An Experiential, Mobile-Device Driven Communications Exercise This past week in my undergraduate interpersonal communications course, I adapted the Bridge-Itcommunications exercise to incorporate my students’ (most ages 17-20) mobile devices. It combined some of my favorite instructional strategies: • Experiential and Hands-On Learning • Team Building and Problem-Solving Group Initiatives • Using Mobile Devices in Educational Settings Procedures First. students were asked to line up in the classroom on a continuum from those who believed they had the best, most effective communication (verbal and listening) skills to those who thought they lacked those skills. They counted off by three’s to form three groups. The top three self-reported communicators were asked to be the communicators, the others were the builders. Next, groups were moved to separate rooms, given the same set of building blocks and their task . . . Build a three-dimensional structure using all the pieces provided. All three structures need to be exact in dimension and in color patterns. The communicators can use their cell phones via text and/or voice to communicate with the other groups.
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