National Communication Association #NCA2011 (Post 5/5) - Walking Around Conference Exposition Halls!

Readers,

I always enjoy strolling around the exposition hall and interacting with the book publishers. This year was special for TWO reasons: I discovered the workbook that I edited over the summertime and my friend Lora and I met with an editor about a book proposal.

Here's a copy of the workbook. We use the workbook in our Fundamentals of Speech, Public Speaking, and Business and Professional Speaking courses.

The exposition hall is always full of freebies and conversation! During my first NCA conference in San Diego, I accepted the preview books with gratitude (and regret when I boarded the plane and had to pay for luggage that was over the weight limit). Now, I scan the book ISBN or cover with my RedLaser app OR I take a picture of the literature with my iPad to avoid walking and flying with more paper that I actually need.

Quick Question - How do you navigate conference exposition halls?

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

National Communication Association #NCA2011 (Post 5/5) - Making Your Conference Round Table Presentation Attractive!!!

Readers,

Today, I had TWO conference round table presentations! Both of the presentations were focused on technology (specifically Google Docs).

Presentation 1 - Utilizing an Interactive Activity to Enable Stakeholders to Discover Innovative Ways to Re-frame their Negative Perceptions about Stakeholders

Presentation 2 - Utilizing Google Documents to Write a Training and Development Guide for Local Non-Profit Organizations and Small Businesses (Service Learning)

Usually, when I visit round table sessions, the presenter's display is very dull. This year, I decided to integrate the following elements on my table:

1 - Business Cards

2 - A Note Card with a QR code and link to the activity on Google Docs.

3 - Copies of the Actual Activity

4 - My iPad for additional explanations.

5 - Candy! I knew that my students could spare a few pieces! :)

I've discovered that people like to LEAVE your table with SOMETHING in their hand to remind them about your presentation! :)

How do you make your presentations more appealing?

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

National Communication Association #NCA2011 (Post 3/5) - Traveling to Academic Conferences with Posters...

Readers,

My first presentation for the National Communication Association Conference was a competitive poster presentation on Google Documents! I was super excited about this presentation, because Web 2.0 technologies are my passion!

Here is the only negative aspect of a poster presentation... YOU HAVE TO TRAVEL WITH THE POSTER! Unfortunately, it seems that most airlines require passengers count the poster tube as one of two pieces of their carry-on luggage. Since today's airline passengers usually carry all of their luggage on the aircraft, this additional piece of carry-on luggage might place a wrinkle in someone's luggage plans (no pun intended).

So, a few years ago while attending and presenting a poster the annual meeting for the Council on Undergraduate Research in Odgen, UT, I decided to adopt a new approach... I decided to use pieces of paper to create my poster presentation!

This approach enabled me to adapt my poster to the space provided and to add neat details at the bottom of the poster to appeal to my potential walk-though audience members. I always place a business card holder and poster note card at the bottom of each of my poster presentations.

Here's a question for you! - How do you make your poster presentations unique?

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

National Communication Association #NCA2011 (Post 2/5) - Pre-Conference Prep!

Readers,

This has been an amazing week so far! Before attending a conference, I have to prepare my students for my temporary disappearance from campus. To help them through this "transition", I still keep my virtual office hours during each and every conference.

Do you keep in contact with students when traveling to conferences?

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

Submit an Idea for the "Great Ideas for Teaching with Adobe Products" Mini-Contest!

Readers,


Today is the FIRST day of the "Great Ideas for Teaching with Adobe Products" Mini-Contest! 

Participants:

Faculty, Staff, and Students are encouraged to submit an idea! We encourage ideas focused on (but not limited to) the following:

- Classroom Ideas (Face-to-Face or Hybrid)

- Student Activities/Student Affairs

- Student Organizations

- Admissions and Recruitment

- Campus-Wide Events

- Supplemental Instruction

- Learning Communities

- Online Instruction/E-Training

Voting Period

The readers will vote on the best entries from Monday, December 5th to Friday, December 9th. The WINNER of the contest will receive a copy of the CS5.5 Master Collection!

Submit Your Idea Here:

***This contest is a collaborative effort between the Millennial Professor blog and the Communication in Higher Education blog.***

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

National Communication Association #NCA2011 (Post 1/5) - Pre-Conference Prep!

Readers,


I am looking forward to attending the National Communication Association's Annual Conference this week! I plan to tweet during the sessions, so please remember to add me on Twitter @COMMTechProf


Also, this conference is always special, because I always catch up with my undergraduate professors and I network/plan with one of my favorite peers in the communication profession, Dr. Lora Helvie-Mason. Follow her on Twitter - @lhelviemason


Also, my students are following me on Twitter via my university account for their extra credit assignment - @drjtedwardsTSU


I will post updates from the conference very soon! :)


Sincerely,


J. Edwards

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

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

Texas Blackboard Users Conference (5/5) - Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt's Presentation

Hi everyone!

The last day of the conference, we had the pleasure of listening to authors, Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt! Here are three of their books:

The Future of Online Education...

- Bandwidth has increased, storage has increased, access has increased, technology is more reliable, and internet access is ubiquitous.

- Collaboration and social networking are becoming the norm.

Barriers to Online Education...

-A percentage of students still dial up.

- Some students cannot afford computers at home.

- As technology becomes more complex, additional training is needed.

- People resist the use of technology that is not simple or that affords clear benefit to them.

- Social networking is blurring boundaries.

The Introduction of New Hardware is Driving Online Learning

- iPads and other Personal Access Devices

- Cell Phones - Smart Phones

- Presentation Technology

Games and Virtual Words

- We are likely to see increased development and use of applications like Second Life in education.

- The ability to use simulation for application activities is likely to increase as a result and move us further away from tests and quizzes to measure competence.

Personalized Learning

- Self-paced, modular, and based on individual studnet needs.

- Networks and conversations rather than content.

- Learning Management Systems (LMS) may go away in favor of a collection of tools or applications to support individualized learning.

Thank you Wiley Publishing for the FREE book! I hope to post a review soon!

Processing Question (from the presentation) - How will you prepare for the future? How can we prepare our students for their future?

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

@drjtedwards