Sunday, December 11, 2011

Welcome to #ALES204 - Winter 2012

Welcome to ALES 204. This is the class blog where class updates, changes, assignments and general discussion will take place.


Calendar Description

This course covers the principles of professional communication, including written, oral, and electronic components. Prerequisite: A minimum of *24 credits in university courses (approval by Dr. Laccetti is required for fewer than *24 credits). Open only to Faculty of Agriculture, Life, and Environmental Sciences students. Credit will be given for only one of ALES 204 and AGFOR 204.

Objectives

By the completion of this course a student will be able to:
Identify and describe a variety of approaches and strategies of an effective communicator;
1.              Apply strategies towards developing effective written work (online and offline) and oral speaking;
2.              Provide constructive written and oral feedback on specific elements of the course;
3.              Use reflective practise for improving her/his own communication style; and
4.              Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of and competency in professional communications.

The overall objective of this course is to make you to want to be a better communicator, both online and offline. If you truly want to be a better communicator, you will be, because you will make the effort to read over and improve what you write (or tweet or blog) and think carefully before you speak (or present). The purpose of communication is to convey information, so being a better communicator means conveying it more clearly, something that comes with reflective practice.

Evaluation & Assignments


Due

Assignment

Throughout the term
Participation on class blog. Every week, students will be expected to use our class blog to share a core question or thought that emerges from the assigned readings. These questions can be a paragraph or so and informal, but they are intended to help Dr. Laccetti better understand how the students are relating to the class materials and content as well as providing students with an opportunity to reflect and synthesize course content as well as developing an online footprint. Comments should be posted on the Professor’s Lecture Post. Note, if students are asked to complete a particular assignment (such as the Wordle) that will count towards your participation online. (20%)
Friday September 16th, 9:50
Module 2: Write an introductory post (about two paragraphs) about you and your field of study and what role communication plays in your work (dissemination of results, linking with fellow researchers, etc…) Forms part of the E-Portfolio. (5%)
Lab session during Module 5, Week of October 3rd
Poster Presentation.  An impromptu group presentation of a poster will take place in a lab during the week of Module 5, and will be assessed by the TA. (10%)
Lab session during Module 10, Week of October 7th
Update Wikipedia Stub Article. Identify a Wikipedia stub entry that is in your field of expertise. This assignment will require you to add content and references. Forms part of the E-Portfolio. (10%)
Friday, November 18th, 17:00
Science Article Assignment: Students will be given at least two options for this assignment. Potential options include topics on open access publishing, features of academic journals, comparative analysis of journal articles and a translation of an academic scientific article into a web presentation suitable for a general audience. (20%)
Wednesday, December 7, 17:00
E-Portfolio: to be published on student’s own blog. Some in class assignments will form part of your E-Portfolio including:
·       Module 2: Introductory Blog Post
·       Module 3: Embed the Flickr photo of your paper Facebook profile.
§   Module 10: Wikipedia stub entry

Additional E-Portfolio entries include:
§   Embed your Twitter feed in the sidebar of your blog.
§   Embed your Delicious tag cloud in the sidebar of your blog.
§   Reflective blog post.
Total E-Portfolio worth 35%















































You can read more about the e-portfolio assignment here.



Community Service-Learning Students
Students participating in the CSL stream will be required to complete all assignments except the Science Article assignment and the Wikipedia Peer Review assignment. 

NOTE: Assignment due dates are the same but note the weighting.

Participation on class blog and Twitter (20%)

Lab Attendance and Participation
(10%)

Module 2: Write an introductory post (about two paragraphs) about you and your field of study and what role communication plays in your work (dissemination of results, linking with fellow researchers, etc.…) Forms part of the E-Portfolio. (5%)

Poster Presentation: An impromptu group presentation of a poster will take place in a lab during the week of Module 5, and will be assessed by the TA. (15%)

Last Day of Class: Pecha Kucha presentation on your placement and what you learnt (20%)

E-Portfolio: to be published on student’s own blog. Some in class assignments will form part of your E-Portfolio including:
  • Module 2: Introductory Blog Post
  • Module 3: Embed the Flickr photo of your Facebook business page
  • Module 10: Topic of Your Choice


Additional E-Portfolio entries include:
  • Embed your Twitter feed in the sidebar of your blog.
  • Reflective blog post.


Total E-Portfolio worth 35%