Overview
Communications 100 is designed to help you improve the academic skills you need to be a successful university student. The course teaches planning and time management skills, strategies for critical thinking, online research skills and information literacy, methods to improve reading and note-taking, and how to write better research papers and be prepared to do well on tests and exams. You are encouraged to understand yourself as a critical learner, as you reflect on what you are learning, actively participate in academic culture, and engage in critical inquiry. Your learning in this course will help you in your future studies, in your work, and in life in general as you identify problems and seek solutions to them.
Outline
Unit 1: Getting the Most Out of Your Education
- Lesson 1: Online and Distance Learning and Higher Education
- Lesson 2: Understanding Yourself as a Learner
- Lesson 3: Time Management
Unit 2: Active Reading and Effective Note-Taking
- Lesson 4: Active Reading Strategies
- Lesson 5: Effective Note-Taking Strategies
Unit 3: Being a Critical Learner
- Lesson 6: What Does It Mean to Be Critical?
- Lesson 7: What Does It Mean to Be Information Literate?
Unit 4: Using Libraries and the Internet for Research
- Lesson 8: Beginning a Research-Based Writing Project
- Lesson 9: Evaluating Sources
- Lesson 9: Finding Sources
Unit 5: Research-Based Writing
- Lesson 11: Writing as Process and Conversation
- Lesson 12: Intellectual Honesty
Unit 6: Memory and Test-Taking
- Lesson 13: Memory Techniques
- Lesson 14: Strategies for Tests and Examinations
Learning outcomes
After completing COMM 100, students should be able to
- identify what they need to do to succeed in their postsecondary studies and as online learners.
- assess their abilities and preferences as learners and use strategies for time management, reading, note-taking, memory, critical thinking, test-taking, and communication to enhance their learning and improve their academic performance.
- discuss diversity issues, demonstrate intercultural competence, and engage with different ways of knowing and learning.
- use an understanding of academic culture and practices to join scholarly conversations.
- develop research questions and thesis statements, and write a thesis-based, research-based essay.
- discuss what it means to be a critical thinker and bring a spirit of critical inquiry to thinking, reading, writing, and researching.
- demonstrate information literacy skills, including
- using libraries and the Internet to locate information sources.
- working critically with information sources using a range of strategies and evaluative criteria.
- maintaining standards of intellectual honesty, including citing and documenting sources appropriately.
- engage in writing as a process of drafting and revising, and use journaling to reflect on learning and research.
Evaluation
To receive credit for COMM 100, you must
- complete all four assignments
- complete all six end-of-unit online quizzes
- participate in class discussions.
A pass will be awarded only if all of the above conditions are satisfied and you achieve a composite course mark of at least D (50 percent).
There is no final examination for this course.
The following chart summarizes each type of activity, the credit weight associated with it, and its placement in the course.
| Activity | Weight | Complete by |
| Assignment 1 - "Planning for success" questions | 10% | end of Unit 1 |
| Assignment 2 - Reflective essay | 20% | end of Unit 3 |
| Assignment 3 - Research journal | 20% | end of Unit 4 |
| Assignment 4 - Research essay | 30% | end of Unit 6 |
| Online unit quizzes - Multiple choice/true or false | 9% | end of Units 1-6 |
| Discussion - Contribute to three of six class discussions | 11% | end of Units 1-6 |
| Total | 100% | |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Ellis, D., & Dawson, D. (2020). Becoming a master student (7th Cdn. ed.). Toronto: Nelson. ISBN: 9780176766009
Other materials
All other course materials are provided online.