On October 17, five Communication Arts faculty members participated in a panel at the 84th annual meeting of the Florida Communication Association at the Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista at the Walt Disney World Resort. Over 160 faculty members from around the state attended the conference. Five FIU Communication Arts faculty members spoke on the panel titled “Teaching the Blended Course: Using Online Pedagogy to Augment the Classroom Learning Environment.”
Daniel Blaeuer, Assistant Professor in Communication Arts, spoke on “Flipping the Class Room: Using Online Tools to Distribute Content to the Community and Students.” Blaeuer (PhD, University of South Florida) joined the FIU faculty in August 2011 after serving on the Barry University faculty. Blaeuer conducts research on communication surrounding community development and engagement. He teaches a slate of FIU courses including Artistic Expression, Communication Leadership, and Communication Theory.
Nurhayat Bilge, Assistant Professor in Communication Arts, presented “In and Out of the Class Room: How Online Tools Help Create a Sense of Class Room Community.” Bilge (PhD, Arizona State University, Tempe) joined the FIU faculty in August 2013 after serving on the Arizona State University, Phoenix faculty. Bilge conducts research on refugee communities’ communication patterns that sustain ethnic identity. She teaches two courses at FIU: Conflict Management and Intercultural Communication.
Nathalie Desrayaud, Visiting Instructor in Communication Arts, presented “Offloading Announcements and Opportunities to Online Venues: Tools for Sharing Information and Creating Spaces for Questions beyond the Classroom and E-mail Inbox.” Desrayaud (PhD, Purdue University) joined the FIU faculty in August 2013 after serving on the Missouri State University faculty. Desrayaud’s research examines the role of communication in forming and maintaining conflict cultures within organizations. She teaches a slate of FIU courses including Gender & Communication, Intercultural Communication, Organizational Change, and Organizational Communication.
Nicholas Temple, Assistant Professor in Communication Arts, spoke on “Minimizing Distraction: The Importance of Centralizing Learning Technologies into One Portal When It’s Possible, and Keeping It Simple When It’s Not.” Temple joined the FIU faculty in August 2012 after completing his PhD in Communication at the North Carolina State University. His research examines online rhetoric surrounding the US environmental movement. He teaches multiple FIU courses including Communication Ethics, Environmental Communication, Persuasion, Political Communication, and Rhetorical Theory.
Lynne M. Webb, Professor in Communication Arts, presented “Online-Only Textbooks: The Joys and Limitations.” Webb (PhD, University of Oregon) joined the FIU faculty in 2013 after serving on the University of Arkansas faculty. Webb’s research examines a variety of issues related to family communication as well as the use of social media in personal relationships. Webb teaches three FIU courses including Communication on Social Media, Conflict Management, and Interpersonal Communication.
According to its website, the purpose of the Florida Communication Association is to “coordinate the efforts of teachers, students, and others interested in advancing communication arts and sciences in the state of Florida.” At age 84, FCA is among the oldest state associations of communication scholars in the US. The Florida Communication association publishes two issues per year of the Florida Communication Journal. Its scholarly articles are indexed on Ebsco’s searchable data base.
