Hello Fall 2011 - Post 3/5 - Wandering Wednesdays - The Theatre Prof Blog

Readers,

This is been a great week! In addition, to the amazing first week of classes, I also found a great blog to follow! This blog is called The Theatre Prof and Prof. Michelle Stephens seems to be a very active user of social media in her personal life and in her classes. :)

She is active on Google Plus and I hope to learn A LOT from her about this software, because I am LOST on Google Plus! :)

Here are her most recent posts on teaching in higher education...

10 Ways to Use Google Plus in the Classroom

Dear Parent of a College-Bound Child

Report from the Trenches: Evaluating GooglePlus for Online Learning

Week Zero: Why You Should Engage Students Before Classes Start

Check Out Michelle's Blog! - http://www.theatreprof.com/

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

Hello Fall 2011 (2/5) - Time Management Strategies for the Semester (Responding to E-mail)

Readers,

This semester, I decided that I need to refine my time management skills and to establish a better balance between work and personal life. I usually respond to messages from my online and face-to-face classes within an hour (or two), but this year, I think that I am going to move to a 12 hour time frame. Responding to e-mail messages can become a very time consuming process and I have to reduce the amount of time that I spend typing and retyping replies to e-mail messages.

Here are some time management strategies that I currently use:

1 - When a few students have the same question, I send the students an initial response and then I send the response to all students in a question and answer format.

2 - I save ALL of my received messages and sent messages every semester. The pdf documents from each semester have helped me to form a wonderful repository of message replies. Then, I copy and paste the answers to questions that I typically encounter every semester. :)

Here are some time management strategies that I plan to use:

1 - Replying to students within a 12 hour time frame (while I am at work and during office hours at home).

2  - Typing responses on my iPad. For some reason, I dislike my pop-up iPad keyboard and I started using the Apple bluetooth keyboard instead of the keyboard on the screen. I love this keyboard MUCH better than the keyboard on the screen!

Do you have any suggestions for me? I value your suggestions! :)

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

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

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

Hello Fall 2011 (1/5) - The First Day of Classes!

Readers,

Today was the first day of classes at my university. I have two upper-level classes on MWFs and I enjoy teaching these classes EARLY in the morning (9 a.m. and 10 a.m.). Each fall, I teach the same classes, but I change small aspects of the classes according to current research and student evaluations.

I look forward to the beginning of each fall semester, because I purchase a new dress (or suit) for the first day of classes! This year, I purchased a new dress and new shoes (tall shoes) for today's classes! I enjoyed wearing my new outfit for the first day and I always get that new burst of energy from the new clothes and new school supplies! Here's a picture of my new shoes! :)

The first class, Intercultural Communication, is one of my favorites! I enjoy hearing the students tell stories about their diverse experiences. The second class, Interpersonal Communication, is a mandatory class for the communication department and other departments on campus. This class is always filled with wonderful students and I am looking forward for an exciting semester!

Also, one of my dear friends, Prof. Cristi Horton placed the cutest gift on my desk last Friday for the first week of classes! I left the gift on my desk over the weekend, because I needed that extra burst of energy on Monday! I opened the gift and I was very pleased to find a portable post-it note holder for my bag! This gift was much appreciated, because my husband commented on my post-it note "to do list" last night. This summer, I started using 20 post-it notes per day. :) Yes, I recycle at home AND at the office! :)

Both Intercultural and Interpersonal students will work on group research projects this semester. Last semester these projects focused on diversity and the students presented their research at our university's research symposium. This year, we are focused on the Social Media Conference and the students will have to link social media and interpersonal/intercultural issues. 

Today in class, the students chose their topics and many of them are EXCITED about investigating their chosen topics! Last semester's students and this semester's students will be invited to submit their papers for the Tarleton Undergraduate Research Symposium in October, the Texas A&M University System Student Research Symposium in November, and the Southern States Communication Association in March. :)

I hope you had a great first day! 

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 (5/5) - (Freebie Friday) - Coupons from 3M (Scotch Tape & Packing Tape)

Readers,

Here is a great opportunity for those of you who are highly organized, desire to be highly organized, or if you are planning to ship some books back to the publisher! On the 3M website, there are some wonderful coupons for Scotch products: http://www.3m.com/brands/scotch/promos/welcomecoupon.pdf

- Save $1.00 on Scotch Pop-Up Tape Desk Grip Dispenser

- Save $.50 on Scotch Poster Tape

- Save $1.00 when you purchase TWO rolls of Scotch Packing Tape

- Save $1.00 when you buy one pack of Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches 50 Pack

- Save $2.00 when you buy one Scotch Easy-Grip Packaging Tape Dispenser

Enjoy! 

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

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