Public Speaking Online

SCAD always impresses. They like to do things right. In this case though, I am torn. Don't get me wrong, they still went all out. It's just that I never had to take a speech class in college. I don't really feel like I suffered for it. Maybe those who have seen me speak would beg to differ. I do get nervous. As a foreign language student though, I was standing up in front of my class and speaking just about every day, so maybe that counts for something. And now that I think about it, I am more comfortable speaking Chinese in front of people than speaking English. Hmm, need to call my shrink, I think I just had a breakthrough.

Speech at Kirkwood, like many other institutions, is a stumbling block toward full online degrees. I spoke with a dean from a community college in CA who explained the transfer institutions in his area would not accept online speech courses unless the instructor was able to be in the same room as the student while the speeches were given. Kind of kills the idea of distance learning, doesn't it? I'm not sure where our transfer institutions stand on this issue.

SCAD did not have this problem. But they did meet with a lot of resistance from instructors. And here is how the course was set up to meet the outcomes and quell some of the faculty's fears: 2 video submitted speeches (requiring a live audience of at least 10 people), learner's journal, 2 exams, 20 research assignments, 11 discussions, and an extra credit speech was optional. Incredibly rigorous. Perhaps too much so. The students were required to submit 3 audience member evaluations, post their speech videos online for other student to critique, and so on.

Their big lesson learned was the need for more modeling. Students at a distance did not have the benefit of seeing the instructor model hand gestures, eye contact, etc. They are exploring video modeling for their revision.

It was an interesting session. K. Michelle Scott, an experienced public speaking professor, is committed to providing a high caliber course. I hope she presents again next year. She's good at public speaking.