Contacting Your Instructor

Hello Folks!
As you are getting established in the class, I will direct you to a few things. The first being how you contact me. If you haven't already, please review the entire syllabus. The syllabus can be downloaded from D2L. After you log into D2L, enter the class. Then click on "Content". Once you are in the "Content" tab, you can see all of the materials I have uploaded for the course. Please download the syllabus and read it thoroughly.
You can contact me a few ways:

1). I normally hold office hours on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 9:30am to 11:30am. You can contact me in 'real time' through Yahoo Messenger. See photo below (this is not a photo from the current syllabus):

2). During office hours I am readily available through email. I check my email often during office hours, because hey, I'm on my computer anyway, right? :)

3). Appointment: We can always chat over the phone by setting up an appointment ahead of time. I can also chat almost immediately during my office hours. Some students are intimidated by chatting with their professor over the phone. However, I assure you that I chat with students over the phone every semester, so it's common practice for me.

Instructor Wrap Up - Harris & Sherblom Chapter 2

Hello Class!

On occasion I will post to my blog about the content of what we are covering for the week.  This week we are reading Chapter 2 in the Harris & Sherblom text. 

Chapter 2 covers:
(Page numbers may be different depending on the edition of the book you're using)


Understanding Small Group Success
Communication in Small Groups
A Systems Approach to Small Group Communication 
     This section also covers Systems Theory, Open Systems and Complex Systems

Understanding Small Group Success:
Page 25 at the top highlights Figure 2.1.  This diagram is helpful in understanding success in groups.  It covers 4 ideas:  1). Unsuccessful, but understands why  2). Successful, and understands why  3). Unsuccessful and does not understand why  4). Successful, but does not understand why.

The success of why groups work together is quite important.  Have you ever been in a relationship with someone and not really understood why the relationship is strained?  Or maybe it's a great relationship, but you're not exactly sure why?  Understanding Small Group Success tries explain why some groups succeed, and why some don't.  It's important to understand key ideas so we can move forward with groups in the future and BE SUCCESSFUL.  It's as simply as that.

Communication in Small Groups:
This section clearly outlines six basic elements of human communication, as it relates to small group communication.  It may seem like an elementary idea, but come on - Small Group Communication BEGINS with communication itself.

The text goes on to highlight and explain all six types of communication:
1). Communication is the recognition of some behavior that is meaningful to one or more participants in the group.
2). Meaning is based in the symbolic interpretation of another's communication.
3). Communication is contextual.
4). Communication allows us to apply meaning to the world.
5). Our cognitive abilities are open systems.
6). We are simultaneously senders and receivers of communication.

A Systems Approach to Small Group Communication:
This section is rather long.  I will not highlight everything in this section, but I will comment that it is an important section in your text.  This area runs from page 27 to 38.  Not a terribly long section, but important to understand.

This area covers Systems Theory.  Pg. 27: "A systems is, by definition, a collection of interrelated parts or elements that function together to make a whole that is of a magnitude and order totally different from that of any of the individual parts.  It is a set of elements bound together in interdependent relationships.  The integrity of the whole depends on the mutual interaction among its parts."

Pg. 27: "Systems theory provides an overall explanation for the complexity of small groups (Harris & Nelson, 2008; Tubbs, 2001), allowing us to highlight the less obvious, but important, elements of the communication interaction within small groups.  Groups are made up of individuals possessing different motives, personalities, and skills."

The chapter then goes on to discuss Open Systems: Wholeness and Synergy, Openness, Transformation, Interdependence, Feedback, Entropy, Equifinality, and Environment.  All GOOD concepts to understand as it relates to Small Group Communication. These concepts are important to understand and apply to your course projects.


Complex Systems:  This area covers the ideas of Second-Order or Quantum Change, Double-Loop Learning, Sensitivity to Initial Conditions, Strange Attractors, Phase Space, Bifurcation Points, and Irreversibility. 

This entire chapter, and all of its subsections in the Systems Approach section (including Open Systems and Complex Systems) is necessary to understand before we move forward in the coming weeks.  Be sure to understand these concepts.  While reading through the chapters, it's important to try and relate the information you are reading, to real life situations.  This will help you to better understand the concepts, and help to solidify them in your memory.

Next week we will be reading through Chapters 3 & 9 - both of which are great chapters to help further our understanding of the inner-workings of groups.

FAQ

Some of you have emailed me with questions and I thought it would be helpful if the entire class saw the answers. Here you go:

1). Q- Do I have to post on 3 different blogs? Or can I post two or three times on the same blog as long as they are different posts?
A- You should comment on 3 different blogs is possible, but will not be deducted points for commenting on the same blog..

2). Q- How do you keep track of our posts and comments?
A- I keep track of every post and comment on a spreadsheet every week we have a discussion. Each post you make on your blog will have a date and time stamp and I keep track of them to make sure they are at least 12 hours apart. Then, I check all comments made for that week. I will record the location of your comments.

3). Q- If I comment on someones post from last week, will I get credit?
A- No, I only check the blog posts for that week. Make sure you are checking the dates of the posts you are commenting on and of course, the content of the question to make sure it is an appropriate post.

4). Q- Do comments have to be at least 100 words?
A- Yes, while posts require 150 words, comments need to be at least 100 words. I do word counts on all posts and comments to make sure you are reaching the word minimum. Of course you can post more than the minimum amount of words required, but please meet the minimum.

5). Q- Should I keep track of the location of my comments?
A- Yes. Please keep track of comments and locations in case there is a discrepancy in recording or grading.  Please use the "Track Posts and Comments" form I have uploaded to D2L.

6). Q- What do I post as a comment?
A- Whatever you'd like as long as it has to do with the content of the post and related to the question I have asked. You can agree, disagree, add to the comment, ask thoughtful questions to the poster,give feedback, etc.... The comment content is up to you as long as it relates to course material, and of course the post itself.

7). Q- If I comment back to someone on my blog, do I get credit for it?
A- In short, no. You will only get credit for your three posts and three comments on other people's blogs. However, when someone asks you a question face to face, do you ignore them or give them the courtesy of an answer?

8). Q- How do you grade posts?
A- Content, answering the question in full, expressed thoughtfulness of course content and of course word count.

9). Q- Can I post to my blog and comment at the same time?
A- Yes. You only need to worry about posting 12 hours apart on YOUR blog. You can comment anytime as long as it is within our discussion week (12:01am on Monday through 11:59pm on Sunday). You can post to your blog and then comment at the same time.....or you can do all three comments at the same time. As long as the posts on your blog are 12 hours apart, go ahead and make three comments on three different blogs at any point during our discussion week. Make sure you comment on a qualifying post on the other persons blog. This means you must comment on a post that was made during the current discussion week.

Week of August 27 - September 2

Hello Folks!

Here is what is listed on the Participation Page from D2L for this week.  If you haven't already, please get to know the materials well, that I have uploaded to D2L.  It is recommended that you keep a binder for this class, and print out the materials on D2L so you can have them close to you at all times.
Due this week:
*Read Chapter 2: Groups as Systems of Interaction
*Participate in the discussion (see questions below)
*Read through the 2 major course projects. 

Class Discussion:
Answer one question in its entirety in each of your three separate posts, at least 12 hours apart. Please make sure you are creating a NEW POST for each question on your blog. You MUST WAIT at least 12 hours from the first post in order to create a second post. The same is true for the second and third post. I will record dates and time of your posts, so make sure they are at least 12 hours apart. EACH POST MUST BE 150 WORDS OR MORE.

1). Groups are living systems based on interdependence and interrelationships. What happens to a small group when parts of the system do not function well? Provide two examples from your own small group experiences that show the importance of understanding interdependence and interrelationships.

2). Explain how entropy and equifinality impact small groups.

3).  Pick one concept from the reading assignment this week (Ch.2) that you found interesting or useful and and discuss it. Please discuss a concept that has not already been discussed this week so far.

Remember to post 3 responses to your colleagues blogs.  (As a reminder, comments will only be counted for the current discussion week. I do not go back to past discussion weeks to look for comments.  Once a discussion week is over, it's over.  So please make sure you are commenting on a relevant blog post.  In other words, pay close attention to the post, and date.
 

Comments - Remember to post ONE comment ON THREE DIFFERENT BLOGS between 12:01am on Monday and 11:59pm on Sunday. This means that you will log onto MY BLOG at: http://comm141p.blogspot.com/ and click on "Student Blogs" at the top of the page to find a list of student blogs. Click on those blogs, read what was posted for this week and respond. You need to make sure you are responding to only what was discussed THIS WEEK (starting Monday and ending Sunday of the current week). Comments posted to blogs that were NOT within this week will not be counted for points. Each comment must be a minimum of 100 words.

Note about comments: When you leave a comment on another blog, make sure you are logged into your blogspot account. In other words, you will need to make sure your "Display Name/Alias Name" shows up on the blog you are commenting on. I record the locations, dates and times of your comments. Please keep record of your posts and comments in case there I have questions about where they are located.

In case there is any confusion, here is how you create a new post using the old blogger interface:

*Log into your blogger account
*Click "New Post"
*Type a Title
*Type your post into the big box
*Click "Publish Post"

If you do not Publish Post, your post will not become public.

For the upcoming discussion week, you will do the same thing for each question I pose, but you will write and publish your posts at least 12 hours apart. (See the "Participation Page" on D2L for more detail about participation in this course).

Blogging

Hello All!

This is probably repetitive for most folks, but please read through it just in case.

How to post to your blog:
Sign into your blogger account and hit "new post". This will create a new blog post. DO NOT HIT CREATE NEW BLOG - this will actually create a whole different blog. You are simply POSTING to your blog, NOT creating a new blog.

Commenting:
When you comment on a classmate's blog, or even my blog for that matter, your Display Name should show up. This is how I track blog posts and comments. You must be logged into your blogger (blog spot) account in order for your Display Name to show up. Whenever you leave a comment, please make sure you are logged into your blogger account and then comment so your Display Name shows up. I usually sign into my blog, then open up another browser window to make sure my Alias/Display Name shows up.  This works best in FIREFOX.  If you haven't downloaded Firefox, you can do so by clicking HERE.  I don't normally use Explorer for my web-browser, but last semester some students had issues with their Display Names not showing up.  So for simplicity sake, use Firefox - it works. 


The Blogging Prof.

Getting Started and Other Info.

Hello Class! Allow me to extend an official Welcome to Comm 141P!!!

To get started in this course, please take the following steps:
1). Review the Desire2Learn website. You can look at my preview post below, to guide you on how to get started in D2L. Review all pages on D2L and get to know the class well. (D2L should have opened up for you this morning).

2). Read over the "Getting Started" page straightaway, and everything else under the "Getting Started" section. This section will direct you on what things you need to do to get started in the course.

3). Create a blogspot webpage @ www.blogger.com. When you do this, please create a new post immediately by introducing yourself to me and your classmates. If you create a blogspot webpage but do not immediately post, blogspot may flag your page and you may be locked out. So create the blog and post ASAP.  (Directions about "How to Create a Blog" are under the "Getting Started" section of D2L).

4). When creating a blog, make sure to choose an alias that is different than your name.  After you post your introduction to your blog, you can look at the bottom of the post and you should see your Display Name or Alias Name you have chosen.  If it's something different that what you wanted it to be, feel free to change it.  Do a google search about how to change your Display Name on blogger.  

The Alias you choose is the name your colleagues will use for you. So, if you choose a name like "Pookie" as your alias, you will be known in this class as "Pookie".

5). Email me at comm141p at gmail dot com with your Name, Email Address that you check often, your Alias Name, and a contact phone number - preferably a cell#.

6). Download Yahoo Messenger and add me as a friend: carolperezcommclass I will be holding most, if not all of my office hours online. You can chat with me at any time during my office hours, or anytime you see me online. I do not use Yahoo Messenger for personal use, so anytime I am logged on (which might be quite often), feel free to message me with any questions you might have.

7). Technical Support for Students having trouble logging into D2L:
For students have problems using D2L (eg. unable to log in, need password re-set, etc.), please contact San Jose State University's Informational Technology Support Services (ITSS) at 408-924-2377, or email at helpdesk@sjsu.edu ITSS is located on the first floor of the Academic Success Center in Clark Hall, so students can speak with someone in-person if they so desire. This note was sent to me directly from SJSU.

8). How to find other students blogs?  Look at the top of my blog and click on the "student blogs" tab.  You should see a list of student blogs on that page.  Please note that I will update that page as students send me the links to their blogs.

From what I recall last semester, if you are having problems logging in to D2L, please call the help desk during normal hours, as sending them an email may take a day or two to respond.

I will update my blog again soon. Until then, have a fabulous day!

Welcome Students

Greetings Students!

As most of you know the semester starts on August 22nd. Most students are scrambling to fill their schedules for the coming semester, and with the shortage of classes, this is no easy task.

I want to make sure each of you were aware of a few things about Communication 141P online, Small Group Communication, before the semester begins:

1). The class you are enrolled in for Comm 141P is an online class. This means that most coursework is completed online and not in a classroom setting. This has confused some in the past.

2). There are no scheduled class meetings for this course. I will hold office hours online through Yahoo Messenger on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the semester. I will also answer email consistently.

3). If you need to contact me at anytime from this point forward, please DO NOT USE the sjsu email address that I have sent this message from. Rather, use the following email address: comm141P at gmail dot com

4). Please bookmark my blog address: http://comm141p.blogspot.com/

I will make announcements, post class updates, and generally keep in touch with the class as a whole through my blog and through mass email. So bookmark my blog, and check it often.


Some of this information may seem a bit foreign to you, and will make more sense once you are able to access the class through D2L. Until D2L opens up for access, which should be a the day the semester begins, use the email address I have listed here, and check my blog for updates. During the semester I update my blog numerous times a week. Prior to the semester I will update periodically.

Again, if there are any questions about the course, please contact me at: comm141p at gmail dot com and please bookmark my blog address at: http://comm141p.blogspot.com/ and be sure to check it often!

I look forward to sharing this semester with you, and hope that your break has been an enjoyable one.

:)
Carol-Lynn Perez, M.A.