Updates, learning curves, rules and regulations: the trials and tribulations of e-learning

Picture from eduwire.
Students of all ages, from pre-school through post-doc, find themselves faced with electronic editions of textbooks and courses--most of them interesting, but often far from manageable or navigable in short order. In the fragmented personal communication market, users must take responsibility for the communication preferences of the recipients of messages and information. I HAVE to know that my brother prefers to receive texts. My sister doesn't text at all. My international friends like Skype, or maybe no--perhaps WhatsApp. Some business partners want me to leave voice mail on a mobile number. Others never listen to voice mail at all. Similarly, the e-text/e-course market offers a breadth of tools designed to "improve" learning--not caring too much whether every user must interact with 3-5 DIFFERENT types of tools, depending upon their instructor, the course, the publishing company, the institution's capacities and so forth! What is your experience with e-learning since you started school? What works? What do you dislike? Here's ONE of many articles published online about e-learning.

Communication between professors and students

Samaris S. posted a blog with a link to a video produced by the University of Toronto Scarborough's Career Center. It's worth a look!

Grammar Support

The word "grammar" in and of itself manages to elicit reactions that I seldom understand. Somehow, years of the wrong kind of drilling and rote learning (or maybe lack of rote learning) has perhaps catalyzed the distaste that many writers have for even wanting to understand the basic framework of language. I believe that with very little study, ANYONE can grasp the basics and improve his or her writing, editing, and overall communication skills. During the interim between fearful reluctance to learn grammar and actually facing up to your fears, you can find a few tools online (rather than relying entirely on Microsoft Word) to support your editing, pedagogically! Check out Grammarly.

Overused, useful, or cliché?

Business communication textbooks warn writers against using worn-out expressions that may ultimately prove less effective than using something simpler. Although I am not vehemently opposed to saying, "Don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions," some professional writers abhor the expression. What's most important is that a writer revise and clarify his or her text until the writing actually says, as closely as possible, what it is intended to mean. It is impossible, however, to choose the right words if one is unable to anticipate the reader's response. Knowing your audience, knowing the right vehicle for communication, and knowing the conventions (professional and cultural) for the delivery of a message, will provide a foundation to guide word choice. A fellow named Gary Blake has written a blog article on Biznik that illustrates what he feels are "deadly words" to use in business communication. Enjoy!

Fire drills

Most workplaces of any institutional dimension such as Texas State will conduct fire drills. This past week, however, the drills have been unplanned. Thanks to an alleged water leak in the basement of the building (business school), the alarm has evidently been going off rather unpredictably nearly every day for the last week. Staff and students file out and await notice that returning to the building is safe.

From a business communications perspective, I worried when I learned that the campus police were unaware of each new alarm. A member of staff, including yours truly, was calling to report the alarms. The implications are not difficult to contemplate. Let's hope that those in facilities maintenance correct the faulty system and that the IT components of the notification process are also repaired! Policy advice from Fireline (including cooking tips for the holidays).

Digital Dirt

Any HR professional will tell job candidates today that their online presence speaks volumes. In just a few short minutes, here is what I've found on students in one of the biz comm classes this term, open and public. None of it is embarrassing for any of us, but perhaps some of the links are old. Perhaps some need explanation. Perhaps some need to be deleted or updated. Chad, Nicole T. Andrew, Ryan, Myles, Nicole E. Jeffery. From Pinterest to Sound Cloud, Facebook to LinkedIn, YouTube to MySpace, make certain that you know what's out there. Your reputation, online and off, is what you make it. Walk the talk.

Social belonging

An after-class meeting with two MGT3353 students led to a conversation about the inclination for many individuals to follow others (their beliefs, their ideas) without questioning the consequences of "following." Indirectly, the discussion we had in my office was about leadership and communication. I was reminded of a social experiment conducted by a high school teacher named Ron Jones. In 1967, Mr. Jones, with the permission of the principal, led his students through one of the most harrying experience of their lives. You can listen to a documentary about Ron Jones and his experiment here. "Lesson Plan" is documentary featuring interviews of the original students and teacher of the 1967 Third Wave experiment. This exercise in fascism took place in Palo Alto, California. Within one week, 30 students grew to 200 as the Third Wave took on a life of its own, and the students unwittingly re-enacted the roots of the Third Reich. (Here is a short trailer of the documentary.) A 44-minute film called The Wave is a frightening account of the experience/experiment.

Empathy means putting oneself into another voice

A recent BUZZFEED video has been circulating in Facebook. The video reveals, somewhat humorously--but perhaps sadly, what some "white speak" might sound like if their discourse were articulated by Latinos. What do you think?

Music as communication

Here's a terrific bit of information that might inspire your to making more music in your lives! From EdTED, How playing an instrument benefits your BRAIN. Type "brain music" into Google images and enjoy the visual reflections on this theme!

Business Information

Communication via radio broadcasting has evolved since its start in 1916 (from Tufts University). Today, the medium seems almost archaic to Millennials, but it remains a viable source of entertainment and information. Consider taking time to listen to a variety of radio stations (online and off) from around the world.

One contemporary radio announcer named Alex Blumberg from NPRs "This American Life," has recently started a podcast series online that he calls StartUp. Those who have heard him on the radio for the last 15 years will, as I, get a kick out of his foray into social networking media. Those who don't know his history, will still enjoy his very FRESH take on StartUps and entrepreneurship. LISTEN HERE! And listen to NPR on your cell phone too. You can catch Canadian and British Broadcasting news via them as well as many forms of entertainment. Check out their programming first to find something that might appeal to you: National Public Radio.

Honesty of Expression

Human beings can find connection through more than words. Music remains the universal language, particularly when it comes deep from within the heart and soul. This young 27-year old Colombian is now a reindeer herder named Jon Henrik Mario Fjallgren from the North of Sweden. He sings a song he's written in the Sami language for his best friend who died shortly before the singer auditioned for Sweden's Got Talent(Talang Sverige).

Language-Marketing-and a trip to one of my homes

British and American English (among many other "Englishes") can be distinguished from one another via marketing media. Listen to and watch two videos about the city of Stockholm, Sweden! British tour. American English tour.

Gestetner?

Anyone born after 1975 will be hard-pressed to imagine a world where bulk-mailing meant labeling via printing machines like the Gestetner. Lincoln Cushing wrote an article in 2010 about the Gestetner history for a blog on the AIGA website.

Ditto - the mimeograph machine

As interconnective technology moves into the second decade of the 21st century, many of the tools used prior to computation have been left behind--despite their potential power "offline." Do you think some businesses and institutions could benefit from having any offline machines included in their operations strategy? Read about the mimeograph machine, the "copy" machine of the last century.

Non-compete agreements

It's not unusual for high salaried employees to agree to a non-compete clause in their contracts, but Jimmie Johns seems to have decided that it was in the company's interest (despite plenty of bad press) to ask anyone who planned to work for the restaurant--to sign a non-compete agreement. What does this mean for minimum wage earners in a small town with nothing to do but wait tables? When are some contractual agreements NOT in the interest of good business? READ.

Resume tips

As I read through drafts of sample resume submissions, I notice a plethora of "to whom it may concern" salutations. Nothing will help a cover letter find its way to the trash more than a cold, faceless salutation. Job hunters need to research the people to whom the letter will be sent.

David Weedmark of the Houston Chronicle online "Chron", wrote a top ten list of tips for resume writers that serves as a good check list for anyone seeking work: The Ten Commandments of a Cover Letter

Speech Practice

Making speeches is an art. Writing speeches is also an art. The two are never two separate acts; the process required to create a successful speech or presentation requires careful planning, research, writing, revision, testing, further revision, practice, and performance. The White House website offers links to live Presidential and Vice-presidential speeches (several times per week). It's tough to get a better lesson in speech writing and delivery (while picking up on current events and political perspectives) than through this medium:

Today, President Obama spoke at Northwestern University about "the future of America's 21st century economy."

Alibaba and the SEC

Plenty of people have wondered about the ethics and legalities of last week's Alibaba IPO. Read the formal letter from Pennsylvania senator Robert (Bob) Casey to the Chair of the SEC, Mary Jo White, expressing his grave concern. The letter is contained within this article in the September 17, 2014 New York Times. Should we wonder why a company might be called AliBaba? Will it be Alibooboo for shareholders, or for US tax payers?

Writing out numbers in formal documents

In must informal correspondence, including emails, writing numbers that are not part of a spread sheet such as "1" or "10" is acceptable. But there are conventions for writing out the numbers in formal writing. Here are some tips from "Michael" in a blog about rules for writing numbers.

Six Value-based Dimensions (Hofstede)

Intercultural communication can be seen in psycho-social terms according to six dimensions created by Gerard Hendrik Hofstede (known as Geert Hofstede). You can find details about his work on his websites, but here is a link to a blog that offers a quick and accurate overview: LINK

Walmart vs Alibaba in Intercultural Adaptation

Last week, the world witnessed the IPO of Alibaba Group (on the Cayman's). The company was founded in 1999 by a relatively poor English teacher in China. On Friday, Alibaba's shares (BABA) began trading at $92.70 on the NYSE. Approximately 127 million shares were traded within the first 15 minutes of trading. In the last 72 hours, the stock peaked at just over $99. It's low was just over $89. It is currently hovering around $93. Interesting about this "stock" is that it does not entitle shareholders to ownership of the actual China-based company--only a contracted off-shore group. When it comes to "communication" practices, Alibaba stands poised to enter the US market, and its founder seems to understand the need to adjust to the American market and American customer preferences. Read one Forbes' writer's assessment of Alibaba's future!

Pizza Crisis

Many students, including those who study at Texas State University, work or or have worked at the local Dominoes and Papa John's pizza restaurants. I've been on the consumer end, enjoying the fruit of the student labor at these establishments. But yesterday, media outlets from Facebook to Forbes announced that some pretty nasty stuff has been going on behind the scenes at the major supplier of cheese to these pizza places. Dominoes has officially responded by reminding those who hear and read about the horrible affair that the majority of their dairy suppliers are good people: Domino's is quoted as saying: "The individual family dairy farms throughout the country - 47,000 of them – and the brands who buy and sell cheese are being painted in a horrible light due to the horrendous acts of a small group of individuals," says Domino's spokesperson Tim McIntyre. "A few sick people - whom we hope are prosecuted - do not represent the thousands of innocent people earning a living for their families, whether they work on farms, in cheese production, or in pizza shops.” (Entrepreneurship.com) How would you handle the branding and communication crisis if you were VP of Communications (OR the CEO) of Dominoes, Papa John's or Pizza Hut?

Business Mantras

Guy Kawasaki emphasizes the importance of good business mantras and suggests that they are better for corporate identity and branding (and internal culture-building) than mission statements.

You can read about Kawasaki's views on the "mantra" in his well-known entrepreneurship text called The Art of the Start. You can also find a shorter version of the discussion on Kawasaki's own BLOG.

You can also find mantra-like examples of corporate communication via a company in Australia called Slogan Creator. Take a look!

Ensure - Insure - Assure

To ASSURE is tantamount to making a promise. The manager assured the employees that they would not lose their health benefits. Cartoon source: http://inkcinct.com.au/
To ENSURE reflects the action that fulfills a promise. The captain of the cruise ship ensured that every passenger had access to life vests.

To INSURE is to provide insurance coverage. In Texas, one must insure a car at higher personal liability levels than cars in some other states.

Crisis Communications 101

Sometimes crises, especially those that are the most emotionally laden, can lead to decisions that may not be contextually appropriate. Tears and laughter become intermingled as human beings seek to find relief. In-house reactions to their own corporate tragedies, led Malaysia Airlines to create a marketing campaign that they realized only too quickly was poorly conceived. Read the article at Entrepreneur.Com

Autism in the workplace

Human resource professionals and company leaders understand the importance of a diverse workforce as a means to inspire innovation. Diversity can be exciting, but it can also lead to misunderstandings between and among employees. Not only are "kingdomality" type profiles important to embrace and understand, other forms of diversity are important. Read this article from an online New York Daily article (June 2013). Think about Dr. Temple Grandin and the influence she has had on the practice of workplace diversity!

Barriers

Chad, a student in one of the MGT3353 sections, posted an animated video from YouTube that illustrates what happens when culture, religion, and disabilities intersect during an attempt to communicate. It will have an instant EFFECT on you. Take a look HERE. The video was posted on YouTube by the creator of the video, Tyler Legrand. Image source: From Parisian Fields Museum

Difficult situations at work

What we think are difficult situations at work is often relative to our own perceptions and sensitivities to external circumstances. Regardless, if we feel stressed about something that may be out of our control, we do not always make the best decisions to mitigate the situation. Here is an article that suggests a few tips for managing "difficult situations." And, another article from "Helpful.com" (Click on the image from their site!)

"You didn't tell me that"

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Associate Director of Columbia Business School's Motivation Science Center, writes about the most common source of miscommunication in the workplace. Read her 2011 article in FAST COMPANY.

Encoding and transmitting

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw

From United Feature Syndicate for classroom use.