REGISTER NOW – FREE WEBINAR: Counseling and Advising Men of Color in the Community College (February 12, 2015)

I absolutely love free webinars (especially those that do not require a product endorsement). This webinar is from the Minority Male Community College Collaborative and it is focused on "Counseling and Advising Strategies" Advancing Success for Men of Color in the Community College". The webinar will be held on February 12th at 11am Pacific Time. I discovered this webinar around a month ago through a tweet.

Here's more information - http://interwork.sdsu.edu/sp/m2c3/2014/11/07/free-webinar/

Why I Am Interested...
Yes, I work for a four-year institution in Texas, but I have community college roots. I attended Panola College for dual credit courses while in high school and I attended my first year at a community college before transferring to Stephen F. Austin State University. Amazing experience! Without my community college experience while in high school, I would not have been as successful in attaining my four-year degree. I am strong advocate of dual credit courses.

Benefits of the Webinar
I think this webinar will definitely benefit professionals who are in the trenches teaching and advising students who are from underrepresented populations (and who are male). Feel free to write comments here!

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

Out-of-the-Box Ideas for Motivating College Students During Midterms and Finals

Two of my favorite times of the semester are midterms and finals. Odd, right? These are the two times students usually hear about their progress within a course (although I provide feedback more often).

To help students succeed during these key times, our area provides Midterm and Finals activities and programs for students to connect with their academic-sides! Everyone has one (or two) - perhaps a major and a minor).

While planning for the week, I have several Pinterest boards and an amazing committee. Also, we search for ideas on the web to gain insight into other university's approaches to these important time periods.

Binghamton University's Dean of Students's office connects with a wealth of offices across their campus to provide students with incentives for studying!

Here are some of their approaches:

- free group fitness classes

- therapy dogs

- chair massages

- donuts with the Dean (we have not tried this year, but sounds like a great idea)!

- one of the neatest aspects of the event is the REACH vehicle - a mobile approach to providing students with healthy tips and giveways. Here's some more information about the pink car - the mobile solution! Take a look - http://www.binghamton.edu/health/education/

- the sleep kits include sleep masks and other items you would need for a night of rest

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

2014 Open Doors Report - Institute of International Education

One of the areas that I work with on a daily basis is the International Programs area. I am a strong advocate of study abroad programs and I am always looking for innovative ways to help all students experience a study abroad program. In addition, when students chose to study in the United States this experience enriches the international student's life and GREATLY IMPACTS the students located at the university.

One report that I continue to monitor is the Open Doors report. Here's the link to the latest report:

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

10 Top Ways for Professors to Plan for the Spring Semester

The spring semesters are always filled with the promise of surpassing your goals for the fall semester. Will this spring be different for you? What do you plan to do differently?

Here are some tried and true items that I have to complete before I begin teaching classes.

1 - Look at the syllabus from last spring to see which aspects I would like to change for this semester.

2 - Update the dates on the syllabus.

3 - Figure out HOW I would like to communicate with the students this semester - Google Plus, Twitter, or Facebook (or all three)?

4 - Add the students's names to my Gradekeeper App for attendance and participation purposes.

5 - Update the Blackboard course structure to reflect the goals for this year's course. For example, if I would like for the students to achieve the learning outcomes for the course in a different way, I need to update the discussion questions, Twitter chat questions, etc.

6 - Contact individuals in the communication and social media industries for Twitter chat engagements to enable students to communicate with professionals working in the industry.

7 - Modify the syllabus on Google Documents. I always place my syllabus on Google documents to make sure it is easy to modify for the following semesters. Also, my students do not have to worry about purchasing and/or downloading any software to interact with different aspects of the course.

8 - Contact the students to introduce myself!

9 - Rest before the semester begins!

10 - Prep my office! I need a great ambiance before the semester starts!

Last, but not least... BREATHE!!! It will be a great semester!

Here's my post from the beginning of last semester!

http://www.millennialprofessor.com/2014/08/7-easy-ways-for-professors-to-prepare.html

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

Making the Switch from Teaching Undergraduate Students to Teaching Graduate Students

During the past few years, this millennial's life has been filled with CHANGE! New baby, new job, and NOW a change in teaching. Starting this month, I will teach my first graduate course. In the past, I've taught independent study graduate courses, but I am looking forward to teaching my first full group of graduate students.

This spring, the course will focus on social media technology and how it can be utilized in the work context. I hope to have several guest speakers (bloggers and other individuals from the industry) and to engage with the students in various interactive experiences (it is an online course). I definitely plan to utilize Google Communities and a few Twitter chats.

I definitely think that I would like to incorporate an "applicable" research project to create a finished product (perhaps an e-book), but I am still thinking about the possibilities.

Ideas are much appreciated!

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

3 Millennial Goals for the New Year: Writing, Dreaming Creatively, and Traveling with Family

Usually, I write long, drawn out New Year's Resolutions, but this year I resolve to only have THREE resolutions!

#1 - Write at least one blog post or at least one page of my manuscripts per day.

#2 - Think beyond the possible. Usually, I am an extremely linear thinker, but I need to think more creatively to solve everyday problems for work and home.

#3 - Travel with my family. My daughter is a toddler and I love to expose her to new and innovative things! Her daycare teaches her a wealth of skills, but I attempt to supplement on the weekends and during the evenings. Follow our adventures here: http://www.weekendscount.com/

Suggestions are appreciated and valued! Please keep me accountable!

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

Recap of the 2014 #SACSCOC Annual Meeting - Dec. 5th - Dec. 8th

Today, I created several higher education and blogging goals. These goals included: writing posts as soon as possible and posting these posts as soon as I arrive home from a conference, etc.

The #SACSCOC conference was amazing and I was pleased to connect with several individuals from other universities. I stored these business cards in a special part of my Vera bag, because one of my new years resolutions is to keep in contact with higher education connections formed during conferences.

Courtesy of @heatherplez

This SACSCOC conference was held in Nashville, TN and the attendees had several hotel options. I chose the Courtyard Marriott, because it was slightly cheaper than the other options. I traveled via shuttle to the hotel and connected with several SACSCOC attendees (one from Tarrant County College and the other from Savannah State University).

In fact, I was fortunate enough to have breakfast on two separate days with two of the individuals I hope to add to my highered contacts list!

One of the first sessions I attended was the Newcomers session and it featured the President of SACSCOC, Dr. Belle Wheelan. She is an outstanding woman and I always enjoy hearing her speak. Through the session, I learned about several new developments regarding SACSCOC.

After this session, I walked through the hallway and heard my name. One of my colleagues found me and I was pleased to see her familiar face. We exchanged notes and later discovered that we planned to attend the same session for the next conference slot. Surprisingly, I discovered the presenter was my fabulous sorority sister, Dr. Amanda Chesser Drum (yes, she is amazing). I look up to her for a variety of reasons and she always has a smile on her face.

Dr. Drum is from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi and she serves as the Executive Director of Strategic Engagement Initiatives. She is also charged with assessment and the SACSCOC 5th year reviews. She worked interactively with various departments under student life and other similar student services-focused departments to develop student learning outcomes that coincide with the CAS Standards. I thought this approach was very effective and it helped her developed her university's SACSCOC report. I plan to use the CAS Standards for an internal review process for several areas at the university for which I work in Texas.


Since I learned a wealth of information about section 2.10, I wanted to learn more about the QEP initiatives in the next session. This session was presented by Dr. Wayne Atchley from Tarleton State University and he did a dynamic job presenting his university's "Keeping It R.E.A.L" initiative for engaging students in the following areas: undergraduate research, leadership, study abroad/study away, service learning, and internships.

These individual sessions provided me with a stronger foundation for assessment for this next year. I feel fortunate to have this experience and I cannot wait to research additional innovative and dynamic ways to perform assessment (qualitative and quantitative) on our student learning outcomes.

Also, I followed the backchannel on Twitter for the #SACSCOC conference. Here's a recap of the conference so far:

I learned a wealth of information from the conference and I am fired up for assessment! Also, I wanted to add that I was especially excited that the Convention Center is a LEED certified building! :) This is very exciting to an environmental sustainability-focused millennial!

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

Preparing for the SACSCOC Conference and Thinking Ahead to Assessment Bootcamp

Preparing for the SACSCOC Conference - I admit, this has been a long semester, but one of the most rewarding semesters so far!

Tomorrow (Saturday), I am headed to the SACSCOC annual conference. I am excited about placing the assessment hat on my head at this point in the semester.

It is extremely difficult to write the reports in the middle of the semester (in the midst of the activities), but I always look forward to small breaks. These breaks include: winter break, spring break, the break in May. These are typically my #highered "catch-up" times if I happen to be behind.

Thinking Ahead to the Winter Break
Here's the ideal set-up for assessment, Edwards-style. A quiet room, restricted interactions from others, and a great station on Pandora/Storify.

I am all packed and I am ready to attend my first SACSCOC conference! :)

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

Neat Gift Basket Idea for #HigherEd Professionals!

I had to make quick gift basket for an upcoming women's conference and I wanted to provide a gift featuring personal touch with a professional flair! 

Something I would really want to receive and something I could really use! I always add a Dymo Label to make the gift look professional! My family purchased the machine last summer and it has been the best investment! 

Here are some additional pictures!

I had to make quick gift basket for an upcoming women's conference and I wanted to provide a gift featuring personal touch with a professional flair! 

Something I would really want to receive and something I could really use! I always add a Dymo Label to make the gift look professional! My family purchased the machine last summer and it has been the best investment! 

Here are some additonal pictures!

Sincerely,

@drjtedwardsTSU

Multicultural Postdoctoral Fellowship--The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Here's a great announcement that can be found on the CRTNET listserv. 

Shawn D. Long, PhD, Shawn.Long@uncc.edu

Multicultural Postdoctoral Fellowship--The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

UNC Charlotte invites applications for our new Multicultural Postdoctoral Fellowship program (www.diversitypostdoc.uncc.edu) to support its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and building a strong intellectual community of scholars from different backgrounds. The purpose of the Multicultural Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is to support the early development of scholars who show promise of distinguished research careers and who are from historically underrepresented groups.

Postdoctoral fellows will be engaged full-time in research and may teach up to two courses per academic year as part of their appointment. Fellows are required to be in-residence each semester during their appointment. The postdoctoral fellow will receive extensive university and program mentoring throughout their appointment. 

Applications for study in any discipline represented on campus are welcome. STEM applications are strongly encouraged. Please specify your discipline of interest when applying.

Applicants must have completed their doctoral degree within the past five years and no later than July 1st of the current year. The primary criterion for selection is evidence of scholarship potentially competitive for tenure track appointments at a research university. A critical secondary criterion is the support of prospective departments. 

All applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents at the time of application; The University of North Carolina at Charlotte strongly encourages applications from African American, Native American and Hispanic scholars. Selection is contingent on the availability of an appropriate mentoring environment. 

Please include the following materials with your application:  curriculum vitae; a statement of research plans (1-3 pages) (this should describe your commitment to pursuing an academic career); graduate transcripts; a personal statement on why you should be selected for this program (1-3 pages); Writing samples (e.g. publications and/or dissertation chapters); three letters of recommendation. One letter should be from the applicant’s dissertation advisor or faculty mentor.

Applications are taken on-line at http://jobs.uncc.edu, position #POST40.The application deadline is December 1, 2014 at 5:00 PM EST.  Please contact Dr. Shawn D. Long at shawn.long@uncc.edu  or 704-687-0783 if you have any questions. 

UNC Charlotte is North Carolina's urban research university and has an enrollment of approximately 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in the state's largest metropolitan area, UNC Charlotte is among the fastest growing universities in the UNC system. 

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is an EOE/AA employer and an ADVANCE Institution that strives to create an academic climate in which the dignity of all individuals is respected and maintained. Therefore, we celebrate diversity that includes, but is not limited to ability/disability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. 

Applicants are subject to criminal background check.

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU

8 Apps for Higher Education Day!

This summer, I was fortunate to attend the "Apps for Higher Education Day" sponsored by the Center for Instructional Innovation (CII) at my higher education institution. This day was planned by some of my favorite people on campus! :)

This was definitely a fun day, but I realized that I really need to diversify my higher education apps!

Here is a list of the awesome higher education apps introduced!

1 - Blackboard Mobile (Paid)

2 - My Script Calculator (Free!)

3 - Device 6 ($3.99)
 (Interactive Novel)

4 - Essential Skeleton 4 (Free!)
 (3D Skeleton)

5 - Simple Rockets (Free!)

6 - Job Genie by Blackboard (Free!)
***One of my new favorites!***

7 - Duolingo (Free!)
*This has been a GREAT app for my language acquisition quest!

8 - Educreations (Free!)
(Screen Capturing App)

In addition, the workshop facilitators invited individuals to present their favorite app to the audience! This was definitely fun! Thank you CII for hosting this amazing event!

Sincerely - @drjtedwardsTSU