Social Media in the Educational Environment (A Great Video!)

Readers,

I hope you are having a great summer! I am preparing for the fall semester and I plan to incorporate a wealth of social media in my upcoming courses. For the past few semesters, I incorporated Twitter and a small amount of Facebook. However, this semester, I plan to use del.icio.us, linked in, and Flickr in my new courses!

Here's a great video focused on social media in education!

Enjoy the video! Have a great week!


Millennial Professor
Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Fall 2010 - Fourth Year Tenure Track (Let's Get Er Done!)

Readers,

The semester will begin on Monday. I am thrilled! For some odd reason, I REALLY enjoy meeting my students on the first day of classes. However, this year will be slightly different. I am teaching two upper-level communication studies courses and two lower-level communication courses that meet the university core requirement. The lower-level courses will be 100% online and this is the first time that I will teach half of my courses virtually and the other half face-to-face (during a long semester).

This semester I will have a great time teaching my classes and serving on a university committees. The committees that I really enjoy are: college curriculum, faculty development fund, faculty development (training), and I hope that I will enjoy the library committee. <- I heart our university library! As for research, I was able to accomplish A LOT this summer! Submitting conference proposals, writing award submissions, administering a grant, writing articles, writing letters of recommendations for students, and teaching classes. <- All while learning to use the iPad. :) Now, I am down to crunch time... Here's my to do list before Monday's classes: 1. Finish my syllabi 2. Outline two textbook chapters for two courses (both are new textbooks) 3. Update my gradekeeper files (with the new students' names) 4. Update blackboard for four courses. That's it! Let's see how much I can accomplish! J. Edwards Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Preparing to Teach Online Courses - A Preliminary Checklist

Readers,

If you teach high school or college courses online, it is wonderful to prepare for your course ahead of time. However, if you have a personality like mine, you have to plan WAY ahead of time to make sure your course runs smoothly. This week, I am finishing a to do list for my syllabus creation boot camp next week! (I will post this soon!)

Here is a great article featuring ideas for online faculty. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-teaching-tips-it-pays-to-sweat-the-small-stuff/

And a few of their suggestions:

Always be positive in your feedback and postings. 


Be sure that page numbers in assignments match the text(s).


Be sure that page numbers in assignments match the text(s).


Keep track of the errors and oversights you discover for future courses. 


Which one is your favorite?


Millennial Professor
Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Helping At-Risk Students Succeed in the College Classroom

Readers,

As a professor, I strive to help every student in the classroom. I have a strong believe that everyone has the ability to succeed. However, there are a few variables which inhibit some students from being successful. These variables include: not attending class, not keeping an updated schedule, not paying attention in class, and other more subject/academic-based variables.

As a result, I loved reading this article, "Helping At-Risk Students Succeed in the College Classroom". Now, I am eager to implement some of the suggestions from the article in my Fall classes! I plan to integrate an undergraduate research opportunity/conference, in-class presentations, virtual office hours, weekly reminders, and Twitter reminders. I cannot wait to help my students!

J. Edwards

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