Sunday, December 12, 2010

iPad Pilots at U Houston and CDI College Take Off -- Campus Technology

Readers,

As all of you probably know by now, I am a technology junkie. However, I love integrating technology in my courses. Unfortunately, I have only seen two other iPads (aside from my own) on campus and they belonged to the Communication Department and to another department on campus. As of today, I have not seen ANY students with iPads OR e-readers. However, a large amount of the students and faculty have iPod Touch devices and/or an iPhone.

Today, I read an article titled, "iPad Pilots at U Houston and CDI College Take Off -- Campus Technology". This is an AMAZING venture from the University of Houston's College of Communication and the U of H Educational Technology department. They have a course titled "Information and Communication Technologies", in which they equipped their students with iPads for the next eight weeks. Here's some more information about the project.

Kudos to the University of Houston right now. I would LOVE
to provide my students with such an exciting experience! I wonder where the research will be published. :)

Here's some additional information about the project:
"At the University of Houston a joint project between the School of Communication and the Education Technology and University Outreach organization will research the impact of 'anytime, anywhere' learning over the final eight weeks of the current semester. A team of professors has created an iPad application for an Information and Communication Technologies course with 30 students. COMM 3353 iApp, which will be used in an elective class in the journalism program, contains learning modules with video lectures, textbook material, presentations, tutorials, and simulations"


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

Friday, December 10, 2010

Google vs. Blackboard - Is It a Reality?

Readers,

My husband and I are huge Google fans. In fact, I integrate Google into my blackboard course ANY POSSIBLE way that I can! Through my non-existent "power point slides"... they are all Google Presentations now... to my online assignments through Google Forms, I do not even have to log on to Blackboard (which can sometimes be a cumbersome process) to check students' progress on an assignment.

Lately, my husband has been asking... "So, why doesn't Google complete with Blackboard"? Apparently, a lot of people have been pondering the same question. Here's an article that I discovered today, "Google: Groupon? Not Blackboard?"

In the article, the author states, "Google should buy Blackboard and take the following actions:


  • Move gBlackboard as quickly as the market will bear to an all cloud-based, multi-tenancy delivery system. This will drastically reduce implementation costs, allowing the price of the software to drop quickly.
  • Deeply integrate gBlackboard with Google Apps for Education, gDrive (Google Storage), and the content available on YouTube/EDU.
  • Follow a plan to bring the licensing fee for public institutions to gBlackboard down to zero.

These actions may prove to be great moves for the increasing amount of cash-strapped higher education institutions who are actively seeking cost-cutting measures to help them stay afloat.

Google - If you hear us, we need an intervention!

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

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Publication Opportunity! - The Internet and Higher Education: Online Learning Environments (Due Date - June 1st)

Readers,

I just discovered a great publication opportunity on the "Instructional Systems @ FSU" blog. for anyone focused on emotions in online learning environments! :)


Here's the information:


The Internet and Higher Education

Special Issue Call for Papers on Emotions in Online Learning Environments: Theory, Research, and Practice

Special Issue Editor: Anthony R. Artino, Jr. Ph.D.

Scholars have recently called for more inquiry on the role of emotions
in education. Although the dynamics of emotions that emerge during
online learning may be less apparent than those experienced during
traditional classroom instruction, limited empirical evidence suggests
that emotions are important contributors to learning and achievement
in online environments. However, educators currently know little
about the complexity of student and teacher emotions and their
potential influence on academic outcomes in online contexts.
Accordingly, The Internet and Higher Education (INTHIG) invites papers
for a special issue focusing on understanding the role of emotions in
online learning environments (OLEs). Specific areas of interest
include, but are not limited to:

How emotions develop and evolve in OLEs;
How students and teachers regulate their emotions in OLEs;
Emotional states and traits in online learning processes;
Assessing emotions in OLEs;
The influence of emotions on cognition, motivation, behavior,
collaboration, and achievement in OLEs;
The emotional experience of being an online instructor;
How emotional factors can be integrated into existing theories of
online learning; and
OLE design features and instructional activities that impact student
and teacher emotions.

Manuscripts that focus on theoretical, empirical, and practical issues
will be considered, and manuscripts that employ qualitative,
quantitative, and mixed-methods designs are welcomed and encouraged.
All submissions should follow the usual format for INTHIG submissions
and should adhere to existing INTHIG Author Guidelines, which can be
found on the submission website (see link below).

Authors are requested to submit manuscripts via the Elsevier Editorial
System no later than June 1, 2011. The submission website can be
found at http://ees.elsevier.com/inthig. To ensure all manuscripts
are correctly identified for inclusion into the special issue, authors
are asked to please select <<>> when they reach the
“Article Type” step in the submission process.

To request additional information, please contact the Special Issue Editor:

Anthony R. Artino, Jr., Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Phone: (301) 319-6988, Email: anthony.artino@usuhs.mil (email preferred)


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

Saturday, December 4, 2010

My December Grading List - I see the finish line!

Happy December Everyone!

This is always crunch time for me! I am grading assignments like CRAZY this weekend!

Here's my grading list:
- Undergraduate Research Reflections (on Blackboard)
Undergraduate Research Reflections (on Chalk and Wire)
- Post-Research Reflection of Google Documents (EXCEPT Online Sections)
- "Make Your Own Test Question" Assignment (EXCEPT Online Sections)
- Upload Tests on Blackboard and Type Test Questions
- 10 Days of Twitter Extra Credit Assignment
- "Become a Researcher" Extra Credit Assignment
- Note Cards and Post-It Note Assignment (In-Class Mini Tests)
- Grade 45 COMS 101 Informative Speeches
- Virtual Office Hours Assessment (Added 12.7.2010)
- Cross Apply REAL Paper Grades from Blackboard
ONLINE ITEMS:
- AItem - Ch. 15 - MMS Critique DQ
- AItem - Ch. 15 - Persuasive Propositions
- AItem - Digital Dirt Presentation DQ
- AItem - Ch. 5 - Listening Apprehension
- AItem - Ch. 11 - Research Your/Business
- AItem - Ch. 12 - Main Points and Transitions
- AItem - Ch. 6 - The Relationship Stages
- AItem - Ch. 7 - Conflict Outcomes and Characters



I would LOVE to continue decorating and shopping for the holidays, but I LOVE to scratch items from my to do list.

Here's goes nothing! :)

Sincerely,

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