"Ask a Millennial Professor" Friday - "How Do You Grade on Blackboard Using the iPad?"

Readers,

Happy "Ask a Millennial Professor" Friday! Here's this week's question:

Hi Dr. Edwards,

I recently came across your experiences with the iPad in the college classroom.  I am a college professor as well and was very excited about not only the integration of the iPad in the higher education classroom but the usefulness for me personally. I must say, though, I  never purchased the iPad personally as I was not able to access and grade papers through Blackboard (my son has one).  I could get on Bb, but couldn't see all student submissions or open them.  However, I noticed you mention that you use the iPad to grade through Bb.  I was hoping you would enlighten me...I must be missing something obvious?

Thanks,

[Name of Professor], Ed. D

Sent from my iPhone

Here's my response:

Dr. [Name of Professor],

Thank you for your question! Currently, our university uses Blackboard (CE Enterprise License - Release 8.0). This particular version of blackboard is very compatible with the iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch (which my students use before and after class). I am able to see their submissions (which emerge in another window) and I am able to grade their submissions in an additional window. Now, I know that my last statement may seem a little "window" heavy, but the iPad is the multitasking machine!

To help with the large number of attachments that can emerge from each of your online and hybrid classes, I recommend that you have your students create a Google Documents account and submit their papers via Google. This has helped my grading process become a little less time consuming since I can grade on the go!

Thank you for your e-mail!

Sincerely, 

J. Edwards

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

A New CourseSmart App for Students AND Professors!

  

Readers,


Over the holidays, I received an e-mail from CourseSmart. This e-mail promoted the company's new, free iPad/iPod application. In addition to the e-mail, I visited the company's blog and found an entry titled, "Getting the Most from Your Tablet".

Here's the information...

*Thanks CourseSmart Blog (http://coursesmart.info/blog/)! 

So, you got a tablet this holiday, and you can’t wait to take it back to school. While access to email, Facebook, and endless amounts of games are great, how can you really get the most of your new gadget this semester? Well, we’ve got a few tips to help you get the most from your device, and keep you at the top of your class.

Don’t judge a tablet by its cover.

Having a cool case for your tablet not only protects the device, but also serves as an extension of your personality. Companies like InCase offer cases in a variety of colors, materials and even patterns. But, why not make your case work a little harder? Cases with integrated Bluetooth keyboards are now hitting the market. Kensington recently released the KeyFolio for iPad, and Brando followed suit with a Bluetooth keyboard folio for the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Keep organized and carry on.

Coursework can get overwhelming very quickly if you aren’t prepared for the onslaught of essays, exams, projects and presentations. Keep your school life, and personal life organized by taking advantage of your tablets built-in calendar app. Color-coding classes, or projects, setting reminders and alerts will help keep you on top of everything happening this semester. Need some heavy duty organization? Check out web-based calendars like Google Calendar or Mozilla Sunbird. Both calendars offer the ability to create a highly organized calendar with the added bonus of being available to you anytime, anywhere on any web accessible device. A newer player in the organization game is Scrybe. Scrybe is a web-based organizer that offers all of the functions of a regular online calendar plus, thought-sharing, list building and research assistance. Perfect for those team projects you will be tackling this semester!

Ditch the paper! Save your back and the environment.

Try something new this semester by purchasing eTextbooks instead of the old print versions. Not only are you eliminating the need to carry around those heavy textbooks, but you are also being green and saving some trees. Taking advantage of apps like CourseSmart’s new iPad app lets you view your textbook anytime, anywhere, and can save you some money as well. With features like highlighting, searching and printing, you can still mark up and even have print copies of the info you need most. Just grab your tablet as you head off to class for the day, and you’ve got all of your textbooks in one, easy to carry place!

Never miss a detail.

Once you’ve gotten your hands on a case with a keyboard and your eTextbooks loaded, you’re ready to tap out class notes like a pro, right? Well, even the pros could use a little help once in a while. If you decide to go paperless with your tablet this semester using a note taking or highlighting app can help you keep all of your class notes in order without having to carry around loads of binders or notebooks. New apps like Note Hub allow you to view multiple items at once, and you can even mark them up and take notes on them. You can easily view a textbook, notepad and calculator on one screen so you can tackle that crazy stats homework. You can even adjust the size of the items making the textbook larger so you can read the text, while still being able to use the calculator and write things down. Don’t let note taking for web research get you down. Many browsers now have compatible web highlighter add-ins that allow you to create persistent highlights, add sticky notes, and even share your highlights with friends.

Now that we’ve got you started with some tips to help you get the most out of your tablet (and your education) this semester, you’ll be taking better notes, studying smarter and saving a ton of time.

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

SAGE Open - A New Program from Sage Publications

Dear Reader,


I hope you are having a great break (or a calm before next week's storm)! Over the break, I received this e-mail about a new service from SAGE publications. Please let me know what you think!


Sincerely,


J. Edwards

SAGE is extending you a special invitation to be among the first to publish in SAGE Open – our new open access publication launching January 1, 2011.

SAGE Open will publish peer-reviewed, original research and review articles in an interactive, open access format. Articles may span the full spectrum of the social and behavioral sciences and the humanities. Find out more at www.sageopen.com.

Why publish in SAGE Open?

• Quick review and decision times for authors
• Speedy, continuous-publication online format
• Global distribution of your research via SAGE Journals Online, including enhanced online features such as: public usage metrics, comments features, subject categories, and article ranking and recommendations
• Professional copyediting and typesetting of your article
• $195 introductory author acceptance fee (discounted from the regular price of $695)

Consider publishing in SAGE Open if you want your article to receive:

• Quality reviews and efficient production, ensuring the quickest publication time
• Free, broad, and global distribution on a powerful, highly discoverable publishing platform
• Branding and marketing by a world-leading social science publisher, including promotion of your article via publicity and social media channels
• Open access publication due to university or government mandates

Manuscript submissions will be handled online through SAGE Track, SAGE's web-based peer review and submission system, powered by ScholarOne Manuscripts™.

Bookmark http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sageopen — manuscripts may be submitted starting January 1, 2011. Click here for full manuscript submission guidelines.

Sincerely,

Bob Howard
Director, Social Science Journals

Please direct any inquiries to sageopen@sagepub.com 

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

My First Visit to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Readers,


Good morning! I am having a great time in Austin, TX at the TACUSPA board meeting. Yesterday, we visited the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and we searched through over 85 years of TACUSPA history. We found some AMAZING items ranging from notepads created in the 1940s to conference books from the 1980s. Amazing information!


We were all responsible for a box (or two) of material and we had to write down information pertaining to past TACUSPA conferences. This information included the dates, location, themes, and keynote speakers. My TASK for the next few days will be to type all information we gathered pertaining to the conferences in a Google Document.


This was an amazing opportunity that I was glad to share with some amazing leaders from across the state of Texas!


Although this facility is about four hours away from my university, this would be a great opportunity for undergraduate students to discover Texas State History (or the history of your state). You would have to call the facility in advance, but they are very friendly and I think undergraduate students would benefit greatly from this experience!


Sincerely,


J. Edwards


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