2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America

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one of the largest concerts ever staged by a city. The event was sponsored by the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. These organizations partnered with Marcus Thomas LLC, a Cleveland agency, to develop a marketing communications program to attract people to the event. Communication executives from each company participated in on-camera interviews about the CMJ campaign. Also, video was shot of two CMJ concerts, the Rock Hall and Cleveland sites to tell the CMJ story. As students study podcasts, blogs and other online tools, they watch or listen to segments highlighting the case studies and learn how these tools were effectively used in actual public relations programs. For example, the students watched a video interview about the communications challenges of the CMJ event and how online public relations strategies were planned to address the challenges. The students then participated in an online discussion forum focused on the planning of the CMJ campaign and conducted a brainstorming session to develop additional online strategies and tactics for the campaign. The case studies help to establish relevance for the course content. Hofmann noted that relevancy is key in motivating online learners. The instructor must convey the benefits of understanding the content in a way that addresses the learner’s needs (Hofmann 2003). Another component of the course requires students to monitor blogs and podcasts focused on the public relations field. The students also participate in online discussion forums (part of the course Web site) to share observations about their experiences in the course and opinions about issues and trends in online public relations. Creation of the course site It was determined that the online course content would be accessed via WebCT Vista to provide a secured environment for the materials and to capitalize on WebCT tools such as discussion forums and the grade book. The course content was divided into a series of learning modules and posted on the site home page. In light of the design limitations of WebCT, HTML pages were created for each learning module. These pages conveyed best practices in Web design featuring visuals, multimedia and links. Each learning module incorporated a “to do” list format to help students understand the content and complete activities and assignments by the designated deadlines. Collaboration and Resources As discussed in the literature review, one of the barriers in creating a course for online delivery is the increased workload for faculty. Since this project involved a new course, it required significant time and resources. The instructor collaborated with a graduate assistant, colleagues in the Educational Technology & Distance Learning department and the university Web team Also, the instructor received a course load lift during the spring semester and obtained a summer university grant in 2006 to conduct research and develop the new course. Engaging online learners Based on the primary and secondary research, the following guidelines were employed to help motivate the online learners: ‣ Clearly convey expectations for the course. Be upfront about the responsibility needed to be successful in the class. Students should recognize that online learning offers flexibility, but it may actually require more time than a traditional class. Consider a “to do list” format for the 30
course site. Develop projects so that the students complete the projects in phases. The student can then obtain timely feedback from the instructor and minimize frustrations. ‣ Use interactivity to motivate students to learn. Require students to participate in discussions and complete exercises and other tasks that require reading, studying and exploration of other online resources. Convey the need to “DO something” with the reading material and resources. ‣ Bring the curriculum to life by using multimedia. Invest time in creating multimedia learning objects to help convey course concepts. For example, produce video segments to show how what students are learning is applied in the real world. Use podcasting to deliver brief lectures and feature interviews with experts. Explore existing multimedia posted online that can be accessed via links. ‣ Build a sense of community. Group learning can actually empower “students to take responsibility for their own learning and facilitates their motivation for interaction with their fellow classmates” (Dereshiwsky, 2002). Create opportunities for the students to help each other learn. E-mail, online discussions, peer reviews and other collaborative projects are some ways to facilitate interaction among the students. Consistent student-to-student and student-to-professor interactions are vital to learning in the classroom and online. Student and faculty feedback The new course was launched in the fall 2006 as a pilot class comprised of eight students majoring in public relations. The instructor elicited verbal and written feedback from the class and the students evaluated the course via the university’s normal student evaluation. The course materials also have been reviewed by some faculty members. Overall, the students and faculty shared highly positive feedback. The students appreciated the hands-on learning opportunities and found the multimedia learning objects very engaging. One of the students \launched an e- newsletter created in the class for university’s Public Relations Student Society Chapter. Another student who is now employed shared that he has applied in the real world many of the concepts learned including planning a Web site and using search engine optimization techniques. Students in the pilot course conveyed that they experienced some technical challenges with the software used for the e-newsletter project. They recommended additional time be allocated to learn the software. The course content was shared with several public relations professionals to obtain feedback about the relevance of the curriculum to the practice of public relations. The professionals’ feedback was highly favorable and several professionals expressed interest in the course for themselves and/or staff. Each semester, the course is refined. The blogging module was expanded and now requires each student to create a blog focused on public relations topics. The results have been impressive with some of the students attracting comments from prominent bloggers in the public relations field. The blogs also serve as valuable work examples to share during internship and job interviews. As new media continues to emerge, it is recognized that ongoing primary and secondary research must be conducted to keep the course content current. 31
Page 1 and 2: 2008 PROCEEDINGS DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Page 3 and 4: Page Pedagogy Posters _____________
Page 5 and 6: RESEARCH PAPERS 5
Page 7 and 8: many researchers and professionals
Page 9 and 10: evenue, or activists provide suppor
Page 11 and 12: Results PR Effectiveness In respond
Page 13 and 14: Applied Context In answering RQ 5,
Page 15 and 16: Figure 8. Distribution of PR effect
Page 17 and 18: fifteen years, and it is now a grow
Page 19 and 20: Ni, L. (2006). Relationships as org
Page 21 and 22: Based on a review of public relatio
Page 23 and 24: Barriers to Online Course Delivery
Page 25 and 26: and “Learners are able to track a
Page 27 and 28: an excellent tool for collaboration
Page 29: audiences. Further, it is critical
Page 33 and 34: Examples of student blogs can be fo
Page 35 and 36: Technorati. Retrieved on May 15, 20
Page 37 and 38: Characteristics of Organizational o
Page 39 and 40: Table 1. Summary Definitions of Cri
Page 41 and 42: Table 3. Organizational Image Resto
Page 43 and 44: Table 5. Hierarchical Rankings of E
Page 45 and 46: strategies public relations profess
Page 47 and 48: Stephens, K. K., Malone, P. C., & B
Page 49 and 50: Testing Crisis Response Strategies:
Page 51 and 52: example Coombs & Schmidt (2000) emp
Page 53 and 54: Table 1.0 Tactics And Examples As O
Page 55 and 56: Discussion The purpose of this rese
Page 57 and 58: Benoit, W.L. (1995b). Sears repair
Page 59 and 60: IMC and its Integration into Progra
Page 61 and 62: umbrella. This arrangement more clo
Page 63 and 64: 3B: How do institutional factors pr
Page 65 and 66: academic units. Responses were code
Page 67 and 68: RQ3A: How do institutional factors
Page 69 and 70: The lowest mean scores, ranging fro
Page 71 and 72: In this study, respondents’ perce
Page 73 and 74: At this juncture, the challenge for
Page 75 and 76: education. Journalism & Mass Commun
Page 77 and 78: However, many inside the public rel
Page 79 and 80: Core Determinants UTAUT contains fo
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H5a: Computer self-efficacy will NO
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Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for
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Although hierarchical multiple regr
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Table 8 HMR Results for Facilitatin
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use blogs. In fact, nearly 86% of r
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Venkatesh, V. (1999). Creation of f
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What’s Guiding the Profession? An
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process. Arnett, Arneson, and Bell
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The interview process was guided by
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chef’s feelings or the server’s
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If you’re going to work with [com
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Professionals, however, offered sev
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Hemingway, C. A. (2005). Personal v
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Causing Our Own Problems? Women as
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What’s Critical About PR and New
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• PR strategy is still developed
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Discussion in Terms of Strategy, Et
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How the PRSA’s Certification in E
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1) How did the PRSA certification e
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Frances Lilly in a similar white pa
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Concerned that its sexual harassmen
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All respondents agreed that e-learn
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DL 3.0 were simple text and graphic
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technology that we lose sight of th
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Lowery, S. A., & DeFleur, M. L. (19
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and student groups in research clas
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Adoption of Participatory Adult Lea
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all had the same instructor, the sa
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Table 1: Thematic Analysis Results
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Improving Feedback, Interaction and
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will realize they all are expected
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How to Win Friends and Impact Stude
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6. After reviewing assignments to m
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The pre-assessment survey results s
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messages and she never even called
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Who Should Teach Investor Relations
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Relations Society of America (PRSA)
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From Britney Spears to Burger King:
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governmental entities. The professo
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Show Me! Portfolios as Instruments
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The Student. In a real sense, what
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Gill, K. (ed.). (1993). Process and
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Courses of Study The courses in the
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Table 1. Cluster Comparison of Grad
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Appendix Name________________ Semes
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Outcome Clusters (italicized are ne
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innovation; (2) Successful collabor
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Breaking Ground In A Public Communi
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O A Video Documentary O A mini-vide
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Reflection as an Assessment Tool in
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Creating a Multi-Layered Case Study
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Finally in phase three of the case
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Example 2 Online Assignment: Studen
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New Methods of Student-to-Student a
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2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America

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