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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Founder Of EEK! Will Speak To You On 18 April

Michael Mans-Combrinck, EEK! Founder
Michael Mans-Combrinck (he always says “just call me Michael”!) will be our guest on Monday 18 April. Michael is the founder of the e-magazine EEK! (Expats Express Kuwait). 

Michael arrived in Kuwait in 1999 with his family and three suitcases. He says he soon experienced varying levels of “emotional trauma” that many expats experience after they arrive in Kuwait. But instead of depression, Michael saw opportunity! 

Qualified in Industrial Psychology, and with an MBA (major in marketing), he launched an expats 
advisory help desk about six years ago, and EEK! is a result of that initiative. Now in its fifth year of circulation, EEK! has seen subscriptions grow by more than 33% in just the last four months. Michael is very clear that EEK! is not an online magazine, but an e-magazine. What is the difference? You'll find out when Michael visits our classroom! 

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Solo Presentations Dates


Here are the rules to follow for your solo presentation, followed by the date you will present:

1.  Use media of your choice. Please do use a PowerPoint presentation and then you may add video and/or audio to it. Please be aware that student attention span is narrow and you should not use a video that runs more than 2 minutes. Also, do not include more than 3 videos within a presentation.

2.  You may include a guest speaker as part of your presentation (but not as a substitute). However, your guest must speak within your time limit. Please make your guest aware that he/she will not be able to speak for an entire class session. (If time permits, I will extend your speaking time to accommodate a guest).

3.  Your presentation must be at least 12 minutes and not more than 20 minutes. Leave some time for Q&A. Watch your time – you’ll be cut off at 20 minutes. This means you need to be well organized and when it’s your turn to present you need to be prepared! Do not spend 5 minutes setting up technology or handing out materials. If you need to hand out materials, ask other students to help you, or give out the materials before class begins.

4.  Your presentation will be evaluated by your instructor and each class member. Students will complete a rubric for each presentation and your instructor will consider the totals of the rubric in awarding your grade. See the Presentation Rubric to understand how your presentation will be evaluated.  

5.   At least one week prior to your presentation, meet you’re your instructor and discuss the outline. Come during office hours. Allow at least 15 minutes for the discussion. Therefore, do not come at the end of office hours or 5 minutes prior to a class. Bring a printed copy of your outline with you to the meeting.

6.  On the day of your presentation, give your instructor a hard copy of your presentation, along with links to e-files (if any).

7.  Do not miss your presentation date. The schedule is tight and if you miss your date you probably will not have an opportunity to make it up. Remember, your presentation is your Final Assessment so it represents 30% of your grade. If you need help, or you don't understand something related to this topic, visit with your instructor. You are encouraged to meet repeatedly to prepare for this very important presentation.

DATE
YOUR TOPIC
YOUR NAME
1. April 18

Mujren A. Mujren
2. April 18

Omar Alsujbaie
3. April 20

Anas Al Sharhan
4. April 20

Homoud Al Shaheen
5. April 25

Abdulaziz Al Shuaib
6. April 25

Ali Al Rashoud
7. April 27

Faisal Al Oun
8. April 27

Ali Al Bloushi
9. May 2

Hamad Al Wazzan
10. May 2

Faisal Al Ajmi
11. May 4

Ammar Tineh
12. May 4

Abdulaziz Al Melam
13. May 9

Rawaf Al Rawaf
14. May 9

Abdullah Al Wudayyah
15. May 11

Fawaz Mohammed
16. May 11

Abdulrahman Al Qadhi
17.May 16

Ajeel Ajeel
18. May 16

Shamlan Al Roomi
19. May 18

Mohammed Al Aimi
20. May 18

Hamad Al Ablani
21. May 18

Jasem Al Sanea
22. May 23

Mohamad Msalkhi
23. May 23

Talal Al Saif
24. May 23

Souliman Al Hamad
25. May 23

Naser Al Subaiei
26. May 25

Omar Al Rumaih
27. May 25

Rawaf Abdulrahman
28. May 25

Saleh Muhailani

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Midterm Report Schedule

We've concluded 7 midterm reports and many of them well done! The balance of the schedule will continue as follows (Inshallah).

Monday March 28
Defining Characteristics of Magazines
Economics of Television
Role of Media in Middle East Revolutions
Cultural Impact of Internet and WWW
Book Industry in the Middle East

Wednesday March 30
Cultural Impact of Social Networking
Characteristics of Motion Pictures

I will likely move one presentation from the 28th to the 30th, but I don't know which one. So if your presentation is due on the 28th, be prepared! If it's your turn to present and you're not prepared, you will lose one letter grade.

As you've seen, some students are better prepared than others for their presentations. Technology is unpredictable, so come with a back up plan. Do not overload your presentation with videos -- and you should not show a video that runs longer than 2 minutes. You can have more than one video if you so desire, but use them appropriately.

Midterm grades will be posted after all of the presentations have been presented.

March 30 is the final class before the semester break. When we return from the semester break we will begin with individual reports, which also represent your final assessment grade.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Hurry! Exclusive Opportunity To Join A Product Launch Focus Group & Work With Kuwait's Leading Online Marketer. Register Now!

Explore the various facets of a Product Launch with Kuwait's #1 online marketer! This opportunity is limited to the first 35 students who register. Don't delay -- register now if you are interested.

Discover what happens behind the scenes of a Product Launch and enter a competition exclusively for marketing and communications students enrolled in my courses!

Khalid Al Zanki, who most of you met last week when he visited our classrooms at GUST, invites you to join his Focus Group, which is part of his Product Launch Workshop, to be conducted at GUST. When you join (it's free), you will interact with Khalid on a product launch -- this is your opportunity to find out how to build a product launch, online and offline, at the hands of a pro!

Register now. Click on this link and get involved. You must register by the deadline of 23 March. 

Only students enrolled in my Basic Marketing, Online PR & Advertising, and Intro to Mass Media courses are invited to participate in this project. 

What an exciting opportunity for you! 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Students Who Earned Extra Points For Participation


VARK Questionnaire
3-16-11
MCM 103 Intro to Mass Media

Received the questionnaire results from:

Abdullah Abdulrahman Yousef Al Wugayyan
Ali Zubair Al Rashoud
Faisal Al Ajmi
Hamad F A Al Ablani
Hmoud Saleh
Jasem Al Sanea
Mohammad SH Al Masalkhi
Rawaf AMA Abdulrahman

Thank you for complying with my request. You will receive additional points for Participation in MCM 103.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Team Meetings: Monday 7 March

I will meet one-on-one with MCM 103 Student Journalist Teams on Monday 7 March between 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. in N1-262, my office. The earlier start time allows me to meet with more students, and the earlier end time allows me to get to my seminar, The Art of Persuasion, which begins that night at GUST.

During our meeting, we will discuss the outline for your Team topic and the presentation schedule. I am looking for presentations to begin on Monday 21 March. Read the information on the blog for details about the presentations. 

Meetings on 7 March . . . first come, first served. Arrive as early as possible, beginning at 4 p.m., and I will meet with you as quickly as possible. Each meeting will last about 10 minutes. Please come with a rough outline of your presentation. Begin with your textbook; then search online for appropriate sources. And we'll talk about the content when we get together.

In the event I can't meet with your Team, set an alternate meeting time for Tuesday afternoon during office hours, or early afternoon on Wednesday. Email me.  

Not a member of a Team? Don't know what I'm talking about because you missed the last class? Read the blog . . . and come to see me. 

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Student Journalist

This is your opportunity to teach the rest of us about two aspects of mass communication.

1.     Each student will cover two topics, to be selected from the lists below. Each student will present  a Team topic and a Solo topic. Only one topic per team or student! (Teams will consist of two students).
2.     You’ll get a presentation date for each topic. That’s the date you’ll make your presentation to the class.
3.     To deliver your presentations you can use media of your choice.
4.     You can include a guest speaker as part of your presentation (but not as a substitute).
5.     Solo presentations must last at least 12 minutes, but not more than 25 minutes, leaving time for Q&A. Team presentations: 20-30 minutes. More time will be allowed if your presentation includes a guest speaker.  
6.     Presentations will be evaluated by your instructor and each class member. (Your final grade for the course will reflect the quality of the evaluations you completed for your class members).
7.     See the Presentation Rubric to understand how your presentations will be evaluated.  
8.     At least one week prior to your presentation, discuss the presentation outline with your instructor.
9.     On the day of your presentation, give your instructor a hard copy of your presentation, along with links to e-files (if any).

Team Topics (Select One)

Effects of the Gutenberg Revolution
The Penny Press and Yellow Journalism
The Defining Characteristics of Newspapers
The Defining Characteristics of Magazines
The Book Industry of the Middle East
The Defining Characteristics of Motion Pictures
The Cultural Impact of The Internet & World Wide Web
The Cultural Impact of Social Networking
The Defining Characteristics of Public Relations
Profile: March 18 Movement http://www.march18.org
The Role Of The Media In The Middle East Revolutions
Profile: MideastYouth.com http://www.mideastyouth.com
The Cultural Impact of TV
Ethical Issues In Advertising
The Economics of Television
A Better Communications Channel For GUST

Go Alone Topics (Select One)

How Media Are Governed In Kuwait
Profile Of A Newsmagazine (Your Choice)
Profile: Kuwait Magazine Publisher
What Happened? Look, Life And The Saturday Evening Post
Books In The Digital Age
Profile: NPR or BBC
Profile: Satellite Radio
Kuwait’s Motion Picture Industry
Profile: The Dubai Film Festival
Profile: Kuwait TV Personalities
Profile: Al Jazeera TV
Profile: Ted Turner & CNN
Reality TV: Good, Bad, Ugly!
Facebook (or Twitter): Who, What, Where, When & How
Profile: MTV Arabia
Profile: (A Blog or Blogger Of Your Choice)
What Can You Learn From Gust.Edu.Kw?
The Defining Characteristics of News
Citizen Journalism: A Case Study
Chronicles Of The Wire Services
Case Study: Cause-Related Public Relations Campaign
The Role Of The PR Agency
Profile: An Advertising Campaign Of Your Choice
Who Has Power Over The Media?
Comics: Their Role In Mass Communication
How Video Games Connect The Public
How Media Affect Our Behavior
The Impact of American Media In Kuwait
*Need a topic? Please note the available topics appear in dark typeface. Others have been claimed.


Build Your Communications Skills
Instead of listening to lectures, reading a textbook, memorizing data for quizzes and tests, you will participate in your education and develop critical learning skills. First and foremost, you will develop your communications skills (including active listening), and help others develop their skills. And all the while you will learn about important topics in mass communication.