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

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

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!

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

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

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