Introduction to Speech Communication

SPC 2040
Three (3) College Credits

Session B12

Online

Contact Information

Instructor:  Arnold Wood, Jr.

Office Location:  South Campus, T-265

Office Hours: Monday – Thursday 8:00-9:00 AM

E-mail: awood@fccj.edu (I return e mails promptly)

Office Phone:  904-646-2341

Cell Phone:  904-616-5429

Webpage: http://www1.fccj.edu/awood

Catalog Course Description

Prerequisite:   ENC 1101 with a grade of “C” or better (prior to beginning this course).  This essential course in speaking and listening skills instructs students in the principles and procedures that promote effective communication.  This study includes message composition involving idea and information acquisition, determination of purpose and analysis of audience.  This course also includes message transmittal involving vocal variations, articulation and appropriate levels of language usage and listening for both literal and critical comprehension.  This course serves to meet Gordon Rule requirements and CLAST communication skills. 

Three contact hours. (CBE) A.A., A.S.

Instructor Comments:  This is an exciting course!  This course provides you with an overview of basic concepts in interpersonal, small group, and public communication, and will provide you with instruction in researching, analyzing, organizing, and presenting public messages before an audience.  As the cornerstone for the study of communication competence, this course is a survey of different contexts in which communication is practiced and studied.  The purposes of the course include helping you to develop and improve your skills in informing and influencing others within those various contexts, to help you effectively express your ideas, and to enable you to understand how the communication behaviors of others affect you.

Required Text

DeVito, Joseph A. Human Communication: The Basic Course, 11^th ed.   Boston: Pearson-Allyn Bacon, 2009.  ISBN-13: 9780205522590

You should have access to all required texts and instructional materials when the class begins.  You will not be able to keep up with assignments if you do not have them.  You can buy your text from the FCCJ bookstores on the College campuses or from the FCCJ online bookstores

at www.efollet.com.

Learning Outcomes

Students will listen with literal and critical comprehension to correctly determine the speaker’s purpose of organization and information as well as discriminate between facts and opinions in addition to detecting, where applicable, speaker bias and prejudice.

Students will compose oral messages providing ideas and information suitable to topic, purpose, and audience. This oral-message development will include topic selection, audience analysis, development (including research-based information), and structuring of an outline.

Students will transmit the message, using speaking skills suitable to the audience and occasion.

Students will demonstrate the ability to access and utilize computer databases as well as other reference tools.

Students will utilize presentational technology to deliver their speeches.

Students will speak using grammatically correct, standard-American English.

Students will convey effective delivery including the language areas of articulation, diction, and vocabulary as well as non-verbal aspects of speaking such as eye contact, facial expression, and gesturing.

Students will also learn methods and practices of speech anxiety and implement them for their presentations.

Online Delivery System (Course Platform)

The Course Management System, Blackboard, is used to deliver the course materials.

Technology Requirements

Please use the following checklist to determine your computer readiness.  You should own or have access to a computer with personal access to the Internet, i.e. a computer with a modem or cable modem connection.  The minimum specifications include:

v  Hardware

Ø  Computer

§  PC – Minimum AMD or Pentium processor with Windows XP, Vista or 2007

§  Apple – Any PowerPC or Intel-based Mac with Mac OS X

Ø  Speakers; microphone is optional

Note: The College can provide you with Internet access (no ISP needed). You may choose to use your own ISP; however, the College’s ISP services are free to enrolled students.

v  Software

Ø  Web Browser

§  Firefox 2.0 or above

§  Netscape 4.7 or above

§  Internet Explorer 5.0 or above

Ø  Virus checking and protection software

Ø  Internet Plug-ins

§  Adobe Acrobat Reader (www.adobe.com)

§  Adobe Flash Player (www.adobe.com)

Accessibility

If you require specific accommodations to complete this course, notify your professor and contact Services for Students with Disabilities at http://www.fccj.edu/resources/disabilities/index.html. 

Telephone numbers are provided at this site.

Communications & Learning Communities
People learn through interactions with each other, with their instructors, and with the course material.  In support of this belief, a major goal of this course is to encourage you to interact with each other and build learning communities within the class.  If you have a question about course content or procedure, you can ask each other as well as the instructor.  Two forms of communication have been set up and can be found on the course homepage under the Communication button:

§  Discussion Board

·         Each week you will find an item posted on the Discussion Board which will deal with a current topic of discussion.  Be sure you post a response to the question and read the postings of your fellow students.  You do not have to read all of them; that is my job, but be sure you respond to at least two other students in the class.  You may, of course, respond to more. Your Discussion Board grade will be based upon the thoroughness, accuracy and insightfulness of your response both to the original question as well as to the other members of the class. Collegial and professional discussion is expected, which means that you must always use proper grammar (no emoticons or slang) and avoid "flaming" (verbally attacking another person in a public forum).  Note that there are 11 Discussion Board items, but only 10 postings are required.  You may drop your lowest grade.

 

·         A “Course Technology” topic has been established for general questions about course content, navigation, and/or procedures.  This is where you ask the instructor and/or your classmates, “How do I …..”  or “Where do I find….?”  Do not ask personal or specific grade related questions here; private messages should be used for those questions instead.  Students who think they know the answer to the questions are welcome to chime in.

 

·         A “Cyber Café” has been set up for you to share any items of general interest.  Sometimes students discuss vacation plans, recent movies, TV shows, sports, and yes, even the weather!  Feel free to begin a new discussion thread with an item of interest.  Be sure when posting at the Cyber Café (or anywhere) that you follow all rules of Netiquette. 

 

§  Messages (Inbox and Sent)

·         Post private messages to the instructor or to each other under “Messages.”  Treat this as your private email system for the course.  Sometimes students find they have a lot in common with another student and want to exchange telephone numbers.  Do not post these on the Discussion Board!  Use the messaging option instead.  This is also the place to send a question to the instructor about a grade, a missed assignment (I hope there won’t be any!) or any other private communication you do not want to share with the class.  Be prepared to receive messages from your instructor – and be sure to read them!

·         Send specific assignments to your instructor as a private message when instructed to do so.  In addition to responses on the Discussion Board, additional assignments will be due.  Some of these should be sent as documents you will attach to a message.  Do not use the instructor’s FCCJ email address unless told specifically to do so.

·         Be sure you read your messages and respond to your instructor when requested to do so.  Do not delete any messages during the term!  There is not a storage issue with Blackboard so there is no need to keep your inbox “cleaned up!”

·         Check your Sent Box to be sure your messages have been sent.  This is especially important if you have attached an assignment.  If there is no attachment on the Sent message, then you can be sure that I haven’t received the attachment either.  Checking your Sent Box is a way to be sure that your assignment has been submitted.  Do not delete any messages in your Sent Box.

Instructor Expectations

Attendance:  While this is an on-line class, your regular “presence” in class, both mentally and physically, is necessary for your success.  Research indicates that students make better grades in courses they attend regularly. Therefore, your attendance and participation are expected.  Inform me of personal/family illness or professional activity that take you away from regular class participation. Talk as situations develop, not after they have passed. It is vital to your learning and your success that you stay caught up with the work of this course.  It is YOUR responsibility to verify that you have completed all course work. 

First Week

During the first week, please become familiar with the course site.  Click on all of the buttons and check out the links.  There is a lot of information on the site and you don’t want to miss something because you neglected to check it out!  In addition, be sure you do the following:

• Read and print the Syllabus.  This is an important document and serves as a contract between the student and the instructor.  You will refer to this document often.
• Locate and print the Course Calendar.  The calendar contains all of the assignments and due dates.
• Contact your Instructor!  The College has established a policy referred to as Non-Attendance Drops.  Following the first week of class, the College requires instructors to verify student attendance in order to meet federal financial aid requirements.  To verify attendance, you must indicate that you are active in the class by completing the activities below.  If you do not contact the instructor and/or complete these activities, you will be dropped from the course.  This drop can affect financial aid.
  • Go to the Discussion Board and respond to the posting for Week 1.
  • Read your email messages (within Blackboard) and respond to your professor.
  • Complete the assignment for Week 1.
  • Submit all assignment by Saturday night midnight.

Due Dates

All assignments are due by Saturday midnight the week they are assigned except for holiday breaks and at the end of the term.  See the Course Calendar for a complete list of assignments and due dates.

Important College Dates

The following dates are critical for this course.  The full College Calendar for the current term can be found at http://www.fccj.edu/current/calendar/index.html.

Grading Criteria

By Percentages:

Tests:  2 (10% each)            20%

Speeches:              Introductory   7.5%

Informative   12.5%

Persuasive     12.5%

Special Occasion    7.5%

Blackboard Discussion Participation (10 required responses)  10%

Writing Assignments:                         Listening Essay    10%

Nonverbal & Human Relationship Essay    10%

Essay Exam:  Small Group Speech Performance Analysis Essay               10%

Total—100%

By Points:

Grading Scale

900 - 1,000 =A      

800 - 899 = B         

700 – 799 = C        

600 – 699 = D       

599 & Below = F

Speeches

Introductory Speech: 2-3 minute speech to introduce yourself. This speech must be completed as a prerequisite for other assignments.

Informative or Ecological Speech: 4-6 minute speech, the purpose of which is to inform us about a controversial topic. 

 

Persuasive Speech: 4-6 minute speech, the purpose of which is to present an argument and/or persuade us to change an attitude or belief.

                                Special Occasion Speech: 2-3 minute speech which gives someone praise, congratulation, farewell etc.

All speeches must be accompanied by an outline (Chapter 16, “Step 8”—pp. 356-363), posted to the Discussion Board in Blackboard, when one is ready to speak. All speeches must be sent in some video format for evaluation by the professor. Any speech not presented will result in a failing grade in the course.

Make-up policy is as follows: Each student is expected to take all examinations and present all speeches at the specified time and date. If a student has a circumstance that arises which makes it impossible to attend, he or she must contact the professor prior to the examination.  The student is subject to 10 points off his/her assignment grade for each class period (i.e., week) that the test, essay, or speech is not made up.  All work missed is left up to the student to turn in by the deadline.  Blackboard discussions must be done during the week assigned. 

Incomplete Grades

Incomplete grades will only be given to students who have completed 75% of the class work with a passing grade. The student must contact the instructor with a request for an “I” and, if approved, determine a deadline when the work will be completed.  A written agreement http://www.fccj.edu/friends/foremployees/watts/doc_pdf/igradeform.pdf needs to be completed and kept on file until the work is completed.  In the event that an “I” is given, the student has until the completion of the next semester for grade change. More information about grading policies and the “I” grade can be found at this link: http://www.fccj.edu/resources/catalogs/2007_2008/academics/gradingsystem.html

FN Grades- Students who stop attending class will be issued an FN grade.  These students fail the course for not attending (i.e., not participating).

Academic Dishonesty Policy

You are expected to conduct yourself and perform course work in accordance with the highest standards of honesty.  Plagiarism means using any person’s work without acknowledging its true source, including your own work used for another class or school.  In addition, recycling all or part of someone else’s speech, “borrowing” a speech outline, using Internet or research material without citing it, cheating on an exam or sharing exam questions with other students are grounds for failure and will result in administrative action from the Dean for Student Services.  For information about Plagiarism, go to this useful site: http://www.turnitin.com/research_site/e_home.html.

Course Calendar 

A SHORT SURVIVAL GUIDE

Based on feedback from former students and experienced faculty, the following suggestions have been compiled for you:

1. Be sure your name is on every assignment.  This is especially important when you are attaching a document.  There is nothing more frustrating for an instructor than to have printed and graded a terrific assignment, but have no idea who it belongs to.
2. Do not ask the instructor a question when the answer can be found in the course materials.  Questions that fall into this category include:  What is your fax number?  Can I turn an assignment in late?  Where do I find that in the syllabus?  A great deal of time has gone into the preparation of the course materials. Please try to locate the information first before asking a question you are pretty sure she has already addressed!
3. Do not delete any email messages or assignments.  This was addressed above, but it is important enough to mention again.  Assignments sometimes get lost or misplaced.  If you tell me that you submitted an assignment and I tell you that I did not receive it, we both need to check our email boxes.  If no one has deleted anything, the assignment will be there!
4. Be sure Log Off from Blackboard when you finish your work.  This is especially important if you are using a computer in a lab or at the library.  If you do not log off, the next person who logs onto Blackboard will be in your course under your name! 
5. Plan ahead.  Do not wait until the last day of the week and the last minute of the hour to submit an assignment.  If an assignment is due at midnight and you turn it in at 1:30am the next morning, I will accept it, but don’t send a message stating that you had computer problems that night and had to wait until the next evening to submit it.  I will ask, “Why did you wait so late?”  Work at least a few days ahead so that you can deal with technical problems when they happen.  And they will happen!  I will accept a late assignment for technical glitches, but will apply my 10% and 1 point off/day rule.
6. If your computer is down, find another one.  When the chips are down (or not functioning), most students can find a friend, relative or neighbor with a functioning machine.  If you have no one nearby, go to one of the campus libraries, computer labs, or public libraries.  One semester a student asked to turn her assignments in late because she was going to the Keys for a week.  I was able to tell her where to find the computer section of the library in Islamorada because I had used it before when I was teaching a course and was “out of town” myself one term.
7. Rely on each other for help.  While I will check in with the class site at least once and often more times a day, you may have a burning question that a fellow student, who happens to be on the computer the same time you are, can answer right away. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. How long will I have to wait for a response from the instructor to my e-mail?

                I will respond to e-mails within 48 hours, but usually sooner.

2. What is proper e-mail etiquette?

E-mail fellow students and the instructor in a manner appropriate to polite interactions.  No flaming, no name-calling, no foul language.

3. What will help me succeed in this course?

§  Strong discipline and desire to succeed. You will need to log-in to class often during the typical week, motivating yourself to meet the requirements for success.

§  Ability to work well independently. You will develop the support of fellow learners all taking the same coursework together, but it will be different than a typical classroom environment. If you work well independently, your chance of success is higher.

§  Computer savvy. If you are not familiar with the Internet and e-mail communication, we recommend that you take a computer enrichment class prior to enrolling in this course. Faculty assumes you know how to access and send data on the Internet.

4. What are “I” grades and when are they used? 

§  An “I” grade may be assigned at the professor’s discretion upon request by the student to permit the student time to complete required course work which he/she was prevented from completing in a timely way due to non-academic reasons. The professor may require the student to document the request to assist in the decision. The instructor may choose not to grant the request. The “I” grade should be considered only when the student has the potential to earn a passing grade if the missing work is made up.

§  The professor shall prescribe in a written agreement with the student the remaining course work required for completion and removal of the “I” grade. A copy of this agreement will be kept on file in the office of the appropriate dean. All work must be completed within the first eight weeks of the subsequent term, unless the professor agrees to a longer timeframe extension of time (not to exceed one year). When the work is successfully completed, the professor will submit a grade change form with the grade earned. If the work is not completed within the prescribed timeframe, the “I” will automatically change to an “F” grade. The student will be informed of the final grade assigned.

§  To be eligible for an “I” grade, the student must be passing the course at the time of the request, and must have completed at least 75 percent of the course work.

5.  What is an FN grade?

FN stands for Failure for Non-attendance.  This grade is awarded to students who do not meet the attendance requirements of the course.

6. What is the FCCJ Code of Ethics?

Consistent with The Code of Ethics of the Education Profession in Florida, 6B-1.06, Principles of Professional conduct for the Education Profession in Florida, an obligation to the learner requires that an individual shall not harass or discriminate against any learner on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, handicapping condition, sexual orientation, or social and family background and shall make reasonable effort to assure that each learner is protected from harassment or discrimination.

7. What about academic dishonesty?

Academic dishonesty, in any form, is expressly prohibited by the rules of the District Board of Trustees of Florida Community College at Jacksonville. Academic dishonesty incorporates the following:

a. Cheating which is defined as the giving or taking of any information or material with the intent of wrongfully aiding oneself or another in academic work considered in the determination of a course grade.

b. Plagiarism which is defined as the act of stealing or passing off as one’s own work the words, ideas, or conclusions of another as if the work submitted were the product of one’s own thinking rather than an idea or product derived from another source.  Whether intentional or not, plagiarism is wrong and students are in jeopardy of failing the course. 

c. Any other form of inappropriate behavior which may include but is not limited to: falsifying records or data; lying; unauthorized copying, tampering, abusing or otherwise unethically using a computer or other stored information; and, any other act of misconduct which may reasonably be deemed to be a part of this heading.

Any student alleged to have committed any act of academic dishonesty as defined herein, shall be entitled to due process as defined in District Board of Trustees’ Rule 6Hx7-2. 18, prior to the administration of disciplinary action, including suspension and dismissal.

8. May I repeat this course?

Students repeat a course in an attempt to improve a grade previously earned.  State Board Rule 6A-14.0301 limits such attempts to courses where a “D,” “F,” or “FN” grade was earned. A student has only three total attempts in any course, including the original grade, repeat grades and withdrawals.  Upon the third attempt in a course, the student must be given an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F”.

When students repeat a course at Florida Community College, only the last grade earned is calculated in their cumulative grade point average (GPA). However, students with an excessive number of “W” or “FN” grades and students who repeat courses to improve their GPA may jeopardize their admission to programs in the Florida State University System (SUS) or other institutions.

9.  What will I get out of this course?

I know you’ve heard this before, but it’s true:  You will get out of it what you put into it.  You should be able to improve your speaking and listening skills.  You should gain confidence. You may even make some new friends.  Good luck.  Have fun. And keep those mental wheels turning!