Digital Commons Network^™

It (Usually) Never Rains In California, Jan Marshall

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

When I was notified I had won a prize for rainmaking, I was gob-smacked while trying to close my umbrella. The last one to win that prestigious award was Burt Lancaster whom I'm often mistaken for without my makeup.

A Dog's Purpose For A Mom And Daughter, Lisa Marlin

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

Grace and I read A Dog's Purpose over winter break in December, using two bookmarks. It was the first time we have read a book at the same time. I had suggested it when I found out that the author W. Bruce Cameron and his wife, screenwriter Cathryn Michon, are part of the Erma Bombeck writers' tribe to which I also belong. Though I'd never met either one, I felt a kinship with them. I needed to read and see their work. More importantly, my daughter and I needed something to bond us together during the trying times a teenager …

At The Heart Of It All, Hillary Ibarra

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

My husband Matthew teases me every year. "You want that key in a heart necklace, don't you?" or "Oh, look at that heart charm. I'm going to get you that!" He knows if he really did, it'd be the first gift of his I'd take back. I can't abide hearts.

Not My Privates You Don't, Kaye Curren

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

Author shares her experience going through the security line at an airport.

Is That A Dog?, Karen Debonis

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

Years ago, we had new neighbors move in to the upstairs apartment in the house next door. One Saturday afternoon shortly after the couple had moved in, I saw them out with their dog on the grassy median strip dividing our residential street. The couple was talking with some other neighbors, so I went out to say hi.

In The News: Feb. 11, 2017, Michael Duricy

Marian Library Blog Archive

Read recent items about Mary in both Catholic and secular news. Also see International Marian Research Institute news and updates.

Pirates Of The Mediterranean, Dave Larsen

College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

Declared "enemies of all mankind" by Sir Edward Coke, and later romanticized in popular culture, pirates played a large role in shaping the modern state, giving rise to international laws and modern naval forces.

A Grand Adventure, Karen Spina

President's Blog: From the Heart

Eric is especially busy these days, so he gave me his blogging pen and encouraged me to use it. I was happy to pick it up to offer a few words from *my* perspective on our life move to Dayton and the University that we now call home.

Civic Engagement With Beyond The Ballot, Julia Hall

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

Post-election season, the student ambassadors of Vote Everywhere have initiated a new, three-part lecture series called Beyond the Ballot, running Feb. 15, March 8, and March 22. The series will feature speakers from the political science department as well as the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community.

Portraits Of Self, Larry Burgess

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

Graphic design and fine arts majors work on their larger than life self-portraits in the hallway of the visual arts department.

Now Available: Volume 29 Of Basic Communication Course Annual, Maureen Schlangen

University Libraries Blog Archive

eCommons and the National Communication Association's Basic Course Division present the first online-only open-access issue of the Basic Communication Course Annual.

Writers' Workshop Partnership, Delaney Lawrence

College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

The University of Dayton and Antioch Writers' Workshop are partnering to serve the Dayton-area creative writing community through educational programming, mentorship, networking and professional development opportunities.

Mary's Garden, University Of Dayton

News Releases

The University of Dayton library will house more than books this spring. For the first time, it will feature a living indoor garden filled with some of the hundreds of flowers and plants named in medieval times as symbols for the Virgin Mary.

Budding Creativity, University Of Dayton

News Releases

The University of Dayton and Antioch Writers' Workshop are partnering to serve the Dayton-area creative writing community through educational programming, mentorship, networking and professional development opportunities.

Freezing Flurries, Kristin Davis

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

Snow has decorated campus once again this winter. The sight is beautiful, but the blurring snowflakes in front of the chapel show just how persistent the cold breeze is.

Bundle Up!, Kristin Davis

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

Just two days ago, it was hard to imagine the 60-degree temperatures could drop so fast, but today the snow across campus shows us all what Ohio weather is capable of. Here students bundle themselves up against the cold wind as they make their way to classes.

How I Turned Down Brad Pitt, Kara Martinez Bachmann

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

Once, about 20 years ago, I turned down a night with Brad Pitt. It unfurled just before I was married, before he became a producer, aged backwards as Benjamin Button, or showed us his butt in Troy. Before a word like "Brangelina" made any sense.

Finding Your Tribe, Lisa Smith Molinari

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

I could feel the tiny glands in my armpits firing off, one by one. I fidgeted, pushed the lettuce around my plate, and smiled blankly at the gentleman beside me, too distracted to make conversation. It was no use. I would be a nervous wreck until my speech was over. The organizers of the 2016 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop had given me five minutes to speak about NSNC during the Friday lunch program. I had plenty of public speaking experience, but - if there was one thing I knew about these Erma folks - they didn't want anyone to interrupt …

Balance, Jan Wilberg

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

In the photo, the beautiful, young woman is doing a headstand on the beach, her legs arranged like the wings of a mythical bird. In my mind's eye, I see myself there, hands in the sand, seeing the world upside down and being at total peace.

2017 年 2 月中国圣母专题 (Chinese Marian Features For Feb. 2017), University Of Dayton

Marian Library Blog Archive

Special Chinese language content for February 2017.

Boy Scouting At St. Mary's College, Kristina Schulz

University Libraries Blog Archive

Feb. 8 marks the anniversary of the incorporation of Boy Scouts in the United States (1910). Scouting caught on quickly in Dayton, Ohio at St. Mary's Institute.

Cardiac Clothes, Larry Burgess

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

Valentines Day is coming. Need a gift idea? UD Bookstore has the solution. Here, UD Bookstore student worker Sara Brothers, a sophomore exercise science major from Centerville, Ohio, arranges a display of T-shirts. The red shirts have a blue heart shape on the front made up of the shapes of all the states Flyers come from.

Call For Manuscripts, Joseph P. Mazer

Basic Communication Course Annual

Submissions are invited for publication consideration in Volume 30 of the Basic Communication Course Annual (2018). Managed by the Basic Course Division of the National Communication Association and published by the University of Dayton, the Annual publishes the best scholarship available on topics related to the basic course and is distributed nationally to scholars and educators interested in the basic communication course. Each article will be published online and indexed on the journal’s website.

All manuscripts submitted to the Annual will undergo blind peer review. Two or three members of the editorial board read and review each manuscript. The …

Centering Information Literacy (As) Skills And Civic Engagement In The Basic Communication Course: An Integrated Course Library Collaboration, Liliana Herakova, Jennifer Bonnet, Mark Congdon Jr.

Basic Communication Course Annual

In an era of proliferating “fake news” stories (Fisher, Cox, & Herman, 2016; Mikkelson, 2016; Rutenberg, 2016; Tavernise, 2016), and a “post-truth” political climate (Higgins, 2016; Oxford Dictionaries, 2016), the need to pair public communication and civil discourse with information literacy instruction is more important than ever. A recent study by researchers at Stanford University revealed an alarming trend among students from middle school to college: while students at various stages of their formative education may have a facility with social media use and Internet navigation, they are easily deceived when asked to determine if the information they have read …

Embracing Social Media In The Basic Communication Course: Recommendations For The Digital Age, Soo-Kwang Oh, Jennifer S. Owlett

Basic Communication Course Annual

For communication scholars, the “bread and butter” (Dance, 2002), or “front porch” (Beebe, 2013), of the discipline is the basic course. The basic course is “that communication course either required or recommended for a significant number of undergraduates; that course which the department has, or would recommend as a requirement for all or most undergraduates” (Morreale, Hanna, Berko, & Gibson, 1999, p. 3). Most departments provide either a public speaking or hybrid course as their basic course (Valenzano, Wallace, & Morreale, 2014). Part of maintaining this “porch” is understanding what adaptations are needed. The basic communication course has undergone several …

Universal Adaptation: The Need To Enhance Accessibility In The Basic Course, Michael G. Strawser, Brandi N. Frisby, Renee Kaufmann

Basic Communication Course Annual

It is well-documented that the basic course is the front porch of the communication discipline (Beebe, 2013). Regularly part of general education, the basic course introduces students who may never experience another communication course to communication-based content. Because of the prominence of the basic course in general education, the scope of participating students is vast in terms of motivation and ability. This varied population may present several challenges for basic course instructors. One oft-forgotten issue, or an afterthought in course design, is the development and implementation of accessible basic course delivery and materials for students with disabilities. We believe it …

Adapting The Basic Communication Course For A Globally And Technologically Mediated 21st-Century Context, Michael G. Strawser, Janet K. Mccormick

Basic Communication Course Annual

The global marketplace is ripe for a reiteration (or a reminder) of the characteristics of an effective international communicator. Thankfully, the basic course, the “front porch” of the communication discipline (Beebe, 2013), may serve as a catalyst for pinpointed transcultural communication skills training. As communication knowledge and skills training increases in domestic and global importance (Morreale, Myers, Backlund, & Simonds, 2016), it is imperative that the basic communication course adapts to meet the demands of an international job market for communication practitioners. As such, this forum piece will address desirable international professional communication behavior and position a revised basic course …

Capitalizing On The Inevitable: Adapting To Mobile Technology In The Basic Communication Course, Brandi N. Frisby

Basic Communication Course Annual

It is undeniable that college classrooms have evolved. Students are reliant on, and connected to, friends, family, and endless amounts of information through convenient, affordable, and mobile technology (Kuznekoff & Tisworth, 2013). Although Wei and Leung (1999) reported students found classrooms to be the least acceptable public place for cell phone use, this has not deterred the classroom from becoming “deeply saturated” by mobile devices (Kuznekoff, Munz, & Titsworth, 2015, p. 344). Instructors report technology challenges their “beliefs about the nature of learning and their role in the classroom” (Fairchild, Meiners, & Violette, 2016, p. 99). Despite student and faculty …

Basic Course Forum: Section Introduction

Basic Communication Course Annual

The Basic Course Forum is designed to invite scholars and basic course practitioners to propose and debate specific key questions of concern related to the basic course. The 2016 topic is “Adaptation.” Submissions address how the basic course has in the past adapted to changing demands or in the future can adapt thusly. In crafting the essays, authors were asked to focus on one demand or constraint that either has, does, or likely will influence the delivery and/or content of the basic course. They were asked to explain the constraint, how it is tied to the basic course, and what …

A Blended Basic Course Examination Of Communication Apprehension And Self-Efficacy: A Comparative Analysis, Michael G. Strawser, Amy. L. Housley Gaffney, Allyson Devito, Sarah E. Kercsmar, Michael Pennell

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students desire rich subject-matter and relevant pedagogy despite rising tuition costs, greater demands for flexibility, and unique learning preferences (Allen & Seaman, 2014; Donnelly, Rizvi, & Summers, 2013; Reed & Sork, 2009; Moore, 2007). As higher education modalities have evolved a careful examination of these newer approaches is necessary. This study is a comparative assessment of communication apprehension and self-efficacy of students in traditional (face-to-face) and blended (face-to-face and online instructional components) basic course modalities. Parallel sections of a basic communication course are assessed and results indicated no significant differences between the two groups with minor exceptions.