How did we get here? A short history of social media

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Guest Blog by Nicole Macfarlane

ARPA Network September 1973
ARPA Network September 1973

Social media is as old as the Internet itself; as soon as we were connected we were making our own local chat servers and discussion boards.

Before the Internet

Telephone and radio were invented in 1890 and 1891 respectively. This marked the start of the information age for humans – prior to this, we communicated mostly via physical mail. The invention of the telephone was particularly important, as it literally laid the foundation for what became the Internet.

Our “Internet” – DARPANET

Initially ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency network) renamed DARPANET (Department of Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) is the project that eventually became the Internet. Started by the US government as a means of communication, in 1969 four universities were connected and successfully communicated. Eventually growing to encompass the entire united states with Norway and London added shortly after, followed by the rest of the world.

Original ARPA Network

Early Internet communication

Three major technologies emerged pretty quickly and became fairly core to the operation of our social networks.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) was a popular chat program. Users could connect to servers set up by peers and talk to large groups of people at a time. This idea of a centralized basic chat server hasn’t gone anywhere – IRC in its traditional form is still alive today, and IRC is employed in the back-end of a lot of public chat programs underneath all their bells and whistles.

Bulletin Board System (BBS) was the beginning of public forums. Typically community managed, people could register and post threads for other people to see. Better for slow communication, this was typically used to plan events and ask for advice to wider audiences within a community. The core idea is still alive in a lot of smaller online communities, and many programs have similarly structured components – Blackboard itself has a discussion section.

Around this time E-mail became a thing. Originally a service offered by AOL and CompuSERVE, this technology quickly spread with everyone wanting an email address. I’m assuming everyone reading knows how E-mail works, so I’ll leave it at that.

SixDegrees: The first major social networking website.

SixDegrees signup page image
SixDegrees signup page

Networking being the key term, SixDegrees was built around the idea that no person is separated from another by more than six people. It started the idea of social networks mapping the human condition. It allowed users to create profiles, invite friends, and manage groups to talk to other people. In the end it failed, it pushed the six degrees of communication very hard – users felt pressured to invite people they knew, and accept group invites from people they didn’t know. That, in combination with a large amount of spam accounts, signaled the demise of the website.

Friendster

Friendster signup page
Friendster signup page

The next major social networking site to pick up where SixDegrees failed was Friendster. Calling the SixDegrees principle its “Circle of Friends”, it boasted features similar to a dating website. Ultimately it failed, users wanted features the website wasn’t providing, the site was riddled with technical issues, and poor management decisions (namely not implementing new features fast enough) signaled its demise. Eventually they changed to try to appeal to a niche – in their case, the “gaming” audience. As of June 2015 their web services are officially paused and looking at their website (http://www.friendster.com/) only shows a notice that they are “taking a break.”

MySpace

The next major website to come along was MySpace. Most people probably recognize it, it’s the first major social media website a lot of people became familiar with. Learning

myspace signup page
MySpace signup page

from the mistakes of its predecessors, it boasted a lot of cool features to attract the disappointed Friendster audience. It gained a lot of popularity among teenagers due to the large focus on sharing music, a lot of popular bands shared songs and other information through MySpace at the time. The website, while still around and functional, ended up a failure. They offered a lot of non-targeted ads to gain revenue, which ended up causing them problems. Non-targeted ads tend to include ads with mature content, and since they had a large amount of younger users, they began to run into trouble for exposing minors to pornographic content. This led to a lot of musicians no longer using the site, and they began to hemorrhage users.

Facebook

Original Facebook
Original Facebook

Originally launched in 2004 to Harvard students, they opened their doors to the world in 2006. Possessing all of the features of its predecessors but none of the faults, they quickly grew to the social networking giant we know today. Instead of large amounts of generic ads, Facebook tailored ads to what users liked or what they think they’d like. This allowed them to show less ads, have the ads be more likely to be clicked due to relevance, and charge more to people who wanted to advertise on their website. In addition, while MySpace required HTML knowledge to fully customize your profile, Facebook is very easy for everyone to customize their profile to their liking.

Social networking in 2016

As we sit currently, Facebook is the king of social networking in most of the world. A lot of other services have popped up to compliment each other (Instagram, Twitter, etc). Social media is at the highest point of popularity in its existence, with the advent of smart phones everyone is always connected. Perhaps Facebook will fall and Google+ will take its place, or perhaps the amount of investment people have in it will keep it going for a very long time.

Sources

Digital Trends (2014). The history of social networking. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/features/the-history-of-social-networking/

Hendriks, D. (2013). Complete History of Social Media: Then And Now. Retrieved from http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/the-complete-history-of-social-media-infographic.html

Johnson, A. (2014). Why did myspace fail. Retrieved from http://www.gudideas.co.uk/social-marketing/why-did-myspace-fail-is-facebook-next

Leiner, B. et al. (ca. 2003). Brief History of the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet

Rouse, M. (2008). What is ARPANET? – Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved from http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/ARPANET

Vweb. (2017). History of the Internet. The Beacon. Retrieved from http://fios.verizon.com/history-of-the-internet/

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About the author: Nicole Macfarlane is a computer information systems student at the University of the Fraser Valley.

O’Reilly? O’MAZING!

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by Kim Norman, UFV Communications Department

Terry O'Reilly sharing "The Power of Storytelling" at UFV March 1
Terry O’Reilly sharing “The Power of Storytelling” at UFV

Saying that CBC presenter Terry O’Reilly’s recent visit to UFV was a success IS telling a tale out of school. And, it’s a tale worth telling.

UFV students, staff, faculty and community members from the lower mainland came together on Tuesday, March 1 in the Great Hall of UFV’s new Student Union Building (the SUB) to hear Terry showcase some of his best stories and storytelling advice.

Early in the day, Terry treated a very full house of students and their instructors to a private presentation on “Elevator Pitches”. He thoroughly entertained with accounts of his past work experiences, marketing slogan successes, and colourful career highlights.

Edu-tainment, courtesy of Terry O’Reilly
Edu-tainment, courtesy of Terry O’Reilly

He shared the highs and lows of his efforts to pitch his “No More Fiddling on the Roof” campaign, and he encouraged students to persist in finding meaningful careers with a story about once sending out 60 resumes that returned 61 rejection letters.

Terry responded to UFV students’ questions with great insights on the use of silence in presentations (he warned that “silence smells like fear”), the success of the Wheaties diamond campaign, and the role of elevator pitches in job interviews.

Terry also emphasized the importance of “learning by doing” when public speaking. He expressed disappointment that presentation skills are not taught more often in advertising-related courses. Terry said students would benefit greatly from taking public speaking courses, and he complimented UFV for offering them.

UFV students can take CMNS 235, a popular public speaking class, as a separate course or as part of a Professional Communications Essentials Certificate or a Communications Minor.

An engaged audience of over 400 sharing the power of stories
An engaged audience of over 400 sharing the power of stories

Terry returned to the stage in the afternoon to present “The Power of Storytelling”. This talk was part of the UFV President’s Leadership Lecture Series.

He engaged and inspired the 400+ people in attendance with captivating stories of hit marketing campaigns and the principles behind them. Those lucky enough to get a seat for the sold-out event probably found themselves sharing Terry’s words later in the week – and are probably still sharing them.

What Spock is to Kirk, reason is to feeling: stories must be understood and felt if they are to live long and prosper.
What Spock is to Kirk, reason is to feeling: stories must be understood and felt if they are to live long and prosper

Some of his memorable advice included:

“Great things are not written they are rewritten.”
“Stories resound for years or penetrate in seconds.”
“Words contain the seeds of change.”
“Customer service IS marketing.”
“The best marketers are the best listeners.”
“Storytelling makes people care.”
“‘It’s good enough’ is the enemy of everything.”
“Make people feel your message, not just understand it.”

Readers who didn’t get to #TerryintheValley or those who want to recapture the event can go to UFV’s Storify. For more Terry O’Reilly, listen to his much-acclaimed Under the Influence broadcasts on CBC radio.

As for a repeat visit from Terry one day, so he (and we) can tell more of his tales out of our school?

O’yes, please.

www.terryoreilly.ca
@terryoinfluence
@UFVCMNS

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Kim Norman is an Assistant Professor in the Communications Department at the University of the Fraser Valley. She has particular interests in popularization and the links between writing, rhetoric, and culture. Kim’s work in the non-profit sector, magazine industry, and education gives her almost 20 years of workplace and academic writing experience to draw on in her teaching of writing and research practices. Kim’s a firm believer that a commitment to education doesn’t just open doors—it reveals new ones.

Communicating research in two minutes

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Samantha Pattridge and Michelle Riedlinger took up the challenge of speaking for only two minutes at UFV’s Faculty MicroLecture Series this week. They grabbed the stage at UFV’s Roadrunner Cafe and shared some of their findings and the implications of their research. Here are the highlights:

Teaching Communications when you have flipped

24636038443_09de267c7f_zIn 2012-13, Linda Pardy and Samantha surveyed four flipped sections of CMNS 251: Professional Report Writing, and one section of CMNS 420: Virtual Team Communication. Their goal was to determine the difference between expected and actual student and instructor workload in a flipped course. They used a strict definition of “flipped”, meaning that students met in class half of the usual three-hour block. They reserved class time for workshops, activities, group work, and peer editing. Any lectures or “content coverage” were handled online.

Linda and Samantha surveyed students three times during the term: near the beginning to establish their expectations, at the middle, and at the end. Linda and Samantha also kept reflective journals throughout the process.

24636031353_9bbdeae5fb_zSamantha reported on three significant findings:

  1. 70% of the students surveyed expected to spend between one and two hours online per week. But by the end of the course, only 56% reported spending that much time. More students spent three to four hours per week or more than expected.
  2. As instructors, Linda and Samantha had their own mindsets about teaching that they had to flip. Even if an instructor is accustomed to using active learning strategies in a face-to-face class, the flipped format has new and different demands on how to approach the material with the students. It requires a significant investment of time.
  3. Only 67% of students overall would recommend a flipped course. The reasons for not recommending it were often related to technology preparedness, but were also related to the ability to be self-directed online. Interestingly, 100% of the fourth-year students would recommend the flipped format. Samantha indicated that instructors must carefully consider the technology skills and academic maturity of students before flipping a course.

Linda and Samantha are presenting their findings at Congress in Calgary in May-June 2016. They also have plans to follow up with journal articles on various aspects of this survey.

Making sense of fishy science

24636049313_c643f716a3_zIn 2010, just after Michelle arrived in Canada, the BC government commissioned an inquiry into the dramatic decline of Sockeye salmon in the Fraser River. Michelle said that the transcripts of the testimonies from commission inquiry were a fantastic resource for her because so many different stakeholder groups testified at the commission. As a science communicator, she’s interested in better understanding how the differing perspectives of people shape the ways in which they understand and communicate evidence and risk.

Michelle’s study concerned the uptake of new ideas by groups of people with differing practices and values. She looked at the commission testimonies from a point of view of framing (what’s highlighted inside the frame and what’s obscured or outside the frame from the testimonies).

Michelle was particularly interested in the uptake of findings related to salmon anaemia virus genetics, and evidence of this virus in BC. She found that researchers committed to furthering scientific knowledge in general made sense of the findings about salmon anemia virus in terms of the Precautionary Principle and the need to take any evidence of the virus seriously. The researchers also called for more public communication about the implications of the findings. In contrast, researchers stating a commitment to management support for salmon industries spoke about the same research findings in terms of their concerns about “speculative science”. They also saw a need to “manage” public perceptions. Same findings. Different uptake.

24895169659_9d23e75e24_zMichelle also found that government research managers attributed a lack of useful ecosystems science happening in the region to the complexity of the science and a lack of adequate resourcing for activities. This research is indeed complex and costly. In contrast, Michelle found that conservation representatives resisted these framings and instead focussed on a lack of Indigenous community collaboration in research and the “politicisation” of science—that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans only fund politically-acceptable scientific research.

The Canadian government is promoting the ‘responsible conduct of research’ at the time. In light of this, Michelle believes that research organisations need to consider critical approaches to the communication and the use of research findings more than ever. She is speaking about this research at the 14th Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference in Istanbul, Turkey in April 2016.

Samantha and Michelle found the Microlectures to be a great opportunity to share their research findings with others at UFV. They encourage all UFV students to participate in UFV’s Student Research Day on Thursday, April 7, 2016. Students have three minutes to present their research at this event.

Samantha and Michelle are running a poster planning workshop for students on Friday March 11 from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm in the Kipp Research Lab (B164). Email kelly.tracey@ufv.ca for more details.

 

Prompting Customers to Take Action from your Social Media Sites

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Guest Blog by Trieste Readingplane-landing

Customers today are faced with so many options of what products and services to buy and who to buy them from. This means that businesses need to find a way to convince them that they are the company to choose. A simple way for businesses to influence the purchasing decision of their customers is to send them to a landing page.

Landing Page

Visual example of homepage versus landing page

Hubspot describes

a landing page as a website page that allows you to capture a visitor’s information through a lead form. This lead form helps businesses convert a higher percentage of visitors to customers.

Conversion

Qualaroo explains that a conversion is when is a visitor to your website takes an action that you want them to take. This action can vary from making a purchase, to requesting an estimate, to simply downloading a document. Businesses, both large and small, can take advantage of landing pages by learning how to optimize them. Landing page or conversion rate optimization is a systematic approach to improving website performance, which combines analytics and objective (KPIs) to take the website traffic you have and make the most of it.

Effective sample landing page from Trulia

The Essentials

A landing page has several complicated elements that come together to create a cohesive page. To save you the time of having to read article after article; here are the 5 essential elements to create an effective landing page as listed by Hubspot:

1.       1. Limit Navigation

This page is designed for the user to take one specific action. You don’t want them to leave to visit another page so limit the number of exits from your landing page. One simple way to do this is to hide your navigation pane from the landing page.

2.       2. Deliver Value

Your customers need to feel comfortable to give up their contact information so that means you need to offer them something valuable in return. Make sure your offer is both compelling and trustworthy.

3.       3. Enable Sharing

Your audience can be your greatest marketing tool. Add share links to your landing page to encourage your website visitors to share your content with their friends.

4.       4. Keep It Short

You don’t want your visitors to have to scroll to far so place important content above the page fold and keep your lead form short and within the opening view of your page.

5.       5. Test, Test, Test

If you are to take away one thing from this blog, it’s that you always need to be testing your landing page. There is always room for improvement no matter who you are or what size your business. Test different landing pages against each other to see which are more successful.

Additional Considerations

For those who have mastered the essentials, I have provided a list of some additional elements from Qualaroo and Hubspot that I find to have the greatest impact when creating a landing page that will stand out from the competition.

Market Research

This sounds like it would be an immediate priority for businesses but sometimes the importance of conducting research to know your audience is overlooked. Hubspot writes that gathering vital information about you target market and customers will help you create value and provide a desirable customer experience.

The Design

I cannot begin to describe how important the design of a landing page is. If your visitors cannot visually understand what they are looking at, they will not stay to read what you have to say. The design of the page will not only generate interest but it will guide the customer to take the desired action. While the design can vary, you should always be sure you include these 6 elements:

  • Headline
  • Subheadline
  • Visual focus
  • Customer testimonial
  • Core benefits
  • Call to action

Infographic about designing a landing page

The Psychology of Colours

Humans are impacted by colour whether they realize it or not. In a study titled “The Impact of Color on Marketing,” researchers found that nearly 90% of consumer decisions about particular products are based on colour. That’s a pretty powerful number that shows how businesses can use colour to their advantage. In other words, know your audience, know what action you want them to take, and choose the colour that will convince them to take that action.

Using colour contrast

K.I.S.S Principle

Lastly, Keep it simple…you all know the expression. An eye tracking study conducted by Conversion XL found that it takes 2.6 seconds for a user’s eyes to land on the part of your site that will leave an impression. To make your landing page clear to understand, apply these 5 principles:

  • Use a bold catchy headline that highlights your benefits
  • List 3-5 core benefits in bullet point form
  • Add a visual focus to the left hand side of the page
  • Make sure your call to action button is clear and distinguishable
  • Remember that whitespace is a good thing

Conclusion

Lansing pages are a simple and effective marketing tool that all businesses, no matter their size or industry, should be taking advantage of. If you’re planning a campaign, don’t even think about launching it without having first designed a landing page. You’re now equipped with the tools you need to bring in more customers from your website, now it’s your turn to go build.

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Trieste is a marketing and communications student at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Use accessibility tips: Reach 14% more Canadians on social media

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Accessibility definition

Guest post by Korina GrattonAccessibility definition

Whether your goal is to market or inform, neglecting to include part of the population is a terrible idea. Yet, by using social media as the platform that you market and inform through you are failing to reach up to 14% of Canadians (Statistics Canada, 2012). These Canadians have disabilities (visual, hearing, mobility) and may use alternative devices (including screen readers) to navigate online.  Social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube were not initially designed to include people with disabilities. Although they have improved their services, using the accessibility tips outlined below will allow you to reach all parts of the population. Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, and environments for people with disabilities.  Although there are many ways to provide accessibility, I’ve provided the easiest tips for the most popular social media platforms.

When you consider disabilities you’ll need to remember that disability is a larger definition than a person being blind or using a wheelchair.  The Ontario Human Rights Commission provides a full disability definition but a disability can include physical disability (blindness, lack of coordination, epilepsy, deafness, reliance on a guide animal, wheelchair or mobility device), mental impairment or developmental disability, learning disability or mental disorder.  These disabilities can be caused by birth defect, bodily injury, illness or age.

colors-high-contrastOverall Tips

  1. Colour choices matter as 5% of the world’s population have colour blindness (Colour blind awareness, 2015). High contrast choices are also easier to read than low contrast. Stéphanie Walter explains Accessible and contrasted colour palettes in her blog.
  2. When using hyperlinks, link the text that explains where you are going / what you are clicking on. Click here is not descriptive
  3. Font types and size is important. CNIB describes print accessibilityin better detail but sans serif fonts with recognizable upper and lowercase like Verdana and Arial are good choices. Choose font sizes between 12-18 and make use of white space.
  4. Put the person first with inclusive language (wheelchair user not confined to a wheelchair). UFV’s Accessibility Advisory Committee includes an inclusive language list in their annual report.
  5. Add captions (also known as alt-text) to your photos and closed captions (subtitles) to your videos. Instructions are provided or linked below under each platform. Don’t know what to write for alt-text, check out the Definitive guide to the alt-text field by Catharine McNally.

FacebookTips

Provide alternative contact information in the About field

Add captions to your photos – I’ve created a video with instructions

Videos/AudioTips

Provide a transcript

Provide a link to an accessible version of audio/video

Youtube videos have a few options for captions but you must link to the video instead of adding it directly to Facebook

 Facebook’s accessibility page has additional tips and they appreciate feedback if you notice a place that they could improve. Facebook’s mobile site is also considered more accessible then the main site.

TwitterTips

Provide alternative contact information in the About field

Add prefixes to tweets with audio-visual content

  • Photos: [PIC]
  • Videos: [VIDEO]
  • Audio: [AUDIO]

Include links to transcripts or accessible versions of audio or video

Twitter posted an accessibility blog post which outlines their updates. They also have an accessibility team called the @A11y team who you can tweet with about accessibility.

Twitter’s mobile version can be more accessible than the main site or Easy Chirp allows you additional accessibility option and will appear on regular Twitter site. Plume is an android app that gives you options to customize your Twitter feed.

Plume for Android

Android customizable Twitter app.

  • Organize Tweets by colour
  • Follow conversations easier
  • Convenient sharing to Twitter from other apps
  • Adjust appearance of Twitter feed to your preferences

Easy Chirp

  • Tweet images and a caption or long description
  • Larger font, easier to read display
  • Built-in shorten URL tool
  • Fully keyboard accessible
  • Works with all types of assistive technology including screen readers, screen enlargers, Braille-output, text only browsers and more.

YoutubeTipsCaptioning Youtube Videos screenshot

Flash videos are not accessible unless an alternative viewing portal is used

Accessible Interface to YouTube

Accessible Youtube

Enable or add captions when uploading a video

Use Youtube’s caption editor to correct captions and fix pacing

VIMEOTips

Add captions to your VIMEO video

Add additional contact information to the About field

PinterestTips

Edit the description of a pin to act as the caption

InstagramTips

Add captions to your instagram photos

Blog Tips

The American Foundation for the Blind provided tips to make your blog accessible to blind readers. Each blog site has its own accessibility issues and workarounds but if you follow the Overall Tips you will be good.

 

References

Statistics Canada (2012). A profile of persons with disabilities among Canadians aged 15 years or older, 2012. Canadian Survey on Disability, 2012 (89-654-X). Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2015001-eng.htm

Colour Blind Awareness. (2015). What is Colour Blindness? Retrieved from http://www.colourblindawareness.org/

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Korina Gratton works at the University of the Fraser Valley Library and is a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee. She is also a student in the Communications department working on her Bachelor of General Studies.

#TerryInTheValley: CBC’s Terry O’Reilly here March 1 for the President’s Leadership Lecture Series

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On March 1, the Communications department is bringing Terry O’Reilly from CBC Radio’s Under the Influence, an internationally renowned marketer and radio host, to speak in the University of the Fraser Valley’s, President’s Leadership Lecture Series.

Terry’s accomplishments are extraordinary:
– Co-founder of Pirate Radio
– Hundreds of national and international awards
– Lifetime achievement awards from the American Marketing Association, the Advertising and Design Club of Canada, and the Television Advertising Bureau
– Host of CBC’s Under the Influence and Age of Persuasion
– Created campaigns for top brands, including Labatt, Molson, Tim Horton’s, Hudson’s Bay, and Pepsi USA to name just a few.

Terry’s talk is on the Power of Storytelling. This presentation is designed for anyone involved in marketing, public relations, public speaking( and just fine and fascinating facts). Need to spend some professional development money –  this is an excellent  opportunity for that too.

The lecture starts at 4pm and the Q & A will be finished by 6pm.

Tickets (click here for purchase)
Regular admission $35
UFV Alumni $30
Students (with ID) $10
Block of 10 tickets $300 (savings of $5 per ticket)
Block of 25 tickets $625 (savings of $10 per ticket)

Sponsorship
If you can’t attend but would like to sponsor UFV Students to attend the event, $100 will allow 10 students to attend. Tax receipts will be available for student support donations only.

For more information see www.ufv.ca/plls/terry, or email Samantha.Pattridge@ufv.ca or Marcella.LaFever@ufv.ca.

TO B&W

Welcoming students at Abby’s U-Join event

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CMNS Department members, Sam Schechter, Kim Norman and Michelle Riedlinger
CMNS Department members, Sam Schechter, Kim Norman and Michelle Riedlinger supervise the scrabble competition.

Communications Department members welcomed new and returning UFV students at the Student Union Society’s Clubs and Services Fair.

The Great Hall event on Tuesday, 12 January offered students a chance to find out about different associations and opportunities at UFV, and enjoy plenty of snacks, interactive activities, and giveaways.

 

UFV Political Science student, Travis Mackenzie draws the scrabble prizes with Michelle Riedlinger
UFV Political Science student, Travis Mackenzie draws the scrabble prize winners with Michelle Riedlinger.

 

Winners of the CMNS scrabble prize draw:

First prize. UFV Bookshop voucher ($25): Ryan Chowdbry

Second prize. Ticket to Terry O’Reilly: The Power of Storytelling event on Tuesday, March 1, 4:00-6:00pm in the Great Hall: Eugenia Luong

 

 

 

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Michelle Riedlinger (PhD, University of Queensland, 2005)  is an Assistant Professor in the Communications Department at the University of the Fraser Valley. She specializes in science and environmental communication and brings her communication consultancy experience to various subjects including academic writing, advocacy, grant writing and crisis communication.

Encourage critical thinking: Preventing student-instructor conflicts

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http://assets2.learni.st/learning_preview/1307371/image/w583h583_618928-bloom-s-taxonomy-model-questions-and-key-words.jpg

OK, I admit it – my kids http://assets2.learni.st/learning_preview/1307371/image/w583h583_618928-bloom-s-taxonomy-model-questions-and-key-words.jpgtaught me this. To prevent conflicts with my children I was always willing to listen to good reasons for differences between what I thought I wanted them to do and what they thought they should be doing. I wanted them to be critical thinkers.

If you want a student to be able to think critically it includes thinking critically about their exam and assignments grades. After all, admit it or not, grading is subjective on the part of the teacher. No matter how much you think you have an exact answer that you are looking for, there is always another way to look at the problem and your students will find it.

Allowing students to challenge their exam and assignment grades is one more way of getting them to think critically and prevent conflicts in the classroom. This is not a free-for-all proposition by any means. There are a number of very clear steps that you as an instructor need to follow to make this work.

Step One: Incorporate into your syllabus. Think ahead and let students know from the first day of class that there will be a clear process if they are not happy with the grade on an assignment.

Step Two: Communicate expectations about what you want students to get out of the course and what information they should pay attention to. Lay out your course with the emphasis on the same areas that tests and assignments will emphasize. This seems like a no-brainer but if you spend all your time talking about how to create a matrix table and then test them on how to create a Gantt chart, they are not going to be happy. Remember to utilize a taxonomy of questions that develop the material from basic information to analytic and integrative thinking.

Step Three: Clearly define the challenge process. Provide steps by step instructions that include when, where, and how to challenge a grade. Here is one process that I have used:

1) Wait two days (because we all need to think about it);
2) Write out points that you think were marked erroneously;
3) Explain the reasons you think the mark should be changed – backed up with page references in the textbook or handouts/class lecture notes;
4) Include the original document (assignment or test) and
hand-in (or submit electronically) within one week of receiving the original mark. Make the timeline short and stick to it to prevent that inevitable end-of-term push by students to get a better grade.

Don’t think that you are going to be overwhelmed with the work you will have to do from this. A few things tend to happen: a) only the A students bother and it doesn’t change their grade; b) all students know that they had that option and it was their own choice if they didn’t do it; c) when students go back to write their ‘good reasons’ they find out that the instructor was right after all.

Have fun!!!

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Dr. Marcella LaFever (University of New Mexico, 2005) is an Associate Professor in the Communications Department at the University of the Fraser Valley. She specializes in intercultural communication and brings that expertise to various subjects such as communication for workplace, instruction, social media, team and public speaking contexts.

And now for something completely different: Youth and electoral politics

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Submitted by Sam SchechterIDS400_Poster_2015

When a new national sensation sweeps through the collective consciousness of a generation, everything that unifies that generation seems to instantly make sense.

When Barack Obama pledged to bring hope to America, musicians, celebrities, and even well-funded admirers threw their voices, music, reputations, and money into the wave of enthusiasm and the logic of the campaign’s successful outcome seemed to speak for itself.

What happens in an election campaign, though, when there’s no new sensation? What happens when an election is just about the boring old future of our country and the unimportant state of our global environment and how our still-vital-but-not-sexy government programs and services are to be managed?

With a few ups-and-downs along the way, voter turnout has been declining in Canada since the 1950s, with people under the age of 30 being much less likely to vote than those over the age of 50.

But elections don’t just matter when there’s an Obama-sized wave sweeping across a nation.

Every election affects the future of our country, the state of our global environment, the laws by which we are governed, and the services governments do or don’t offer to assist their citizens.

Numerous efforts have been made to engage young voters and encourage them to vote, such as Rock the Vote, and the inclusion of youth wings in political parties, but they have experienced mixed results in terms of increasing voter turnout among young people.

Elections BC, the non-partisan government agency responsible for organizing elections in British Columbia includes voter education and outreach as part of its mandate. In an effort to help them develop new strategies for increasing voter turnout among youth, Elections BC has asked for help from UFV.

In response, UFV has created a new, interdisciplinary course: IDS 400: Youth in Electoral Politics. This course is designed to bring a group of university students together to provide strategic advice and insight to Elections BC that will help them achieve their goals.

This course is an exciting and interesting new educational model for UFV. It is being co-taught by six instructors from six different departments and it puts students in charge of the course’s outcomes. The work of the course isn’t just for the classroom; it’s for the benefit of Elections BC and the tens of thousands of young voters that they’re looking to engage in the provincial election scheduled for May 9, 2017.

This is completely different from every other course offered at UFV.

To quote the official course outline:

“In this course, students will be exposed to a wide range of methodologies to not only make sense of why youth and young adults have disengaged from the electoral process, but more importantly, to develop evidence-based recommendations and strategies to increase re-engagement. In this first-ever edition of IDS 400 at the University of the Fraser Valley, you will receive guided learning, and practical applied research experience from six instructors from six different disciplines in the humanities and social sciences – Political Science, Psychology, Philosophy, Communications, English and Criminology and Criminal Justice – to study one of the most pressing social, economic and cultural challenges of our time.”

This course represents an important new partnership for UFV as a growing institution and a unique learning opportunity for students.

This course is something completely different and I am excited to be a part of it.

If you’re interested, I hope you join me.

Sam Schechter is an instructor in UFV’s Communications department and one of six faculty members collaboratively teaching IDS 400: Youth and Electoral Politics.

The new Canadian PM and cabinet: Implications for group dynamics

by
Ting-Toomey & Oetzel
Ting-Toomey, S. and Oetzel, J. G. (2001). 8 Style (Intercultural) Conflict Grid in Managing intercultural conflict effectively. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. p.

Tonight my intercultural communication class is taking on the topic of conflict and group dynamics in situations where there are a mix of cultural backgrounds. The installation of the new Canadian government, with its new makeup of gender balance, Francophone/Anglophone, First Nations, Afghani, Sikh cultural backgrounds (and more), got me thinking about what the cabinet might need to know about intercultural group dynamics.

The upside of a culturally diverse decision making group? BETTER DECISIONS.

The downside? A struggle to maintain good interpersonal relationships.

What should the cabinet do about it? Pay attention to building good RELATIONSHIPS with every meeting and through every decision.

How is this done when there are a variety of value hierarchies, worldviews, and communication expectations? Yes, communication is the key. Here are a few tips from researcher Stella Ting-Toomey, John Oetzel, and myself.

Knowledge: develop an in-depth understanding of important intercultural communication concepts (and understand our self first)

Check yourself: double-check our own assumptions and reactive emotions that we bring to a group situation

Mindfulness: Be a mindful interpreter of intercultural conflict (i.e. an opportunity not a dread)

Re-frame: create alternative contexts to frame your understanding of another person’s communication behaviours

Validate identity of other team members: Speak in ways that honour another person’s expectations for proper ways to discuss and make decisions

Manage facework: use communication strategies that validate other party’s social self-esteem and social self-worth.

Power balancing: Concentrate on empowering members who have historically had little or no access to voice

Use collaborative consultation: use process that recognizes that diversity in decision-making results in a higher quality decision

Build new communication structures: Don’t do something just because that is the way it was always done. Maybe try a talking circle instead of Roberts Rules of Order.

Adaptability: Don’t be prescriptive in the systems used for making decisions. If something isn’t working, go at it a different way.

RELATIONSHIP: At every step, meeting, and decision point ask “What have we done that enhanced or inhibited relationship building?”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, fifth from left, and Governor General David Johnston, centre, pose for a group photo with the new Liberal cabinet at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. Front row, left to right: Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion, Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, also minister of intergovernmental affairs and youth, Governor General David Johnston, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Judy Foote, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett and Minister of Veterans Affairs Kent Hehr, also associate minister of National Defence. Second row, left to right: President of the Treasury Board Scott Brison, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Singh Bains, Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Transport Marc Garneau, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, Minister of Finance William Morneau, Minister of Canadian Heritage Melanie Joly, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Dominic LeBlanc and Minister of Health Jane Philpott. Third row, left to right: Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Natural Resources James Carr, Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Hunter Tootoo, Minister of Status of Women Pa
Photo via Huffington Post Canada http://tinyurl.com/osmbvpc

All the best to you Prime Minister Trudeau and your new cabinet.

For further reading check out the following resources.

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Reading List

Domenici, K. & Littlejohn, S.W, (2006). Facework: Bridging practice and theory. Thousand Oaks, Sage.

LaFever, M. (2008). Communication for public decision-making in a negative historical context: Building intercultural relationships in the British Columbia treaty process. Journal of International & Intercultural Communication 1(2), 158-180

LaFever, M. (2009). 9P Planning. Overcoming Roadblocks to Collaboration in Intercultural Community Contexts. Proceedings: International Workshop on Intercultural Collaboration (IWIC). International Conference; Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

LaFever, M. (2011). Empowering Native Americans: Communication, planning and dialogue for eco-tourism in Gallup, New Mexico. Journal of International & Intercultural Communication 4(2). 127-145.

Lederach, J. P. (2003). The little book of conflict transformation. Intercourse, PS: Good Books.

Ting-Toomey, S. and Oetzel, J. G. (2001). Managing intercultural conflict effectively. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Dr. Marcella LaFever (University of New Mexico, 2005) is an Associate Professor in the Communications Department at the University of the Fraser Valley. She specializes in intercultural communication and brings that expertise to various subjects such as communication for workplace, instruction, social media, team and public speaking contexts.