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CM475 Sr. Seminar in Communication Syllabus

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COURSE SYLLABUS

CM 475 SR. SEMINAR IN COMMUNICATION Bruce Clary

Spring 2009 Mohler 201

2 cr. hrs. claryb@mcpherson.edu

1:30-2:20 TTh Becki BowmanMohler 223

bowmanb@mcpherson.edu

COURSE MISSION/RATIONALE

As a career-oriented liberal arts college, McPherson College strives to develop graduates who

have mastered skills and content that will ensure their career success. This course contributes

directly to that goal by asking students to (1) compile a professional, electronic portfoliodemonstrating their readiness to enter a communication profession, (2) create an application

package that is ready for use with prospective employers, and (3) identify suitable position

openings and prospective employers.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Application of communication concepts and principles to the development of a professional,

electronic portfolio and an applications package.

REQUIREMENTS MET

This course is required of all students completing a communication major, an autocommunication major, or an interdisciplinary major with a strong communication component.

COURSE GOALS

The goals of this course are

to exercise and enhance your skill in applying communication concepts and principles to enable you to design and develop a professional, electronic portfolio and an application

package demonstrating your readiness to enter a communication profession

to identify suitable position openings and prospective employers.COURSE STRUCTURE

Dr. Bowman will lead you through the development of an applications package. Dr. Clary will

be responsible for teaching the Web design and development of the online portfolio. (There will

be considerable overlap in the contents of the applications package and online portfolio.)

Applications package. Students will write cover letters, prepare a resume, and compile a

portfolio that can be used in the search for jobs in the communication field.

Online portfolio. Students will use Dreamweaver CS3 to produce an electronic portfolio thatshowcases the best of their work. Students will learn the basics of Web design, CSS, and

XHTML in the process of developing their portfolio.

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The objective of the project is to develop a Web-based portfolio that provides prospectiveemployers and clients with a professional and creative introduction to you and your graphic

design skills. The portfolio itself becomes a demonstration of your ability to design for the Web.

The portfolio must include, but is not limited to, the following:

a home page an About Me or bio page both an HTML resum and a resum in a PDF document (or, alternatively, a CSS style

sheet for print)

three or more galleries exhibiting work that demonstrates your strengths as acommunication professional

The successful portfolio will do more than exhibit your work attractively and effectivelyit willreflect your personality and character and project a clear vision of who you are as a person and a

communication professional.

EVALUATION

50 percent of final gradeCover letter, resum, paper portfolio, and mock interview

50 percent of final grade

Online portfolio: see attached rubric(2 points subtracted for each process deadline not met)

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE(Shaded sessions meet in Mohler 218; unshaded, in Spectator lab)

T, Feb. 3 Topic: Introduction to course (Becki)

Th, Feb. 5 Topic: Job SearchingWhat do I want to do? (Becki)

T, Feb. 10 Topic: Cover Letter Writing (Becki)Th, Feb. 12 Topic: Resum Writingbring a list of education and work history (Becki)

T, Feb. 17 Topic: Portfolio Creation (Becki)

Th, Feb. 19 Topic: Portfolio Creation cont. (Becki)

T, Feb. 24 Topic: The Digital Portfoliocreating your brand (Bruce)

Th, Feb. 26 Due: Come to class prepared to analyze the branding in three onlineportfolios that you admire

T, March 3 Due: Come to class with three brand words for your portfolioTopic: (1) Designing a typographical logo for your vision (2) Photoshop

Th, March 5 Due: Three possible typographical logos saved as .jpg filesTopic: Designing the Web-based portfolio

T, March 10 Topic: Introduction to XHTML and CSS

Th, March 12 Due: Bring contents for paper portfolio to classworking day to reviewcontents and determine organizational pattern

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T, March 17 Topics: (1) Introduction to Dreamweaver CS3 (2) Styling text with CSS

Th, March 19 Due: CSS Text-styling assignmentTopic: Converting paper portfolio contents and organization for the online

portfolio

T, Mar 31 Topics: (1) The Web design workflow (2) The box model and wireframing

Th, April 2 Due: (1) Wireframe of portfolio home page (2) Sketch of portfolio homepage

Topic: CSS layout

T, April 7 Due: Empty HTML/CSS mockup of the online portfolioTopic: Combining graphics and CSS

Th, April 9 Due: Examples of three live galleries that you admireTopic: Gallery technologies: HTML/CSS, Flash, Javascript

T, April 14 Due: XHTML/CSS layout of portfolio home page

Topics: (1) Navigation design (2) CSS navigationTh, April 16 Due: Deadline for cover letters, resums, and paper portfolios. Bring all

items to class for review.

T, April 21 Online portfolio lab session

Special topics as necessary

Th, April 23 Online portfolio lab sessionSpecial topics as necessary

T, April 28 Online portfolio lab sessionSpecial topics as necessary

Th, April 30 Topic: Interview skills

T, May 5 Online portfolio lab sessionSpecial topics as necessary

Th, May 7 Online portfolio lab sessionSpecial topics as necessary

T, May 12 Due: Online portfolios

Th, May 14 Mock interviews