College of Humanities & Social Sciences - Open & Free Materials by Course: Communication Studies

Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy is a contemporary, interdisciplinary public speaking textbook that fuses rhetoric, critical/cultural studies, and performance to offer an up-to-date resource for students. With a focus on advocacy, this textbook invites students to consider public speaking as a political, purposeful form of information-sharing.

• Open License: CC BY-NC-SA

In fifteen chapters the authors have attempted to address all the major concerns, issues, and material that an introductory, freshmen-level public speaking course involves. Beginning with the value of public speaking to one's life and overcoming public speaking anxiety, the subsequent chapters cover listening and audience analysis; plagiarism and ethics; invention and thesis development; research; organization; introductions, conclusions, and transitions; supporting material; delivery; visual aids; language choices; informative speaking; persuasive speaking; logic and fallacies; and special occasion speeches. The book was written with students in the open access college and with diversity in mind.

• Open License: CC BY-NC-SA
• Read instructor reviews.

As information and communications technology (ICT) evolve families and the professionals who work with them are best armed with tools that enable their intentional use. From the perspective of a long time family practitioner, researcher, and educator, and technology innovator, this textbook offers the first comprehensive view of technology in the family for college students, professionals and the public. Each chapter offers content and a complete reference list, learning activities, ideas for critical blog posting and additional readings. Overall, the textbook covers foundational information about our societal use of information and communications technology, family theories and ways of understanding families, and how families differ in their use and access to ICT.

• Open License: CC-BY-NC

Business Communication for Success (BCS) provides a comprehensive, integrated approach to the study and application of written and oral business communication to serve both student and professor.

• Open License: CC BY-NC-SA
• Read instructor reviews.

No matter what your field is, having professional communication skills are essential to success in today's workplace. This book covers key business communications topics that will help you in your career, including intercultural communication, team work, professional writing, audience analysis and adapting messages, document formatting, oral communication, and more.

• Open License: CC BY-NC-SA

Emphasizes practical application of academic inquiry to help readers improve their writing skills. Discusses different writing styles and techniques and provides examples of communication materials such as press releases, creative briefs, feature articles, and more. Includes embedded videos of insights from communication professionals, tips on pitching to the media, and a collection of popular sources for further explanation.

• Open License: CC-BY-NC
• Read instructor reviews.