ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum Kathy Rose Iowa State University “Deeper approaches to learning, rather than surface approaches, correlate with critical reflection” (Jenson 2011).

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum Choose artifacts that show your best effort in oral..., visual..., and electronic (e.g. correspondence, brochure, or other piece that relies heavily on the electronic) communication.  Why you chose this/these piece(s) as evidence of your best work in the oral, visual, and electronic modes  What, if any, changes you made to the original versions, why, and to what benefit  What you believe the piece/s demonstrate about you as an oral, visual, and electronic communicator The old prompt

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum The old prompt—invisible “E” “The fastest growing part of communication is electronic. Everyone needs to know how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, Office, and PowerPoint. This class mainly focused on Word and PowerPoint. The best work I had for electronic communication was the Visual analysis PowerPoint that is located below this post.”

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum In this ePortfolio you have combined carefully chosen artifacts and thoughts about those artifacts into a website. Your website presents a customized look at your progress during the semester and at who you are as a communicator. As you reflect upon the choices you made as you created this site, think about the following questions. Choose two and answer them in a brief essay by using specific examples from your experience as you composed your ePortfolio.  What are the advantages to being able to author web content, rather than merely being able to browse it?  What does web composing give you the power to do as you communicate with a particular audience?  How is web composing similar to and different from other types of communication you have done in your past?  Now that you’ve become a web composer, what do you see yourself being able to do with these skills and abilities in your personal, professional, and/or academic life? (Remember that not all the skills and abilities you have developed are technical!) The new prompt

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum The new prompt “The type of web composing we are actually doing is actually more similar to the academic writing we usually do in class than most other web content I am used to seeing...” “I can communicate through my audience by more than just my writing...” [speaking of the organization of his website and how he hopes people will navigate it]

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum The new prompt (Deep) “... Through learning how to navigate through designing my blog, I discovered many ways that I could make it easier for a viewer to go through my page. Throughout my reflections and artifacts, I included hyperlinks... Below, I have included a series of screenshots that show this process. Designing a webpage is a lot like designing the slides on a powerpoint. The creator of the page always has to keep in mind what would be best for the intended audience. Also, a reader isn’t going to want to look through a boring webpage that just has words, no color, and no pictures. In that way, a person would have to be a good visual communicator to be an effective communicator electronically. Not only is visual appeal important, but also writing effectiveness.”

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum The new prompt (Strategic with a glimmer of authenticity) “With these skills I feel like I could use this in not only my academic life but hopefully my professional career path, though I don’t believe I’ll ever use this in my personal life, sorry but it wasn’t that fun. In my academic life I feel like this could be very useful in documenting my work and at the end of the semester studying to help for test [sic] because you can set it up how you want and keep it clean and organize easily. As for my professional career path I aim to be a teacher so maybe I won’t use it but to pass it on and teach my students about this may be helpful to them and maybe they’ll pick it up and use it in life. Although this may be useful in my professional career path since I could setup a website for my students to check out a variety of things on.”

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum The new prompt—sometimes “E” is still unseen “…I believe that this PowerPoint shows that I am a capable oral, visual, and electronic communicator. It is a solid looking PowerPoint, and serves a purpose to my needs as a student with my task I was assigned. It showed that I can do anything that my professor asked of me, and excel at it.” (strategic)

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum Student Text Teacher Actor-Network Theory

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum Continuum rubric Supports claims with specific Speaks in broad generalities; examples from the artifact(s); describes successes and weaknesses describes both strengths and weaknesses in broad terms ⃝ I I I ⃝ Makes connections Offers no connections, with other assignments comparisons, or looking (in this class, past classes, towards the future projects towards the future) ⃝ I I I ⃝

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum Focuses on conscious choices, Does not sound as though the writer especially with regard to is the one in control; feedback offered from instructor does not address feedback or peers—offers reasons for not accepting ⃝ I I I ⃝ Makes inferences; analyzes performance Reads like a narrative or simple listing of tasks accomplished ⃝ I I I ⃝ Uses terminology specific to the assignment, Shows little understanding of its objectives, and its rhetorical aims or connection to assignment objectives (ie., audience, etc.) or terminology ⃝ I I I ⃝

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum Reflection as Process Project and discuss good and poor examples Gallery walk Loopwriting Screencasting Concept maps Four corners activity Small group discussions about course and assignment outcomes Quoting from one reflection as evidence for another Using feedback from teacher or peers to make goals

ISUComm Strengthening Communication Across the Curriculum “It is not adequate to approach the role of reflection by simply leaving time and space for it.” (Rickards, et al. 2004)