Integrated Strategic Communication Blogs

Integrated Strategic Communication: COMM 306
syllabus | schedule of events | student blogs

Student Blogs

This page describes the format for a successful student blog in COMM 306: Integrated Strategic Communication.

Getting Started
You may use any blog platform to set up your site (Instructions for starting a WordPress blog can be found here). When your site is up and running, be sure to email me a link so that I can upload it here.

Posting
Create the following categories on your blog: COMM306; Reading Notes; ISC Topics; ISC Connections; Lab Activities. Each post on your blog related to this class should be categorized into the category “COMM306″ and one of the other categories:

1. Reading Notes: For each chapter in the book, you should have a post related to our topic of conversation in class and/or your readings. Share with your readers an idea that you found important in the text and connect it to an event that you see occurring in the world, something going on in your daily life, or a topic related to the course. Include the chapter number in the title of your post. Be sure to cite your sources, especially if you use quotations or thoughts from our book, the sources used in our book, or sources on the web.
   Note: a well-written post in the reading notes category is not a bulleted list of ideas, but rather a response to a few main points made in the chapter. It might include questions that you have about the chapter, a summary of the major concepts you’re discussing, and/or a citation with link to the book online. In these posts, you are practicing writing for the web – a (marketable) style all its own.
2. ISC Topics: Throughout the term, I’ll offer ISC topics for you to address. You’ll need to complete 7 of these.
3. PR Connections: These are posts of your own creation related to current PR events (and don’t worry, there will be many throughout the term). Choose an event that is happening in the world or a piece of PR communication and analyze it in relation to our course. You’ll need to complete 7 of these.
4. Lab Activities: Your lab assignments could include publication on your blog from time to time. When this occurs, use the lab activities category to organize these posts. Label these posts with the lab number.
5. Other: categories can be created by each student for posts unrelated to our class. Please use your blog for the purposes you deem fit, but keep it professional. When I assess your blog, I will focus on the first three categories, but I will notice and consider other posts as well.

Aim for a word length of 350 – 500 words for each blog post. Include media to add interest (these should be of your own creation or linked directly to the source from whence they came, with attribution).

Commenting
Part of successful blog maintenance is being active in the blogging community. Blogging includes not only writing in your own space, but also reading others’ posts and commenting on them.

You should have at least 20 comments on other blogs by the final blog assessment date. To help keep track of your comments, create one post on your blog titled “Blog Comments.” Whenever you comment on another blog, update this one post with the comment. Keep them in order from 1-20+.  By the end of the term, all of your comments should appear in this single blog post.

For each comment in the post, please include:

• the comment number (1-20+);
• the title of the blog post and author’s name;
• a hyperlink to the blog post;
• the date of your comment; and,
• a copy of the entire comment.

Comments should be at least 100 words long and be related to both our course content and the blog’s content. Over the term, your 20+ comments should appear on a variety of blogs (other students, PR professionals, PR thinkers, etc.). All of your comments should be thoughtful, well-written, and error-free:

Making the most of your blog

For assessment purposes, to be successful, complete all of the required postings and comments, and add your own. When I assess your work, I’ll be looking for:

1. professionalism (your posts are well-written for the web, free of errors in grammar and spelling, and thoughtful; they contain source citations; and they are written with a purpose and aim);
2. engagement in the conversation (your ability to link the thoughts in your blog to reliable information elsewhere on the web using embedded links; your inclusion of media in your blog posts; and your personal connection to the writing); and,
3. continued maintenance (your blog isn’t just completed at the end of the term, but has been a term-long project compiled of work completed on a weekly basis).

Here are a few resources that might help you think through your blog posts:

10 Blogging Tips that will change your life (or your grade, at least)
by Prof. Barbara Nixon, Southeastern University

Blogging  & managing your personal brand
by Prof. Corinne Weisgerber, St. Edwards University