Digital & Strategic Communication Orientation I – DIGI 700

Course Description

Synthesizing introduction for new PhD students to provide information about the doctoral program and philosophy of the graduate program, as well as resources available through the School of Communication & Digital Content and university.

Rationale

The purpose of this course is threefold: 1) to establish starting points for developing a theoretical baseline that will contribute to work in DIGI 705 and to dissertation research; 2) to provide essential tools for doctoral-level writing and coursework success; and 3) to orient the student to the scope and expectations of this doctoral program. Students will engage theory and practice while exploring ideas that will inform meaningful research throughout the program.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for each Discussion. Each thread must be a minimum of 600 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge and integrate at least 1 biblical principal. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be a minimum of 300 words.

Video Discussion

The student will complete one Video Discussion in this course. For this Discussion, the student will post one video, then post 2 replies of at least 300 words. There is no length requirement for this video. Each reply must incorporate at least one biblical integration in current APA format. No citations are required for this assignment.

Life Application Paper Assignments (3)

The student will write an informal paper which may include current APA format where it is appropriate that focuses on one of three topics: 1. How to integrate into the Strategic Communication academic community. 2. A paper where the student will argue whether Strategic Communication is a field or a discipline. 3. How Strategic Communication integrates into the student’s faith and worldview. The papers are informal, but must be professionally written and be at least 500 words. The third and final paper must also include 5 references.

Critical Summary Paper Assignments (4)

The student will write 4 Critical Summary Papers. For each paper, the student must complete a series of questions based on one of the textbooks. As these books were selected to provide deep insight to Strategic Communication and how it was formulated, shaped, changed, as well as how it should be applied to future works, the student should be showing a high level of critical thinking in the formation of his/her thoughts. Each Critical Summary Paper should be a minimum of 750 words, be supported by a minimum of 5 scholarly extractions of the author, and follow current APA format.

Annotated Bibliography and Literature Synthesis Assignments (2)

An annotated bibliography facilitates the gathering and assessing of materials for the framing and development of the student’s dissertation. A literature synthesis is a written discussion incorporating support from several sources and identifying their relationship to your thesis and potential research objective.  The annotated bibliography and literature synthesis will follow APA style. The student will submit 5 annotations in the Annotated Bibliography: Draft Assignment but will be expected to complete 10 annotations for the Annotated Bibliography and Literature Synthesis: Final Assignment.  The Final Assignment will expect students to engage with presenting the research in a created analysis which examines the related theories, conversation, and gaps in research.

Research Question Assignment

In this course the student will be curating articles for a research paper which will emerge in DIGI 705. After completing the Annotated Bibliography, the student will give a short proposal and build up to an emergent Research Question.

Quizzes (4)

Each quiz will cover the Learn material featuring APA topics for the assigned module: week(s). Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain a multiple-choice, true/false, or short answer question, and have no time limit.