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ESL 505, WIRED!

2010-04-30T10:34:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the wired section of ESL 505. The world of business is changing and no longer can businesses afford to let the technological revolution sweep past. Now more than ever, the commercial industry is providing the world with accessible online platforms that are changing the way we communicate. In this business communication class, you will have an opportunity to learn more about these platforms and how the world is using them, better preparing you for today’s market. Almost everything we do will be online. In conjunction with SL, Twitter, Blogger, YouTube, Googledocs and other online applications will be used to enhance your learning through connectivity and collaboration. You will have an opportunity to work with “real” business owners in a virtual world, providing a business plan which they may actually implement!

For more information, please review the syllabus for this course.

Here is an overview of the tasks for each day...
DAY 1 tasks: Diagnostic Exam, Survey

DAY 2 tasks: Introduction to course, Brief introduction to final task, Start Live Journals, Memo Revisions

Day 3 tasks: Become our own followers, Meet and Greet, Begin memo revision, What is SL?

Day 4 tasks: A note about Live Journals, Workshop for Memo, Business writing: memo format, you orientation, and common ground, Login to SL!

Day 5 tasks: Finish paragraph revision, Google docs! homework check and chat, MORE sample memos, Common Ground and You Orientation, Practice

Day 6 tasks: Writing Concisely, Memo Workshop

Day 7 tasks: Navigating SL, Personality testing, Article Summary

Day 8 tasks: Review of personality test, Avoiding Plagiarism: Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting

Day 9 tasks: Summary and strategy sharing, Introduction to Business Proposals, SL Communication, SL Explore

Day 10 tasks: Change your appearance, Business proposal format, Explore your SL business

Day 11 tasks: Business Proposal Workshop, Scavenger Hunt

Day 12 tasks: Scavenger Hunt Continued, Writing Objectives, Objectives Workshop

Day 13 tasks: Proposal Objectives follow-up, Scavenger Hunt follow-up, Building in SL (final orientation activity!), Schedule Board Room Meetings

Day 14 tasks: Building in SL, Board room meeting times

Day 15 tasks: Effective Power Points

Day 16 tasks: Public Speaking Strategies, Presentation Workshop, Deadline revision: Executive summary

Day 17 tasks: Executive Summary, Proposal Workshops

Day 18 tasks: Presentations!

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2009-08-22T13:38:00.001-05:00

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Week 8, Day 22

2009-08-03T13:11:00.007-05:00

Day 22 tasks:
Interview skills
Selling yourself
Writing/ Asking for Letters of recommendation

1. Interview skills: If jobs were only given to the most qualified applicants, the interview would be unnecessary. Resumes, Application forms and credentials would be the only materials needed to choose the best candidate. In reality, the application and resume are only the first steps in the direction of the ultimate goal: the interview.

10 interview tips: check out the handout and this video on youtube (and other videos from "smartselling")
The seven phases of an interview: handout
Types of questions: See page 101 of the handout and this video (and other videos from "expertvillage")

2. Selling yourself: Depending on your computer skills, you can also create your own website or online portfolio.

Florida State University has a program to help their students develop online portfolios. See some samples at their site.
You don't have to be a computer genius. Really, if you can use Power point, you can still stand out. Consider a CD portfolio.
How about a blog? You already know how to use blogger. Wordpress is another popular site...and there are MANY others.
googlesites
pbwiki

The important thing is that you STAND OUT from the competition.

3. Writing/ Asking for Letters of recommendation:

1. Emurse is actually a tool for resume creation and storage. I haven't actually used this site for my resume, but it seems to have some good resources for asking for and writing letters of recommendation.
2. Box Free Concepts also has a guide for writing letters of recommendation. Generally you will find that all letters follow the same basic structure, but their purpose differs. This site discusses different purposes for letters of recommendation.
You can also check out the "letter of recommendation format" guide on Box Free Concepts or the sample letters of recommendation on eduers.com.

HOMEWORK:
Please be sure that you arrive ON TIME to your schedules conference!

Week 7, Day 21

2009-07-30T14:10:00.002-05:00

Day 21 tasks:
Diplomatic language
Negotiation practice

1. Diplomatic language: Tone is extremely important in negotiations communication. It should be used as a tactical device to create the best atmosphere for negotiations. Tone is definitely part of strategy since you can either create an atmosphere of mutual benefit (win-win) or confrontation (win-lose.) Let's do some extra language practice.

2. Negotiation practice: Yesterday we did some practice with negotiation, and you all are getting better at "thinking outside the pie." However, we really need practice integrating the LANGUAGE! In today's practice, let's really focus on applying the language strategies for negotiation and diplomacy.

Week 7, Day 20

2009-07-29T14:04:00.002-05:00

Day 20 tasks:
Negotiation Strategies
The Cola Company Dilemma
Language Functions
A Negotiation Dilemma

1. Negotiation Strategies: The art of negotiating involves finding a balance between achieving the best possible result, while at the same time establishing a mutually beneficial working relationship with your counterparts. First we will discuss Negotiation Strategies.

2. The Cola Company Dilemma: I asked you to think about the dilemma presented in yesterday's lecture. In your groups, work through the negotiation strategies handout as it applies to this dilemma.

3. Language Functions: Before we tackle another dilemma, let's look at some Language Functions for Negotiation.

4. A Negotiation Dilemma: Remember that people who view diversity as a source of richness and strength for the organization can help bring a wide range of benefits to their organization. A person who is knowledgeable about, and comfortable with, different cultures is a more effective negotiator because he or she can avoid misunderstandings and tap into a greater variety of viewpoints, stratagems and experiences that a diverse culture provides. Consider the "Heart Transplant Exercise" with your teams. See if you can negotiate an agreement.

Here is some more information to help you learn Characteristics of Effective negotiators.

Week 7, Day 19

2009-07-27T14:05:00.002-05:00

Day 19 tasks:

Puli Presentation
Final Comments on Projects
Overview of final weeks
Sign up for final conferences

1. Puli Presentation: I sneaked a peak at the rest of this presentation over the weekend, and I'm very excited to hear the rest!

2. Final Comments on Projects: First I'll talk a little about how you did with the projects. We'll wrap up the unit with some information about application of this project to your future business goals. (You all did a great job!)

3. Overview of final weeks: Over the next two weeks we'll primarily be covering business negotiation strategies. We'll also talk about interview techniques. Here is a tentative schedule of topics:

Day 19: Introduce Negotiation
Day 20: Negotiation Strategies
Day 21: Diplomatic Language
Day 22: Interview Skills
Day 23: Conferences
Day 24: Conferences

Although we won't have time to do cover letters or resumes in class, I will ask you one or two interview questions at the final conference. Therefore, you may bring a resume as a prop, and I'll look at it IF THERE IS TIME.

4. Sign up for final conferences: I'll fill in the locations later, but please sign up for your conference time on Google Docs http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfb7fktm_4d3wb7bfq
During the final conference, I will tell you your grade and discuss any issues you may need help with from the final assignments. If there is anything you are missing or need to revise, I'll let you know at this conference (or if you're good to go!). Since we're talking about interviewing skills, the conference will as a mock interview. I'll ask you a couple of job interview questions and then give you feedback on how you answered.

5. Introduction to negotiation language:

The Art of Negotiating
Characteristics of Effective negotiators
Negotiation Strategies
Language Functions for Negotiation

Week 6, Day 18

2009-07-26T18:30:00.001-05:00

Day 18 tasks:
Presentations!

Week 6, Day 17

2009-07-22T11:42:00.010-05:00

Day 17 tasks:
Executive Summary
Proposal Workshops

1. Executive Summary:

An executive summary is a fully developed "mini" version of a full business report, intended for readers who lack the time or motivation to study the complete text. Its purpose is to present information relevant to a problem or a decision that needs to be made, and to make appropriate recommendations Unlike a synopsis, an executive summary may contain headings, well-developed transitions, and visual aids. It is often organized in the same way as a report, using a direct or an indirect approach, depending on the audience.

Your Executive summary should be about 1 page in length. Remember, this is an individual assignment, so you will each be responsible for submitting your own.

Let's first look at this template. Then, we'll compare a few examples and review formatting.

2. Proposal Workshops:

Thus, as you write a proposal, you should always imagine that your reader will ask the
following questions:

What problem/situation is being addressed by this proposal? What is the purpose of this proposal? What are your recommendations? What are your reasons for your recommendation?
What facts and data support this recommendation? What are some of the obstacles to implementing your recommendations?
Why is your report or presentation important? Why should I implement your recommendations? Why will my situation be improved if I implement your suggestions, or Why will it suffer if I don’t?
How can I implement your suggestions? I need specific methods and options. How can the obstacles to this recommendation be overcome? What are the consequences if I implement your recommendations?
How will they affect my bottom line? What are the potential costs and risks? What are the potential benefits? How can I be sure that the benefits will outweigh the costs?

Week 6, Day 16

2009-07-16T12:46:00.006-05:00

Day 16 tasks:
Public Speaking Strategies
Presentation Workshop
Deadline revision: Executive summary

1. Public Speaking Strategies: Most people have some sort of "fear" or nervousness when speaking in front of a group. A good way to control it is to first be aware of it. Today you will do a short survey about your own speaking fears. Then we will discuss these solutions to stage fright:

Make some platform movements or gestures.
Before a speech, tape record your rehearsal sessions and concentrate on eliminating vocal problems. if this problem occurs during a speech, ignore it.
Use 3x5 note cards. Place them on the lectern and slide each card to one side after it has been used.
Speak slowly to avoid getting tongue-tied. Do not lick your lips!
Ignore it. Do not call attention to it by wiping your hands or forehead.
Speak slowly. Take longer pauses between sentences. Breath from your diaphragm through your nose.
Deliberately slow down your speaking rate until the problem disappears.
Remember that the audience is ordinarily not aware of such symptoms. Ignore them as much as possible.

2. Presentation Workshop: As you are working through the following checklist, I'll be coming around to see your power point and proposal.

Look over the rubric for the presentation . Have you planned for all of these objectives?
Go through the guidelines for a business proposal on the Final project Introduction page.
Have a look at your power point for the business proposal. Discuss what elements of the presentation need more work and how you will incorporate what you have learned to improve it. How will you transition from one speaker to the next? how will you insure that everyone has time to speak?

**NOTE presentations should be 20-25 minutes. I will STOP you at 27 minutes even if you are not finished. Groups will be selected at random Thursday.

***IMPORTANT! if you are absent on presentation day, you will not receive credit for the presentation.

3. Deadline revision for Executive summary: We will cover writing strategies for the executive summary on Wednesday. However, because I want to make sure you have time to work on your business proposals, I'm extending the deadline to Sunday at 4pm. Here's a summary of the deadlines for this project:

Formal business presentation of your findings Thursday July 23rd in class. One student should email the PowerPoint to me at the end of class on Thursday.
Team business proposal by Friday, July 24th at midnight. Only one of you needs to send this to me. Please make sure all your names are on it!
Individual executive summary emailed to my .illinois address by 4pm on Sunday, July 26th.

HOMEWORK
Last Journal coming up this Sunday!

Start thinking about what you'd like to cover the last two weeks of class: interviews? cover letters? resumes? After the presentations on Thursday, I'll assign a short survey to see which you prefer!

Week 5, Day 15

2009-07-16T12:44:00.004-05:00

Day 15 tasks
Effective Power Points

1. Effective Power Points: We're entering the board room today and tomorrow, so you should all have solid drafts of your proposal. Next Thursday, you will have an opportunity in class to present your plans to improve the SL businesses. Therefore, you'll need to translate your presentation into a powerpoint that is organized, informative, and attractive. Today you'll have a chance to evaluate some presentations.

Open the "Our team rubric for ppt" document. Together, determine your criteria and scaling system.
Go through the sample power points together, filling out your rubric for each of the 3. Which scored highest? Why? Lowest? Why? See if you need to adjust your criteria for what makes a good powerpoint. Be prepared to present your findings to the class.

Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Sample 4
Now we will compare our criteria with another in this powerpoint on effective presentation techniques.

HOMEWORK
Please be sure to meet with your team to discuss the proposal and to be sure it will all come together as ONE presentation.
When you send me your summary, please also send me the original article!

Week 5, Day 14

2009-07-15T14:44:00.003-05:00

Day 14 task
Building in SL
Board room meeting times

1. Building in SL (final orientation activity!): Today will be our last day using SL in class. In order to have a better idea of how things are created in SL, we'll be building and texturing. Follow the "Create" page on this blog.

2. Board room meeting times: It is imperative that you attend the board room meeting with your group. It is an oral grade. If you do not attend, you will receive a zero.

Team 1:Friday, July 17, 3pm
Team 2: Thursday, July 16th, 8pm
Team 3: Friday, July 17th, 3:30pm

Homework:
Continue to work on your proposals.
Summaries Due Friday. Remember, you will submit this by email. It is a writing grade (don't send it to me through gmail or google docs)

Week 5, Day 13

2009-07-13T12:54:00.003-05:00

Day 13 tasks:
Proposal Objectives follow-up
Scavenger Hunt follow-up
Building in SL (final orientation activity!)
Schedule Board Room Meetings

1. Proposal Objectives follow-up: Today I will meet with each group for about 5 minutes only. We will discuss the business plan outline that you turned in over the weekend. Next, you will each write up a short, businesslike notecard to your business owner. You will send a copy to the business owner and to me. This should be in letter format and include the following:

Introduce your team
Primary objective (keep it brief for now)
Questions you may have

2. Scavenger Hunt follow-up: We have a winner! "Geibriel Rae" was the first to submit the completed notecard. Each of her team members received 500L for completing the tasks. Nice job, Yuan-Ling, Lynn and Betul! I hope you all feel a little more familiar with SL. If your team has not completed the task, you may still get a prize by turning it in this week.

4. Schedule Board Room Meetings: Your group will need to meet with me for their 20 minute Board Room Meeting. You should have an extensive draft of your business plan at this meeting! Go to the google doc containing the board room schedule and sign up for a time (one time per group). Meeting locations will be posted later this week. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT MISS THIS MEETING. It counts as an oral grade. You will all be expected to participate verbally and to have participated in the written proposal process by this date.

HOMEWORK:
Keep up with your journals! You only have 2 more weeks with them.

Don't forget that you have an article summary due on Thursday. These must be emailed to me by midnight on Thursday, July 16th! Be sure the file name has your name, summary, and info about the article.

Continue to meet with your groups. You will need to be working this week! Remember that board room meetings are quickly approaching!

Week 4, Day 12

2009-07-09T13:25:00.005-05:00

Day 12 tasks:
Scavenger Hunt Continued
Writing Objectives
Objectives Workshop

1. Scavenger Hunt Continued: Please take a little more time today in class to work on the scavenger hunt. Think carefully about how you approach this assignment! Remember, you should all do each task TOGETHER. Do not divide up the work. By working through it together, it insures that every member in the group has a basic knowledge of how to function in SL. If you don't finish in class today, you will need to meet (in-world).

2. Writing Objectives: Make sure your marketing objectives are...

clearly written
measurable
consistent with your overall marketing strategy
directly address the goals of your client

Example:
Objective: Increase sales.
Objective: Increase sales by 20% in the first 2 months by...

Objective: Offer more variety.
Objective: Offer a wider range of content which appeals specifically to the male audience by...

Objective: expand product line
objective: expland product line by introducing a newly named "sister" business which features...

3. Objectives Workshop: Spend the rest of the hour finalizing your objectives. Remember, these will be due tonight at 10pm.

Week 4, Day 11

2009-07-06T10:17:00.004-05:00

Day 11 tasks:
Business Proposal Workshop
Scavenger Hunt

1. Get into your teams and discuss your ideas for a business proposal. Use the planning worksheet to organize your thoughts. Discuss strategy and ask questions! You need to turn the planning worksheet into me on Day 12. Set some goals and deadlines for yourselves and plan a time to meet outside of class.
Here is a review of the deadlines listed on the final project page:

Planning sheet by Thursday, July 9 at 10pm.
Individual article summary by Thursday July 16th.
"Board room" meeting Wednesday, July 15th or Thursday July 16th.
Formal business presentation of your findings July 22nd in class.
Individual executive summary and team business proposal by Friday, July 24th at midnight.

2. You have probably explored your businesses by now, but what about the rest of SL? Today I'll be testing your SL survival skills. Split your group in half and work in teams of 3 to complete the scavenger hunt on the Explore page of this blog.

Week 4, Day 10

2009-07-06T09:49:00.006-05:00

Day 10 tasks:
Change your appearance
Business proposal format
Explore your SL business

1. Change your appearance: Now that you are all professional business consultants in SL, we all have to dress the part! Today I'll show you how to change your appearance. I'll also show you some great places to get freebies. I've given each of you 100L to get started. Please be sure to keep at least 30L for the scavenger hunt on Day 11! Go to the Appearance page of this blog to get started. Then, login and meet at the EDU Nation Sandbox.

Business proposal format: A list of useful templates and guides has been added to the Final Project Introduction Page. Videos for all three businesses and audio transcripts are also available. I'll review the format with you in class, then you will have a chance to look through the materials with your team.

3. Explore your SL business: For the rest of class, explore your SL business in world. Talk to your group about ideas you might have for the proposal. We'll workshop more on Day 11!

Homework:
I stumbled on an article in SL Business magazine about the economy in SL. It starts on page 58 of their January 09 issue. Check it out if you like. Be sure to continue your own research of SL economy. Remember that when you are thinking of ideas for your proposal, the economy and business "rules" of real life (RL) aren't that much different from SL. Brainstorm some ideas for your business proposal.

Step 3: Communicate

2009-07-01T13:45:00.004-05:00

There are four ways to communicate with other avatars in Second Life: chat, IM, voice
chat, and call.

Chat allows you to type a message in the chat field of the toolbar (p. 9) and broadcast it
to all avatars within a 20 or 50 meter radius, depending on whether you click the Say or
Shout button.

IM, or instant message, is the private version of text chat. To IM another avatar, rightclick
on them and choose IM from the pie menu. Alternatively, you can search for an
avatar and click the IM button in their profile, or find the avatar in your friends list and
click the IM/Call button there.

Voice Chat: Voice chat enables you to communicate with other avatars using a headset
or microphone. Users who have voice enabled will have a small white dot floating over
their avatars’ heads. Like chat, voice chat is public; other avatars will be able to hear
your conversation. For private voice chat, see call. For information on configuring voice,
see Communicating in Second Life (p. 12).

Call: Call enables avatars to communicate privately using voice. To call another avatar,
find them in your friends list and click the IM/Call button; or search for them, click the
profile button, and choose IM.

The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management (c) 2007
Check out the full Introductory Guide to SL by the University of Texas at Dallas here.

Week 3, Day 9

2009-07-01T13:27:00.007-05:00

Day 9 tasks:
Summary and strategy sharing
Introduction to Business Proposals
SL Communication
SL Explore

1. Summary and strategy sharing: First, share with the class your google doc summaries. We'll discuss them and our strategy for working as a team to come up with the summary.

2. Introduction to Business Proposals: Are you ready to meet your business owners? Go to the final project introduction page of this blog to learn more about the SL businesses and your group's assignment.

HOMEWORK:
Finish the group summary activity if you haven't already. Be sure to invite me to view your final team version at six2nd@gmail.com.

Live journals Due Sunday!

Start exploring your business and come in on Monday prepared to work on your strategy.

Week 3, Day 8

2009-07-01T11:06:00.006-05:00

Day 8 tasks:
Review of personality test
Avoiding Plagiarism: Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting

1. Review of personality test: I noticed that some of you are tweeting about your personality! that's great. Remember that the minimum live journal requirement each week must be related to class. After that you can include whatever else you like! On day 7, we got into our business proposal groups by mixing up personalities. First, follow this link and spend a few minutes learning more about yourself and your teammates: Insight Learning Personality Information.

2. Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting: Because you are researching for your business proposals, we'll spend some time talking about researching and how to avoid plagiarism.

What is plagiarism and how can I be "safe"? (Lecture)
How do I cite my sources? (Split your business proposal group in half and work in small groups.)
You will be using paraphrasing, summarizing and quotations to integrate sources. Let's first see some examples of paraphrasing and summarizing. Then, open your google doc where you summarized the SL article for today. How did you do? Now that you know some strategies for summarizing, what do you see that you need to change?
In your small groups, combine your three google docs into one. Then discuss the comparisons and contrasts. As a small group, use the strategies you learned today to write ONE summary. Then, rejoin the other members of your business proposal team. You now have two summaries of the same article. Choose the one you think is the best and make final revisions for next class. Share this google doc with me and be prepared to discuss your strategy and summary in class tomorrow (day 9).

HOMEWORK
Please review the material for today. Also, find out which documentation style is used in your major: MLA, APA, Chicago...?
Combine your summaries using the strategies you learned in class today.
Make sure everyone in class is on your SL friends list!

Week 3, Day 7

2009-06-29T10:26:00.003-05:00

Day 7 tasks:
Navigating SL
Personality testing
Article Summary

1. Navigating SL: Now that we all have Second Life accounts, let's get logged in! You've probably (I hope!) spent some time exploring SL on your own already. Today I'll be discussing Basic Controls.

2. Personality testing: We'll be discussing communication breakdown and self-awareness in next few weeks. Today we'll be learning more about personalities and taking a test that should help you to not only learn more about yourself, but also to learn more about others and the way we interact.

3. Article Summary: Below are 3 articles on the economy of SL. I'll be assigned you ONE of the three. Read the article that you were assigned in class. Individually, briefly (in 200 words or less) summarize the article in a google document.
Group 1: How Madison Avenue is Wasting Millions on a Deserted Second Life
Group 2: Entrepreneurs Find New Markets with Second Life
Group 3: Second Life: It's Not a Game

HOMEWORK
Use the Google doc with our class contact information to add everyone in class to your friends list. Review the material on basic controls and practice!
Read your article and summarize.

Week 2, Day 6

2009-06-23T17:45:00.010-05:00

Day 6 tasks:
Writing Concisely
Memo Workshop

1. Writing Concisely: Spend a few minutes on your own reviewing this handout on writing concisely. Check your understanding by revising the following sentences for conciseness:

This disclosure has the capacity of providing important information to creditors and investors.
I would like to call your attention to the fact that we have a staff meeting which is scheduled for next Wednesday.
An increase in an employee’s rate of pay will not become effective prior to the date on which the employee has completed a minimum of 13 weeks’ actual work at his regular occupational classification.

2. Memo workshop: First open your memo. Spend 5 minutes or so looking over the original diagnostic and comparing it to your new draft. What did you do differently?

Analysis: In groups we'll be shuffling computers. This will give you an opportunity to see some other approaches. OPEN the sample memos handout from Day 5. Use questions 4,5,6,7, 8, 10 and 12 to guide your discussion.
Return to your computer and then SWITCH with a partner. Together decide if you established common ground.
Check also for you orientation (make sure you don't use "accusing you").
Finally, spend some time alone, applying the ideas you got today to your memo.

HOMEWORK: FINISH IT! You need to email your memo to me by 8am on Monday (be sure to use my sfaivre@illinois.edu address). Please attach it in a Microsoft Word file. The filename should include your FULL name and the word "memo".

Keep up with journals, due again on Sunday!
Login to SL and explore a bit on your own.

Week 2, Day 5

2009-06-23T15:57:00.008-05:00

Resources from last class:
Owl Purdue Memo Tutorial
Microsoft Office Templates

Day 5 tasks:
Finish paragraph revision
Google docs! homework check and chat
MORE sample memos
Common Ground and You Orientation
Practice

1. Finish paragraph revision: As soon as you arrive today, please open the paragraph we worked on last class and finish the activity.

2. Google docs! homework check and chat: How did it go? Let's review the characteristics of good business writing and review our team strategies. What do you think worked well? What might you do next time you have a homework assignment in Google docs to make it more efficient?

3. MORE sample memos: If you didn't look at the Microsoft office templates or at OWL Purdue, you should do so. You can also review a few more sample memos. Spend a few minutes reviewing them on your own. Then, we'll discuss the genre as a class.

4. Common Ground and You Orientation: Before we continue with memo-writing strategies, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with common ground. I'll walk through it will you. Below are a few samples from our diagnostics. Do they establish common ground? If not, how could you change them?

Sample 1:
Casual dress is good but it seems that it comes too overly casual. Therefore, it's time to set up dressing standards. Furthermore, we also believe this change can leave good impression to our clients and then promote our professional image.

Sample 2: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm glad i have you all to work for me. You are terrific and hard-working. I know all of you are smart and talented, but could I have some recommendation for your dressing style? Based on the last executive board meeting, some directors think that you dress too casually and that it's not suitable for our corporate culture.

Sample 3: I decided to make certain dress standards according to the research taken by NPD Group that casual dress may hurt the corporate image and foster an environment for sexual harassment. In order to raise the reputation of our accounting firm and to express our professionalism, we have to dress more formally and properly. There are some standards for our dress presented as follows.

Now, get into groups of 3 or 4. With your group, compare the six components of the persuasive message in the memo on the Netfiles handout. Do you all agree? If not, try to come to a consensus. Finally, discuss how the writer achieves common ground (try to highlight specific words or phrases that do this.)

In business, as well as in regular life, relationships are richer and more mutually beneficial when we all focus on maintaining the dignity of our colleagues. This is what “you orientation” is all about, and it’s just as important in writing as in speaking. Let's look at some tips for achieving you orientation together. Once we've revised a few sentences together, do the first TWO in the practice activity on your own. Compare with a partner: were your revisions similar? Next do a few with your partner.

5. Practice: Open your memo revision so far. Read your first paragraph and highlight the words and phrases that either establish common ground or you orientation. How did you do? Spend some time revising your memo to ensure both strategies are achieved.

HOMEWORK:
Journals. Don't fall behind!
SL. Try to spend at least an hour wandering around.
Memo. Final draft tomorrow! We'll workshop with them in class, so bring a digital copy (don't email it to me). Graded memos will be submitted on Monday.

Week 2, Day 4

2009-06-22T10:18:00.008-05:00

Day 4 tasks:
A note about Live Journals
Workshop for Memo
Business writing: memo format, you orientation, and common ground
Login to SL!

Welcome back! I hope you had a great weekend despite the heat and the storms. Last class we talked about first impressions and handshakes. As you arrive today, please greet some of your co-workers!

1. A note about Live Journals: How did it go? I noticed that a lot of you were very last minute on your blogs and twitters. A healthy tip is to start early each week so that you aren't rushed on the weekend. Let's try the google docs one more time.

2. Workshop for Memo: Get into groups of 4 and elect a team leader. You only need one computer per group for now. First, review the memo activities that we've done so far. Ask each other questions if you have them. Take a moment to summarize the material you studied for today. Next, go back to Day 3, activity 3. Begin memo revision. The last page of the "memo activity on netfiles" has an activity #1; choose 2 of the scenarios to outline together.

3. Business writing: First, let's look at memo format,

Next, test your knowledge. I asked you to study the seven C's and the general characteristics of good writing on Day 3. We talked about purpose, audience, content, tone and style. With your group, do the following:

1. Split into pairs. Open a new google doc (1 computer per pair). List the 4 reasons we write business letters and memos.

2. Read the following paragraph and paste it into your google doc. It is part of a memo from the manager of operations to his vice president. Circle any words or phrases that do not sound “business-like.”

The finishing plant was the scene of a confrontation today with two ladies from the morning shift accused a foreman of sexual harassment. Marta Valdez, a Hispanic inspector, and Margaret Sawyer, an assembly line worker, accused Mr. Engerrand of making suggestive comments. Mr. Engerrand, who is 62 years old and an epileptic, denied the charges and said he thought the girls were trying to gyp the company iwht their demands.

Now discuss the paragraph with your partner and list the problems with each sentence (number them 1-3). Try to explain why certain words and phrases are not “business-like.” Use the 7 Cs and the vocabulary associated with characteristics of good business writing to describe the problems.

Finally, if you have time, revise the paragraph. Then share your google document with the other members of your group. Compare your paragraphs. How did they do?

4. Login to SL! We're not quite ready to start in-class orientation today, but you should spend some time getting to know SL at home.

HOMEWORK:
Keep up with journals! Begin working on your memo revisions.

Email me the following for homework: (NOTE: send from your @illinois.edu address!)
Name (include nick name if there is something else you'd like to be called)
netID (that's the first part of your illinois email address)
gmail address (@gmail.com) If you don't have one, make one!
twitter screen name
blogger URL
SL name

Review the Day 3 information about SL, and make sure you can login. Be prepared for a discussion on Wednesday.

We're going to do a collaborative homework assinment to review business writing. Today's team leader will start a google doc for your team and invite your four team members to access it. Then share it with me, too! Copy the sentences from Activity 1: Sentence choice (1-20) in this practice handout on Netfiles into the document. Do it together! Here are some guidelines:
1. Create a legend: each team member should have a color (something easily readable) or use initials so that you know who has done what.
2. Divide and conquer: There are 20 sentences, so each of you take five (not necessesarily in order).
3. Collaborate: Check each other's answers and make comments if you think it's wrong...or tell them if you think they did a good job!

Week 1, Day 3

2009-06-18T00:12:00.010-05:00

Day 3 tasks:
Become our own followers
Meet and Greet
Begin memo revision
What is SL?

1. Become our own followers: Great job setting up your Twitter Feeds and Blogs! I've set up a Google document so that we can share this information. Be sure to follow each other--it's a great way to interact and get to know your classmates. After all, you're all co-workers! Each of you should have received an email inviting you to view the document. If you haven't used Google docs before, you'll find it's similar to Word. If you'd like to learn more, go to the Google docs homepage and take a tour or watch the video.

2. Meet and greet: it's just as important to get to know each other offline as it is online. Let's take a moment to introduce ourselves with a firm handshake. A good handshake is an important part of first impressions!

3. Begin memo revision: On Day 2 I asked you to type up the diagnostic that we did in class (please return the original, handwritten copy to me) and to do a little research of our own on the topic. What did you find out? We can share some of our links on Google docs.

So what is a memo? And how do we write a clear, complete, conversational, concise, concrete, constructive and correct memo? Go to the memo activity on Netfiles where we will discuss preparing to write business letters and memos and planning your writing.

Next, get into small groups and start your own Google doc (one document per group). Name the file "Day 3 memo planning practice, [team name]" and put your names at the top. For each of the writing assignments in activity 1, go through the four steps of preparing to write, discuss them with your group and make preparatory notes. When you're done, use the email list in our Google doc: ESL 505, X1 Blogs and Twittersto share the file with everyone. Take a moment to see what the other groups did, too!

Finally, do some research of your own. Owl Purdue's tutorial on memo writing is a great place to start. Use what you've learned so far to begin revising your memo on dress code. Be sure to keep all your drafts! (i.e. "Faivre_memo draft 1" and "Faivre_memo draft 2"). Use whatever file names you like as long as it includes your name and the draft number.

4. What is SL?: As you know, we'll be using Second Life businesses for our final business proposal project this semester, so we all need to set up accounts. Go to the What's SL? page on this blog to learn more.

Homework Summary: Live journals! Don't forget that your first live journal assignments are due Sunday at noon. Be sure to meet the minimum requirements.

Begin revisions of your memo. Monday we will learn more about writing concisely and trade papers in class, so be sure you have made some revisions before then! Remember, the final, graded draft will be due on Day 6.

Open a Second Life account and try to spend some time in orientation. We'll learn more in class on Monday. Your experiences in SL make great blog and twitter topics!

Week 1, Day 2

2009-06-18T00:10:00.001-05:00

DAY 2 tasks:
Introduction to course
Brief introduction to final task
Start Live Journals
Memo Revisions

1. Introduction to course: Welcome! First, let’s review some information about the WIRED section of ESL 505. We will also go over the course syllabus in my Netfiles account. I try to do my bit for the environment, so you will very rarely receive anything on paper. You will be able to access course handouts on my Netfiles.

Learn more about where you and your classmates are starting by viewing a selection of the survey results from Day 1. Click on the image below to zoom.

2. Brief introduction to final task: We will be talking more about the main task on Friday, but today please sign and return the second page of the waiver form.

3. We'll also begin the Live Journals assignment today. Information from the syllabus on journals is also available on this blog. After we review the requirements, watch a YouTube video by commoncraft on both twitter and blogs and review their websites. Blogger also has a great video tutorial on getting started with Blogger. Decide which you will use and set up your account! If you decide to make your blog private, you will need to invite me to view it at six2nd@gmail.com. Similarly, if you decide to make your Twitter feed private, you will need to invite me as 6edu. IMPORTANT! You must include a profile photo.

4. On Day 3 we will work on revising your diagnostic exams. Most memos fall into one of three categories: informative (positive), negative (bad news), or persuasive. The diagnostic memo falls into the "bad news" category. Let's review the situation and begin thinking about our revisions. First, look at the revision assignment on Netfiles.

Next, do a little research of your own. Begin by watching this short video by Jennifer Maxwell Parkinson, an image consultant who explains how to focus on the positive. There's also a summative article, "Etiquette: A Dress Code for Success" on Businessweek's website. See if you can find another source of your own, too.

Finally, for next class, type up your diagnostic. You will have to return the original to me on Day 3!

Homework Summary: Start your blog or twitter account, add a profile photo, and begin writing right away. You are expected to do the full journal assignment every week by Sunday at noon even if I don't remind you (oh, but I WILL!).

Type up your diagnostic and bring the original back to me next class. Review the revision assignment and begin brainstorming. The final, graded draft will be due on Day 6.

Live Journals

2009-04-30T10:36:00.004-05:00

Live Journal: One of the ongoing writing assignments for 505 is to produce a journal entry each week. In this section, journals may take one of two forms:
1. a live Twitter feed or
2. a blog.

Option 1. Twitter: http://twitter.com/
Students choosing this option are required to tweet a minimum of 1000 characters per week. (To give you an idea of how much that is, the introduction of this syllabus is 1338 characters.) Note that Twitter only allows you to tweet 140 characters at a time, so you will have to tweet about 7-8 times in a week.

Option 2. Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/start
Students choosing this option are required to blog once per week. Each entry should be a minimum of 400 words. (To give you an idea of how much that is, the introduction of this syllabus is 233 words.)

Essentially, you are required to write fewer words but more frequently with Twitter and more words but less frequently with Blogger. No matter which option you choose, you have the option of making it private. You can do MORE! If you’d like to do some personal posts or other fun things with your Twitter feed or blog, feel free! Just be sure the minimum requirements relating to class are met each week (by Sunday at noon). More details about these two options will be provided in class.

The topic each week will be of your own choosing as long as it is directly related to this class. Occasionally I may provide suggestions or additional journals based on something we are doing in class. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage the free flow of written words and thoughts, and to give you a sympathetic outlet for any question, problem, observation, or simple sharing of thoughts or information. Journals are not graded, but they are worth 10 points each and thus contribute to your final course grade.

Week 1, Day 1

2009-04-30T10:23:00.015-05:00

DAY 1 tasks:
Diagnostic Exam
Survey

1. Today we will be taking a diagnostic exam. The purpose of this exercise is to help me get to know your skills and to diagnose any problems that may need to be addressed in the class. It will not be graded!

2. Next, we'll take a short survey on Survey Monkey, a simple, free web application used to create and distribute surveys. You may want to keep this tool in mind for business projects! I have emailed the survey to you for convenience.

Homework Summary: As long as you finished the survey in class, there is no homework. Enjoy the weather!

Step 1: Welcome to SL!

2009-04-19T17:49:00.006-05:00

Second Life (SL) is a virtual world, and everything in it is created by the residents (people just like you and me!). Unlike many online "games," there is no real goal in second life. You decide what you want to do there much like you would in real life. People build things and design clothes, explore, go to parties, start small businesses, become members of communities...and anything else you can imagine!

When approaching the seemingly limitless world of second life for the first time, it may be a difficult concept to grasp. Think of it as a country which happens to exist on the Internet: real people, real money, real businesses. That's right. People are making real money in SL. Just ask Anshe Chung, described by CNN Money as a "Virtual Rockerfeller."

Activity 1: Getting a handle on virtual money
1. Read the CNN money article about Anshe Chung and watch the CNN video on business in SL. Answer the following questions with your group.

2. Explore the SL official website. Then, spend some time exploring the SL business site (which has a Twitter feed and a blog you may want to follow).

2. Do some research of your own. Try browsing Google, YouTube and Wikipedia, skimming a few other articles to see what interests you. Choose one thing that you find particularly interesting and talk about it on your Twitter or Blogspot.

3. Get an account. Go to http://secondlife.com/ to create your account. Don't forget your user name and password! If you have a computer that meets the minimum system requirements, you can install it at home for free and begin orientation. I highly reccommend you do this! The more time you spend in SL on your own, the easier it will be to do the business proposal. Consider it "market research."

Step 3: Communicate

2009-03-08T16:38:00.011-05:00

If you need help giving your group members object rights, check out Torley's tutorial:
Let Friends and Groups Edit your Objects. Begin at 4m30s.

Step 5: Appearance

2009-03-06T01:00:00.013-06:00

In a place where you can truly be anything you want to be, you can imagine the large variety of avatars. Today we'll first take a quick tour of the appearance mode and of our inventories.

The following tutorials will provide additional help:
Organize your inventory video tutorial
Changing your appearance video tutorial
Shopping video tutorial
SL Quickstart Guide

Ready to get trendy? Here are 4 ways to fill your inventory with precious prims on a budget.

1. Freebie warehouses: These are places where people (sometimes for promotional reasons and sometimes just because) leave boxes of freebies, dollarbies and cheapies. Often there is significant "lag" in these areas, so be ready! You can generally pick up whatever you like, and it will go into your inventory. Items often come in "boxes". To un-box your items, follow this simple tutorial. If you are in a no rez area, try teleporting to a sandbox. Be sure to keep your inventory tidy and delete items you don't want.

The Free Dove: Gallii(101,87,32)
Freebie Jeebies: Bloom County(69,93,23)
The Gnubie Store: Indigo(198,63,38)
Sarah Nerd’s Freebie Paradise: NineInchNerds(126, 111, 23)

2. Business promotion freebies:

Many businesses offer free items in their stores. It takes some extra travel, and usually they only offer one or two items, but sometimes these can be the best freebies! It also gives you a chance to explore some of the money-making businesses in SL.

Laqroki: Laqroki (82, 200, 29)
KMADD: Kmadd Enterprise (172, 77, 25)

3. "Under 30 Days" freebies: When your new, it's tough getting started. Many business owners offer new avatar kits or freebies if your avatar is less than 30 days old. Usually you have to send a notecard to the owner listing the item you want and your name. Be sure to follow whatever directions you are given completely. Look for signs at the following locations that tell you how to get the freebie.

Adam n Eve: Genesis(68,173,22)

4. Group exclusives: Many businesses have their own group subscriptions. Sometimes you receive a new member gift. Groups will send you updates about the store, new releases, and sometimes free gifts. Be careful! If you join too many groups you may be spammed with notices.

You can also search the web for blogs on SL freebies like The Freebie Telegraph.

Step 4: Explore

2009-03-06T00:58:00.005-06:00

In this hunt, you will learn more about using your inventory, navigating SL, teleporting, taking pictures, making note cards...and more. You will also get to see some interesting simulations ( in SL and learn more about business and education in-world.

All of your answers will go into a notecard. See this tutorial about creating a note card in SL. Note that you will need to include some landmarks (LMs) and photos WITHIN the notecard (the time marker of 3:50 in the video tutorial explains how to do this). Name your group notecard "505 hunt: insert names here". Be sure to number your answers! When you finish, send me the notecard in SL.

Each correct answer is worth 10 points. The winning team gets a PRIZE! The first team to complete the hunt will receive 10 BONUS POINTS! You can earn 25 BONUS points by uploading your photos to flickr and adding them to the Seconds with Six! flickr group!

IMPORTANT! I'll be sending you the task box containing the hunt information through our group, "ESL 505 Business Proposal Teams". I have already invited all of you to join this group. If you accidentally declined my offer to join the group, you need to send me an IM asking to be added!

**Adapted from a task originally developed by Dr. R. Sadler

Basic Controls

2009-03-06T00:56:00.009-06:00

As you've probably discovered, it takes some practice to get used to navigating the world of SL.

Some of the most popular tutorials made for SL are by Torley Linden. These can be found on the Second Life Showcase or on Torley's You Tube channel. Go to the Showcase and select the Browse tab. Then choose "beginners" from the drop-down. Watch a few videos that interest you!

This tutorial by Mo Hax walks through the navigation and camera controls for you. If you'd like to see more of his tutorials, visit his website at http://imohax.com/heyavatar/.

Still having trouble? The Second Life Knowledge Base is a thorough, searchable resource. It has a special page just for beginners! Many of Torley's tutorial videos are embedded there. You can also get help in-world.

Ready? Let's Login! I'll provide you with a brief introduction today as well. Then you'll have an opportunity to practice and ask questions. If you want to learn more about any of these topics, go to the help resources listen in this post.

1. Inventory and Library

2. Map and Mini-Map

3. Landmarks and Teleporting

4. Search

5. Walk, Run...FLY!

Final Project Introduction

2008-03-06T00:18:00.023-06:00

The SL Businesses: The following 3 SL entrepreneurs have volunteered their time to help us learn more about business writing and proposals.

Pulaski Fizz of AV Puli Animations
YouTube Video Intro to AV Puli and audio transcription
SLURL to AV Puli Sim

Lavinia Laviolette of Bongo Beats and Aroha Island
YouTube Video Intro to Bongo Beats and audio transcription
SLURL to Bongo Beats
SLURL to Aroha Island
Link to Bongo Beats Online

Toko Voom of Vain Inc.
YouTube Video Introduction to Vain Inc. and audio transcription
SLURL to Vain Inc. Poses at White Square
SLURL to Vain Inc. Art Gallery
Link to Vain Inc. Online Magazine
Link to Vain Inc. Website

The Business Proposal:
1. With your teammates, select and define your problem/plan. Define your roles and objectives within the team based on the business owner's needs and goals. Turn in the planning sheet by Thursday, July 9 at 10pm.

2. Choose an article related to your business proposal topic that you feel will be helpful to your team. Summarize the article in a summary (about 250-300 words) and share it with your team and with me via Google Docs by Thursday July 16th.

3. List the types of information you will need to supply to your business owner. Design a rough outline of your final report. Here is a list of samples and resources that may help you get started.
Template for business proposal
Template for business proposal with guiding questions
Template of mock business plan
How to: the Business Proposal (Power Point)
How to: Business Plan ebook (page 29-30 has a nice format outline)

Sample: Photographer business plan (Power Point)
Sample: Go Green business proposal
Sample: Mobile Cord business plan

4. Decide on your division of labor. Each team member will writer their section of the business proposal.

5. Meet with me in a "board room" meeting Wednesday, July 15th or Thursday July 16th and present your plan informally. I will give you feedback for the final presentation at this time.
Write your section of the report. As a team, prepare a formal business presentation of your findings July 22nd (group presentations should be 15-20 minutes. Be creative!).

6. After the presentation, write individual executive summaries for your project. Finalize your written business proposal as a team. Turn them in (individual executive summary and team business proposal) by Friday, July 24th at midnight. We will discuss strategies for the executive summary in class before you give your presentations. These materials will guide you: Executive summary template, Executive summary intro, Executive summary strategy.

7. The resources I have provided will help you get started. You will not use every section of the template, and you may even come up with sections of your own! Be creative and work with the medium of your business to come up with a proposal they can use. You will need to spend a lot of time on this outside of class! Get started...and have fun!

Create

2008-03-06T00:15:00.018-06:00

Introduction: In this task, you will practice moving and texturing objects.

Step 1: Log into xstreetsl.com and get a copy of the task box delivered to your avatar: "6! Shoebox Task". Open your Task Box and copy the items to your inventory.

Step 2: Get into small groups. Add each of your group members as a friend. Then, select ONE person to rez the "6! shoebox task: room" onto the ground. IMPORTANT! The same person should rez all of the items so that the owner is the same. The person who rezes the items will need to give object permissions to each of the group members. (OBJECT permissions: Click communicate. On your friends list, check the third box over next to each group member's name. For more information about permissions see Day 3: Communicate.) Now that you have your room, negotiate which item's you'd like to add and where they will go. Remember that you only have one set of materials out! If you want to duplicate an item, make sure the same person who rezed is the one who copies the item.

Step 3: Textures! Once you get everything where you want it, you can begin to texture and/or color your room. If you don't already know how to add textures to an object, please refer to Day 6: Create. For this part, everyone can work at the same time! However, you must follow an important guideline: ONLY use textures and photos from the Library section of your inventory.

Step 4: Now that your finished, make yourself comfortable in your room. With your group, prepare to describe the items you've created by thinking of at least three adjectives that describe their design and function.

Step 5: Get together with another group and visit one another's room so that you can compare. Tell each other about each item and it's location in the room. What differences are there?

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY! Take a picture of your group's room and add it to the Seconds with Six! Flickr group. (More information about posting photos is on the Student Handbook page.)

Step 6: Clean up! The same person who rezed the items should pick them up! First, create a new folder called, "[group name]'s Shoebox Room." Right click and edit an item, then press and hold shift. Without letting go of the Shift key, select all your other items by clicking them. Once you've selected all the items, right click, select "more", then "take copy" in the menu. This will pick them up as a group so that you don't lose their position in the room. If you'd like to pick up the individual items as well, take a copy of each. Put everything in you group's Shoebox folder. Finally, delete the items rezed on the ground. If you won't be working with the same group on another building task, it's a good idea to uncheck the "modify objects" box next to their name on your friend's list.

What's SL?

2008-03-06T00:07:00.013-06:00

Second Life (SL) is a virtual world, and everything in it is created by the residents (people just like you and me!). Unlike many online "games," there is no real goal in second life. You decide what you want to do there much like you would in real life. People build things and design clothes, explore, go to parties, start small businesses, become members of communities...and anything else you can imagine!

When approaching the seemingly limitless world of second life for the first time, it may be a difficult concept to grasp. Think of it as a country which happens to exist on the Internet: real people, real money, real businesses. That's right. People are making real money in SL. Just ask Anshe Chung, described in a 2005 article by CNN Money as a "Virtual Rockerfeller."

You really can do anything you want, and be anyone you want. Meet David, a blonde bombshell entrepreneur in this clip from CNBC.

This video from CNBC spotlights a case study by Linden Labs and IBM. You can read the executive summary on SL's business site, Second Life Grid.

Activity: Getting a handle on virtual money

This YouTube video shows a glimpse into some of the brands who are marketing to the residents of SL.

1. After reading the CNN Money article and watch the CNBC videos above on entrepreneurs and holding meetings and events in SL, answer the following questions with your group:

What are some of the benefits of having a business presence in SL?
How do you think the target audience differs from say, someone watching a commercial on TV?
What are some ways, do you think, that you could make money in SL?
What are some ways that a business could save money in SL?

2. Explore the SL official website. Then, spend some time exploring SL's business site, Second Life Grid (which has a Twitter feed and a blog you may want to follow).

3. Do some research of your own. Try browsing Google, YouTube and Wikipedia, skimming a few other articles to see what interests you. Choose one thing that you find particularly interesting and talk about it on your Twitter or Blogspot.

4. Get an account. Go to http://secondlife.com/ to create your account. Don't forget your user name and password! If you have a computer that meets the minimum system requirements, you can install it at home for free and begin orientation. I highly reccommend you do this! The more time you spend in SL on your own, the easier it will be to do the business proposal. Consider it "market research."