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Communication in Culture Group Project

First thing's first...A wiki is an online collaborative forum. I know you're heard of wikipedia. It's an online collaborative encyclopedia. This wiki will function in much the same way. Your group will research and prepare an online "presentation" using wikispaces.com. Everyone can see what everyone else has written, and you can even edit each other's work. (The //History// tab even allows you to compare past edits against previous versions.) You'll be able to see other team's work in progress too.
 * What is a wiki? **

**Objective:** Identify the concepts of interpersonal communication at work in our culture around us. Share your findings with the class in a wiki page including 1) relevant chapter material, and 2) research on your chosen cultural elements as it applies to interpersonal communication. Each group will be responsible for an online multimedia project in the form of a wiki, detailing the relevant terms and theories of the assigned chapter, exhibiting their use in the chosen context, and an reviewing the relevant research on that topic.

** Assignment Overview: **
Step 1: Pick a topic you and your group are interested in. A list of ideas is provided in Angel under this assignment description. The sky is the limit and you can choose almost anything that interests you and your group, as long as you can tie it back to interpersonal communication.

Step 2: Figure out what interpersonal communication theories/topics apply to your group's chosen interest area. Try to find 2 or 3 things you've studied in this class, and then apply it back to your topic. For example: My chosen topic is the diamond trade. I could refer to the chapter on culture, and then look at the cultural implications of diamonds - trends in diamond purchases across time and societies. I could even look at the cultural implications of Kate Middleton's choice of a saphire engagement ring. I could analyze advertising associated with diamonds - what's communicated both verbally and nonverbally in the chosen images. This could contrast "diamonds are forever" and the anti-diamond movement or "blood" diamond advertising images. So there are at least three interpersonal communication concepts related to diamonds I could review.

Step 3: Coordinate with your teammates, and put this all together on your wiki page. You're going to write a paper on your project, but using a wiki. Since it's in a multimedia platform, it can include embedded video, audio, images, or links to other web sites. All group members must contribute to the contents of the wiki. The wiki should be about 1/3 theory (what the related interpersonal concepts are, and what they mean) and about 2/3 application (explaining your cultural concepts as they relate to interpersonal communication and the relevant research on that subject).

You will need to do research in preparation for your wiki, and include at least three outside scholarly sources in addition to your text book. Also, include an APA or MLA formatted bibliography at the bottom of your wiki page, and cite your sources within the wiki text as well. You may include hyperlinks out to other online material as appropriate.

This project is worth 250 points (25% of your class grade). Wiki content, creativity, and quality will count for 2/3 of your project’s grade. The remaining 1/3 will be decided by your fellow group members’ evaluation of your participation/contribution to the project. That means each person in the group may earn a different grade based on evaluations.
 * Grading: **

Your evaluation of your fellow group members’ participation will not be shared with your classmates – they will be confidential. This is my way of attempting to make sure that all group members contribute equally to the project, and that the burden of preparing the bulk of the presentation doesn’t fall to one individual. So you need to make your contributions known. Post to the discussion board and interact with your group members as you prepare this project. Don't remain anonymous till the end, or your grade will suffer. Make sure you're part of the planning, writing and design.