 (submit via email--either Google Doc link [with permission to edit!] or Word doc attachment)
- Read: BAC Chapter 17 and Proposal Example
- Write: A GC post that answers these questions: What is a proposal? How is a proposal different from a report? What kinds of questions should a proposal answer?
Friday, October 4
In class:
- Responding to Bad News
- Analyze Twitter streams
- Analyze Letter from Hodge
- Strategies for Writing Sensitive/Controversial Documents (Heuristic)
- Brainstorm About Starbucks Case
- Meet with Teams
For next time:
- Bring to class what you have for Project 2
Wednesday, October 2
In class:
For Monday, Sept. 30:
Read: chapter 10
Write: A business letter in which you respond to the below situation and post it to the Google Community.
Situation
You are the director of Housing and Residential Life at Miami University. It’s nearing Spring Semester 2014. Over the long J-term, a pipe burst in McBride Hall that caused flooding throughout the second floor. As such, you need to write students to let them know they will be relocated to local hotels until the damages are repaired (should be about two weeks). This is just a general announcement, so you don’t quite have the details worked out of where students will be relocating. As such, in your letter, you should indicate that students should expect a follow-up letter with more specific information soon.
Although formatting is always important, make sure you address this question: How can you best relay the bad news?
Wednesday, September 25
In class:
For next time:
Monday, September 23
In class:
For next time:
Friday, September 20
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, September 18
In class:
For next time:
Monday, September 16
In class:
For next time:
Friday, September 13
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, September 11
In class:
For next time:
Monday, September 9
In class:
For next time:
Friday, September
In class:
For next time:
Wednesday, September 4
In class:
For next time:
In class:
For next time (Sept. 4):
Wednesday, August 28
In class:
Due next time:
Monday, August 26
In class:
- Discuss delivering bad news
- Analyze Jewell's video
- Analyze Obama Letter
- Discuss responding to bad news
- Analyze Twitter feeds (@AmericanAir, @VirginMedia, @Tesco)
- Review Project 2 Case
For Monday, Sept. 30:
Read: chapter 10
Write: A business letter in which you respond to the below situation and post it to the Google Community.
Situation
You are the director of Housing and Residential Life at Miami University. It’s nearing Spring Semester 2014. Over the long J-term, a pipe burst in McBride Hall that caused flooding throughout the second floor. As such, you need to write students to let them know they will be relocated to local hotels until the damages are repaired (should be about two weeks). This is just a general announcement, so you don’t quite have the details worked out of where students will be relocating. As such, in your letter, you should indicate that students should expect a follow-up letter with more specific information soon.
Although formatting is always important, make sure you address this question: How can you best relay the bad news?
Wednesday, September 25
In class:
- Team activity
- Team 1 -- Vlad, Dirk, CJ, Emilia
- Team 2 -- Perry, Nellie, Mitchell, Alexandra
- Team 3 -- Kelly, Jessie, Gennie, Taylor
- Team 4 -- John, Julia, Adrienne, Zachary
- Team 5 -- Lexi, Ryan, Amanda, Ryan
For next time:
- Due: Teamwork Plan by 5 pm on Friday--send it to my email ([email protected])
- Reminder: we will NOT meet face-to-face on Friday or Monday. We will resume class as usual on Wednesday, October 2.
Monday, September 23
In class:
For next time:
- Read: Teamwork Basics (pdf); and Enhancing Effectiveness on Virtual Teams (pdf)
- Write: GC entry in which you respond to the assigned readings. In your response, try to develop two or three key insights you gathered from the assigned readings for the day.
Friday, September 20
In class:
- In class writing: thinking about teamwork experiences
- Discussion: what makes a for a rewarding, positive teamwork experience?
- Issues in Teamwork (Google Presentation)
For next time:
- Due: Project 1 reflection
- Read: Killingsworth (pdf)
- Write: a Google Community post that summarizes the two main models talked about in the reading. After you’ve compared and contrasted these two models, elaborate upon which model you find more beneficial for completing team projects.
Wednesday, September 18
In class:
- Peer response
- Reminder: Niihka Blog reflection due Monday, September 23
For next time:
- Project 1 Final due (printed and ready to be turned in at the start of class)
- Read: BAC Chapter 8
Monday, September 16
In class:
- Technology in the workplace : As a group, quickly research your technology and develop a tip sheet for the rest of the class. Rely on Google (try searches like “Skype in the workplace” or “how best to use instant messaging for business” or "using social media in the workplace"—and look for news articles, videos, and credible sources to help you develop your tip sheet.
- Discussion on peer review and revision
For next time:
- Due: Project 1 draft (2 printed copies)
- Skim: "Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Writers" (Sommers)
Friday, September 13
In class:
- Finish mouse trap memo
- Ways to look at culture discussion
- Writing for an international audience
- Researching other countries: cyborlink.com and kwintessential.co.uk
- Contemplating Project 1
For next time:
- Read: Email etiquette; 32 tips
- Write:
Informally interview a family member or friend who is
professionally established in his or her field. Inquire about all the ways he
or she communicates on the job. Does he or she use email, instant messaging,
memos, text messages, phone, Skype, etc.? How does technology influence the way
he or she communicates? Are some technologies used for more formal writing tasks than others?
Write a Google Community post that 1) summarizes your interview and 2) captures one or two key insights you’ve gathered about business communication and technology.
Wednesday, September 11
In class:
- Continue Netflix letter activity
- Present letters
- Memo discussion
- Mouse Trap redesign memo
For next time:
- Read: BAC Chapter 7
Monday, September 9
In class:
- Overview of Project 1
- Small group discussion (advice for navigating questions of ethics)
- Writing Letters (Netflix letter activity)
For next time:
- Read: BAC 642-645, Sample Memo (Purdue OWL); Business Memos (Writing @CSU); Project 1
- Write memo template (be sure to include all the staples). No need to post it, but you will be using it in-class on Wednesday.
Friday, September
In class:
- Finish style presentation and revision exercise
- Discussion of ethics
- Small-group discussion
For next time:
- Read BAC pp. 632-642; Browse Writing @CSU's Guide to Business Letters; HWI sample letter
- Optional reading/viewing: BAC Chapter 5; Google Drive video tutorial
- Write in Google Docs: a letter template that includes 1) return address, 2) dateline, 3) reader address, 4) salutation, 5) body, 6) closing, 7) name and title. Post the link to your Google Doc in Week 3 on our Google Community. NOTE: You don't need to respond to your classmates for this post.
Wednesday, September 4
In class:
- Finish group activity--present your emails
- Business Style: Crafting Memorable Prose (PowerPoint)
- Revise for 5Cs: Post your Google Doc to Google Community
For next time:
- Read: BAC pp. 88-91; "The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust," Katz (pdf); 8 Key Questions (web); Business Ethics Timeline (web)
- Write and Post to GC: A short description of an ethical quandary you’ve faced. If you're having trouble pinpointing an exact moment, reflect upon experiences you've had with superiors or group members in school, work, sports, social groups, etc. Once you identify the situation, answer these questions: What made it an ethical problem? And how did you navigate this situation? (Feel free to change identifying names, institutions, dates, etc.--and be ready to share your experience on Friday).
In class:
- Discussion: how to build goodwill?
- Goodwill Checklist (google doc)
- Building Goodwill Activity (instructions)
- Jose1 and Jose2 scenario
- Kelly1 and Kelly2 scenario
For next time (Sept. 4):
- Read: Joseph Williams, Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace (Chapter 5 and Chapter 7)
- Bring to class on Wednesday, Sept. 4: a past draft of your writing (can be any style--academic, professional, social, etc.)
Wednesday, August 28
In class:
- Business/Professional Writing Discussion: Effective v. Ineffective
- Approaches to Business Writing (Google presentation)
- Setting up Google Community (don't forget to copy and paste your intro to the GC and respond to two peers' posts)
Due next time:
- Read: BAC Chapter 3
- Post to GC:
Take a look at this message. After reading it, make an
initial assessment of the message. Is it effective? Is it business appropriate? Then,
analyze the document through each of the lenses we discussed on Wednesday
(rhetorical, visual design, ethical, sociocultural). What does analyzing this
message through these different lenses reveal? Does it differ from your initial
assessment?
Post your response to Google Community, Week 1. Remember, you need to reply to at least two of your peers’ posts. Replies are due Friday at midnight.
Monday, August 26
- Introductions to course, the instructor, and each other
- Read: BAC Chapters 1 and 2
- Write: GC entry--a short autobiographical introduction that details your goals for the course, your experience with writing and/or business (professional projects, school accomplishments, etc.), and any other interesting information about yourself. Note: we'll set up Google Community in class on Wednesday--so save your intro to a Word doc and be prepared to copy and paste it during class on Wednesday.