1.3 Tone, Vision, Language, Brand

1.3 Brand - Tone, Vision, Language

Having examined the most important and relevant core goals, values, and identities of the community, we now turn to how they are expressed. Overall the language, the tone, and the vision that are used to form the community's message make up its brand identity. This brand is the symbolic and tangible representation of the community's values.

Internal Communication and Language

First, we will discuss the language that is used within the community to create a consistent messaging. Choosing language carefully is an extremely important component of establishing a community's tone and vision both internally and externally.

Some ideas shared by Cornell's Center for Teaching Innovation for establishing a community's tone and vision internally:

• Describe the vision for the class on your homepage and syllabus. Find opportunities to explain it verbally.

• Share your teaching philosophy and expectations and why you are approaching the class this way.

• Let the tone come through over class correspondence, discussion board replies, and assessment feedback.

• Allow students to create or have a say in some portion of the design of the community (Ex: preference on the routine each week, how the community communicates or shares work).

One way HPL could expand its use of language to fit that goal is by using language of co-ownership in its references to community, befitting its constructivist principles. Rather than saying, "you are expected to engage with one community offering per week", we can say, "You have the opportunity to contribute to as many community events per week as possible. We hope you will find time to engage in at least one and ideally more, to obtain the best possible experience in our growing community." By shifting the perspective of the requirement to one of a gracious invitation, students will understand that their participation is valued and that they are responsible - not required - for participation. Using the language of co-ownership can act as an anchor for the principles of constructivism in the course, particularly if they are consistently used in communication.

HPL's tone and vision should make it uncompromisingly clear that students have a say in the creation of the community vision and the success of the course. As outlined in HPL's Professional Identity goal, HPL students are responsible for supporting others’ learning as well as their own. It follows that they should, to some extent, be involved in the experience of co-casting a vision for the course - even in some small way. A visible artifact of shared ownership and responsibility for the success of the course - such as a shared vision, set of course rules, or goals - can contribute a great deal to the community. It provides a reminder that the experience is democratic. In turn, it ensures that members recognize the environment as ripe for open discourse, shared decisions, and freedom of ideas, as well as an extra layer of peer accountability.

Some of the Cornell CTI's for sharing ownership of the community:

• All together or in groups, have students suggest ground rules for the course community and how they will hold members accountable. Everyone votes and signs off on it.

• Small groups can also develop their own agreements, including plans for conflict resolution.

In the context of HPL, where students tend to be mature enough for the community to self-regulate, it is possible that instead students could reflect on the community and their own potential individual contributions to it. They could ideate together in a discussion board about possibilities for the course community, and how they would like it to look and feel. Teaching Fellows could compile the responses to this exercise, and a few devoted students could synthesize it into a list of principles or goals.