Friday, July 29, 2011

Freebie Friday! - The Container Store - Organized Teacher Discount Program

Readers,


How do you plan to organize your desk for the new school year? Have you cleaned your office for the new semester yet? That's my plan for the first week in August! 


If you live by a Container Store, you can take advantage of this wonderful program, "The Container Store Organized Teacher Discount Program". I will admit, 15% is a sizable discount for the Container Store! I plan to take my hubby (a high school science teacher) to the Container Store to decorate his new classroom this year! He loves organizational tools and ideas (with his wife's help of course). ;)


Take a look at this neat savings opportunity: http://www.containerstore.com/teachers/index.htm






Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Take a Virtual Vacation - My 5 Favorite iPad/iPod Games

Readers,







This summer has been filled with student interactions and organizing my home for the fall semester. Between those two very important (and time consuming) items, I have developed a virtual affair with my iPad games. I play 10 minutes of an iPad game when I need to refocus on an activity, when I am in the doctor's waiting room, or when I simply need to take a virtual mini vacation. Here are the games that I have been enjoying this summer!


1 - Scrabble HD



2 - Angry Birds - Rio





3 - Wedding Dash



4 - The Price is Right (My mom LOVES this one)
The Price is Right â„¢ HD


5 - Boggle



Wonderful iPad/iPod games! Do you have any games to contribute to the list? 


Sincerely,


J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Wandering Wednesdays - "Academia and Fashion"


Readers,

I hope each of you are having a great week! I am excited about this wonderful find for "Wandering Wednesdays"! Apparently, there is a hidden world of women in academic who love fashion as much as I do!


By simply clicking the link above, you can gain access to a list of academic blogs focused on fashion and academia! Very neat! :)

Although I do not frequently blog about fashion (I have a shoe post about once every year), I LOVE fashion! Especially suits and SHOES! Here's a recent pair that I purchased from Nine West to begin the semester. Shoes make me smile. :)


Enjoy!

J. Edwards
Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Does Higher Education REALLY Need "Ready Made" Online Courses?



Readers,

Over the past few weeks, I have been reading a few articles on "boxed" or "ready made" online courses that professors have to import into blackboard or another learning management system (LMS) as their course for the semester. Of course the professor has to change the dates and make a few changes to the overall course, but they have a "ready made" course. 

Similar to the Easy Bake Oven of the 80s (yes, I am showing my age), these online courses just involve adding water (uploading the course to the LMS), mixing the ingredients (changing the dates and other small details), and baking for a few minutes under a hot bulb (adding students to the course).


I do not understand WHAT is so difficult about creating an online course via a course management system. I have created EACH of my courses from scratch and I have CHANGE the course every semester. I do not like enjoying the same cake every semester, because there are always new ingredients and recipes that emerge every semester. Plus, I look at my cake reviewers' comments (the students' evaluations) and I delete or add certain aspects of the online course.

This "ready made" course is so lucrative that some companies are requiring universities to charge students a special fee from their company (in addition to the distance learning fee). I believe in saving my students money and this is NOT helping the cause.

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Monday, July 25, 2011

How to Use Google+ as Your New Social Network





Readers,

This summer, I began to use Google+ to communicate with some of my Facebook friends. One of my dear librarian friends added me on this new social networking website and it has been very interesting!

My favorite personal organization website, Lifehacker, posted an article titled, "How Do I Make the Most of Google+?" Here's the link to the article - http://lifehacker.com/5822167/how-do-i-make-the-most-of-google%252B.

 In the article, the author focused on several topics related to Google Plus:

- Tweak the Google+ Layout
- Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Get Around
- Update Google+ From Anywhere
- Update Facebook and Google+ at Once
- Share with Facebook and Twitter, Too
- Move Your Photos to Picasa
- Beef Up the Google Status Bar
- Give Your Google+ Profile Profile a Vanity Url (http://gplus.to/)



Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Friday, July 22, 2011

Freebie Friday - Kashi Cereal or Granola Bar Sample




Readers,

In the regular semesters, I have to remain prepared throughout the day by having a few snacks in my Vera Bradley bag. I never know when my department head will want to meet about a new idea or when a student needs some extra study time after class ends. 

As a result, I keep Kashi snacks on hand. Usually, I eat a Kashi granola bar on the way to work and also after teaching classes. Here's a great video about the Kashi company.

Request your free sample today! - http://www.kashi.com/kidfriendlyfoods


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Thursday, July 21, 2011

New Apps to Adopt for the Fall 2011 Semester - 8 Tech Tools for College Students (USA Today)




Readers,

I know that many of you are preparing for the fall semester and you are looking for some new productivity apps to add to your mobile device. 

Yesterday, USA Today published an article titled, "8 Tech Tools for College Students". These FREE tech tools are:


1 - Skype (Android, BlackBerry, iOS)



2 - Evernote Peek (Apple iPad)



3 - Grades 2 (iOS)



4 - Snoozerr Recordings (iOS)



5 - Wunderlist (Android and iOS)



6 - TED (iOS)



7 - Instagram (iOS)



8 - Aroundme (Android and iOS)


Enjoy!


J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wandering Wednesdays - "Digital Union Blog" from the Ohio State University's Office of the Chief Information Officer

Readers,

Every week, I enjoy reading the Digital Union Blog from the Ohio State University's Office of the Chief Information Officer. I love faculty training and technology and this blog merges both of my passions in one digital, easy to understand format. 

This blog features the following categories:

  • Creativity
  • Digital Media
  • eLearning Event
  • eLearning Pedagogy and Tools (i.e. - Conference, ePortfolio, Games for Learning, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Learning Spaces)
  • Event
  • System Management
  • Technology (General) (i.e. - Mobile Devices and Apps, Social Networking and Apps)
  • Uncategorized
  • Workshops & Workshops Archive

The aforementioned categories combine to provide a comprehensive repository of resources for college faculty who are interested in improving their teaching skills and incorporating online technology in their face-to-face and online classrooms.

Wonderful website! Check it out!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Do You Recycle Your Syllabus Every Year? Think Outside of the Box!

Readers,

Sometimes, I have to remind myself, my students, and my coworkers to think "outside of the box". As academics, we can become accustomed to performing the same task the same way year, after year, after year... 


Think about your syllabus, do you just recycle the SAME syllabus EVERY SINGLE YEAR? Does your pre-fall or pre-spring process include changing the date and page numbers? Unfortunately, this process is true for many of my academic colleagues across the nation. 

Try something different this year, look at your evaluations and reflect on your personal experiences with the students in the courses. Take their suggestions into consideration. Talk to your colleagues at other institutions who are teaching similar classes and look at the blogs of professors who teach your courses at other higher education institutions.

My mantra for the fall semester is to "think outside of the box". What will YOU do differently?

Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41




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Monday, July 18, 2011

My 5 Favorite Educational iPad/iPod Apps


Readers,

As many of you know, I LOVE my iPad2! In this point, I will share my favorite professional (educational) iPad apps with you. In fact, if this post is successful as the last apps, I plan to post an App of the Week post and review. We shall see! :) Let me know if you like the educational and personal app suggestions!

1 - Adobe Connect (free - great for webinars on the go)



2 - Evernote (free)
 iPhone Screenshot 2




3 - Ebscohost (free)



4 - Merriam Webster (free)



5 - Twitter (free)



Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Friday, July 15, 2011

Freebie Friday! - FOUR Quiznos Coupons! :)




Readers,


Quiznos is celebrating it's 30th Anniversary Toasty Savings by releasing four printable coupons! 


I LOVE Quiznos and I will definitely use these coupons while grading midterm examinations! 


Enjoy! Thanks Totally Target!


Free chip or cookie AND regular fountain drink (wyb a regular or regular or large or larger sub)
Free sub (wyb a sub of equal or great value and a regular fountain drink)
2 meals for $9.99 (2 small subs, 2 chips or cookies, and two regular drinks)
$1 off regular sub or regular salad or $2 off a large sub


Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Thursday, July 14, 2011

My 5 Favorite Personal iPad/iPod Apps

Readers,


As many of you know, I LOVE my iPad2! In this point, I will share my favorite personal iPad apps with you. In fact, if this post is successful, I plan to post an App of the Week post and review. We shall see! :) Let me know if you like the post!


My Top Five Personal Apps
1 - Google Voice (I use this app to send text messages and listen to voice messages from family and my students).



2 - Jumbo Calculator (free)



3 - Overdrive (free download and use with your public library subscription)



4 - Groupon (free)



5 - PBS (free and features WONDERFUL full-length videos)



What is your favorite iPad/iPod app?


Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Wandering Wednesdays - Educause's "7 Things You Should Know About" Series

http://www.flickr.com/photos/noranna/
Readers,

Today's Wandering Wednesday post is focused on my favorite resources on the Educause website, the "7 Things You Should Know About" series! Here are some recent (2011) articles from this series...


*Of course, you probably know which one is my favorite... the iPad one.. :)


7 Things You Should Know About Personalized Digital Magazines


7 Things You Should Know About Organizing Files in the Cloud


7 Things You Should Know About LMS Evaluation


7 Things You Should Know About Modern Learning Commons


7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing


7 Things You Should Know About iPads Apps for Learning


7 Things You Should Know About Open-Ended Response Systems


Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

A Great Opportunity! - Sign Up for the Next Generation Learning Challenges's Learning Summer Learning Webinar Series

EDUCAUSE - Next Gen Learning Challenges


Readers,


Here's a great online seminar opportunity for all of you! As part of Next Generation Learning Challenges's "Summer Learning Series", these webinars are focused on the amazing role that technology can have in the classroom environment. Each of the webinars will be held in the NGLC Adobe Connect webconferencing room.


Topic: Blended Learning at the University of Central Florida
Speaker: Thomas Cavanaugh, Assistant Vice President, Distributed Learning
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

Topic: The Gamification of Education
Speakers: Steve Ritter, Carnegie Learning; Chris Sprague, OpenStudy; and David Gibson, SimSchool
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

Topic: The Open Learning Initiative
Speaker: Candace Thille, Director, Open Learning Initiative
Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

Topic: Using Openness to Bridge to Success
Speaker: Patrick McAndrew, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University
Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET



Enjoy!


Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Monday, July 11, 2011

E-Books and Education - Rules from the U.S. Department of Education

Readers,


Recently, the United States Department of Education issued new rules on e-reader technologies for higher education institutions -  

Does your institution require students to use e-readers? It will be interesting to see how these rules affect K-12 schools, many of which are phasing out textbooks in their classrooms.




Sincerely,

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Friday, July 8, 2011

Freebie Friday - Free Self-Paced Online Classes from HP and Microsoft


Readers,

Are you looking for a few, free self-paced online classes to help you learn how to use HP software or Microsoft products? Well, check out these links to free online classes available from HP and Microsoft! 

The HP classes include: digital photography, home office, MS Office and Adobe Products, PC security and maintenance.

The Microsoft courses include Access, Excel, Outlook, Word and more. There are classes for both the 2003, 2007 and 2010 versions of this software.

Thank You Freebie Blogger!

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Adopt This Technology: The NEW Google Calendar

Readers,

I admit, I am a Google Calendar addict. My life operates from two Google Calendars, my personal calendar and my husband's work/school calendar. Through Google Calendar, I am able to view any gaps or overlaps on the calendar well in advance of the event.

Yes, I also admit that I plan my life at least six to eight months in advance. When someone asks me if I can meet on a certain day, I can tell them with a high level of certainty whether I will or will not be able to meet on a particular day.


Here are some ways that I use Google Calendar:

- Publication Deadlines: I add the publication deadline to the calendar and then I use the reminders feature to send an e-mail to myself when the deadline is three and two weeks away.

- Collaboration Opportunities and Meetings: When I need to work with others on a project and/or publication, I add all of their e-mail addresses to the calendar event and we are able to keep ourselves accountable during this time period.

- Task List: I use the task feature to organize my tasks by the day the tasks are due. For example, if I need to open a Blackboard test for a student tomorrow, I add this "task" on my list on tomorrow's date. Not only does this task appear on my calendar, but it also appears on my Gmail account task list. I can print this task list OR I can glance at this task list on my iPad between classes.


- Embedding the Calendar on a Website: This year, we embedded the Google Calendar on our Environmental Communication Week website. This was very neat for the Google users, because they could just add the events to their personal calendars.


Here's a recent post from Prof Hacker about the new features on Google Calendar - LINK.


Here are some of the new Google Calendar features - LINK.

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Wandering Wednesdays - Communication in Higher Education Blog

Readers,


This week (Independence Week), I am PROUD to feature the Communication in Higher Education Blog for Wandering Wednesday! This blog's author, Dr. Lora Helvie-Mason, is one of my best friends and research partners in higher education. 




Although our journeys are very different (she is white and she works at an HBCU and I am black and I work a predominately white institution), we have a wealth of similarities! Last March, she spent quality time with my students and I at the Southern States Communication Association Conference and we had a great time riding the Little Rock Street Car and dining at one of the local eateries. This summer, she invited me to meet her students during one of their monthly "Pass It On" poetry slam events at the George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art. Her students' poetry was simply amazing! Here's a sample:


Throughout the past few years, we compared and contrasted our tenure track journey, which may be coming to an end very soon! I have enjoyed sharing my higher education experience with such a wonderful woman! Okay, now to her blog, Communication & Higher Education: Life on the Tenure Track at a Teaching Institution.


Through her blog, she explores life on the tenure-track at a teaching institution through the following lens: faculty life, socialization, issues faced by faculty, teaching and pedagogy, and technology in higher education. Her blog candidly explores trends in higher education culture, access, information flow, and faculty life.


Enjoy!


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

ACRL Presentation: Millennials and Beyond - Student and Faculty Voices

Readers,


Thanks for bearing with me! Here's my presentation from the ACRL conference:




Enjoy!


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Monday, July 4, 2011

Reflection from the TXDLA Conference - My Presentation/Review of Centra/Review of the Conference




Readers,

*I wrote this entry a few weeks ago after the TXDLA Conference and I never posted it to the blog. I always like to write a reflective blog entry after every conference (usually this occurs on the airplane on the way home).

Currently, I am en route to the DFW airport after attending the Texas Distance Learning Association Conference in San Antonio, TX. This was my first time attending this particular conference and I had a wealth of negative perceptions about the attendees. For example, I thought that this conference was just for techies, but after attending the conference I realized that I was a techie as well. I teach online and hybrid courses, but I am a complete techno junkie and I understood all of the jargon utilized at the conference. 

I attended and tweeted during each of the sessions. The first session I attended was presented by administrators from Texas A&M University. This particular session was simply amazing because it focused on Centra, which is a web conferencing software utilized by the Texas A&M System and my university has FREE usage of the software! Wonderful! This three hour session was very interactive and every participant had access to a laptop computer. We watched videos, completed polls, and maintained a great discussion about the features of the software.

After this hour long session, I was ready for lunch (which was provided for all conference attendees). Slightly before the conference session ended, I received a text message from a colleague at my university and she heard that I was attending the conference. I was so excited to hear from her because I thought that I was the only conference attendee from my university. So we met by the ballroom doors to enter the lunch/vendor room.

I wish that I took a picture of the set up for lunch, because it was very organized and the participants had a chance to interact with each of the vendors during lunch (because the lunch tables and the buffet lines were located in the middle of the ballroom). This provided the conference attendees and vendors with a great "bang for their conference dollar". I always interact with conference vendors because I realize how conference need to maintain positive relationships with each of their vendors to keep the vendors interesting in purchasing a booth space for next year's conference. 

During lunch, I had a great conversation with my colleague and we had time to plan an amazing project for next year. Yes, readers...this project will make a BIG impact on the state of Texas and perhaps the rest of the  nation! :) I am too excited about this project and both of us are extremely goal oriented! I will post more information soon!

After lunch, I had time to look over my presentation one additional time before delivering the content at 3 pm. My presentation was focused on one of my passions, Google Applications (Google Documents/Google Docs). I was so excited to see 20-25 session attendees at a later session because more sessions only had two to three attendees. Everyone seemed excited about the content and they really liked the Google Voice program. Several tweets from this session were:

@agozuna: Attending the google docs in online courses session. #txdla-339 #txdla2011”

@agozuna: Jennifer Edwards uses google docs for all course-related materials, including the syllabus. #txdla-339 #txdla2011

I distributed several business cards and I hope to have a few workshop opportunities in the next few months. :) After attending this year's TXDLA conference, I will DEFINITELY attend the conference in Dallas! :)

Sincerely,

J. Edwards


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Friday, July 1, 2011

Freebie Friday - Honey Nut Cheerios! (Coupon and Sample)



Readers,

In the summertime, I teach my online classes (which is labor intensive, but I LOVE it!), prepare for the fall semester, write at least two scholarly articles, and attend summer trainings. For breakfast, I usually eat cold cereal and fruit OR I warm a Bagelful in the microwave.

I am always on the lookout for cereal coupons and samples, because I do not usually cook breakfast in the summertime. Here's a great coupon and cereal duo sample from the General Mill's company for one of my FAVORITE's Honey Nut Cheerios Cereal! -

Enjoy! Work smarter and not harder!

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41