Course Syllabus

 

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Course Information

Course Instructor:       Mr. Stephan Ihde, MA, MA (stephan.ihde@ucf.edu)

Lab instructor:             Mr. Curry Chandler

Email:                        curry.chandler@ucf.edu

Class Times:       Lecture:   T 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM  COM 101 

                           Lab:         Sec 11: Tue 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

                                           Sec 8: Thur 3:00 PM - 4:20 PM

                                           Sec 10: Thur 4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

 

Office:                          NSC 143 E     

Phone:                                407-823-0269

Office Hours:   Tuesday 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

                       Thursday 12:30 PM  – 2:30 PM

Credit Hours:                  3.0

Course Description:        This course emphasizes the theory and practice of extemporaneous speaking in technical and scientific situations. Students will learn models, theories and heuristics of oral communication and apply them in planning, developing, and delivering at least 2 formal presentations. Conveying technical information to non-technical audiences will be emphasized.

Course Format:               This course is presented in a Lecture / Lab format. On Tuesdays from 9:00 – 10:15 AM in COM 101 your class section is combined with nine other class sections for the “Lecture” portion of the course. Your “Lab” section of the course meets in COM 210 at a different time during the week (either Tuesday or Thursday). Only your individual section meets in your lab.

Lab Instructors:                Mr. Stephan Ihde (IoR); Mr. Curry Chandler; Mr. Philippe Sabourault. 

Outcomes

• Evaluate all elements of a communication context and understand how they affect information processing and persuasion, especially in technology-related professions.
• Use oral language effectively to optimize clarity, accuracy, and specificity for highly technical and information-dense topics.
• Apply principles of oral communication to extemporaneous delivery of technical messages.

Specific Learning Objectives

1. Know basic principles and theories of effective oral communication.
2. Evaluate all elements of a communication context and understand how they affect information processing and persuasion, especially in technology-related professions.
3. Use oral language effectively to optimize clarity, accuracy, and specificity for highly technical and information-dense topics.
4. Design and use presentation aids, especially PowerPoint®, effectively.
5. Apply principles of oral communication to extemporaneous delivery of technical messages.
6. Recognize scholarly research and cite it properly in a presentation.
7. Understand the possible causes and methods for controlling Communication Apprehension.

Course Goals: (fill these out for yourself. What do you want to get out of the course?)

1.

2.

3.

Course Requirements

• Text :   Hamilton, C. et al. (2010). The Essentials of Public Speaking for Technical Presentations 2010 (Special Nicholson School Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
  • ISBN-13#: 978-1-111-46615-2 or
  • ISBN-10#: 1-111-46615-7

Please note that this is a custom edition text and you may not be able to find it on secondary websites (but check anyway). There is also an earlier edition of the text available, but it lacks an index. I am told that it’s cheaper if you purchase the new book and sell it back than to purchase the used old, but make your own decision here. No other editions besides these two are acceptable for this course.

• Coursepack. Available free from the class website as a PDF file here: Coursepack SPC1603 Spring 2013.pdf. (If you don’t have an Adobe reader, you can download one free from www.adobe.com.) Your class schedule will let you know which pages you need to bring to class on which days. You are NOT required to print out every page.
• “I>Clicker.” “Clickers” are student response devices that allow you to interact with presenters.  We will use I>Clicker response devices in the large lecture. Any version of I>Clicker, including I>Clicker(1), I>Clicker2, or Web>clicker, is permissible. Web>clicker allows you to use your smartphone or laptop to register your votes without having to purchase a separate clicker (message and data rates may apply), and the subscription rates for one semester are cheaper than purchasing a clicker. Plan at the latest to have your clicker ready by the third week of class. Clicker participation is worth points. You are required to register your clicker for this course, even if you have registered your course for a previous semester. Students who do not register their clickers for the course will not receive clicker participation points. More information on I>Clickers can be found on the class website and in the coursepack.

Clicker Use in Class

After you purchase your I>Clicker, you must register your clicker online for this class. A sheet explaining how to do this can be found in the “Course Materials” folder on the class website. If you purchase a web>clicker subscription, I will give you information necessary to activate your account.

Clicker Technical Issues

If you are having technical issues with your I>Clicker, I will allow you two (2) class periods to take care of the issue with their customer service without loss of points.

Contact I>Clicker here:

Toll Free:  866-209-5698

Email:  support@iclicker.com

Web:  http://www.iclicker.com/dnn/Support/FAQs/tabid/179/Default.aspx

You must notify me at the beginning or end of class upon having any technical issue. (Note that a technical issue is NOT “I forgot my clicker” or “My batteries are dead”. It is your responsibility to bring your clicker and make sure your batteries are working.) Notify me each class period you have the issue. If you are still having problems after two class periods, you will start to lose points on the third day. 

Note: Students should purchase ONLY ONE "CLICKER" because the same unit can be used in every class that chooses to use the I>Clicker system. If you already have an I>Clicker, or a Web>Clicker subscription, feel free to register it for this class. Other brands of clickers, however, will not work for this class.

Any student who comes to class with an I>Clicker that is not registered to them (i.e., another student’s clicker) and uses that clicker to do that absent student’s class work will be referred to the UCF Office of Student Conduct for appropriate sanctions, which may include failure for the class and/or dismissal from the university. The absent student will be referred as well.

Large Lecture Class Protocol

The large lecture is a unique environment. Since we meet in an acoustically well-designed auditorium, the sound is rather good. Conversations—including whispered ones—between you and your neighbor carry easily throughout the entire room. For courtesy, please limit your conversations to outside of the classroom. Laptops are permitted for notetaking and administering feedback. If you do wish to surf the Internet during lectures, our recommendations are as follows:

1. We know it’s hard to keep your attention the entire time during a lecture. Gentle Internet surfing, while not recommended, is permissible. However,
2. Your attention will obviously be divided. Use at whatever risk is acceptable to you for missing valuable course content that will not only help you deliver your speeches, but also take the exams. (Hint: exams tend to be fairly detailed, drawing upon information from the lectures and the text, and detailed information can be easily missed.) And,
3. Be cool about it. Others may unwittingly get sucked in to your surfing. Uproarious laughter about the cool Facebook profile your friend just uploaded showing how he hurled all over his friend’s dog will cause class distractions, and
4. Students causing class distractions will be asked to leave. Don’t let this be you.

Cell phones very obviously should be turned on silent and put away during class, especially labs. Think about it—would you want someone texting while you’re speaking?

Twitter®

We will be using the Twitter hashtag #1603lec during large lectures in COM 101 as a backchannel for questions. If you have questions during the lecture, you can “tweet” a 140-character question there. (If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can get one free from twitter.com.) We’ll try to address them as time permits.

E-Mail

In this class our official mode of communication is through email. All communication between student and instructor and between student and student should be respectful and professional. Please include “SPC 1603 000# <First Name> <Last Name>” in your email subject heading (e.g., “SPC 1603 0003 John Smith - Upcoming Speech Question”).

As of 2009, Knights Email is the only official student email at UCF, which means that you are required to send me any emails through your Knights Email accounts. Class rosters list Knights Email addresses rather than external email addresses, and all official class communications will be sent only to the Knights Email addresses. If you send an email from a non-Knightsmail address, I will ask you to resend it using your Knightsmail account. Students are responsible for checking their Knights Email accounts regularly. See www.knightsemail.ucf.edu for further information.

A few notes:

1. According to FERPA laws, I may not discuss grades via my regular email (or by telephone). Please come by and see me during office hours (or make an appointment) to discuss any grade issues. If for some reason grades can only be discussed via email, I must send you a password-protected document. If you receive this from me, the password to open it is as follows:

          chandlerspc1603spring2013 (all lower case, and all 0’s are zeros).

2. You may normally expect an email response within 24 hours during business days. I normally respond to emails sent from 5pm Friday – 8am Monday by the Monday following.

 

Speech Assignments

All speeches will be delivered extemporaneously using key word/phrase notes--not memorized or read from a manuscript. Significant deductions will occur for manuscript speeches.

Each student will complete the following two major speeches during the semester:

·        Presentation #1: Personal Experience

(Real objects as visual aids required)

                Job “Artifact” Speech.  Select a job that you currently hold or have held in the past and tell your audience what the job entailed, how you got the job, and why this job was significant.  Use an object from the job as a visual aid that helps in some way to show the significance of the experience for you.  (3-5 minutes)

·        Presentation #2: Persuasive Reductionism Speech

(Authoritative research, strong arguments, and use of PowerPoint required)

Persuasive Reductionism Speech Incorporating PowerPoint®: Explain a technical term, concept, or process to a non-technical audience (even though your class will likely understand your topic) and persuade us to accept your position and take action on an issue of contemporary scientific or technological importance. Use computer-projected images / PowerPoint as an adjunct to your presentation for visual support. Topics could range from “Bosons – Why You Should Major in Nanotechnology” in physics to “Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: Replace Your Old Light Bulbs Now” to “Have You Been Tested for Hepatitis C?” in medicine to “Back Off the Pedal: Peak Oil and Your Gas Tank” in geophysics. Topics should be novel (see coursepack p.89 for topic selection guidelines.) Use at least two powerful sources for each main point in your presentation and cite these sources properly during the speech and in your bibliography on your outline.  (5-7 minutes)

Speech Workdays: We will also have class workdays for you to present parts of your speech and receive feedback for those different parts of your presentation. You are expected to bring to class the necessary materials for those days from the coursepack, and these materials are also worth points. If you are absent on speech workdays, you will need to videorecord yourself demonstrating the proper elements required in class in order to receive half credit. You will need to disseminate your video to your group members, and you will need to have your group submit feedback for you regarding your videoed presentation. Group feedback for make up work is due to the instructor one week from speech workshop date.

Exams

You will have three exams and a comprehensive final. They each cover about 1/3 of the course content, except for the final exam, which is course comprehensive. You will need to take your exams on Webcourses on a computer with a fast and reliable Internet connection. Your three exams will be roughly 25 - 40 questions and will be open book and open note, but NOT open friend: you are to do entirely your OWN work. Collaboration among students to complete your exam is strictly prohibited. Evidence of collaboration while taking exams may result in the sanctions found in “Plagiarism,” below. Your comprehensive final will be 50 questions and covers the entire course.

You may take your exam on any computer anywhere you have a fast and reliable Internet connection. Please note: some web browsers are much friendlier toward Webcourses than others. Do a “browser check” before your exam to make sure your system is compatible and will have fewer chances for errors. (Go to the “My Webcourses” home page and click on the “Check Browser” link at the top right of the screen.)

You will have a window of time in which to take your exam, but please plan your time accordingly. (Note: if you have until midnight on a certain day to complete the exam, that means you have all day until midnight to complete the exam, and you should begin your exam by 11:00 PM at the latest.) If you encounter a technical issue, make sure to contact the Online UCF Support Team at http://learn.ucf.edu/support/get-help or (407) 823-0407 IMMEDIATELY to document and troubleshoot issues during an exam. Have their number handy in case something goes wrong. If you contact your instructor regarding a technical issue, our first response usually will be, “What did the online support team say?” This is your first step to resolving an issue. We STRONGLY suggest making sure that your computer passes the “Browser Check” feature on Webcourses (top right corner on the Webcourses home screen) before you begin your exam.

Out of the four exams, we will drop the lowest test score. If you miss an exam, your exam score will be the three exam scores you complete. Since you have a generous window of time to take your exam, and since we drop the lowest score out of the four exams, there will be no exam makeups.

Quizzes

You’ll also be taking quizzes most every week on Webcourses. The quiz material is usually 10 true/false questions and is on the reading you’re doing for the upcoming large lecture. For example, you’ll read about Communication Apprehension from the text, take a quiz, and delve into it further in the large lecture. Note that the quizzes are open book (but not open friend – i.e., do you own work). We will take the top 8 out of 11 quiz grades, dropping the lowest three grades.

 Grades

Grading Scale

Grading Policy

Speeches	380 pts.	38%	My Scores
Job Artifact Speech	100 pts.	10%
Speech Preparation Day 1	30 pts.	3%
Speech Preparation Day 2	30 pts.	3%
Persuasive Reductionism Speech	220 pts.	22%
Exams	380 pts.	38%
Exam 1	100 pts.	10%
Exam 2	100 pts.	10%
Exam 3	100 pts.	10%
Comprehensive Final (top 3 of 4 exams score)	100 pts.	10%
Quizzes (top 8 of 11)	80 pts.	8%
Assignments and Classwork	240 pts.	24%
Assignment 1	30 pts.	3%
Assignment 2	30 pts.	3%
Online Speech Feedback Critiques	48 pts.	4.8%
Lab Class Participation	44 pts.	4.4%
Self-Critique Paper	40 pts.	4%
Clickers Large Lecture Participation	48 pts.	4.8%
TOTAL	1000 pts.	100%

 

Grade Posting

You will be able to tabulate your points on Webcourses. All relevant course material will be posted there. Note that speech grades and instructor feedback will be found in folders on the class homepage.

Grade Appeals or Complaints

Grade disputes rarely occur as each student is expected to comply with all policies as stipulated in the course syllabus including, but not limited to attendance, tardiness, assignment requirements, plagiarism penalties, deadlines, and grading standards. These standards are not subject to review or appeal.

Grade disputes may be resolved most effectively and quickly through direct interaction between the instructor and the student.  Within the Nicholson School of Communication, if a student is unable to resolve the matter with the instructor, some programs allow a further appeal to the Area Coordinator, Dr. Jim Katt. If the student is unable to resolve the matter with the Area Coordinator or if the course in question is in a program where the Area Coordinator is not part of the grade appeal process, then the grade dispute appeal is to be presented to the Director of the Nicholson School of Communication. In short, the policy found in UCF’s Golden Rule will be followed.

Grade appeals

• Must be a typed statement describing the reason for the appeal.
• Must be made within seven (7) days of the assignment being handed back to the class, but no earlier than one full day (24 hours) following your receiving the assignment back from me.
• Please note: Any grade that is contested can be lowered if just cause is found in the process of reviewing the assignment or exam for which the grade is being challenged.

According to the Golden Rule, grades may be challenged only for three reasons:

i. Alleged deviation from established and announced grading policy;

ii. Alleged errors in application of grading procedures; and

iii. Alleged lowering of grades for non-academic reasons, including discrimination.

Further, according to the Golden Rule, “The professional judgment exercised by an instructor in assigning a specific grade or in conducting a class is excluded from the provisions of this rule except as noted above.”

With all that said, come see your instructor if you have a question about your grade. We will be able to discuss why you received the grade that you did. (And, occasionally we do make mistakes.)

Incomplete Grades

The current university policy concerning incomplete grades will be followed in this course.  Incomplete grades are given only in situations where unexpected emergencies prevent a student from completing the course and the remaining work can be completed the next semester.  Your instructor is the final authority on whether you qualify for an incomplete. Incomplete work must be finished by the end of the subsequent semester or the “I” will automatically be recorded as an “F” on your transcript.

Lab Class Policies

Assignment Lateness

Assignments are considered late once lab class begins on the due date, or whatever the due date and time is in Webcourses. (Exception:  your speech outlines are always due three days before you speak, so they will be due at different times since each of you speak on different days. Don’t be confused by the date due for speech outlines on Webcourses.) Assignments are accepted up to one week after the due date for 50% credit. After one week, no late assignments will be accepted.

Speech Order

At the beginning of the semester, you will sign up for when you will deliver your speeches.  Naturally, it is your responsibility to remember when you will speak.  If you wish to trade time slots with someone, this is permissible provided that both parties agree to the change, in writing, and both parties notify me 24 hours before any speeches are due.  Also, changes in the assigned speaking days due to extreme extenuating circumstances must go through me at least 24 hours before your assigned speech is due.  At this time, you must also provide me with supporting documentation of the circumstance.

Class Attendance

We will not take attendance during large lecture days, but be advised that your clicker responses do count towards class participation (4 pts/lecture; you need to answer all questions to receive full credit). Days you are not here are days you do not earn class participation points.

In the speech labs, we will take attendance during speech days. Regular attendance is crucial in this course because you need to be there to speak (duh) and you can’t effectively give speeches without an audience (well…okay, you could, and you might want to do that, but that would be pretty lame).  You are permitted to miss one lab speech day without penalty (when you’re not speaking). Any absences >1 on speech days will result in a 2.5% (25 point) lowering of your final grade per absence. (Example: a student misses three lab speech days. She has one day without penalty, and two days with penalty. Therefore, her final grade is lowered 50 points.) The UCF policy will be followed for students who are members of UCF athletic teams, as well as student absences due to religious holidays.

Speaker Attendance

An unaccounted-for, undocumented absence on a day when you’re scheduled to speak is what might be called a Very Bad Thing: your speech automatically loses 50% of its value.  If you are present but unprepared to speak on speech day, you may elect to speak at another time, at a penalty of 30% (i.e., maximum score is 70% of point value).  I’ll do my best to schedule you for another time, but I make no promises that we’ll get your speech in.  Notify me within 24 hours of your speaking slot to be considered for a make-up.  If you do not notify me within the 24-hour window, (unless there is an extreme extenuating circumstance), you will not be able to make up the speech and a speech not delivered gets a zero.  Also, you will critique your classmates’ speeches on speech days, and critiques not turned in result in zeros.  And speech workdays also count for points, so if you are not present, those points are not yours. If there are extreme extenuating circumstances for any reason, whether speech workdays or presentation days, I customarily expect documentation. The moral of the story: Be There.  Besides, I hope it’ll be worth your while.

Assignments and Speech Planning Sheets

You will have three graded assignments to submit throughout the semester, due before lecture to Webcourses on the dates mentioned in the schedule below. You can find information on them in the coursepack, and you can also download a blank copy of the assignment from the Assignments tab. For assignment 2, you can find a blank MS Word documents on the assignments tab for you to download, fill out, and upload. Please follow instructions carefully for these assignments.

You will submit your Speech Planning Sheets to the “Assignments” tab in Webcourses. These you’ll cut and paste into the box under the assignment. You’ll receive feedback on your topic sheets there as well. Planning sheets not turned in or changed <1 week before your speaking date results in a letter grade penalty for the speech. See planning sheets for more details.

Note: Assignments that I cannot open or are in a format that I cannot open may result in a zero for the assignment. Please make certain that your assignment has submitted correctly.

Outlines

You will submit your sentence outlines three (3) days before you speak to the Turnitin.com link for your particular speech on the class homepage (i.e., by Saturday midnight for a Tuesday speech, or by Monday midnight for a Thursday speech). An outline not turned in by these times is considered late. You should use Microsoft Word or Open Office to complete your assignment. Also include the outline checklist for your speech found in the coursepack (or on the class website), filled out, at the end of your outline. Failure to do any of the above will result in loss of points as described on page 51 in the coursepack.

Class Feedback

You are expected to give both oral and written feedback to your peers. You will use Webcourses to give written feedback to only your 4 feedback group peers on their speeches. In the discussion area, you’ll see your group number with your group members listed. You must post feedback to the four other members in your group, and also fill out a peer evaluation rubric that mirrors the rubric you use in class. (If your group has fewer than four members, choose classmate(s) from other groups so you have four complete posts for written feedback.) (How to submit feedback, as well as how feedback is graded, is discussed in the coursepack on p. 33.) In the class we will also give oral feedback after your speech, and you may offer feedback to all speakers here, not just your group members. Remember to log your feedback in your Class Participation Tracking Sheet.

Class Participation

For the large lecture, your clickers are your class participation. In labs, you will help determine your class participation grade via a rubric and evidence presented via your filled out log sheet. You will keep track of your participation during the labs on the Class Participation Tracking Sheets and use the tracking sheets to calculate your grade on the rubric found on page 34ff. in the coursepack. Hard copies of these sheets (the grade calculation and the log sheet that documents your grade) are due on the last day your class meets. Sheets not turned (log sheet, gradesheet, or both) in may result in a zero for your class participation grade! (Note: I reserve the right to “veto” a class participation grade if it does not comply with the rubric and/or if there is no documentation to support your points. For example, a perfect class participation score is not possible if you have missed a lab!)