College Students with Learning Disabilities

One of my favorite people on campus is the Director of Disability Services. Through her position, she helps students with physical, psychological, or learning disabilities. This position is vital on our campus, because it seems that more of the students from the millennial generation arrive in the college environment with learning disabilities that were diagnosed from high school.

Every year, I remind the students in my classes to tell disability services if they had a diagnosed learning disability from high school. However, some students choose not to have their learning disability on file with the university.

This is unfortunate, because disability services can make slight or significant accomodations for students with a diagnosed learning disability (i.e. - a text to voice reader, more test time. In fact, on September 17th, NPR Education wrote an article titled "10 Tips for College Students with Disabilities". This article focuses on a book by clinical psychologist and author Kathleen G. Nadeau entitled "Survival Guide for College Students". In her book, she reported that college students with learning disabilities should develop learning and organization strategies as a coping mechanism.

Please read the article here - 10 Tips for College Students with Disabilities.

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor/Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards

Thank You! - Millennial Professor

Readers,

This is my 100th blog post! I am very happy that we reached this point. At first I was not sure that I would be able to contribute blog posts on a frequent basis. However, blogging seems to be a very easy process for me.

Thank you for visiting this blog. I appreciate each and every one of you for helping me through the transition process of simply blogging through my pseudoname "Millennial Professor" to joining the higher education conversation as myself, "Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards". During the past few weeks, I revealed my blog to the librarians(and other professors) at my
university through a blogging workshop. 

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor/Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards

The Dreaded 24-Hour Professor Phenomenon

Recently, I realized that I have become a 24 hour professor. I tried to avoid this phenomenon, but I think that it is inevitable at this point. On Friday, I finished grading my students' speeches on blackboard at 11:30 p.m., but I did not get finished with class-related items until 3:00 a.m. The next morning, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to post the midterm review.

Despite my weekly scholarly research, I teach four classes a semester. In addition, I have a thirty minute commute to campus. I LOVE my job and I keep a very organized schedule, but there are not enough hours in the day to finish everything that I need to finish.

Most nights, I respond to e-mails and instant messages (related to course material) from students until 11:30 p.m. The negative aspect of the phenomenon is that I should know better. I conduct research on computer mediated communication and the impact that this type of communication has on the educational environment.

According to Jeffrey Young (2002), a writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education, "The growth of e-mail, course Web sites, instant-messaging software, and online courses has forced many professors to rearrange their daily routines and has made them more accessible to students than ever before". I complete agree with this statement. My Sunday evenings (before speech days) used to consist of Desparate Housewives (DHs) and spending time with my family, but now the first day of the week includes DHs, spending time with family and blackboard/instant messenger.

 

I am definitely going to have to minimize my computer mediated communication (CMC), because next semester I will teach my second online-only class. This will be interesting and I hope to have a life as well. As a result of my hope for less CMC, I decided NOT to add a wireless PC card/service to my computer. If I added this feature to my computer/wireless account, I would NEVER be able to take a vacation again. I experience a sigh of relief when I carry my computer to a hotel that charges for internet services. If I have to pay for the internet, I buy one 24 hour session and finish all of my work during that period.

This week, I plan to minimize my 24-hour professor tendencies. We shall see how the fruits of my labor (or lack thereof) will impact my 24-hour professor phenomenon.

Millennial Professor


References:
Young, J. R. (2002, May 31). The 24-hour professor. The Chronicle of Higher Education website. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i38/38a03101.htm

Prospective College Students Encounter a Potential Facebook-Based Barrier

     High school students who are interested in attending a community college or four year university have another obstacle to overcome - their facebook/myspace profile. These "personal" profiles serve as open windows to a prospective college student's personal life.

    

     College admission counselors are logging on social networking websites like facebook.com and myspace.com to gain an in-depth look at the high school students who may attend their college or university. Read more information about this phenomenon here - "Admissions Officers Peek at Applicants' Facebook Profiles".