ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECT
GJbratt
SPCH1311Nocher8weekFA20wCalendarADA2.docxInformative Speech- The Global Citizen
The informative speech is a presentation in which the student is the teacher on a particular area, country, or city of the world (NOT America, because we live here). This speech will be presented for review by the professor. This topic must be cleared with the professor prior to building the speech, so this is given extra points and its own Assignment link. An outline form is found in your Course Documents area and should be used. However, an outline builder is a tool in MindTap to guide the construction of the speech, and it is available to be used. In this presentation the student is simply relaying information. It is important that the student does not turn this speech into a persuasive effort. Topics should be substantial and should have an impact on fellow students. Pedantic topics such as “how to make Mexican Tortilla soup” should be avoided in favor of topics that speak to the current human condition in a part of the world (Medecins sans Frontiers dental work in Haiti), how a student’s major sets the stage for impacting the world (vet tech opportunities in world zoos), student hobbies/interests in other areas of the world (horseback riding in Austria), current events in the news, or personal experiences (personal or family travel, study abroad, student exchange) that could inform other students about issues that may not be well understood. Usually, a topic that comes from the student’s own experiences or passions makes for the best topic.
Once your topic is chosen, approved, and a rough outline is put together, you are then expected to use the library’s databases to find material to support your speech. There are instructions on how to access the library’s databases in the Course Documents area. You will find the abstracts helpful. The author of an article is asked to take the entire document and create a synopsis of the article, known as an abstract, placed in the front of the article and listed with the article information page. Read the abstract before you read the entire article. This will quickly and easily tell you whether or not the article will pertain to your topic or if it is only loosely related and may not apply. It is recommended that if you use the article in your speech (or in papers!) you download the .pdf version of the article to your own computer.
Do not use web sources until after you have obtained the minimum number of database sources if you want to achieve full points on this assignment. When researching in the databases, one can make use of the Citation Builder to find the MLA citation for each article, and copy-and-paste that citation into one’s own Works Cited page. This makes the whole process of citations super-fast and much, much easier!!
Alternatively, there is a tool called Questia in MindTap, which is also a huge library database with its own citation engine.
Because of the travel-related nature of this assignment students may use no more than TWO of the following online sources:
https://walkingtree.org/smithsonian - student - adventures/?ref=ssa
The Works Cited page should be completely formatted according to the MLA Style guide, since that is what the English department uses on campus. If you decide to construct citations by hand, be sure you have obtained the wise guidance of a librarian or the actual MLA style guide itself. Again, use that easy Cite Tool through the library, or Questia!!
You will also compile a series of images in a PowerPoint presentation to accompany your speech. This could be shown to your audience while you are speaking. Again, this should be images, not text. Pictures are for PowerPoint; words are to be spoken in speeches and written in papers. Personal vacation photos are encouraged, as the visitor often captures the “reality” of the visit, not the slick, glossy advertisement-side of a resort or location. Review all of the materials on PowerPoint in Course Documents, including the two examples, to be sure you understand the power of PowerPoint when it is used properly. This will ensure you obtain the most points you can get. A rubric will be provided in advance of the due date.
For each speech the student will submit on or before the date due:
· an outline showing complete basic structure/topic statements only
· a properly MLA-formatted Works Cited page
· the PowerPoint file used (no voice-over PPT!)
· a complete written manuscript of the speech (the “perfect” speech)
· this is REQUIRED for credit: the YouTube link to the video of you performing the speech.
Tips: The YouTube site is often the fastest way to get your video files to upload. BlackBoard is bandwidth-greedy.
No Submit button? Ah, yes, that happens when the system doesn’t like the web browser you are using. No worries, download one of the free browsers (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox) and you’ll be uploading away in no time!
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Persuasive Speech- A Citizen’s Voice
A persuasive speech will be created and presented by the student. This topic must be cleared with the professor prior to building the speech. An outline form specific to Persuasion is given in the Course Documents area to guide the construction of the speech, and it is expected to be used if the student does not employ the Outline Builder in MindTap. In this presentation the student must try to convince listeners to agree with the topic, or to take action. Topics should be substantial and should have an impact on fellow students. Pedantic topics such as “buy my favorite flavor of ice cream” should be avoided in favor of topics that speak to the current human condition (Stop Mining Coal to Stop High Cancer Rates in Nearby Communities), a student’s major (Steroid Use Should be Banned in All Sports), student hobbies/interests (Spay/Neuter Your Pet to Prolong Life), current events in the news (Guns on Campus), or personal experiences that could inform other students about issues that may not be well understood. Usually, a topic that comes from the student’s own experiences or passions makes for the best topic—but then must be supported by experts.
Topics that are off-limits for any type of speech include abortion (I just can’t take it anymore), medical marijuana, religious proselytizing which can be offensive, or unethical topics. Likewise, unproven topics (Zombie Apocalypse, Bigfoot) are not allowed. Remember, choose a topic that uplifts or strengthens our homes, our communities, or our world.
Once your topic is chosen, approved, and a rough outline is put together, you are then expected to use the library’s databases to find material to support your speech. There are instructions on how to access the library’s databases in the Course Documents area. You will find the abstracts helpful. The author of each article is asked to create a one-paragraph synopsis of the article, known as an abstract. It is then placed in the front of the article and listed with the article information page.
Read the abstract before you read the entire article. This will easily tell you whether or not the article will pertain to your topic or if it is only loosely related and may not contain information that will apply. It is recommended that if you use the article in your speech (or in papers!) you download the .pdf version of the article to your own computer.
Do not use web sources until after you have obtained the minimum number of database sources if you want to achieve full points on this assignment. When researching in the databases, one can make use of the citation builder to find the MLA citation for each article, and copy-and-paste that citation into one’s own Works Cited page. This makes the whole process of citations super-fast and much, much easier!! The Works Cited page should be completely formatted according to the MLA Style guide. If you decide to construct citations by hand, be sure you obtain the wise guidance of a librarian or the actual style guide itself. Questia continues to be an option.
You will also compile a series of images in a PowerPoint presentation to accompany your speech. This could be shown to your audience while you are speaking. Again, this should be images, not text. Review all of the materials on PowerPoint in Course Documents, including the two examples, to be sure you understand the power of PowerPoint when it is used properly. This will ensure you obtain the most points you can get. A rubric will be provided in advance of the due date.
In the Assignments area of BlackBoard, the student will submit on or before the date due:
· an outline (again, technically complete with topic statements only)
· a properly MLA-formatted Works Cited page
· the PowerPoint file used (no voice-over PPT!)
· and a complete written manuscript of the speech
· the video file OR the YouTube link to the video (REQUIRED for credit) of you performing the speech.
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Group Project—Global Sustainability (What the World Needs Now, or, WWNN)
The term project will be an analysis of an environmental or sustainability issue with recommendations for action to be taken. Students will partner with other students to share the workload on developing a paper and a PowerPoint presentation that researches three or four major subtopics under one overarching topic. For instance, should students choose Global Warming for the overarching topic, each student will take one subtopic, such as air quality, car emissions, water quality, slash-and-burn techniques devastating rain forests, the implementation of natural water sheds as filters for purifying water, electric v. LED bulb use in the home, proper disposal of computers to avoid hazardous waste issues, etc. Each student will work with the others to develop parallel outline schemes and yet each student is ultimately responsible for the subtopic chosen by that student. This grade will incorporate teamwork, a major outcome for this course. This grade is not negotiable. Your teammates are assigned by the computer. It is recommended that teams choose their big and sub-topics quickly and work week by week toward completion of this assignment.
Group Project—What the World Needs Now
WARNING: DO NOT USE outside apps for your communication. If I don’t see your communication in our My Groups apps/tools, I cannot give you credit for doing work. This will definitely affect your grade!!
The structure of this assignment is partially conceptually based on chapter discussions of Small Group Communication. You will submit materials to the Assignments Due area of our BlackBoard course when turning in your work. You can also find links to turn in the Group work in the My Group area of our course (scroll down to the very bottom).
LEADERSHIP (Group Grade)
Your Group will choose a Leader or up to two Co-Leaders. This person, if one Leader is chosen, will be the person to submit the Group Grade materials when necessary for all the members to receive the Group Grade. If there are two leaders, one person will elect or be assigned to be the designated person to make these submissions. Leadership = 25 points possible through Assignments
TOPIC (Group Grade)
Your Group will choose a topic for your project. This topic MUST include an Environmentally- or Sustainability- oriented purpose. It should be something that applies at a local level and is do-able. For instance, one topic may be to raise money for the construction of a community garden in an area of one city that has experienced blight/neglect. That’s perfect! We do not however need to expand the topic to include providing community gardens in every city in America. That’s a commendable idea, but perhaps a bit much for our purposes. Topic = 25 points possible through Assignments
ROLES (DIY!! Individual Grade)
Your Group will include the task of establishing individual Roles as needed—but everyone MUST have a Task Role, and a Social/Maintenance Role. There is an article waiting for you in the Group Materials folder describing the roles. Find a list of Roles online and post it so your Group can comment. Will you choose your Roles or will the Leader(s) assign Roles? Your Group decides. Each Group member will identify individual roles by submitting this information in the Assignments area.
Roles = 50 points possible
ROUGH OUTLINE (Group Grade)
The structure (outline) of the paper should be established fairly quickly so you all have a shared understanding of what materials will be appropriate and pertain to your project. Early submission to the Grade Center is encouraged. Create one over-arching outline for the Group. One individual will submit the outline and each individual in the Group will receive the same amount of points. See example attached to the Assignment entry. Group Rough Outline = 50 points possible
This outline can of course change as you get further into the research- and image-sharing process. Outlines for Individual portions of the paper are also appropriate if each member of your Group is taking on a particular portion of the overall outline. Since some may choose to focus on technical aspects of the project (such as compiling the paper, or PowerPoint, or revising or editing/proofing the work) there is no specific grade for this section of the assignment.
MATERIALS #1 and #2 (DIY!! Individual Grade)
Each member of the group will submit his/her own individually acquired material, whether pictures to use in your PowerPoint, or articles from the databases, or interviews with professionals, or other evidence (does not have to all be empirical). You will submit this material BOTH in Assignments and to your Group in the agreed-upon area (Discussion Board is by far the easiest to use as an acceptable place to share your work with your colleagues). I require that each person in the group contributes no less than two items each (whether one visual and one document, or both visual, or both document, is up to the Group). For each minimum submission there is the potential for 25 points possible (50 points total possible)
