Showing posts with label Millennial Undergraduate Students. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Millennial Undergraduate Students. Show all posts

Monday, December 31, 2018

How to Create an Undergraduate Conference for Your Classes!


This year, I decided to think outside of the box with my undergraduate Organizational Communication class by infusing a high impact undergraduate research initiative. This means, each week, we examined an aspect of organizational communication and then they researched the concept as well. By the end of the semester, we had a COMPLETE paper and a COMPLETE undergraduate research conference! 

Here's the press release about the event - Tarleton communications class to present research findings Dec. 4

You guys know that I am ALL ABOUT social media and we decided to capture the presentations virtually by highlighting each event on Facebook Live. 

Here was the practice session - "Practicing the Millennial Recruitment Research Presentation"



Here's the advertisement video - Join us NOW for the Millennial Recruitment Forum at Tarleton State University.



Here are the student presentations: Join us NOW for the Millennial Recruitment Forum at Tarleton State University. (Presentations)

I was very proud of their progress and I hope to continue to integrate the presentations and undergraduate research in future classes. 



I want to issue a HUGE shout out to the students! Great job team!

Interested in a specific student success topic or do you need a speaker for an upcoming conference? Contact me via direct message on Twitter or join our Student Success Communication and Technology Institute on Facebook!

Thanks for visiting! 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Higher Education Speaker and Researcher

My Social Media Channels!
Remember to Follow Me on Twitter! @drjtedwards
I Always Post Higher Education Videos on YouTube
Find Me on Instagram
Engage with Me on Facebook!
Watch My Videos on Twitter Live - http://www.periscope.com/drjtedwards/
Email Me! I am PR Friendly! - jennifertedwards@gmail.com
My Research Interests: Customer Service and Social Media, Higher Education Retention, and Millennials at Work

Friday, September 23, 2011

Healthy Meals for Professors-on-the-Go (5/5) - Freebie Friday - The Sabra House Party (Intercultural Communication)




Readers,

I LOVE Hummus! This year, I am teaching Intercultural Communication and we have 23+ eager college students who are eager to try the product, integrate the product in their daily recipes, and tweet about the product! Last year, we hosted the Green Works House Party in our department's classes and it was a HUGE hit! This year, we are applying for the Sabra Hummus House Party! Here's our plan:

This year, we are learning about MANY different cultures and hummus has such a RICH history! For example, in our HOUSE PARTY we would:

I. Discovering Hummus - What IS Hummus? (Have you heard of it? Have you tried it? What is the history of Hummus?)
II. Introduction to the Sabra Website (Viewing Youtube Clips, etc.)
III. Trying the Hummus - We will have four different recipes and recipe ideas for the partygoers to try!
IV. Brainstorming about Hummus - How Can People Use Hummus in Easy, Everyday Recipes? We plan to come up with at least 20 different ways and to post these ideas on Facebook, tweet these ideas, and gather additional ideas from others through these social networking websites.
V. Distribution of Hummus Recipes AND Coupons for Sabra Hummus


Then, we will post pictures on our website, blogs, and Facebook profile. In addition, we will interact with others through the #SabraParty hashtag and the Sabra Twitterfeed - http://twitter.com/SABRA.


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

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
OfficeMax Logo

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

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Teaching Tip - Quick and Easy Ways to Use Google Documents for Collaborative Undergraduate Research Endeavors

Readers,

Good morning! Over the past year and a half, I have become a major proponent of Google Documents! This free, online software has changed the way that I teach class an also it has enhanced the way that I distribute information on Blackboard. For example, I create Google Documents for each of the five undergraduate research groups in my class. I am able to monitor their progress along the way and I am able to leave comments for the group members when they are not present on the document. 


During the time in which I integrated Google Documents in my online and face-to-face classes, the online software has greatly increased the amount of features that are available to users. For example, now I am able to leave a comment on a group research document and the students are able to address the comment by modifying the document (and marking the comment "resolved"). When a comment is "resolved", I receive an e-mail informing me that this section of the document has been addressed. 


I am very thankful that Google has enabled the Google Documents app to remain free (at least for the current time), because some of my students are not able to afford the MS Word software suite and most of them work half or full-time and are unable to meet with their group members outside of work. Google Documents enables these students to "meet" with their group members on the document anytime. I have seen some students "meet" at 3:00 a.m. in the morning!

Here is one of my recent videos on Google Documents for my students.

Enjoy!



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

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Life After September 11, 2001 - A Millennial's Perspective...

Readers,


On September 11, 2001, I was a sophomore at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. This day really changed the way that I have chosen to live my daily life. I love traveling and as a student from a small town, I dreamed of studying and traveling aboard. As a result of terrorism concerns and the invention of airport security levels, I have been very apprehensive in traveling beyond the borders of the United States. In fact, a few days ago, I tried to remember how airport travel functioned before September 11, 2001. I could not remember life without baggage scans, actually seeing loved ones upon walking through the airline gates of my destination, and taking large bottles of bottled water (and shampoo, etc.) in my rolling luggage.


One website that was launched slightly before the announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden is "Growing Up in the Shadow of 9/11" through the American University School of Communication. Professor Amy Eisman's Writing for Convergent Media class partners with Gannett's Content one to examine the millennial generation's perceptions of life after 9/11/2001. This would be a great research study! :)




Check out their website here - http://www.growingup9-11.com/


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

Thursday, May 12, 2011

From College to Career - Helping College Students Prepare for their Post-College Career

Readers,


One of my favorite times of the year is the biannual graduation ceremony. I love to see our students walk across the stage to end one part of their lives and to begin a new journey as a post-college professional. I take pictures like I am a family member and I post these pictures on our department's Facebook page. However, before I start celebrating the students' accomplishments on their graduation day, I start working with the students on the application process and I emphasize the importance of networking.


This semester, we read one of my favorite books, "From College to Career" by Lindsay Pollack. This has been one of the best career-related books that I have ever read. In addition, after the class presentation focused on the book, several students wanted to purchase the book for their personal libraries.


In addition to the presentation on the book, I wish that I could have shown the students this presentation from ABC News:




Enjoy!


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

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

College Students, Technology, and Free Food = Food-Bot

Home


Readers,

As a former college student, I appreciate free food. As a millennial, I really appreciate awesome technology! Greg Woloschyn, a student at Carnegie Mellon University, created an awesome website titled, Food-Bot. This website searches every mailing list on campus, searching for food-related keywords like “snack,” “cookie,” and “pizza.” last year. Sometimes the website fails to provide accurate results, for example a "bring your own lunch" entry was on the website's fail list. Woloschyn's invention enabled WoloSchyn and his friends to spend their funds on other items.

Check out his website - http://food-bot.com/home

Currently, only a few universities (Stanford, Carnegie Melton, Berkeley, Duke, UIllinois, MIT, Pittsburgh, Wootster, Case Western, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Purdue) are included on the website, but it seems that the website is expanding (i.e. - the sentence on the website "Don't see your university? Request for it to be added so you can get in on the free food"...)

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

Monday, March 28, 2011

Traveling with Undergraduate Students - A Recap and the DAY AFTER!

Readers,


Today, I arrived back on campus. Thank goodness! I have to admit, when I am away from Texas, I REALLY miss conversing with my colleagues, walking on campus, and teaching! I prepare for my departure at the beginning of the semester and I list the departure in my syllabus.


However, when I arrived back on campus this time, I had a different experience! Remember, I traveled with undergraduate students and I had LOTS of paperwork to submit on their behalf and on my behalf. Whew! Aside from the paperwork and teaching, I had my weekly meeting with my colleague and interns with environmental communication week. Then, I had A LOT of e-mails to answer from students and faculty wishing to present in environmental communication week.


When I arrived home, I was so tired and as much as I wanted to water my garden, I had to sleep for the rest of the evening! Traveling with undergraduate researchers is a rewarding, yet an exhausting process! I definitely look forward to my next experience!


Sincerely,


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

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Travel with Undergraduate Students - My Students' First Day at the SSCA Conference!

Readers,


Last night, I had the pleasure of dining with a good friend, Dr. Lora Helvie-Mason. She is a communication professor from Southern University New Orleans and we always try to schedule our meals together to talk about the conference and about our journey on the tenure track. This year, we had dinner at a restaurant that was not too far from our conference hotel. We had a great time talking about our institutions, our students, and our families. In addition, this was a great time for me to mentally prepare myself for my students' arrival at the conference. 


The students arrived early on Thursday morning and we had lunch at this wonderful restaurant down the street from our conference hotel. Before arriving at lunch, I took them to the Peabody hotel and they loved the ducks!


After lunch, we arrived back to the conference hotel and the students checked in and received their newcomers and undergraduate honors ribbons for their name badges. Some of the students decided to attend PR sessions and other students attended the communication studies sessions (i.e. - gender communication and environmental communication).







After the conference sessions, we met downstairs to attend the conference reception.  The students were excited about this networking opportunity and they spoke with several institutions about graduate school and job opportunities (conference planning, etc.)




I am very excited about their presentations tomorrow! Through this trip, one of the students was able to fly for the first time! I was really excited about this opportunity for this student and the rest of the students on the trip!


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

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Traveling with Undergraduate Students - The Pre-Trip Meeting and Checklist



Readers,

Before each trip, I like to meet with the students about their trip and their presentation (this is from my student services days). I thought that this information might be beneficial for those of you who travel with undergraduate students.

Subject Line - PRINT THIS SHEET. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

SSCA Conference - Little Rock, AR (A FEW REMINDERS/ANNOUNCEMENTS)

We are EXCITED about OUR TRIP!

DRS. HOWARD & EDWARDS' EXPECTATIONS
- Represent Tarleton well! Do not do ANYTHING to embarrass Dr. Edwards OR TSU.
- Take advantage of the networking and connections available at this conference. This is GREAT way to make graduate school and/or job connections with students and faculty.
- Dr. Howard wants you to attend the sessions and ASK QUESTIONS!

TRAVEL TO THE AIRPORT:
- You are encouraged to carpool from Stephenville.
- You need to leave Stephenville by 6:00 a.m. on Thursday.

DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL
- You will leave on Thursday, March 24th at [time] and you will arrive back in DFW on Saturday, March 26th at [time] p.m.
- You are encouraged to park in the [Name of Parking Lot].
- If you are late, you will have to pay a $150 change fee.

CARRY-ON FYIs:
- DO NOT CHECK IN YOUR BAGGAGE
- 3 oz. of liquid or less (unless you have medicine) and place the liquid in a quart-size zip lock bag.
- Bring a camera.
- Bring meal money.
- Do not pack any bottled water, but you are encouraged to bring a refillable bottle (to fill in the airport).
- Dress professionally: Church Attire (3 days worth)

AIRLINE TICKETS:
- Print your ticket BEFORE arriving at DFW. This will make the check-in process MUCH easier.
- Bring a driver's license (make sure the name on your driver's license is the SAME as your airline ticket).
- If you have an AA account, please add this reservation to your account.

PASSENGER SCREENING:
- This process should take 15-20 minutes.

ARRANGEMENTS:
- Our hotel is the Double-Tree Little Rock - 424 W Markham St., Little Rock - [Phone Number for Hotel]
- We have two rooms (one male and one female).

YOUR PRESENTATION:
- 8-10 Minute Presentation (one person) - Thank ALL of your group members from last semester AND Dr. Edwards :)
- Talk about: Purpose, Research Questions, Intercultural Comm. Competence Theory, Methodology, SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME ON the RESULTS, Conclusions, Implications, and Suggestions...
- Question and Answer (at the end of the presentation) - Each member from the group will have a chance to answer questions.
- Bring THREE COPIES of your paper. If anyone asks you for a copy of your paper, tell them that the paper is under review and it should be published very soon. Get their e-mail address.

MY CONTACT INFORMATION: [My cell phone number]

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

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Traveling with Undergraduate Students - Preparing a Schedule (Subject Line - PRINT THIS E-MAIL)


Readers,

While gathering contact and emergency information for the SSCA conference, I also have to create a schedule when I travel with undergraduate students. 

Here is the schedule that I sent to the students and my department head with the subject line - PRINT THIS E-MAIL: SSCA Conference - Little Rock, AR (IMPORTANT INFORMATION)

Outstanding Student Leaders,

Here is a schedule for the conference!

Thursday - March 24th
Check-In to Hotel :)
12:30 p.m. - Meet for Lunch in the Lobby
2:00 p.m. - Pick a Session
6:30 p.m. - Welcome Reception @ Salon D
7:00 p.m. - Meet for Dinner in the Lobby
*Attend at least 3 conference sessions a day! :)

Friday - March 25th
8:00 a.m./9:00 a.m. - SSCA Breakfast Meeting
10:15 a.m. - Pick a Session
12:00 p.m. - Meet for Lunch in the Lobby
1:15 p.m. - Practicing for our Session (Meet in Lobby)
2:45 p.m. - OUR SESSION!!! :)
5:45 p.m. - Pick a Session (I am going to "Take this Job and Shove It" - Robinson 102)
7:00 p.m. - Meet for Dinner in the Lobby
*Attend at least 3 conference sessions a day! :)

Saturday - March 26th
8:00 a.m./9:00 a.m. - Undergraduate Honors Conference Breakfast - (Salon D)
9:30 a.m. - Pick a Session
11:00 a.m. - Pick a Session
12:30 p.m. - Meet for Lunch in the Lobby
2:30 p.m. - Pick a Session
4:30 p.m. - Depart for the Airport
7:05 p.m. - Depart from Little Rock Regional (LIT)
8:20 p.m. - Arrive back to DFW Terminal  B

I hope you enjoy your trip! Represent Tarleton well!

Sincerely,

Dr. Edwards


I just thought that this schedule might help faculty/staff visiting the website!

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

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Make Their Day! A Different Approach to Motivating Undergraduate Students in Communication Studies Classrooms






Readers,


During the past few weeks, I started emphasizing the FISH Philosophy in my Organizational Communication course. This philosophy has four components: play, make their day, be there, and choose your attitude. One of the components that I emphasized in all of my communication studies classes in to "make their day". I am one of those eccentric communication professors who always walks to class with a briefcase in one hand and a candy container in the other hand. I use the candy container to provide incentives for the brave students who choose to provide answers or contribute stories of their personal experiences during class.


This week, I decided to incorporate my love of coupons and deals with my passion of teaching college students (like my blog). I decided to obtain as many "Free Oatmeal @ McDonalds" coupons as I possibly could in a short amount of time. At the end of my coupon collection period, I ended up with 60 coupons in all. This collection process enabled me to give "free food" coupons to my hungry college students as incentives. They LOVED it and they were very thankful for the sweet incentive. As a result of this great experience, I plan to obtain a lot of coupons from local restaurants to give as incentives to my college students to feed their mind and their hunger! :)


THINK ABOUT IT - What do you think? Additional ideas?


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

Thursday, March 10, 2011

This Semester's Undergraduate Research Project (Spring 2011) - Organizational Communication





Readers,

This semester we are STILL working on undergraduate research papers in my upper-level communication courses (organizational communication and interpersonal communication). This year, they chose some very interesting topics!

Organizational Communication Topics:

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Expectations of Workplace Benefits

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Etiquette on Social Networking Websites

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of the Dangers of Social Networking

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Work-Life Balance (My Sample Document for the Students)

They are excited about submitted their projects to a journal! :)

Sincerely,


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

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

This Semester's Undergraduate Research Project (Spring 2011) - Interpersonal Communication

Readers,

This semester we are STILL working on undergraduate research papers in my upper-level communication courses (organizational communication and interpersonal communication). This year, they chose some very interesting topics! VERY INTERESTING topics!

Interpersonal Communication Topics

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Trust Issues in Interpersonal Relationships

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Stalking and Geo-Tagging on Social Networking Websites and Interpersonal Relationships

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Security, Stalking, and Tagging on Social Networking Websites and Interpersonal Relationships

Online Dating Website Users' Perceptions of Technology and Interpersonal Relationships

Millennial Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Defriending on Facebook (My Sample Document for the Students)

I provide a sample document for the students and I provide feedback for the students throughout the semester! Very busy semester!

Unfortunately, we do not have a on-campus forum for the students to present their undergraduate research during the spring semester, but we will have a forum in the fall semester. However, I always have to think outside of the box and this semester I think that we will host a poster competition OR a webinar for the students to present their research.

If you have ANY ideas, PLEASE let me know. I am VERY open to ideas! :)

Sincerely,


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

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

New Issue Released - International Journal on Multicultural Education

Readers,

I am on the board for the International Journal on Multicultural Education and we just released a new issue! Here's a letter from our editor...

Dear IJME Readers:

We are pleased to announce the publication of the Fall 20010 issue (Vol.
12, No. 2) of the International Journal of Multicultural Education. We
invite you to review the Table of Contents here and visit the journal site
(www.ijme-journal.edu) for full text free of charge.

We ask you to spread the news to others who may be interested in using the
content or submitting their work to this free online publication. We would
also like to invite you and your colleagues to volunteer as reviewers. If
you have not registered yourself as a reviewer, you may update your profile
once you log in to the journal.

Thanks for your continuous interest in and support of our work.

Respectfully,

IJME Editors and Heewon Chang, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, IJME

International journal of multicultural education
Vol 12, No 2 (2010): Open Theme Issue
Table of Contents
http://ijme-journal.org/index.php/ijme/issue/current

Articles (Peer-reviewed)
--------
Biculturalism and Multiculturalism: Competing Tensions in Visual Arts
Education in Aotearoa-New Zealand
        Jill Elizabeth Smith

"He said it all in Navajo!": Indigenous Language Immersion in Early
Childhood Education
        Louise Lockard

Teaching Practices in Mexico: A Way to Understand Mexican English Learners
in the United States
        Marcela de Souza

The Scholarship Informing the Practice:  Multicultural Teacher Education
Philosophy and Practice in the U.S.
        Paul Cameron Gorski


Praxis Articles (Peer-reviewed)
--------
Immersion and Identity: Experiences of an African American Preschool Child
        Ruanda Garth McCullough,        Sharon Adelman Reyes

Whose immigration story?: Attending to hidden messages of material in
social studies
        Eleni Oikonomidoy,      Gwendolyn Williams

Culturally Relevant Teaching in Science Classrooms: Addressing Academic
Achievement, Cultural Competence, and Critical Consciousness
        Gloria Boutte,  Charlease Kelly-Jackson,        George Lee Johnson


Professional Book Reviews (Section Editor: Carol Kennett)
--------
 Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited: China, Japan, and the United States
 by J. Tobin, Y. Hsueh, and M. Karasawa
        Eric J Johnson

 Dreams Deferred: Dropping out and struggling forward  by C. Carger
        Brandon E Lewis

 Interrogating Privilege: Reflections of a Second Language Educator  by S.
Vandrick
        Hoi Yuen Chan

 Teaching Adolescents Religious Literacy in a Post-9/11 World  by R. Nash
and P. Bishop
        Matthew W. Peterson


Art Review (Section Editor: Hwa Young Choi Caruso)
--------
Photos Cartographic Imagery in Contemporary Art
        Dr. Hwa Young Caruso


Multimedia Reviews (Section Editor: John Caruso, Jr.)
--------
Film Reviews Fall 2010 Caruso
        Dr. John Caruso, Jr.


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

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Digital Literacy - A Short Video to Help Millennial College Students Learn About Identity Theft on the Internet

Readers,

Good morning! I thought that this video was very interesting. Although I tend to release a significant amount of information online, I try to protect the "important information" (like the information in this video).

I think it would be a good practice to show this video to our students. It provides a great history of the social security number process and the video gives the viewer a good sense of what potential damage can be done when people release personal information on the internet.



What do you think?

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, December 14, 2010

Can Students Survive Without Social Media?


Readers,


Sometimes, I ask myself - "Can college students actually survive without technology?" Well, one college actually decided to see how college students would react to a sans technology campus. This university blocked Twitter and Facebook on campus computers. Here's the interesting caveat, I wonder if the students accessed the technology on their cell phones. hmmm.... Would this be considered "cheating"?

Well, the article addressed this as well...

Critics noted students could visit the sites with smartphones or by walking to nearby buildings with free WiFi. But Darr said the point was not to prevent access so much as to get people to think critically about the role of social media in their lives.

In my opinion, this was an ingenious strategy to enable college students to see what their lives would actually be like without having technological interruptions every few minutes.

Here were some interesting "findings":

But during the ban, 33 percent of students reported feeling less stressed. Twenty-one percent said they used their normal social networking time to do homework, while 10 percent said they read online news.


Some students changed their study methods. Darr cited a Facebook-based tutoring effort that was failing to explain a complex biology process to students; they grasped the concept only after a face-to-face meeting during the blackout, he said.


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

Thursday, September 2, 2010

My REAL Experience: Training 90 Undergraduate Students How to Use Google Docs!

Readers,


Good morning! Yesterday was the SECOND day of classes (MWF) and I trained over 90 students to use Google Documents. A colleague and I received a "Real-Word Experiences Applied to Learning" institution grant for our upper-level communication courses and our learning outcomes include collaborative research for undergraduate students. The students will conduct research on diversity and communication to write a paper and to present the results at the Tarleton State University - Communication Studies Department's "Diversity and Communication - Research Symposium" (which will also include papers and panels from faculty and staff)! 


Not surprisingly (if you know me), we decided to use Google Documents for each of the student research groups. At the beginning of the workshop, the training was chaotic. Some students have a Google Documents account and other students do not have an account. This means that I had to help the students create an account for Google Documents. Many of the students actually used their university e-mail to create their Google account.


Before class, I created fifteen research documents (one document per group) and I added each of the students to the research groups at the end of the class period.


Then, I exposed the students to several "neat" aspects of the new Google Documents software. Here are items the students really liked:


a. Each of you can type on the document simultaneously! In fact, you can see each other's comments by their colored cursor.


b. You can CHAT with your group members while you type your sections of the document.


c. You can double-check the document to verify that your group members edited the document at a certain time.


d. If you EVER need to view a prior version of the document, you can! In fact, you can revert to a prior version.


e. You can send e-mail to your group members through the document!


f. The new version has MARGINS and COMMENTS you can create in the side bar (instead of comments directly on the document).


g. The document saves your data AUTOMATICALLY!


Overall, the students were REALLY impressed with this cloud computing software and I cannot wait to see them edit their document! :)


One unrelated comment - My training sessions were in the morning and my colleague's class (and training sessions) was held in the afternoon. So, I stood up for almost four hours! :) If you conduct a similar training, please make sure you wear comfortable shoes!


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