Week 9, Reflection

Reflect on your blogging experience for this class by re-reading the weekly assignments and articles, and the responses posted by your classmates. What did you like the most and what did you like the least? What did you learn from reading other people’s postings?

Week 8, Happy Thanksgiving

Take the week off from blogging and enjoy the holiday. I will post the final blogging assignment on December 1.

Week 7, It’s not just about your resume and cover letter anymore

Read this article on digital information at
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/10/12/cb.digital.trail.job.search/index.html?iref=werecommend

Follow the article’s instructions to see what you turn up about yourself on the Internet. When I do this, my personal blog and this blog, my book on Amazon, and my Linked-In spot come up, along with the other thousands of Erica Hansons in the world, most of whom seem fairly respectable.

While you do not have to tell us what exactly you found or provide links to those embarrassing photos, do write about your reaction to both the article and what you found when you searched your name on the Internet (if anything).

Week 6, Characteristics of a good boss

In business, you can think of a work unit as being the team and the boss as being the team leader. Even business owners and freelancers have bosses. A business owner has a boss when he or she works with a client to provide the service, item or benefit. An example would be an independent carpenter. A good boss for the carpenter would be a homeowner who clearly communicates what is needed and does not change the project halfway. A freelancer (whether a writer, graphic designer, temporary staff, or other professional) works for project leaders. My editor at the Dunn County News is a good boss because she gives me clear instructions and then lets me complete the assignment on my own. She also appreciates the work I do for her and is generous in praising my writing. For example, she told me once how much she appreciates that she doesn't need to edit or rewrite my articles.


Read this article on http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/11/09/good.boss.advice.cb/index.html Describe a boss or leader you’ve had who is a good boss. Give an example that illustrates what specific quality made him or her a good boss.

Week 5, Ensuring your email messages are professional

Read this article on email characteristics identified as pet peeves by a career planning consultant at http://stress.about.com/od/officepolitics/a/emailpeeves.htm The link should take you directly to the article. If it takes you to a list of articles, click on the one titled “Simplify your workday: 27 email pet peeves.”

After reading the two page article, what are your thoughts? What is your pet peeve about emails? Which one listed do you see the most? Have any emails you’ve received recently (or sent) been particularly unprofessional? If so, describe them.

Week 4, The Grammar Vigilante

Kate McCulley became so incensed about the grammatical errors she saw around her that she started a blog documenting not only the errors, but also the corrections. Visit her blog at http://thegrammarvandal.wordpress.com/ and read at least two of her entries. Then, look around this week and be alert to grammar errors.

Write your reaction to what she is doing and your reaction to her examples. Describe at least one grammar error you found, tell us where you found it (e.g. Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, a web site, an email, here on the campus at Globe, wherever), and what the correct usage would be.

Week 3, Communication between the genders

Read the following short article from the U.S. Coast Guard on communication differences between men and women: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/uscg/gender_communication.htm

What is your reaction? This article was written in 1998. Do you think the information in the article is still valid? Or do you think men and women no longer have issues communicating in the workplace today?

Finally, give an example from your own life—either at school or in the workplace—where you believe communication between genders either was or was not successful. If it was successful, why? If it was unsuccessful, what could you or the other person(s) have done differently? Be specific.

Week 2, Communication beyond words

Verbal communication uses words in writing and speaking. It is important in both your professional and personal lives. The other form of communication—nonverbal—is also important. One type of nonverbal communication is when a person’s words and behavior do not match (also called incongruent behavior). An example of this is when a person tells you he or she is happy and loves the job, but doesn’t look you in the eye and is frowning. Experts agree that the nonverbal behavior is more likely to communicate the person’s true feelings than his or her words. Keep in mind, however, that the tricky thing about all types of communication, both verbal and nonverbal, is that communication may be misinterpreted. The person may enjoy the job, but has a piece of lint in his or her contact lens.

Think about a situation in your personal, academic, or work life where you interacted with someone who had incongruent behavior. What was your interpretation at the time? Could there have been another way to interpret it? Describe the situation, your interpretation, and at least one other possible way to explain the conflicting actions and words.

Week 1, Virtual introductions

Between now and 5 p.m. Monday, October 12, enter a comment on this post. In your comment, briefly introduce yourself: your full name, your job (currently or the one you’d like in the future), your program in school, and anything else you would like your instructor and classmates to know about you.

Instructions: click on “comments” at the end of this post. If you already have a Google account you want to use, enter your email address and password. If you do not have a Google account or want to create one using your Globe email address, click on the new user, create an account and REMEMBER it. After you have signed on, enter your comments, the letters indicated (to show you are a human and not a spam machine), and click “post comment.”


For this week only, you will receive five points for participation. The goal is to be sure you are registered and able to participate on this blog before the formal blogging assignments begin in Week 2. Once the formal assignments begin, you will be able to earn up to 10 points depending on the quality of your response. Feel free to scroll down and click on "archives" to see what other students in previous classes have written.

Finals week

Here is a photo of the visual aid created by one of our classmembers for her final writing project. It's the Globe Eau Claire campus with access roads and a parking lot full of cars in 100% edible materials (graham crackers, frosting, rock candy, chocolate stones, gum drops and sugar wafers. Can you see our classroom's window?

Week 8, Reflecting on your blogging experience

Reflect on your blogging experience for this class by re-reading the weekly assignments and the responses posted by your classmates. What did you like the most and what did you like the least? What did you learn from reading other people’s postings?

Note: this assignment is due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 16. It is your last blog assignment.

Week 7, Assignment, Why blogging is good for your career

Read this article from CNN/Career Builder: "Why blogging is good for your career" at http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/08/03/cb.blogging.good.for.career/index.html

What is your reaction? Why or why not would you recommend blogging to someone who is new to the online communication forms Twitter and blogging? Do you think you'll follow the article's advice and start your own blog?

Note: since Monday is Labor Day, your response to this assignment will be due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8.

Extra Credit, Author Event discussion

For those of you who attend Mary Pierce’s event on Wednesday, 9/2, enter your comments on it here for 10 points extra credit by 9/9.

There is another extra credit opportunity available through Week 8. Participate in the Writing Lab for 10 points each for a maximum of two times. You can use any assignment from any class. Just let the tutor know to email me that you have completed a session.

Don’t forget to check back here on Tuesday, 9/1, for the next weekly blog assignment.

Week 5, Wiio’s Laws of Communication (revised assignment)

Note: the deadline for this week's assignment is extended to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, thanks to Murphy’s Law of Blogging, which is, “If anything can go wrong with a link, it will.”

Read this article co-authored by two lieutenant colonels in the Air Force at http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/au-24/pine.pdf on what can go wrong in communication. What part of the article interested or surprised (or amused) you the most? Describe a communication you have either engaged in or observed that illustrates any of the four laws or the four corollaries identified by Osmo Wiio.

Week 4, The importance of email today

Read this article about email etiquette by a professional career planning consultant at http://careerplanning.about.com/lr/email_etiquette/57869/1/ (note that it is four pages long, so be sure to click on each page number when you are done with each screen).

Think about emails you have received and that you have sent. Does one stand out as being an example of good email etiquette? If so, describe the email and what made it good. Now, does another email you have received or sent serve as a bad example? If so, describe it and what should have been done differently.

Week 3, Communication across cultures

Give an example from your own life, either personal or professional, where you interacted with someone from another culture. Was the interaction effective, i.e. did the message result in appropriate action or response? If no, how could the communication have been improved? If yes, what made the communication work?

Week 2, Appropriate Communications

You are communicating whether you know it or not.

Several years ago I was seated in the front row at a university graduation ceremony. I saw many who, in my opinion, were inappropriately dressed for the ceremony. As I watched the degree candidates traipse past me on the way to the stage to receive their Bachelor’s degrees, I noticed how many of them were wearing sneakers and even rubber flipflops. Some of the men had bare legs showing between too-short gowns and their footwear—I assumed they were wearing shorts (or maybe they were planning on flashing the audience after the ceremony and I missed it).

These people were entering their next stage of life as college-educated adults with new careers. They had no idea that their first action as a graduate screamed, “I’m a kid and totally clueless how I should act in the realm of grown-ups.”

However, the young men and women that day who were appropriately dressed, including their footwear, were presenting themselves as adults ready for professional positions.

Describe a situation where you observed someone who, in your opinion, was projecting an inappropriate image for the situation. This could be through clothing (as in my example), behavior (unprofessional action at work), or words (a poorly spelled or ungrammatical document). Explain what you would do differently to project an appropriate image. Be specific.

Week 1, Introductions

Between now and 5 p.m. Monday, 7/27/09, enter a comment on this post. In your comment, briefly introduce yourself: your full name, your job (currently or the one you’d like in the future), your program in school, and anything else you would like your instructor and classmates to know about you.