Traveling with Undergraduate Students - The Pre-Trip Meeting and Checklist

Readers,

Before each trip, I like to meet with the students about their trip and their presentation (this is from my student services days). I thought that this information might be beneficial for those of you who travel with undergraduate students.

Subject Line - PRINT THIS SHEET. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

SSCA Conference - Little Rock, AR (A FEW REMINDERS/ANNOUNCEMENTS)

We are EXCITED about OUR TRIP!

DRS. HOWARD & EDWARDS' EXPECTATIONS

- Represent Tarleton well! Do not do ANYTHING to embarrass Dr. Edwards OR TSU.

- Take advantage of the networking and connections available at this conference. This is GREAT way to make graduate school and/or job connections with students and faculty.

- Dr. Howard wants you to attend the sessions and ASK QUESTIONS!

TRAVEL TO THE AIRPORT:

- You are encouraged to carpool from Stephenville.

- You need to leave Stephenville by 6:00 a.m. on Thursday.

DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL

- You will leave on Thursday, March 24th at [time] and you will arrive back in DFW on Saturday, March 26th at [time] p.m.

- You are encouraged to park in the [Name of Parking Lot].

- If you are late, you will have to pay a $150 change fee.

CARRY-ON FYIs:

- DO NOT CHECK IN YOUR BAGGAGE

- 3 oz. of liquid or less (unless you have medicine) and place the liquid in a quart-size zip lock bag.

- Bring a camera.

- Bring meal money.

- Do not pack any bottled water, but you are encouraged to bring a refillable bottle (to fill in the airport).

- Dress professionally: Church Attire (3 days worth)

AIRLINE TICKETS:

- Print your ticket BEFORE arriving at DFW. This will make the check-in process MUCH easier.

- Bring a driver's license (make sure the name on your driver's license is the SAME as your airline ticket).

- If you have an AA account, please add this reservation to your account.

PASSENGER SCREENING:

- This process should take 15-20 minutes.

ARRANGEMENTS:

- Our hotel is the Double-Tree Little Rock - 424 W Markham St., Little Rock - [Phone Number for Hotel]

- We have two rooms (one male and one female).

YOUR PRESENTATION:

- 8-10 Minute Presentation (one person) - Thank ALL of your group members from last semester AND Dr. Edwards :)

- Talk about: Purpose, Research Questions, Intercultural Comm. Competence Theory, Methodology, SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME ON the RESULTS, Conclusions, Implications, and Suggestions...

- Question and Answer (at the end of the presentation) - Each member from the group will have a chance to answer questions.

- Bring THREE COPIES of your paper. If anyone asks you for a copy of your paper, tell them that the paper is under review and it should be published very soon. Get their e-mail address.

MY CONTACT INFORMATION: [My cell phone number]

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

Traveling with Undergraduate Students - Preparing a Schedule (Subject Line - PRINT THIS E-MAIL)

Readers,

While gathering contact and emergency information for the SSCA conference, I also have to create a schedule when I travel with undergraduate students. 

Here is the schedule that I sent to the students and my department head with the subject line - PRINT THIS E-MAIL: SSCA Conference - Little Rock, AR (IMPORTANT INFORMATION)

Outstanding Student Leaders,

Here is a schedule for the conference!

Thursday - March 24th
Check-In to Hotel :)
12:30 p.m. - Meet for Lunch in the Lobby
2:00 p.m. - Pick a Session
6:30 p.m. - Welcome Reception @ Salon D
7:00 p.m. - Meet for Dinner in the Lobby
*Attend at least 3 conference sessions a day! :)

Friday - March 25th
8:00 a.m./9:00 a.m. - SSCA Breakfast Meeting
10:15 a.m. - Pick a Session
12:00 p.m. - Meet for Lunch in the Lobby
1:15 p.m. - Practicing for our Session (Meet in Lobby)
2:45 p.m. - OUR SESSION!!! :)
5:45 p.m. - Pick a Session (I am going to "Take this Job and Shove It" - Robinson 102)
7:00 p.m. - Meet for Dinner in the Lobby
*Attend at least 3 conference sessions a day! :)

Saturday - March 26th
8:00 a.m./9:00 a.m. - Undergraduate Honors Conference Breakfast - (Salon D)
9:30 a.m. - Pick a Session
11:00 a.m. - Pick a Session
12:30 p.m. - Meet for Lunch in the Lobby
2:30 p.m. - Pick a Session
4:30 p.m. - Depart for the Airport
7:05 p.m. - Depart from Little Rock Regional (LIT)
8:20 p.m. - Arrive back to DFW Terminal  B

I hope you enjoy your trip! Represent Tarleton well!

Sincerely,

Dr. Edwards

I just thought that this schedule might help faculty/staff visiting the website!

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

Traveling With Undergraduate Students - Preparing for the Southern States Communication Association Conference

Readers,


This week I am very excited about the Southern States Communication Association Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas! This year's conference is going to be amazing because I am presenting two papers, serving on a panels, and chairing a paper session. Aside from my busy schedule, I am also bringing seven undergraduate students who have been invited to present their research as part of the Undergraduate Honors Conference. 


As a result of the conference later this week, I have to prepare my online and face-to-face classes for their virtual assignments on Wednesday and Friday. My interpersonal and organizational communication courses are working on their research papers by distributing their survey and fine tuning their data analysis section via Google Docs. My two online speech courses are working on their informative speeches and updating their outlines on Google Docs. Google Docs enables me to view their progress on their assignment and to help the students along the way via my netbook or iPad.


Communication...it is not just the subject that I teach, but it is the daily life that I live!


Have a great week!

Sincerely,


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

Freebie Friday - Groupon in the Higher Education Classroom

Readers,

During the past few months, I have become a Groupon fanatic! The website is amazing and I purchased many groupons in the DFW area (as well as the online coupons). I am always looking for ways to merge my personal interests with my professional interests and I think that I will start purchasing groupons for my classes and our conferences (i.e. - Environmental Communication Week and the Diversity and Communication Research Symposium). I will post more about our new initiative, Environmental Communication Week, in a few days.


Since my university is located in the rural part of Texas, I try to find groupons that the students can use in the area. Some of our local businesses and organizations were featured during the past couple of weeks including, the Dublin Dr. Pepper Bottling Company, the local Drive-In Theater, and the Dinosaur Valley State Park.


I will also use this website as a teaching tool in the classroom. Companies are usually a virtual guerrilla marketing technique to communicate with their customers and the customers recruit other customers... Communication in ACTION (while taking advantage of low-cost activities/products)! :)

Have you used the Groupon website before? What do you think?


Join Groupon Now! - LINK

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

Learning About New Technologies - Seven Items at a Time!

Readers,


As a tenure-track professor, I have a short amount of time each day to read my e-mail and to glance over long journal articles. I attempt to stay informed about new technologies and how these technologies affect education. I usually read short technology briefs by Educause on their "Seven Things You Should Know About..." series.


Some recent topics in this series are:


- 7 Things You Should Know About Open-Ended Response Systems


- 7 Things You Should Know About Online Media Editing


- 7 Things You Should Know about Android


This series is ideal for the "professor on the go" who needs to do more with less time. Click here for the "Seven Things" series - http://www.educause.edu/ELI7Things


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

Make Their Day! A Different Approach to Motivating Undergraduate Students in Communication Studies Classrooms

Readers,


During the past few weeks, I started emphasizing the FISH Philosophy in my Organizational Communication course. This philosophy has four components: play, make their day, be there, and choose your attitude. One of the components that I emphasized in all of my communication studies classes in to "make their day". I am one of those eccentric communication professors who always walks to class with a briefcase in one hand and a candy container in the other hand. I use the candy container to provide incentives for the brave students who choose to provide answers or contribute stories of their personal experiences during class.


This week, I decided to incorporate my love of coupons and deals with my passion of teaching college students (like my blog). I decided to obtain as many "Free Oatmeal @ McDonalds" coupons as I possibly could in a short amount of time. At the end of my coupon collection period, I ended up with 60 coupons in all. This collection process enabled me to give "free food" coupons to my hungry college students as incentives. They LOVED it and they were very thankful for the sweet incentive. As a result of this great experience, I plan to obtain a lot of coupons from local restaurants to give as incentives to my college students to feed their mind and their hunger! :)

THINK ABOUT IT - What do you think? Additional ideas?

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