I see four ongoing critiques of higher education which are bubbling up in culture:
Lack of connection to relevance and practical
Lack of connection to career
Lack of connection to community
Focus on banking model and rote memorization
Are these viable?
Do you see others?
What can be done to change to move forward?
Whats the problem? Whats the root cause?
How can awareness, change, and follow up be implemented?
Whats the SWOT for change? Who are the stakeholders?
Eat a meal together in or out of class. Consider including:
Do other multi-cultural activities. This might be an approriate time to speak to Petcha Kutcha and zen of presentations as well as the Chinese symbol for listening. It would be a great day for a Skype or a classroom visitor.
Could have short presentations or DVD on business with China, Japan, India, and Spain or south america. Or could be more culturally oriented in nature.
If your class time doesn’t seem appropriate for food, consider giving extra-credit. Make sure some of the class will be in attendance given that you are potentially buying $75 to $150 in food.
1) Pick one of more of the questions below:
2) Research it
3) Publish it
4) Present it
5) Discuss
1) Teacher will divide the class up by interest groups/major/passions.
2) Research trends in your area. Research how cultural changes are effecting your areas of interest.
3) Present your findings. How will this change how you think about these fields?
4) Are their parallels between different fields?
The User and Game Design:
The importance of design, experience, and personalization (as well as mass customization) are all taking off. In fact, its hard to estimate their role in the adoption of products like the iPod, iPhone, and iEverything else.
How many people like to play video games? How many have played an old school game like Super Mario Brothers or Ms. Pacman or Dig Dug? An interactive Wii game like Wii Sports? A sports game like Madden or Bill Walsh College Football? A first person shooter like HALO or Bond? Or Facebook game like Farmville?
Game design is one, which leverages design principles in the same way that presentation design does.
Classroom Activity:
1) Discover game design principles via Google and other search methods. (try to leverage delicious, Google books/Google scholar, slideshare, video search, and perhaps even Google advanced search)
2) Determine the “game design experts” (this is a minor part of the exercise and can be eliminated as time permits).
3) Divide responsibilities. Divide research, design, presentation, and editing/review responsibilities in the group. You might divide the types of content/research places you will be looking in order to avoid overlap. You may want to focus your person-power on certain tasks with the most content.
4) Pick and sign up for a wiki like PB Works or Wetpaint. Store your info on a collaborative work environment like a wiki.
5) Now that you have the game design principles in hand, explain how they apply in the context of learning/education, training, presentation design, or public speaking. (your group should pick one to focus on)
6) Point to similaries, differences, and incongruities and post them on the wiki (please order them in an intuitive fashion, which easily divides similiaries/differences/incongruities–observations. note similaries and differences as the focuses of this activity)
7) Determine a way to deliver your message to the class in a 2 to 5 minute presentation.
Adapting this classroom activity to your needs, constraints, and objectives:
Optional: the similarities will be aggregated by a student and/or teacher.
Optional: what are the above directions not clear about? where will you have to improvise as a group? how can you create a quick editing function which makes the online and offline presentations work?
Optional: Group sizes of 2, 4, or 6.
Optional: Change the configurations of presentation time. Add challenges and “limitations.”
Classroom Rules and Norms
1) Students get in groups of 5 and create classroom rules.
2) Students then present the rules to the class.
3) Option: Have a debate on controversial rules. Students get to pick sides and vote.
Break up into teams of 3s.
Your Mission and Objective:
1) Find info on your topic
2) Organize the info and links in a wiki page (the magic # is 5, 7, 10, 12, or 15)
3) Present on your discoveries to the class
Try to avoid the problems of death by powerpoint and the warnings of Edward Tufte.
You can read the “Powerpoint is Evil” from wired magazine and the response on Cliff Atkinson’s website.
What are the core arguments on both sides? What are your thoughts? Do others support the powerpoint is evil thesis? Is evil intrinsic to power point? Other mediums?
1. Include the date and title of the speech, the name of the speaker along with his or her title or position. Describe the introduction given to the speaker. Did it make you want to listen to him/her?
2. What was the subject of the speech? Describe the audience. Did the speaker speak to the level of his/her audience?
3. Where and on what occasion was the speech given?
4. What was the objectives or purpose of the speech?
5. Did the speaker achieve his/her objectives or purpose? Why or why not?
6. Give examples of the kinds of support (statistics, graphs, video testimony, stories, examples) used by the speaker. Were they effective? Did they contribute to the speech?
7. Describe the speaker’s platform behavior. Include such details as posture, personal appearance, bodily movements, gestures, vocal characteristics and eye contact.
8. Was the speaker’s delivery effective or ineffective? Why?
9. Describe the speaker’s use of language. Include such details as volume, word choice, articulation, pronunciation, clarity, vividness, appropriateness, pausing, filler words, accent, and language devices.
10. What was your overall reaction to the speech? What was the audience’s reaction?
11. What did you learn that will help you become a better speaker?
You can find this outside speaker critique format at the University of Vermont.
Here are the core concepts which are important to the class.
Logic and Persuasion
Parts of a Speech
Business Terms
Areas of Communication
(note: the relevant advanced research, online public speaking resources, design concepts, and cultural trends are not all covered here)
For more public speaking terms check out American Rhetoric.
What are trends in communications overall moving forward?
How do these trends relate to public speaking?
Optional class activity:
1) Research on trends
2) How can this story best be told?
3) Post-it note collaboration (pair share and/or small group with presentation to the class)
4) Ideograph on trends and relation to presenters, teachers, and trainers. (You may decide to select all 3, however you will likely want to focus on the role that you perceive as most relevant to your future)
Speech Communication 2.0 Syllabus 