New Semester Prep Week (3/5) - (Wandering Wednesdays) - "Murphy’s Pondering Tree: Mark II" Blog

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanfordedtech/ (Open Source)

Readers,

This week's Wandering Wednesday post is focused on the "Murphy’s Pondering Tree: Mark II" blog. The author, Steven Francis Murphy, serves as an adjunct instructor of history at a community college. His recent posts are focused on the upcoming semester:

Pondering Teaching Strategies for a Survey History Course

The Teaching Front: Spinning Up for Year 2011 - Fall Semester

The Teaching Front: The Latest Update on the "Why Did I Fail the Rest" Component of My Syllabus

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Encourage Your Students to Enter the Adobe Imagination Challenge - They Can Win $10,000!

Readers,

This week marks the official KICK OFF of the Adobe Imagination Challenge! This is an amazing opportunity for you and your students (academic affairs AND student services)! In the Imagination Challenge, you need to show your IMAGINATION by creating a flyer, newsletter, almost ANYTHING "neat" using the Adobe Create Suite 5.5 Student and Teacher Education software. 


Students will upload their creative images (flyer, newsletter, etc.) and your students will be entered in the contest for a chance to win $10,000! There are five chances to win $10,000 and 36 chances to win $550!

Here are some ways to get involved!

- Enter the Contest! - LINK

- Vote for the Most Creative, Innovative Image (Voting Begins 9/11)

- Check out all of the Entries in the Imagination Gallery - LINK

- Get Inspired and Test Your Visual Skills by Playing Real of Fake - LINK
- Interact! Use the Twitter Hashtag - #AdobeImagination

Good luck to you and your students! I hope you have a chance to participate in the challenge! :)

Thanks Adobe Education Exchange!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

New Semester Prep Week (2/5) - "Why Checklists Work"

Readers,

The Profhacker blog is famous for a wealth of wonderful posts focused on teaching, technology, and productivity tips. Recently, Natalie Houston (one of the ProfHacker writers), wrote a great piece titled "Why Checklists Work". 


Based on the book, The Checklist Manifesto, this post was very informative for professors who strive to become more productive in the fall semester. This was VERY exciting for me, because I use checklists on a daily basis!

In her post, she focuses on the following:

1 - Two Kinds of Checklists

*Read-Do

*Do-Confirm

2 - Creating Your Checklist

*Keep it simple.

*Make it usable.

*Try it out and edit as necessary.

Check out her post! - http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/why-checklists-work/35331?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

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

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

New Semester Prep Week (1/5) - My Long-Semester Checklist

Readers,


When preparing for a new semester, what game plan do you usually adopt? I refer to my long semester checklist, which includes the following:


1 - Write an pre-course e-mail to each of the students in my online courses. This includes my expectations for the semester, an overview of the course, the technical requirements for the course, and 


2 - Uploading the blackboard courses from the repository.


3 - Changing the dates on the assignments.


4 - Finalizing the last draft of the syllabus.


5 - Uploading the syllabus on blackboard.


6 - Check each of the widgets on blackboard (Twitter and Yahoo Instant Messenger) to make sure that they are compatible with the new blackboard course.


7 - Draft the e-mail for the first week of school (complete with action items for the week).


8 - Make paper copies of the syllabus.


9 - Print my roll for the semester.


10 - Check my notes for the first week of school! :)


What are some items on your to do list?


Sincerely,


J. Edwards

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

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41