Thursday, July 28, 2011

Take a Virtual Vacation - My 5 Favorite iPad/iPod Games

Readers,







This summer has been filled with student interactions and organizing my home for the fall semester. Between those two very important (and time consuming) items, I have developed a virtual affair with my iPad games. I play 10 minutes of an iPad game when I need to refocus on an activity, when I am in the doctor's waiting room, or when I simply need to take a virtual mini vacation. Here are the games that I have been enjoying this summer!


1 - Scrabble HD



2 - Angry Birds - Rio





3 - Wedding Dash



4 - The Price is Right (My mom LOVES this one)
The Price is Right â„¢ HD


5 - Boggle



Wonderful iPad/iPod games! Do you have any games to contribute to the list? 


Sincerely,


J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Wandering Wednesdays - "Academia and Fashion"


Readers,

I hope each of you are having a great week! I am excited about this wonderful find for "Wandering Wednesdays"! Apparently, there is a hidden world of women in academic who love fashion as much as I do!


By simply clicking the link above, you can gain access to a list of academic blogs focused on fashion and academia! Very neat! :)

Although I do not frequently blog about fashion (I have a shoe post about once every year), I LOVE fashion! Especially suits and SHOES! Here's a recent pair that I purchased from Nine West to begin the semester. Shoes make me smile. :)


Enjoy!

J. Edwards
Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Does Higher Education REALLY Need "Ready Made" Online Courses?



Readers,

Over the past few weeks, I have been reading a few articles on "boxed" or "ready made" online courses that professors have to import into blackboard or another learning management system (LMS) as their course for the semester. Of course the professor has to change the dates and make a few changes to the overall course, but they have a "ready made" course. 

Similar to the Easy Bake Oven of the 80s (yes, I am showing my age), these online courses just involve adding water (uploading the course to the LMS), mixing the ingredients (changing the dates and other small details), and baking for a few minutes under a hot bulb (adding students to the course).


I do not understand WHAT is so difficult about creating an online course via a course management system. I have created EACH of my courses from scratch and I have CHANGE the course every semester. I do not like enjoying the same cake every semester, because there are always new ingredients and recipes that emerge every semester. Plus, I look at my cake reviewers' comments (the students' evaluations) and I delete or add certain aspects of the online course.

This "ready made" course is so lucrative that some companies are requiring universities to charge students a special fee from their company (in addition to the distance learning fee). I believe in saving my students money and this is NOT helping the cause.

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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Monday, July 25, 2011

How to Use Google+ as Your New Social Network





Readers,

This summer, I began to use Google+ to communicate with some of my Facebook friends. One of my dear librarian friends added me on this new social networking website and it has been very interesting!

My favorite personal organization website, Lifehacker, posted an article titled, "How Do I Make the Most of Google+?" Here's the link to the article - http://lifehacker.com/5822167/how-do-i-make-the-most-of-google%252B.

 In the article, the author focused on several topics related to Google Plus:

- Tweak the Google+ Layout
- Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Get Around
- Update Google+ From Anywhere
- Update Facebook and Google+ at Once
- Share with Facebook and Twitter, Too
- Move Your Photos to Picasa
- Beef Up the Google Status Bar
- Give Your Google+ Profile Profile a Vanity Url (http://gplus.to/)



Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41
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