Here are some interesting and useful URLs (web addresses).  I will be adding  to this list from time to time, so you may want
to visit occasionally.  If you find some valuable web resources related to communication studies, please let me know so I can
further develop this resource.  Just click on the addresses or the logo and you will go directly to the page you wish to review.

Page Topics:
Interactive Instructional Sites
Research Tools
Writing Tools
Critical Tools


Interactive Instructional Sites

Web Log: Explanation, Goals and Assignment
The web log or "blog" assignment helps you experience the blogging process.  A blog is a kind of online journal or column about a specific topic or issue that interests you.  The blog allows you to speak your mind to others about what you feel is important.  In doing so, you present yourself to the world in particular ways that often merit some analysis after you have created a body of writing.  To explore the assignment, click on the Blogger logo below.
Logo for Blogger.com

Deep Poster: Model and Assignment

The "deep poster" is a tool for making presentations of substantial content online.  Using both internal and  external links, well-designed deep posters provide rich and dynamic information on a specific topic, issue, or
concern.  Click the cartoon below to see a model deep poster.
Cartoon of Blogger

 

Thirty Second Candidate
          Logo
The Thirty Second Candidate
The Thirty Second Candidate is an interactive teaching unit from the Public Broadcasting System.  It is a fascinating tutorial in how the 30 second spot came into existence, and how the concept has developed over time. The site allows you to "construct" a spot of your own.  This site is worth visiting for insight into the practice of campaign message making.
http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/timeline/


Research Tools

 

Logo, Search Engine Showdown
This site provides a useful abstract of  most popular internet search engines.  You get a quick and handy reference regarding how to structure the best searches using each.
http://www.notess.com/search/


Logo, Internet Detective Tutorial
Internet Detective: An interactive tutorial on evaluating the quality of Internet resources
Not everything on the internet is necessarily accurate or authoritative.  If you are doing research using the web, you must assess the material you find there--this is a job you typically don't have to do using reference material in a university library.  I recommend you take a few minutes and work through the tutorials here.  This site is well designed and easy to use.
http://www.vtstutorials.ac.uk/detective/


Writing Tools

APA (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Critical Tools

American
              Rhetoric Logo
Index to and growing database of 5000+ full text, audio and video (streaming) versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events, and a declaration or two.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/

SIMILE logo
The aim of SIMILE is to provide a venue for scholarly articles which will bridge the subject areas of information literacy and media literacy. The journal is wide-ranging in topics from analysis of popular culture (e.g. Homer Simpson explains our postmodern identity crisis, whether we like it or not: Media literacy after "The Simpsons") to studies in instructional communication (Storied lives, dialog - retro-reflections: Melding Critical Multicultural Education and Critical Race Theory for pedagogical transformation).  This is an interesting journal of high quality research.  Freely available issues end with May 2009.