BYU Independent Study - Public Speaking

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Shawn Ambrose, May 26, 2010.

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  1. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Just wanted to give a report on BYU's Independent Study Public Speaking Course. My daughter just completed the course.

    1. The price is reasonable at $148 credit hour ($444/course). Granted not Clovis or CLEP Exam material, but still very reasonable. No textbook, all materials in the online material.

    2. QUICK turnaround of assignments. If you upload your speeches, the instructor has feedback in 2 -3 business days.

    3. There are 9 lessons. No homework for the 1st 2 lessons. The other 7 lessons are different speech assignments.

    4. You can complete the course quickly - my daughter completed the course in 10 days.

    5. Once the grade is posted by the instructor, you can request a transcript the next day. If you are a BYU student and graduating from BYU, there are some deadlines to be aware of.

    We thought of having our daughter go the DSST - Principles of Public Speaking route, but we were concerned with the "crapshoot" of a random topic for a 3 - 5 minute speech, along with the several week wait for the grading of the speech from Prometric.

    If you need a speech course, I would highly recommend the BYU Independent Study course.

    Shawn
     
  2. steveo

    steveo New Member

    Good review. BYU seems to offer many classes at resonable rates.

    Sounds like a good deal, and a good course. I understand students need to record their speeches and submit them. How is that done? Is an audience required? I would expect so, since it is Public Speeking, not Talking to yourself. Also, did she find it difficult to transfer and upload the audio files? Thanks in advance.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 8, 2010
  3. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Pretty easy to record the speeches:

    How to Record Your Voice on a Computer - wikiHow.

    Uploading was a breeze.

    An audience is NOT required.

    Shawn
     
  4. Go_Fishy

    Go_Fishy New Member

    So....was the course useful? Sounds like a great way to get some credits on your transcript, but most people dread public speaking because of the "public." I can't imagine how recording speeches would help with that.
     
  5. smokey2011

    smokey2011 Member

    yeah but can you imagine speaking to a public that you can't see? The basic concepts behind public speaking can still be maintained with no audience, just takes more adjustment. Also, I haven't looked, but just because you don't need to have an audience doesn't mean you can't! I enlisted my family and co-workers because I talk to them every day anyways, it was easy to do a speech in front of them.
     
  6. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Typically, my daughter has to give a talk to our congregation every 3 months or so; she's been doing that for about 2 - 3 years.

    Shawn
     
  7. Go_Fishy

    Go_Fishy New Member

    Hm, I'm sure you're daughter is a great speaker, but it seems like she didn't really need the course (in terms of learning), right? That makes it hard to determine if there is actual educational value to the course.
     
  8. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    She breezed through the course. However, to graduate from Charter Oak State College, you need to fulfill an oral communications requirement, and we chose the BYU Independent Study Course.

    The more we looked at the DSST Principles of Public Speaking Exam, the more we didn't like it. 8 weeks for results, and the speech is a 3 - 5 minute speech that you have 10 minutes to prep for. It just seemed like a big crapshoot for us...
     
  9. gettingthere

    gettingthere New Member

    Thanks for the notes....this is helpful.

    I saw that Clovis has one online but you must record video in front of an audience.....*then* upload.....ick
     
  10. okiemom

    okiemom New Member

    My youngest son and I both did the BYU Public Speaking course. We both gained a lot from it. Good quality material and good feedback for a good price.

    Between myself, and my two sons, we've taken six independent study courses from BYU and have yet to be disappointed in any of them.
     
  11. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Received the transcript today - no mention of correspondence or web on the transcript.

    Shawn
     
  12. Mojo

    Mojo New Member

    Dear Shawn

    Thanks for the great info! i actually needed a public speaking course for a nursing graduate program.

    Could you elaborate more on the transcript- does it even say BYU distance learning? Independent study? does it say when it was completed- for instance in just one month or does it say summer semester etc.

    also- i understand that the course was finished in 10 days. would you say it was graded fairly? Was it a reasonable class that if one were to do work- to assume you could get an A in?

    Thanks in advance for your time- I look forward to your response :)

    PS. Has anyone taken BYU online psych classes?
     
  13. GoodYellowDogs

    GoodYellowDogs New Member

    No proctor?

    Just wanted to confirm that there aren't any proctored tests for this? I'm having trouble finding proctors since the local colleges have cut back on staffing.

    Thanks!

    Denise

    A.S. Nursing, Mesa College
    Working on Excelsior BS Liberal Arts (hopefully 2010!)

    B&M - 62 units over about 40 years :D
    Online Classes - 20 units
    1st CLEP - Intro to Psych - Passed with 64 9/11/10
    Uexcel Writing Test - Scheduled for 9/25/10
    CLEP A&I Literature - Scheduled for 10/2/10
     
  14. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    This is a realy useful skill for many employees -- many companies I have worked for have Toastmaster clubs to help employees improve their PS skills.
     
  15. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I took the BYU Public Speaking course awhile back. It really is the best way I've found to get that dreaded speech course in.
     
  16. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    No exams at all!
     
  17. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    As I recall, BYU's public speaking course won a national distance learning award a few years back.
     
  18. cravenco

    cravenco New Member

    Whoa! Maybe this forum will provide them with more students.
     
  19. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Well, I think that they have over 20,0000 who take classes from them. I'm sure that they would not mind a few more (anything for my Alma Mater :))
     
  20. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I can see why. The course was written very well.
     

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