Using Publicly Available Communication Products
ProtoCommunications is a project that started as a way to address two significant problems with the study of speech and debate: first, the role that technology plays in education, and second, the perpetual increasing cost of instructional content. We discovered that, while technology offers new and exciting ways to produce and distribute high quality instructional content at less cost to students, nobody has designed a single, comprehensive solution to address the unique complexity of student interaction in speech and debate courses. Not even us. Our current solution is to integrate a few products into the course to create as rich an experience as possible in an online environment. We understand that some people have reservations about creating additional online accounts. We considered all of the options during the creation of this course, and concluded that the benefits outweigh the costs, because what you get is an unparalleled learning experience at no additional cost. Not only that, but we are confident that these products will be useful well after you are finished with this course. In this lesson, we will explain reasons why you will need accounts for Google, StreamYard, and Yoodli.
Google
As a student, you will need to register for a Google, or Gmail account. If you already have an account, you should use it for this class. If you do not have an account, or if you want to create a dedicated account for your coursework, please create one by going to the Google homepage. There you can find account creation buttons by going to Gmail, or attempting to sign into Google. You will need to choose a username that is not already taken, nor is too similar to a preexisting account. People use Google products because they work. Some of their products have proven more successful than others, but this corporation got to the size it is today by making tools that people can use. Google is constantly monitoring its performance, and making improvements. The sheer size of the company means that it has an unparalleled amount of resources to offer. We are constantly finding new ways to collaborate, and produce with the tools they develop. While the choice to use Google is not exactly free to us, a business, an account is free to you, the user. Needless to say, this is a really important factor when developing tools that reduce the cost to students. We decided that the cost that we take on for emails, storage space, form automation, and more, is well worth it if students can access those benefits at no additional cost to them. As a performance based communication course, several different assignments require student recorded video for professor assessment. YouTube is a product of Google, and by creating a GMAIL account, a student will simultaneously create a YouTube account. Once logged in, users can upload personally recorded videos to complete such assignments. YouTube also offers live events, allowing for real-time video conferences between multiple users. Furthermore, live events enable students to meet and record themselves discussing topics, giving speeches, and interfacing with the instructor. A GMAIL account gives a student access to Google Drive, which comes with 15G of storage space and numerous useful applications. This first application worth noting is Google Docs; a free, online, word processing application which can allow students to work on the same document at the same time from remote locations. Second, Google Sheets, is a spreadsheet application similar to Excel, or Numbers. Third, Google Forms is a powerful application that easily facilitates the collection of data from students. It is particularly useful for surveys and peer reviews.