Student Deliverables
A key part of this course is the creation of deliverables. These deliverables–both the semester project and the blog posts–are designed to provide students with a competitive advantage when interviewing for internships and jobs. We will have two types of deliverables: some covering areas of expertise, and others reflecting on our experience.
Areas of Expertise
When class begins in January, each undergraduate student will be expected to select an area of expertise. These areas can be content-focused (health and beauty, fashion, sport, etc.), role-focused (copywriting, account planning, account management, etc.), media-focused (social media, television, print, etc.), or practice-focused (internal communications, media relations, crisis communications, etc.). Faculty will work with students to help determine the appropriate scope for areas of interest to ensure they are sufficiently robust, yet manageable.
Blog and ePortfolio
During Spring Semester in Kent, students will write monthly blog posts about their area of expertise. When in London, students will be expected to write multiple blog posts on their area of expertise that include their new learnings and comparative analyses. The students will conduct interviews with U.S. and UK advertising and public relations professionals and convey research findings through insightful blog posts. Students will be required to produce some mulitmedia posts.
Before we leave for London, each student will schedule interviews with sources and submit a list of questions that they will investigate while overseas. The U.K. blog posts will compare and contrast the student’s area of expertise in the UK and U.S., drawing similarities and calling out differences as appropriate.
This isn’t a class exercise designed to prove to us you’ve done work this semester, nor is it something you can whip out an hour before it’s due. Your blog posts should be thoughtful, well-crafted, and iterative (in other words, you’re constantly improving and refining your posts as we move through the course). Our expectation is that you will produce a compelling, engaging, visually interesting, and conceptually sound deliverable that will greatly add value to your portfolio.
In this course, students also will create or improve an existing ePortolio, which will include bio information, blog posts and work samples.
Reflecting on the Experience
Research on experiential learning–including study away programs–indicate that regular reflections on the experience greatly enhance student learning. As such, students will write monthly blog posts while in Kent focusing on the process and experience: the technicalities of preparing for the trip, their feelings as we move closer (both positive and negative), and what their expectations are (and how they shift). When in London, students will write blog posts on these topics. Finally, each student will write a final reflective blog post upon their return, focusing on the experience in its entirety.
Final deliverables will be due May 30.
Areas of Expertise
When class begins in January, each undergraduate student will be expected to select an area of expertise. These areas can be content-focused (health and beauty, fashion, sport, etc.), role-focused (copywriting, account planning, account management, etc.), media-focused (social media, television, print, etc.), or practice-focused (internal communications, media relations, crisis communications, etc.). Faculty will work with students to help determine the appropriate scope for areas of interest to ensure they are sufficiently robust, yet manageable.
Blog and ePortfolio
During Spring Semester in Kent, students will write monthly blog posts about their area of expertise. When in London, students will be expected to write multiple blog posts on their area of expertise that include their new learnings and comparative analyses. The students will conduct interviews with U.S. and UK advertising and public relations professionals and convey research findings through insightful blog posts. Students will be required to produce some mulitmedia posts.
Before we leave for London, each student will schedule interviews with sources and submit a list of questions that they will investigate while overseas. The U.K. blog posts will compare and contrast the student’s area of expertise in the UK and U.S., drawing similarities and calling out differences as appropriate.
This isn’t a class exercise designed to prove to us you’ve done work this semester, nor is it something you can whip out an hour before it’s due. Your blog posts should be thoughtful, well-crafted, and iterative (in other words, you’re constantly improving and refining your posts as we move through the course). Our expectation is that you will produce a compelling, engaging, visually interesting, and conceptually sound deliverable that will greatly add value to your portfolio.
In this course, students also will create or improve an existing ePortolio, which will include bio information, blog posts and work samples.
Reflecting on the Experience
Research on experiential learning–including study away programs–indicate that regular reflections on the experience greatly enhance student learning. As such, students will write monthly blog posts while in Kent focusing on the process and experience: the technicalities of preparing for the trip, their feelings as we move closer (both positive and negative), and what their expectations are (and how they shift). When in London, students will write blog posts on these topics. Finally, each student will write a final reflective blog post upon their return, focusing on the experience in its entirety.
Final deliverables will be due May 30.
