Comm. 1010 |1
COMM 1010 Section 30i: Essentials of Communication (Spring 2016)
Class Meets: This is an asynchronous web based course accessed only via Canvas.
Instructor: Matt Barton, Ph.D.
Office: Centrum 213G
Office Hours: M 2:30-4:00; T 12:30-2:30; R 12:30-2:00
Office Phone: (435) 586-7970
E-mail: bartonm@suu.edu
Text:
Barton, M., & Holiman, J. (2015). Introducing Communication: A Digital Learning Experience.
Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt. ISBN: 978-1-4652-4778-0
(Note: This book requires an access card sold through the SUU Bookstore)
Course Description:
Introduces aspects of human communication that develop and implement presentation of speeches and
investigates and executes strategies, principles, and theories, of interpersonal communication.
Students will learn the steps of building relationships, teamwork, interviewing skills, and research
skills.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will have opportunities to develop research skills by actively gathering relevant
information, skillfully conceptualizing a speaking situation and expressing these ideas in required
informative and persuasive speeches.
Assessment: Accomplished by completing the speech assignments and through instructor
feedback on students’ informative and persuasive speeches.
Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Communication; Critical Thinking
2. Students will have opportunities to develop, organize and express ideas by learning how to locate
and identify credible sources for both informative and persuasive speeches.
Assessment: Accomplished through conceptualizing and synthesizing information into
required speech preparation outlines.
Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Communication; Critical Thinking
3. Students will have opportunities to think about and systematically explore issues in interpersonal
relationships in their work and personal lives by applying course knowledge to their lived experiences.
Assessment: Accomplished by completing the interpersonal experience journal assignments.
Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Inquiry & Analysis
4. Students will have opportunities to develop a stronger knowledge base about basic communication
theories and concepts directly related to relationship formation, maintenance, and termination in
personal and professional contexts and express this knowledge to the instructor.
Assessment: This objective will be accomplished through completing course readings,
conversations with the professor and by completing the interpersonal experience journal
assignments.
Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Communication
Comm. 1010 |2
COURSE POLICIES:
CANVAS USAGE: If you are not familiar with the canvas system, it is your responsibility to learn
how to use it. I would strongly encourage you to click on the blue box “How to Use Canvas” located
in the upper right corner of the screen and go through this material. Most of the questions that arise
can be answered by reading these pages.
READING: The reading for this course will be much different than any other course you will take
because the length is much like reading a series of social media posts, so it will be much easier for you
to stay current and not procrastinate. You should plan to read through/explore 1-2 modules each week
so that you not only learn, but you are also prepared for quizzes and have the necessary knowledge
base to complete other assignments. If you get stuck on a concept or simply want to discuss it please
feel free to send an email and I will answer it as soon as I can. If you prefer a phone, in person or
video conferencing (e.g, Google Chat) conversation, we can arrange that too by setting up an
appointment in advance.
SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS: Please pay attention to the due dates for all assignments before
the course begins so you have adequate time to complete them. You will have until 11:59 PM to
submit work on the day that it is due. You may complete and submit any assignment before it is due.
However, late submissions will not be accepted unless a highly unusual circumstance occurs. These
include legitimate and documented illness, family emergency or school approved function. Vacations,
weddings and other such events are not considered emergencies. Excused absences for illness or
personal emergency must be accompanied by appropriate documentation and a direct conversation
with me. I will deal with these situations on a case-by-case basis and I reserve the right to make the
final judgment about whether or not an absence is excused. Please run a virus scan on all documents
before you submit them and keep your virus protection software current. Documents should be
submitted in word or pdf formats only – NO EXCEPTIONS. If you submit in some other
format, your work will be returned & you will have one week to re-submit. Failure to meet this
extension will result in a zero on that assignment. The last part of your responsibility is to make
sure you have regular reliable access to the web with the most current browser available.
The ONLY FORMATS for submitting speeches that will be acceptable are electronic files in .wmv,
.mov, or .mp4 formats. Remember that if you are using a particular program on your computer, phone,
etc. to record the speech, you need to save the file to one of the 3 extensions or export it. Without
those changes, I won’t be able to open the file, even if it is uploaded correctly. There is a media
recording feature in canvas that allows you to load videos to the system directly. If you follow the
tutorial posted in the assignment section of the course page you should be successful. If for some
reason you have problems submitting, your next course of action is to contact the IMIC help desk to
see if they can help. If this step proves unsuccessful you can upload the speech to YouTube and send
me the link. If I don’t get your speech or can’t open it for some reason, you will be notified and will
then have 1 week to correct the problem, otherwise a zero graded will be issued. If you do NOT have
access to a video camera or you cannot comply with these requirements you will have to drop the
distance version of this course and take it in the traditional face-to-face setting. After you have
uploaded your speech please watch it from start to finish making sure there is both video and audio.
For a complete description of each assignment please click on them individually in the assignment
menu.
Comm. 1010 |3
QUIZZES: There will be short reading quizzes at the end of each module that are directly related to
the public speaking content. Make sure you take each quiz & submit. Quizzes are open book, but
please make sure you complete all of them by the due date as late submissions will not be accepted.
Since we have limited conversational interaction this will help me get a sense of how you’re
processing the material.
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: Each student is expected to complete his/her own work. Any student
caught cheating in any way on the quizzes or submitting another person’s work as his/her own
(plagiarism) will receive an "F" for the assignment according to SUU policy (for more information you
can consult SUU Policy 6.33). If you are unfamiliar with what constitutes plagiarism, please ask me in
order to avoid any problems. Students who misrepresent excuses for turning in late work will also
receive an "F" on that assignment.
OFFICIAL SUU POLICY: Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the
fullest extent. You are expected to have read and understood the current edition of the student
handbook (published by Student Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights, and the
intellectual property policy, for information and procedures and about what constitutes acceptable oncampus behavior.
EMAIL: In an age of digital communication you may have grown accustomed to instant responses
through calls, texts or tweets. Increasingly students are frustrated because they write to me in the
evenings or in the middle of the night and don’t get a response until the next morning when I’m at
work. A course like this only magnifies the problem. Please be aware that I check email during
regular work hours, but rarely during evenings or on weekends. There will also be a few times this
semester where I will be away from email altogether on University business. I will try to let you know
about those times in advance. If it is urgent that you contact me, call the Communication Department
at 435-586-7861 and my administrative assistant should be able to locate me so I can respond as soon
as possible.
STUDENT SUPPORT: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, please be familiar
with the following statement. Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities
desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Southern
Utah University Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), 206F of the Sharwan
Smith Center or phone (435) 865-8022. SSD determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of
these services.
SANS (Student Assessment Notification System): Because SUU values your success as much as I
do, you need to be aware of the SANS program designed to help students who may be struggling for
one reason or another in a particular course. Sometimes it is difficult to come for help when it is
needed, but this system is a way for me to connect you with necessary resources and motivate you to
make corrections to improve your learning. If you fall behind, get a poor grade on an assignment, etc.,
you may receive a letter with some advice and a connection to outside help. I hope you will come to
me first, but the most important point is that you know there is help and then have the courage to take
advantage of it. If you have questions about the SANS program please let me know.
Comm. 1010 |4
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STATEMENT: In case of emergency, the University's
Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated
contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are
encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each
classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at
http://www.suu.edu/ad/facilities/emergency-procedures.html
HEOA COMPLIANCE STATEMENT: The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer
(P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law. Detailed
information can be found at http://www.suu.edu/it/p2p-student-notice.html.
COURSE EVALUATIONS: I appreciate feedback from students about course content and
instruction and use this information to help me make improvements to the course based on certain
trends and patterns that surface from them. Obviously the more feedback I receive the better, so I hope
you will take time at the end of the semester to share your experiences in the course with me.
WEB BROWSER: Most of the tech problems in this course occur because students are not using the
best choice in a web browser. As a result, I will strongly suggest that you use the most current version
of one of the following: Safari, Firefox, or Google Chrome when you navigate canvas. Internet
Explorer does not work as well with the canvas system. If you don’t currently have one of these newer
browsers, please update as soon as you can so the course can be as trouble free as possible.
NOTE: Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, and
attendance policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the
instructor.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
Speech #1 Topic Approval
Informative Speech
Informative Speech Outline
Speech #2 Topic Approval
Persuasive Speech
Persuasive Speech Outline
Module Quizzes (10 @ 5 pts)
Interpersonal Journals (5 @ 10
pts)
Total
10 Points
100 Points
25 Points
10 Points
100 Points
25 Points
50 Points
50 Points
370 Points
Comm. 1010 |5
GRADING BREAKDOWN:
A
AB+
370-347
346-333
332-321
B
BC+
320-310
309-296
295-284
C
CD+
283-273
272-259
258-247
D
DF
246-236
235-222
221-0
ASSIGNMENTS:
Quizzes: You should complete & submit a quiz for the following modules.
1) Topic Selection
2) Relevant Evidence
3) Public Speaking Ethics
4) Effective Organization
5) Outlining
6) Presentation Aids
7) Language
8) Effective Delivery
9) Informative Speaking
10) Persuasive Speaking
Module Activities: You are not required to submit the module activities, but they are helpful in
processing the content. If you decide to submit, please send me an email so we can have a dialogue
about your response. These particular activities are designed to be used in a synchronous course and as
such I do not want to require them because I do not believe in busy work. Below is a list of all the
modules in our course text.
1) Topic Selection: Section 1 (3 Topics) OR Section 2 (Techniques)
2) Relevant Evidence: Section 1 (Evidence & Credibility) OR Section 2 (Types of Evidence)
3) Public Speaking Ethics: Section 1 (Defining Ethics) OR Section 2 (Developing an Ethical Code) OR
Section 3 (Understanding Plagiarism).
4) Effective Organization: Section 2 (Under Page 3 of Developing Main Points) OR Section 5
(Introductions Under Use of Humor)
5) Outlining: Section 3 (Flow – Respond to either speech, but not both)
6) Effective Delivery: Section 2 (Methods of Delivery)
7) Informative Speaking: Section 1 (Interactive 1) OR Section 2 (Development – Respond to either
speech but not both) OR Section 3 (Types – Respond to only one section [e.g., concepts]) OR Section
4 (either activity).
8) Persuasive Speaking: Section 1 (Understanding Persuasion) OR Interactive 5 (submit the score) OR
Section 5.
Comm. 1010 |6
Extra Credit: You can earn up to 9 points extra credit by answering & submitting the following
questions to me in an email. A short paragraph (2-3 sentences) on each is plenty:
1) What did you enjoy most about the book?
2) What did you enjoy least about the book?
3) In order to improve the book, what would you like to see changed?
Outline Assistant: In the book, you will see the Outline Assistant tab at the top of the page. You will
also see a blue icon labeled “Time to Plan” in some sections. You are not required to use the Outline
Assistant, but it is very helpful in helping you understand each step involved in creating an outline for
your speech. Once you open the Outline Assistant, you should save it & then each time you see the
blue “Time to Plan” icon it should serve as a reminder to open the saved copy & add content to that
particular section to ensure you cover all elements necessary in creating a solid, well-organized speech.