Showing posts with label EducationalTechnology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EducationalTechnology. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Periscope as a New Technology to Integrate in Higher Education Classrooms?


Since I joined the faculty ranks back in 2006, my preferred (and the students' preferred communication methods) have continued to evolve. For example...

2006-2010 - The preferred communication method in my classroom was Yahoo Instant Messenger.
*I linked Yahoo IM to my Blackboard courses as an embedded widget.

2010-2012 - The preferred communication methods in my classroom were Twitter and Google Voice for text messages.

2012 - 2015 - The preferred communication methods in my classroom were Twitter, Google Plus Groups, Google Voice for text messages, and Facebook groups (graduate students and undergraduate students).

Fall 2015 (and beyond) -  The preferred communication methods in my classroom will be..Google Plus, Google Voice, and potentially Periscope (a interactive live stream technology for conferencing and establishing social presence).
*I always strive to remain ahead of the social media learning curve (I have to do so for my role with the Texas Social Media Research Institute @TSMRI) and for my retention duties at my university.

It seems that technologies such as Periscope will continue to evolve and gain popularity. I enjoy recieving Periscope notifications and I value interacting with key bloggers (and conferences) through this communication technology. Here's some more information on Periscope.


Huffington Post - "How Periscope is Changing the Game"

Entrepreneur.com - "5 Brands Can Use Periscope and Meerkat"
*I know this link is a branding specific link, but higher education can utilize live streaming technologies for conferences and marketing their programs.

Which higher education (#HigherEd) communication technologies do you integrate in your courses? How do you link these with your university's content management system or your syllabus? How do you introduce and provide training for students utilizing these communication technologies?

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

Monday, March 11, 2013

Educause Video - Pathways to Student Success

Readers,

I hope everyone is having a great week! I am excited whenever I discover articles and especially videos about academic success at the college level! I am excited about the academic success of undergraduate students! 

This is a neat video titled "Richard Calatta: Pathways to Student Success" presented by Richard Calatta, Deputy Director of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education (Presented by Educause). 


Richard Culatta: Pathways to Student Success from EDUCAUSE on Vimeo.


Sincerely, 

J. Edwards - Millennial Professor
http://www.facebook.com/millennialprofessor/millennialprofessor@gmail.com -  @DrSocialMediaTX 
Also - Check out millennialprofessormommy.com

Friday, December 24, 2010

Goodbye Del.icio.us? Using Del.icio.us for Bookmarking Scholarly Journals



Readers,

I use del.icio.us for EVERYTHING! I use this program to organize the websites of journals for which I monitor their "call for papers" posts. I have over 75 journals organized by their various categories: i.e. - JournalsEdTech, JournalsCommunication, JournalsInterpersonal, JournalsK12.

Now, I am faced with the dilemma of saving each of these book marks on my hard drive. After seeing this article, "Is Del.icio.us going away?", I started to panic. It seems that Yahoo plans to sell the service. Perhaps to a company like Google? Still, I plan to save each of my book marks just in case.



What social bookmarking websites do you use? Xmarks perhaps? My husband is an advocate for Xmarks, but I was a total del.icio.us fan. :(

Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The End-of-Semester Grading Process, Google Documents, and a GREAT Thank You Note!!!

Woman climbing ladder to top of stack of papers
Readers,

After allocating almost 100% of my time yesterday to grading final examinations and feverishly grading undergraduate research reflection papers and online assignments for the past two weeks, I am FINALLY FINISHED! This is quite an accomplishment, because I never finished by 1pm on the last day of finals (my first final started at 8 am on that day).

Now it is time to back up my courses and student submissions on blackboard. Usually I have a lengthy "back up" process ahead of me. However, this time I used Google Documents for a majority of my assignments and I will not have to individually save each assignment in PDF format (except for discussion questions and test data). Yay for end-of-semester productivity!



Today, we have our graduation ceremony and I always look forward to seeing our communication graduates walk across the stage. In addition, I always look forward to wearing my regalia (two times a year). Congratulations graduates!

By the way, I received one of the most wonderful thank you cards yesterday from one of today's graduates. She wrote about how I helped her obtain an internship at a local cooperation and this internship became her NEW JOB! I am VERY excited for her!  I LOVE this job!


Sincerely,

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

IES Report - Teachers’ Use of Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools: 2009

Readers,


This is a great survey focused on how K-12 teachers implement educational technology in their classrooms.  and the K-12


http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010040


The research questions for this survey were:


Question 1: Computers in Classroom or Brought into Classroom


Question 2: Frequency of Teachers or Students Using Computers During Instructional Time


Question 3: Technology Devices Used by Teachers


Question 4: Use of School or District Network for Activities


Question 5: Remote Access to Computer Application


Question 6: Types of Software and Internet Sites Used for Instructional and Administrative Purposes


Question 7: Students’ Use of Educational Technology to Perform Activities


Question 8: Communication with Parents and Students Using Technology


Question 9: Preparation and Training for Using Educational Technology for Instruction


Question 10: Time Spent in Professional Development for Educational Technology


Question 11: Agreement or Disagreement with Statements on Professional Development


Question 14: Number of Students in Classroom


Question 15: Number of Years Spent Teaching


Millennial Professor
Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

21st-Century Campus Report: Campus 2.0



21st-Century Campus Report: Campus 2.0


CDW-G always publishes wonderful research on students and their perceptions/usage of educational technology. This report states that future college students' expectations EXCEED current students' expectations of campus educational technology usage.


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Friday, August 6, 2010

National Education Technology Plan 2010 | U.S. Department of Education

Readers,

This summer, I have been paying attention to my classes and I missed out on the public comment portion of the "National Education Technology Plan 2010". So, now we have a chance to actually read the report. Here's a video announcing the plan:



I think this is VERY important for ALL students from every educational level. In fact, I have developed a recent interest in students who are from low-socio economic status backgrounds. It is amazing, but this group encompasses students from every ethnic background and nationality!

My husband is teaching high school science courses at a local public school and he is  in an educational leadership doctoral program at my university. His current research is focused on how we can reach K-12 students from these groups. To expand his research, I think that I should focus on how higher education faculty and staff can reach these students and help them succeed. An increased level of access to technology and computer literacy training may provide all populations with information to help them become more successful.


National Education Technology Plan 2010 | U.S. Department of Education


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Monday, February 8, 2010

What If Someone Had a Record of ALL of Your Online Searches? (An Interesting 45 Minute Video)

On New Year's Eve, my husband and I watched a very interesting documentary-style report on google.com. The report was enlightening, but scary at the same time. Today, I found the report on hulu (thank goodness for hulu) and it is around 45 minutes long.

What are your reactions?

Millennial Professor/Jennifer T. Edwards





J

Friday, January 22, 2010

E-Textbooks in College Courses: Good Idea or Bad Idea?

Article from the Chronicle of Higher Education's Wired Campus: Leading E-Textbook Seller Reports 400 Percent Sales Increase in 2009 - http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Leading-E-Textbook-Seller/20566/

I really like the e-textbook concept in undergraduate courses. This technology was not present when I was an undergraduate, but I think that today's undergraduate student would really benefit from the technology. I promote the e-textbooks because they would save the students money (compared to an actual tangible textbook) and the students would not have to carry all of their textbooks across campus. E-textbooks also provide the students with interactive features that may help their learning process. I teach at a rural, 4-year, public university and my students seem to be resistant to e-textbooks, because many of them do not have a laptop computer to view the e-textbook. In addition, most undergraduate students look forward to selling their books back to the bookstores at the end of the semester and e-textbooks do not give them this option.

What is your opinion of e-textbooks? 

Millennial Professor/Jennifer T. Edwards

Monday, January 11, 2010

Eduroam: Access to University A's wireless network, while using University B's username and password

Recently, Louisiana State University (LSU) students, faculty, and staff gained access to technology that enables them to use the wireless network while visiting several other universities. This technology, Eduroam, is a service dedicated worldwide roaming access for international research and education communities.

My perspective: I think this is a great
Publish Post
move for LSU and I wish that my university (and other universities in Texas) would offer the same service. When I travel to other parts of Texas and to several Louisiana cities, I have to do without access to the internet or I have to request guest access to the university wireless network. I think this move would definitely benefit the research community.

For more information, access - http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2010/01/04/Louisiana-State-Joins-Eduroam-Network.aspx.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Twitter: It's What's for Dinner (It's the New Beef!)


Professor Rankin, a History Professor from the University of Texas at Dallas, started using twitter in her classroom last semester. This is a video she created from her experiences:



This year, I plan to write several scholarly articles and blog posts about twitter and its impact in the secondary and post-secondary environments. Today is the first day of the year and I am compiling ideas from several articles on the subject.

If you have any ideas on how to utilize twitter in the classroom environment, please let me know! Send me ideas! I will publish them on the blog! I am motivated for 2010!

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor

Monday, September 22, 2008

Do Your Students Prefer Simple Cell Phones?

        At the beginning of this semester, I conducted an informal survey at the beginning of each of my four classes to determine which digital technology the students used the most. A large majority of my students are millennial undergraduate students and they are members of a generation that is used to communicating with others through facebook, myspace, text messaging, etc.
        According to the article, For Many Students, the Simplest Cell Phones Suffice, many undergraduate students use their cell phones for simple everyday digital functions. This article focuses on a study conducted by the University of New Hampshire, which suggests "students use their phones in limited ways — mainly for talking, texting, keeping track of time, and a handful of other basic functions".
        As a member of the millennial generation, I progressed through a series of digital adoption steps. In high school and college (when cell phones were becoming popular for non-business users and pagers were going out of style), I bought a new cell phone every year to keep up with the next trend. For example, my first cell phone was a Nokia with a prominent antenna and a green screen. I was satisfied with this cell phone, but my best friend bought a Nokia with a white screen. It was downhill from there for about five years. 
        As a graduate student and assistant professor, I do not feel that I have keep up with the latest cell phone trends. When I enter my classrooms, I probably have the oldest cell phone in the room. My cell phone does not even have a camera feature, but it makes calls and downloads monophonic ringtones (i.e. - Sweet Home Alabama and "Please Don't Stop the Music".
        I am tech savvy, but I am also financially frugal. Will my students make a transition through the digital adoption steps? I am not sure, but I think that the current state of the economy will perpetuate a "change". Do you feel simple cell phones satisfy millennial undergraduate students on your campus?

- Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards (Millennial Professor)

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

6:00 p.m. - Professor... Are You There?


Over the past few weeks, I conducted research on virtual office hours and if they are effective. It seems that an additional form of communication is needed with the new and growing undergraduate classes of millennial students.

As I stated in a prior blog, I use virtual office hours during my actual office hours to reach my students who may not be able to physically come into my office.
In my experience this year, I feel that the virtual office hours are needed. This year, only eight to ten students of my 110 students have visited my office this semester. However, over 30 students have communicated with me via Yahoo Instant Messenger this semester.

The conversations ranged from requesting help for finding sources and proper
APA citation to absences and grade inquiry. In addition, students used their computers, cell phones, and blackberry devices to communicate with me via instant messenger.

In the future, I plan to offer virtual office hours through a program like Meebo, which would enable me to use MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and other messenging systems at the same time. In addition, one might want to examine virtual office hours through facebook and myspace IM. I have not reached that level of technology yet, but I hope to explore it in the future.


I distributed a survey to all of my students this semester regarding virtual office hours and I am looking forward to coding the responses.

I will post the results soon!
Let me know what you think about virtual office hours.

MP