Communications Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate oral communication skills expected of a future professional in the field.
Indicators of achievement are as follows:- Effectively speak in public settings
- Apply advanced decision-making processes within groups
- Negotiate and collaborate effectively
- Demonstrate written communication skills expected of a future professional in the field.
Indicators of achievement are as follows:- Write for specific purposes and situations
- Write informatively, persuasively and clearly
- Use current technology related to the communication field effectively and ethically.
Indicators of achievement are as follows:- Use a range of applications software effectively
- Use communication technology effectively and ethically in a professional setting.
- Understand the limitations of technology
- Competently employ digital media in professional settings as an effective communication tool. Indicators of achievement are as follows:
- Have a working knowledge of media story structure
- Create media content that communicates effectively using a variety of tools
- Contribute to the production of media content by serving in different roles and working effectively in teams
Writing Minor Outcomes
- Employ more progressively more sophisticated approaches to such elements of the writing process as idea development, drafting, revision, editing and proof reading.
- Demonstrate and apply rhetorical awareness to a range of situations requiring written communication.
- Provide meaningful, substantive peer feedback in both professional and discipline specific writing contexts.
Framing Statement
To demonstrate oral communication skills of a future professional in a communication’s field, to me, is to show confidence in a variety of different contexts where one would need to orally communicate. This could be a presentation, a meeting, a social event, or another setting. Included with this outcome is the idea that one should be able to critically think in on-the-spot thinking situations to make informed decisions that benefit the most people.
So, the two podcasts posted above are from this semester, which was also my last semester at college. These podcasts were a part of Topics in Digital Storytelling, a course that was heavily focused on oral communication through audio projects. Even though these two projects were completed within the same semester, I feel there is a lot of improvement in how I spoke. I kept the first audio project simple compared to the last in that it was not organized in a story-like fashion. For the first interview podcast, I followed along with the questions that guided me through the assignment. For the scripted story podcast, I created the entirety of the outline and audio including the drafting of questions and filtering of answers in audio editing. My process has improved greatly, even in this short amount of time. I have begun taking the time to sit down and think about the details of my projects, something that I had trouble with in the past.
Students should also be able to use updated technology related to the field of communications for the work that they do in the field. In addition to this, they should know to use the technology responsibly, not for anything non-work related or anything unethical. Graduates should also understand the limitations of technology, and what they might have to produce on their own. Graduates of this major should also have the knowhow to employ digital media in a professional setting to use as a form of communication. They should be able to tell stories, create media that works for the purpose of the work assignment, and be able to work in multiple roles of the same project effectively.
The first YouTube video above shows me presenting the artist book that I made for the poetry course that I took in my senior year of college. Below that video is another video that I put together. However, the second video is much newer and was made for an assignment from my internship supervisor. Both of these video products used digital media as a communication tool, one for presenting a work of art, and the other for guiding the employees of Blackrock Farm through their point-of-sale system application. I believe that this was done as effectively as the learning outcome specified, if not more so. I demonstrated the ability to create oral presentations for a variety of contexts throughout my college career, but these are two of the standout examples from the past year that highlight my improvement well.
The new project, the one I made for my internship, was a lot more organized than the video above it. Before I even made the PayPal tutorial video, I outlined exactly what I was going to say in the order I was going to say it in. When I was making the video for my artist book I basically winged it on the first or second try with no outline or plan on what I was going to do. So, my process has improved dramatically, even in the short time between these two projects, but also over the course of my college career. I have certainly met these learning outcomes related to digital media.
Students graduating with a minor in writing should be able to tackle all parts of the writing process with confidence and unique insight. This includes drafting, revision, editing and proof reading. In addition to this skill, graduating students should remain aware of the range of situations that they might find themselves in. They should also be able to provide insight and feedback to peers in professional disciplines and other settings.
Writing has been a massive part of my education at University of New England, both as a part of the communications major and the writing minor that I picked up. The two above essays highlight many of the improvements that my writing and my writing process has undergone over the years in college. The first essay was not formatted well, the citations were just thrown in to fit points that I was trying to make, even if the information did not match up, and the overall argument was weak. Fast-forwarding to the second essay linked above, there were a number of improvements. Even though these two assignments were different, there are noticeable writing mechanic improvements. For one, the ideas were lain out clearly and concisely, not wasting any space. Second, the ideas and concepts nestled within the paper were much more complex, which proved to be more stimulating as I was writing compared to the topics of the English 110 paper.
