My Academic Life is Organized By My iPad....

Readers,

It appears that iPads are here to stay! The iPad2 will be released in a few weeks and I am ready to get my hands on the NEW ONE! I use my iPad for EVERYTHING! Here's my top ten uses of the iPad (in no particular order).

1 - Presenting an electronic ticket when boarding a plane.
2 - Finding my way around a city via Google Maps.
3 - Constantly checking email.
4 - Presenting Groupon coupons at retail locations.
5 - Blogging and more blogging!
6 - Checking voicemail on Google Voice.
7 - Writing papers.
8 - Keeping myself accountable for completing tasks on Google Tasks.
9 - Grading papers on Blackboard.
10 - Conducting virtual office hours.

I use this wonderful device for MANY things! In addition to a professor's uses, several of my students use their iPads to play music on Pandora, check email, write reminders, and sometimes to take notes.

"iPads: A Bane or Boom to College Teaching?", an article by Josh Fischman in the Chronicle of Higher Education, explores a study highlighting students' usage of iPads in a college classroom. One interesting aspect of the study took place at the end of the course when students has the option of using iPads or a laptop on the Internet-based final examination in class. Only one student chose take their final examination on the iPad. Very interesting! I wonder did the study focus on the students' perceptions of the device as well. I wish that I was able to conduct such a study in my classroom! Here's the link to his article - http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/author/jfischman

Very interesting! What do you think about using iPads in your academic life or in your classroom? Contribute a comment! :)

Sincerely,

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

One Educator's Paperless Approach to Teaching Millennials

Readers,

One of my favorite bloggers, David Andrade (http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/) wrote about his paperless approach to his high school classroom. Higher education faculty and student affairs professionals can adopt some of these methods for their day-to-day activities as well!

Here are some of his wonderful ideas!

1. His students' lab reports, online work, and projects are all created electronically and submitted via e-mail or a web-based program. Then he grades the assignments on his mobile device.

2. He uses online resources(Google Docs, Discovery Education, web sites, and class blogs) in his classes instead of a textbook. In addition, he has access to the textbook pages and instructor resources in PDF format.

3. He stores information in "the cloud" (i.e. - Dropbox, Sugarsync, and Zumodrive), which enables him to access his documents at work, at home, and from any computer. 

4. He takes pictures of his whiteboard, students' posters, etc. and uploads the pictures on Evernote.

Here's the complete article - http://www.google.com/gwt/x?source=reader&u=http%3A%2F%2Fteachpaperless.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Funfettered-by-stuff-or-why-i-dont-lug.html

Amazing ideas! Share your teaching paperless ideas by typing in the comment box! :)

Sincerely,

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

Freebie Friday! Free Sample of Yogi Tea!

Readers,

It is almost SPRING BREAK! I desperately need a break and I imagine that you need a break as well! :) Take advantage of this offer to send one of your colleagues a free sample of Yogi Tea! Encourage them to return the favor!

http://www.yogiproducts.com/ecard

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

An Awesome Opportunity! - The International Association for Research on Service Learning and Civic Engagement (Deadline - April 15th)

Readers,

If any of you are interested in attending and/or prsenting at a service learning conference, here is a great opportunity for you! The International Association for Research on Service Learning and Civic Engagement is accepting proposals for their national conference in Chicago, IL on November 2-4, 2011.

PAPER PROPOSALS:
Conference organizers will favorably review proposals that present research findings from:

Rigorous research design
Research that incorporates voices of community partners
Research based on authentic evidence
Comparative studies from cross-cultural perspectives
Conceptual frameworks with clear implications and recommendations
Meta-analysis of literature to date and implications for research agenda
Program evaluation that is the basis for research or comparative case studies

The extended Deadline for Proposal Submission April 15, 2011, by 11:59 p.m. (EST)

http://www.researchslce.org/conferences-awards/call-for-proposals/
Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.