Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards: A Texas Professor Focused on Artificial Intelligence, Health, and Education: Search results for higher education

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Thursday, October 28, 2021

Three Examples of Interactive Syllabi (Designed with Open Educational Resources from a University Library)

Last week, I had the opportunity to present at the Open Education Conference. It was virtual and the content was definitely interesting!

My session was held on Monday, October 18 • 3:45pm - 4:25pm and it was titled, "Designing an Interactive OER Syllabus as an Equitable Practice".

During the session, I talked about my interactive OER syllabus and I had the opportunity to network with some amazing colleagues. One of the amazing faculty members from my institution attended as well - shout out to Dr. Trina Geye!

I am passionate about open educational resources and I like fact that OERs can save students money. This is very important for our Texas college students. Open Educational Resources are equitable resources!

Here are the notes from the presentation:

I know some of you are wondering WHY I incorporate OERs instead of textbooks for my courses.... This is why...

Day-One Access/No-Cost (Equitable)
Easier for the Student
Mobile Access
Linkable to Canvas
Easier for the Professor (Updates/Changes)

I always emphasize partnering with the library to find additional educational resources. Here are some starting points!

Podcast Links
Guides from Prior Semesters (Student Approved Work)
YouTube Videos
Database Article Links
E-Books
Lib Guides

As you transition from semester-to-semester, I always recommend this checklist for "refreshing" your OER syllabus:

Check Your Links
Check for More Relevant Resources
Develop a Pre and Post Semester Checklist
Integrate Your OER Endeavors with Research

In fact, here's a copy of my OER syllabi:

Fundamentals of Human Communication (COMM 1311) - Open Educational Resources Syllabus

Intercultural Communication (COMM 3332) - Open Educational Resources Syllabus

Organizational Communication (COMM 4304) - Open Educational Resources Syllabus

I also design a syllabus and Canvas tour for my students to help them become more familiar with the content.

Students in my classes (both graduate and undergraduate students) REALLY enjoy the free resources and they are also "more up-to-date" than a traditional textbook.

Have any questions about OERs? Contact me.

***

Enjoy!

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Interested in a specific student success topic or do you need a speaker for an upcoming conference? Contact me via direct message on Twitter or join our Student Success and Retention Institute - Learning Community on Facebook!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

My Social Media Channels!
Remember to Follow Me on Twitter! @drjtedwards
I Always Post Higher Education Videos on YouTube
Find Me on Instagram
Engage with Me on Facebook!
Watch My Videos on Twitter Live - http://www.periscope.com/drjtedwards/
Email Me! I am PR Friendly! - jennifertedwards@gmail.com

Friday, January 8, 2021

Contacting Currently Enrolled Students Who Have Not Registered for the Upcoming Semester

At this time of the semester, many people are wondering if students who attended last semester will attend this semester. Yes, I have been there before!

So, I decided to create email and text campaigns to help remind/nudge students to register for the upcoming semester. This EVEN works during the first week of class as well. Think about the students who left the semester with an "A" or "B" grade point average and never enrolled in the subsequent semester - you need to reach them!

Purpose of the Campaign: Contacting Currently Enrolled Students Who Have Not Registered for the Upcoming Semester

Problem: Many college students need several reminders to register for the next semester.

Time of Year: October/November & March/April

Timeframe of the Campaign: Four Weeks

Target Group: Students

Step 1 - During the first week of the campaign, send a text message to the students who are enrolled this semester, but who are not enrolled for the subsequent semester.

Sample Text Message - Are you planning to come back for the spring? Reply Y (Yes), M (Maybe), H (Holds), or S (Need to Schedule. Appt).

Step 2 - During the second week of the campaign, remove the students who have already registered. Then, send another text message to the students who are enrolled this semester, but who are not enrolled for the subsequent semester.

Sample Text Message - Classes are filling up fast! Are you returning to [Name of University] for the Fall? Text - Y (Yes), M (Maybe), N (No), ? (Questions), H (Holds). - [Name of Administrator that Many Students Know.

Step 3 - During the third week of the campaign, have the faculty and academic advisors call the students in their department or college who have not registered.

Step 4 - During the fourth week of the campaign, have the faculty contact the students who have not re-enrolled in the subsequent semester.

Step 5 - Assessment - Examine the number of students who were not registered before the campaign, then measure the students who registered each week until the end of the fourth week. pre-campaign

Additional Comments: When the students reply, you can begin tagging the students on Microsoft Excel or through the Student Success Technology with the following tags.

Y - Tag - Will Register in [Next Semester - Semester and Year]

M - Tag - May Enroll in [Next Semester - Semester and Year]

N - Tag - Not Returning in [Next Semester - Semester and Year]

If you have any questions about this campaign, please contact me - [Your Name]or [email address].

Try this campaign! Also, there are more campaigns available in my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Interested in a specific student success topic or do you need a speaker for an upcoming conference? Contact me via direct message on Twitter or join our Student Success Communication and Technology Institute on Facebook!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Higher Education Speaker and Researcher

My Social Media Channels!
Remember to Follow Me on Twitter! @drjtedwards
I Always Post Higher Education Videos on YouTube
Find Me on Instagram
Engage with Me on Facebook!
Watch My Videos on Twitter Live - http://www.periscope.com/drjtedwards/
Email Me! I am PR Friendly! - jennifertedwards@gmail.com
My Research Interests: Customer Service and Social Media, Higher Education Retention, and Millennials at Work

Monday, December 14, 2020

How to Use Canvas to NUDGE Students to Complete Assignments

I am a TOTAL fan of the "message students who" feature on Canvas. Our university utilizes Canvas as our learning management platform. With this feature, I can message students who...

have not completed assignments

have not communicated with me

have an average below a certain threshold

have an average ABOVE a certain threshold

have done a STELLAR job on assignments

and MORE

I use this feature for EVERYTHING! You should definitely try it out! It is free and I've convinced other faculty to use it as well!

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, November 16, 2020

Reflecting on the 2020 Census - My Grant Project Funded By the Hogg Foundation

In Fall 2019, I was truly fortunate to receive a grant from the Hogg Foundation to promote the 2020 Census in East Texas. Yes, this area includes my hometown county - Panola County, then Rusk County and Shelby County. This was an AMAZING project! Thanks Hogg Foundation!

The North East Texas Counts campaign had three goals for the project. Goal one was “to select and train 200 NETX Counts Ambassadors and Junior Ambassadors to tell the importance of the census to the community”. Goal two was “to engage and educate at least 3,000 residents in the tri-county community (especially hard-to-count populations) about the importance of the census”. The final goal, goal three” was “to saturate the tri-county community media outlets with Census information pertinent to their residents”. Through this campaign, we hosted 25 outdoor Census booths, eight interactive community information sessions, an engaging social media campaign, and received coverage in almost 10 newspapers and television outlets.

The North East Texas Counts began the Census season by communicating with key contacts in the community and scheduling large-scale events to educate the community about the Census. We scheduled events at the local community college, library, etc. After the three counties restricted large scale and in-person events, we decided to develop a more robust online training and development process for our interns and volunteers.

We offered numerous outdoor Census education table sessions. However, instead of offering these sessions outside large big-box retailers in the country, we offered these sessions in formats more focused on common pain points experienced by residents of the three counties and safety protocols of the counties. Instead of shopping at big-box retailers, the residents were more focused on shopping in smaller retailers, visiting gas stations, and visiting the post office. As a result, our strategy changed. During this process, we coined the phrase, “from gas stations to grocery stores”, because these were the essential places visited by residents during the pandemic. During this process, we offered information booths outside of gas stations, libraries in each county, Tractor Supply stores, city council areas, and on the side of the major highways. These strategies proved to be very effective because many residents indicated they have not taken the Census before and they did not know the importance of the Census. We were able to provide support for these residents through interactive in-person, on-one-one programming focused on the Census.

Community Communication

The North East Texas Counts team began the Census season by communicating with key contacts in the community and scheduling large-scale events to educate the community about the Census. We scheduled events at the local community college, library, etc. After the three counties restricted large scale and in-person events, we decided to develop a more robust online training and development process for our interns and volunteers.

We offered three pop-up Census education table sessions outside large big-box retailers in the country. During these sessions, participants received USB chargers, Census t-shirts, and USB wall plugs. These technology and apparel items were essential items during the pandemic, because individuals in these areas usually have to travel to larger cities for technology items. People saw our items as they drove on the highways and many turned around to hear about the Census and to receive the items. Many residents commented that they have seen several Census shirts around their town and they wanted to learn more. We did not have any Census t-shirts left after September 30, 2020.

North East Texas Counts Census - Coverage

Quoted in the Texas Tribune. Ura, A. (2020, August 5). An abrupt change to the census deadline shortened the response period by a month, increasing fears of an undercount in Texas. Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.gainesvilleregister.com/news/coronavirus/an-abrupt-change-to-the-census-deadline-shortened-the-response-period-by-a-month-increasing/article_7fe6db5e-d764-11ea-83e8-5710b5af1bd7.html

Quoted by Tarleton State University. Riddle, P. (2019, December). Tarleton professor awarded grant to help count Texans for 2020 census. Tarleton Marketing and Communication. Retrieved from https://www.tarleton.edu/scripts/ press/display.asp?id=6236

Quoted on the Spectrum News in San Antonio and Austin. Spectrum News (2020, August 11), “Census Changes Increase Gears of an Undercount in Texas”. Retrieved from https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/san-antonio/news/2020 /08/12/census-changes-increase-fears-of-an-undercount-in-texas

Quoted in the Panola Watchman. Staff Reports. (2020, January 17). “Tickets on sale for 'Black to the Future' banquet in Carthage”. Retrieved from https://www.panolawatchman.com/general/ tickets-on-sale-for-black-to-the-future-banquet-in/article_0bbd1b80-3705-11ea-a159-9317daf73ab6.html

Quoted in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Wallace, C. (2020, September 30). “What we could lose:" Changes in census could cost ETX millions”. Tyler Morning Telegraph. Retrieved from https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/ what-we-could-lose-changes-in-census-could-cost-etx-millions/article_a2e688ca-e3d0-11ea-96a5-4bf3b7628d70.html

Quoted in the Panola Watchman. Wieser, S. (2020, June). Fill It Out: U.S. Census important for Panola County funding. The Panola Watchman. Retrieved from https://www.panolawatchman.com/news/fill-it-out-u-s-census-important-for-panola-county-funding/article_0169c0d0-b1a2-11ea-b3f3-e3d2f902f86d.html

This project was one of the TOP projects of my faculty career. It truly changed my life and impacted the way that I see local, state, and federal government. This project ENERGIZED me!

Stay tuned!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, October 12, 2020

Use Google Trends for FREE Search Engine Keywords - Great for Governmental and Social Media Communication

I really like using Google Trends for almost EVERYTHING! I use Google Trends for creating news articles, blog posts, course syllabi, and even when designing graphics!

Here's a video that I created about Google Trends - an amazing FREE technology!

Exploring Google Trends is one of the best ways to discover social media topics and ideas for posts. Here's a quick video focused on how to use Google Trends for Content Generation.

Check it out! You can use Google Trends for everything from education to community engagement. Also, these are great for governmental outreach and engagement as well (depending on the search terms within your community).

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Try this campaign! Also, there are more campaigns available in my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Monday, September 14, 2020

Teaching Our Students Have to Use the Library's Ebscohost Databases

Research is VERY important for our students! Each of my classes has a research assignment focused on the library. They are paying for it, they should use it. At least this is what I believe. :)

I always make a training video for our students about the library's databases. Here's this year's video!

***

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, August 17, 2020

About Your Professor - Answering Your Questions (Part 2/2)

Over the summer, I always think about how the fall courses will be better. I always strive to make my courses at least 5% better than the courses the semester before. Course evaluations are important and I want to make sure the students have a great experience, but I also want to have a great experience teaching in the course as well.

This means that I write down ideas as I read blog posts, listen to videos, and also as I listen to local/regional/and national news. So, I get EXCITED to introduce myself to a new group of students!

This year, I decided to pre-record TWO videos introducing myself to the students. Here's the video (Part 2/2) that I plan to send the students in the fall semester. This videos is based on the questions that I requested from via an email survey in the summer.

***

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, July 13, 2020

About Your Professor - Answering Your Questions (Part 1/2)

This means that I write down ideas as I read blog posts, listen to videos, and also as I listen to local/regional/and national news. So, I get EXCITED to introduce myself to a new group of students!

This year, I decided to pre-record TWO videos introducing myself to the students. Here's the video (Part 1/2) that I plan to send the students in the fall semester. This videos is based on the questions that I requested from via an email survey in the summer.

***

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, June 15, 2020

Let's Navigate My Computer Mediated Communication Course: A YouTube Tour

When my students begin their new course, I always want to ensure that they will have the best experience possible. To help them prepare for their course, I always craft the course template on Blackboard or Canvas, upload it, and then I create a YouTube video focused on how to navigate the course.

This has been very helpful for students. I definitely recommend Youtube as a teaching tool for our higher education students. Check out this video for my Computer Mediated Communication course!

***

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, May 11, 2020

Let's Navigate My Intercultural Communication Course: A YouTube Tour

This has been very helpful for students. I definitely recommend Youtube as a teaching tool for our higher education students. Check out this video for my Intercultural Communication course!

***

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, April 13, 2020

Let's Navigate My Student Services and Student Affairs Course: A YouTube Tour

This has been very helpful for students. I definitely recommend Youtube as a teaching tool for our higher education students. Check out this video for my Student Services and Student Affairs Graduate course!

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication

Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute

Monday, March 16, 2020

Helping Students Find Informative and Persuasive Speech Sources on the Ebscohost Databases

As a speech teacher or communication faculty member, you can definitely learn MANY things about the library databases for informative or persuasive speeches. One primary sticking point that I HAVE to incorporate in my speech assignments is for the students to utilize the library databases to find SIX (6) resources for their speeches.

This is a feat for our freshmen students and our senior-level students who decided to put off taking speech until their final semester at our university. Critical thinking is SO important for ALL students that I require them to learn how to use the library's databases to find relevant information for their speeches.

***

Check out my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Monday, February 10, 2020

Creating an Interactive, One Week Social Media Assignment for Students: Personal Promotion Campaign!

As faculty members we need to discover ways to help students prepare for their world after graduating from your college or university. As we know, social media will be an important part of their careers whether they form in education, business, the legal environment, or in health services. Social media is THAT important.

As a result, I created this assignment to help students build their competency with social media. Assignments like the Personal Promotional Campaign will help our students!

If you have any questions about this assignment, please let me know. I will be happy to share!

Check out my book- Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Monday, January 13, 2020

Student Success Technology Hacks - How Professors Can Use EAB Navigate for Class Assignments

Higher education faculty have a duty to embrace and promote student success. Without students, we would not have a job. It is imperative that we discover new ways to reach and teach our students.

The Education Advisory Board (EAB Navigate) platform provides an easy-to-operate opportunity for faculty to utilize technology for engaging with students. The academic early alert feature and also the student profile feature can help faculty gain a further glimpse into the academic preparedness of their student.

We need to utilize this information FOR GOOD and not for detrimental purposes. If we admit the student, we have an obligation to do everything we can to graduate the student. However, the student also needs to do their part as well!

Check out this video for more information about how professors can utilize EAB Navigate to promote student success and also for class assignments.

Try this campaign! Also, there are more campaigns available in my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Monday, December 9, 2019

COMM 5311 - Analyzing Census Bureau and Emergency Management Social Media Data on Twitter

Twitter is an amazing tool for analyzing government-to-community communication. It is important to realize how social media messages can be more effective in reaching their target population. This is why most of my social media research focuses on governmental messaging and how people engage with the messages (or take action as a result of it).

This one of our most recent graduate student research projects. This project analyzes Census Bureau and Emergency Management information sent on social media to see which types of messages are most effective.

Check out the video!

Try this campaign! Also, there are more campaigns available in my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Importance of Creating Reusable Videos for Online Classes

Sometimes, you have to make your assignments plain for students. Who am I kidding, I need things to be stated plainly as well. So, I am very excited to integrate YouTube into my classes. I use YouTube for explaining assignments in online classes and also for navigating the syllabus.

Here's an example of how I make ONE video to answer MULTIPLE questions from MULTIPLE semesters. These videos save time and also help me archive the approaches that I use each semester. I am an older professor now, right?

Here's are some examples from my Student Affairs and Higher Education course!

The question was: "How Can I Submit My Assignments from the Student Affairs in Texas Newsletter"?

Here's my answer:

The question was: "How Can I Complete the Becoming an Expert Activity?"

Here's my answer:

Student Affairs and Student Services is constantly evolving to reflect industry trends. Especially business industry trends. Check out the Student Affairs in Texas newsletter published by the Graduate Students in the Educational Leadership program at Tarleton State University.

I hope you enjoy! Please let me know if you have any questions about recording, sound, or uploading. I will be happy to help!

***

Try this campaign! Also, there are more campaigns available in my book - Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.

Remember to order copies for your team as well!

Monday, August 19, 2019

Intercultural Communication - What are the Dominant U.S. Cultural Patterns

In Intercultural Communication, we are studying aspects Dominant U.S. Cultural Patterns including:

the Value Orientation Theory

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Student Success Program Highlight - Student Mentoring Program

Student Success Program Highlight: University of Pittsburg at Greensburg's Commuter Mentors Program

Recently, I discovered the University of Pittsburg at Greensburg's Commuter Mentors program. Now, this is a neat program!

The program is focused on their large commuter population (over 65%)! Their goal is for all students who commute to become familiar with the various resources that are available and to also become familiar with the Pitt-Greensburg community.

In this program, all participants (first-year and new transfer students) are assigned a Commuter Mentor (who is assigned to 20 mentees). Each mentee participant receives a picture of their mentor, a biography, and a letter in the mail introducing the program. Interested in a specific student success topic or do you need a speaker for an upcoming conference? Contact me via direct message on Twitter or join our Student Success Communication and Technology Institute on Facebook!

Training Information
The mentors participate in a one-day training at the beginning of the fall semester. The mentors receive a $100 stipend for their participation in the experience and a meal credit on their ID. This is great for mentoring students to use for their mentoring events (lunch, dinner, coffee, etc.).

Here are the rest of their commuter mentor resources.

My Reaction

This sounds like an amazing mentor program that colleges and universities should definitely take under consideration. YES!!!

Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Higher Education Speaker and Researcher

My Social Media Channels!
Remember to Follow Me on Twitter! @drjtedwards
I Always Post Higher Education Videos on YouTube
Find Me on Instagram
Engage with Me on Facebook!
Watch My Videos on Twitter Live - http://www.periscope.com/drjtedwards/
Email Me! I am PR Friendly! - jennifertedwards@gmail.com
My Research Interests: Customer Service and Social Media, Higher Education Retention, and Millennials at Work

Monday, August 12, 2019

Intercultural Communication - What are the Dimensions of Culture?

In Intercultural Communication, we are studying dimensions of cultures including:

I. Individualism vs. Collectivism

II. Masculinity vs. Femininity

III. Power Distance

IV. Uncertainty Avoidance

V. Long-Term vs. Short Term Orientation

VI. Environmental Sustainability

Monday, August 5, 2019

Course Navigation Guide - Higher Education Student Services

Welcome to the Higher Education Student Services course at Tarleton State University. In this course, we focus on everything student services including student activities, student success, and retention!

This course at Tarleton State University is located in the Educational Leadership Department.

Pages

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Friday, January 8, 2021

Monday, December 14, 2020

Monday, November 16, 2020

Monday, October 12, 2020

Monday, September 14, 2020

Monday, August 17, 2020

Monday, July 13, 2020

Monday, June 15, 2020

Monday, May 11, 2020

Monday, April 13, 2020

Monday, March 16, 2020

Monday, February 10, 2020

Monday, January 13, 2020

Monday, December 9, 2019

Monday, October 14, 2019

Monday, August 19, 2019

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Monday, August 12, 2019

Monday, August 5, 2019