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COMS-105/COMM-C1000 - Online/OnlineLIVE - Fundamentals of Public Speaking/Introduction to Public Speaking - Tammera Stokes Rice

Introduction

Welcome to Fundamentals of Public Speaking, COMS 105.   My name is Tammera Stokes Rice, and I will be your instructor.  Please read this entire letter, and if you have any further questions, please email me at tammera.rice@canyons.edu.  I will do my best to reply to you within 24-48 hours.

Course Description

This course was designed to help you develop a variety of communication skills and provide you with an opportunity to practice public speaking in a supportive environment.  The Student Learning Outcomes for this course are to Organize and deliver effective informative and persuasive speeches applying the principles of public speaking, Utilize effective research skills using traditional and electronic resources, and Analyze public discourse.

Although this is an 100% online class - YOU WILL BE GIVING SPEECHES IN THIS COURSE LIVE!  You will be expected to meet during the scheduled times posted in the schedule of classes on specific dates as outlined in the schedule and use online tools (Zoom) to deliver live speeches to myself and your classmates.  

What to Expect in this Course

Students will be completing coursework using CANVAS () and other online tools. For example, I will post class materials such as syllabus, readings, assignments, videos, tests, etc.  I will also make class announcements through the news forum. Your class will open within CANVAS  on the first  Sunday of the first week of the semester. When the class becomes available, you can access our online course using the following link:   If you do not see the class then you may have been kicked out due to not paying for the class within 24 hours, which means you may have lost your spot in the class.   If you just added the class, then it may take up to 24 hours for the class to show in Canvas.

You will need a webcam and microphone to be successful in this class.  Most students already have these built into their home computers and laptops.

Types of Assessments

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Speeches and Outlines – There will be two graded speeches this semester.  

Audience Attendance  - You are required to be an active audience member in two different sessions other than the one you speak in. 

Exams – There will be two multiple choice and/or True-False exams covering the readings and lectures.

Discussion Boards - Class participation is an important expectation of this course. Students are expected to offer comments, questions, and replies to the discussion question(s) that have been posed for each module. Students are expected to actively participate in EACH module’s discussion(s) EACH week.  Each original post answering the discussion board should be at least 250 words unless noted differently in the discussion board itself.  If replies are required, the each should be 50-100 words each, unless otherwise noted.

Activities -  There are ten activities worth 10 points each.

Speech Critique - You are required to critique four different speeches both for the informative and persuasive speeches and write a two page paper critiquing the speaker using the speech evaluation form provided in your supplemental packet.

Textbook Information

• We use an Open Educational Resource (ZTC) textbook in the course, which means it is free for you. You can find it in Module 0 of our class Canvas shell.
• As soon as you gain access to the class (on the first Sunday of the semester), please go into Module zero and review all documents; first, and foremost, the syllabus.