iPad and Higher Ed: Making the transition

After six months of using the iPad as part of our iPad initiative, I have found benefits for not only class, but also for general productivity. While there are some bumps in the road to tablet use in the classroom, overall the students and I have had a solid educational journey. Here are a few processes that have helped me as I've converted to a tablet:

1. Investigate.  Let's face it, there are a lot of things about teaching we had to figure out as we went. What styles or approaches worked for us? Why did they work for us? What fits with our teaching styles? Our philosophies? The iPad (or other electronic device) use isn't much different. You may have to explore and read and then make adjustments.

• Check Twitter. There are great updates and feeds about the #iPad, #apps, and #highered or #edtech. Stay on trend and find new tips/tools.
• Check the Chronicle. Today's Chronicle article by Jason Jones: "Getting Unstuck with Your iPad" article explores the Unstuck App. The iPad is creeping up more and more often in the Chronicle especially in the ProfHacker and WiredCampus areas. See also "5 iPad Applications I Can't Live Without (and Why)" by Ethan Watrall and "iPads: Bane or Boon to College Teaching" by Josh Fischman.
• Check the wikis. Teach With Your iPad on wikispaces has apps and links that can be helpful, particularly for those who are first timers with tablets, for example. There are great resources that other educators have already put together. Why not use them? 

2. Use with intent. Don't just try an app to try it. Consider what it might do for you in the classroom. Why are you including it. Will it save you time on record keeping (such as the Attendance App featured in an entry last week)? Will it make learning easier? There are great science apps that demonstrate a variety of topics such as frog dissection and photosynthesis, for example.

• Try the app (or activity) with a smaller class or with a class where you have a TA. Explain that you are trying something new. 
• Get their feedback (students, TA, colleagues). Did it work as you hoped? Did it help explain, demonstrate a concept? 
• Did it cause any problems? Would another device or a class activity (without device) work better?
• Modify the use and try again or simply move on if it wasn't what you needed for that lesson. 

3.  Learn from the students. I admit it, if the students are using it I feel like I want to at least know what it is. I will ask and seek demonstrations where necessary. Students first told me about mobile Blackboard, Evernote, and ooVoo -- I consider them an excellent starting place to explore new features or apps.

4. Invest (money). Be prepared to put your money (or your institution's money) on the line to explore new opportunities with your tablet.

• Ask what the policy is for institutional equipment, accounts, and personally purchasing items.
• Explore what equipment you might need (adapters, chargers, cases) to be successful in the classroom.
• Apps aren't always free. There are some that are quite costly, others at $1.99 or $2.99 will soon add up. Be prepared and consider setting a personal budget for apps if your institution does not cover this cost.

5. Invest (time). I'm not a part of the touch-screen generation. Yes, I love technology. Yes, I know general techniques to be successful. But I kept my trusty Blackberry out of love of the keyboard. I did not feel any interest to move toward a touch screen. I had to learn. I had to actually force myself, in the case of my calendar, to shift from paper to tablet.

• Take the time to become familiar with your device. 
• If it has become a glorified paper weight (I just heard a professor say this last semester!), then consider switching to exclusively using it (to give it a fair chance...if you don't like it, of course, don't use it.) I had to do an exclusive switch to help get used to all of the tablet features. I found myself putting an actual sticky note on my iPad case about a week after getting it. I laughed out loud and realized sometimes the brain takes a bit longer to acclimate than we might like to admit to. I then instituted an "all iPad" philosophy where I *had* to use it to take notes, to type, to answer emails. Soon, I realized the potential of the device and avoided an expensive paperweight.

Take some time to explore your needs, the abilities of your device, your personal abilities, and see where you end up. Truly, there isn't much these new devices CAN'T do. It is a matter of exploring your needs and working with pedagogical intent to make the most of the device in the classroom (and as you manage your research, grants, and service).

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Easier attendance...there's an app for that

I have a great way for students to take ownership of the course. It requires the iPad and an app, but it is certainly working well in my course.

I began using the Attendance App (See http://www.dave256apps.com/attendance/) last semester (at midterm) in two courses to see how it would work out. I was skeptical and used a paper sign in as a backup system just in case the app failed in some way. It didn't and it really saved me some time. But more importantly, it was received so well by the students that I decided to go completely paperless and begin using it (without the safety net of paper sign ins) this semester.

The app has a lot of user-friendly features about it. Basically, you add the students (either import a CSV file or type in manually) and any relevant information you want to incorporate. Then, students (or you) just tap the screen to check them in. Tapping the "Absent" button once changes their status to "Present" (and you can set other options, stock options include "Late" or "Excused" or "Unknown").

Use of "buttons" to sign in, showing this week's attendance so far.

I put the iPad right in front of me and welcome students to class. I oversee their "clicking" in their attendance (to make certain they aren't clicking for others), but my classes are small enough I know when students aren't there and could modify this if it ever happened (it hasn't). The students LOVE this. I let them click in to help them mentally check into the course for that day. They can also immediately see how many absences they have. It is a great way to keep them in the loop regarding their attendance. 

Where does the "student ownership" come in? Well, in my courses (20-30 students), the students take a few moments in class and enter their email and take a picture of themselves to use for the attendance app. They love doing this. The best part is that they input the email they use most often (not just our institutional email, which like most institutions is not as heavily used as the students' non-institutionally provided email address). I can email one (or all students) for course announcements or just to send them a report of their attendance (as a warning) without doing anything extra on my part. It is literally two finger taps of the screen. So far, I have found that the app helps me remember their names and it helps them remember each others names. It saves me the time of transferring a hard copy signature page to my excel or Blackboard grade books.

At the end of the semester (or anytime really), I can save a copy of the records in CSV if I would like to. I also back it up in my DropBox easily. I used the app to generate a report and submit it to our retention coordinator last semester to show which students were missing too many classes.


The app is currently $4.99 and has saved me time while making my work easier!

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Focusing for a fresh, energetic semester

You're editing a syllabus, reviewing a new text book, and wondering about your previous commitment to teach two new course preps this term. You're quickly losing your energy for the new term. It is easy to understand, as professors we multi-task through each day, work until we fall asleep, and rarely find any instant gratification for our efforts. If you're feeling the pre-semester or new semester blahs, here are some of my tips to starting the term with new, fresh energy: FOCUS.

Image created with www.picnik.com

• Focus on your classes. Do something NEW in each class. Delete an assignment that hasn't been working, modify the delivery mode, give some democratic power to the students, add an assignment you've been wanting to try out. Try a new approach to a topic that has long been your favorite or least favorite to teach. Give yourself something to help you click out of "auto-pilot" and back into your excited self. 
• Focus on ONE research goal at a time.  If you are like me and EVERYTHING is interesting you may struggle to focus and finish one project. (I can see my doctoral chair nodding vigorously at this point). I love learning, I love studying, I love researching. But, it can be draining to look at a to-do list that never shrinks because nothing is ever fully finished. Focus on one item until it is done. Move on to the next one. Keep moving. Keep your focus. This can help amp up your energy as you see the reward of moving through your projects.
• Focus on a non-academia activity. Teaching multiple classes each day can be draining, especially when you're working with large numbers or new preps. Plan one day a week (I like to plan this on my busiest teaching day of the week) where you take an evening (or morning if you teach evenings) away from academia. If you taught multiple courses all day on a Tuesday, then Tuesdays are now your NON-WORK evening. We can't do this each day, but if you know you have one evening to look forward to, it can help you keep your energy up throughout the week. Make sure you are not sneaking in grading or research. Truly do something non-academic. My treat: roller derby! No way can I try to edit papers or answer emails if I'm on my wheels.
• Focus on fitness. It may sound silly, but as I continue throughout my career, I have learned the importance of those vitamins, the necessity of physical activities, and healthy eating. Scale back on the caffeine (gasp!) by slipping half-caf into your coffee maker and slowly cut back on the cups you have each morning. You'll soon find your energy lifting and lasting!

There are many times when a new semester seems to have materialized without a break, without the renewal of energy we so desperately need. Combat the dreary, beleaguered return to another semester. Shake things up, find your zest, and face this new semester with a fresh outlook full of energy by focusing on a few simple areas for small changes. 

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Anticipatory socialization: the bursting bubbles of academia

In my final years of my doctorate program, I remember looking ahead to faculty life with the expected trepidation about tenure. I also remember thinking how enjoyable it would be to finally slow down once I graduated. How having a faculty job would mean I could stop the crazy graduate school schedule, the insane number of classes, the periodic adjunct posts, the graduate assistant duties, the (seemingly) endless hours in the library and the even longer hours logged in to the laptop and pounding away at the keyboard while in bed, working until I literally fell asleep.

Allow me to introduce you to my evening. I am currently pounding away at my net book, wondering how I will possibly meet all of the deadlines, while harboring the illusion of sleep by working in bed, fantasizing that once I have tenure things will slow down.

Does the academic life slow down? Is the time management easier on the "other side" of promotion/tenure?

After the bubble was burst that faculty life was NOT easier than graduate student life (insert giant "Duh" and eye rolling here), I have the feeling that I may now be leading myself into yet another bubble-bursting journey throughout the stages of academia.

If I am fortunate enough to earn tenure, I am hoping that I don't allow my illusions (delusions) about the next phase of faculty life to offer a false hope about workload. Somehow, each year gets busier, each semester (though appropriately managed and structured) seems to contain so much MORE than the semester before it.

Or perhaps my energy is starting to fade. Year five of the tenure track. Now dubbed the "this is no joke" year. The year to buckle down even more than the previous four years and make every activity, every minute count.

So, as I sit in my cozy bed, rewarding myself with 20 minutes of blogging "break" time from Project XYZ to mentally refresh, I find myself laughing at the anticipatory socialization of academia. Though I knew better than to think the faculty life would be more manageable, slower, better constructed (after all, I did read the research before embarking on this career choice), somehow I was still deluded into a promise, a wish, a hope, that my world would slow down after graduate school. When it in fact DOUBLED in work, I began to see the next hurdle (getting tenure) as the sure way to finally slow down..."Once I get tenure, things will get easier" can't help but run in my head as a mantra to keep pushing hard and tackling the to-do list. "Once I get tenure, things will get easier" is a kind of carrot dangling in front of this tired horse.

So even if my horsey brain realizes that the stupid carrot doesn't really get any closer as I trudge along, the carrot (the hope of a slow down in work load) is still SO APPEALING that I allow myself to be deluded by its promise, by its presence, and continue laboring on. Because, after all, once I get tenure things WILL get easier.

Hey, don't burst my bubble about that...yet.

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From paper to app: Productivity plans for a new semester

One of my biggest joys in this world is organization. It sounds odd, but I love when a calendar is color-coded. I love when the to-do list is prioritized. I love planning projects and managing time lines. Then, I love completing tasks early and making that oh-so-satisfying check mark!

In fact, this time of year usually finds me hunting for a new day planner (see "The Black Sharpie" entry from one year ago today). I can't help it. I love all things organizational.

But with my institution's new iPad initiative beginning this past summer, I found it problematic to carry around a high tech, expensive iPad AND my day planner. After a week of using the iPad, I realized it wouldn't work. In fact, people commented on the strange combination. Why carry around a dated paper day planner when the high tech tool could do EVERYTHING? I made a promise. I would go completely iPad. I would force myself to take all notes in all meetings on the iPad, to input all my contacts, to incorporate it into my classes. What good is an initiative if the professors aren't using the devices?

But I struggled with the transition when it came to my calendar/daily tasks. I've spent the past few months bouncing from task list to task list and feeling frustrated and mildly out of control when it comes to my daily work load. I love the basic task lists for gentle reminders and easy one-time tasks, but how on earth do you work in a large project?

Though I had no trouble going digital with my calendar, I struggled with a digital format for my tasks, goals, and "to do" items. I've synced lists with my email and worked my way through a surprising number of productivity and task apps. Though many work well, they just don't give me the same feeling as writing a task and then (eventually) marking it off the list. I can't color-code, structure, or add sub-tasks to these tools and find myself jotting notes on paper and dry erase boards to stay on task. But, I've made a pact with myself that I will not be left behind technologically and MUST use the iPad to the fullest possible productivity level. So, to that end, I have ignored my annual trip to the office supply store to shop for day planners. I've given in and followed the advice of many Twitter folks who recommended Toodledo when I asked about productivity apps and tools.

I have used this app for a few days and already I can tell it will NOT be relegated to a background list of tasks without prioritized structure or options to further manage the items. It let's me categorize (folder), prioritize (high, medium, low), sort (by date added, due date, priority, folder, etc.), take notes, and sync through multiple devices. It FEELS like a day planner. It is cheap (the iPad app was $1.99, the online option is free), though I sprang for a "pro" account and paid $14.99 for one year (saving roughly $30 from my annual day planner purchase).

Easy folder creation allows you to "code" your tasks.

What a great way to dive into a new semester and re-energize! I've already made my folders and input all of my goals for the semester along with all of my "must do" items prior to my (GULP) tenure review this coming fall. I feel calmer. I feel focused. I have that same shiny, excited feeling that comes with the purchase of a fresh, new calendar. In this image, you can see my folders- which were easy to create and SIMPLE to work with your tasks.

I love to look at a snapshot of my week's tasks and to review the sub-tasks on my projects. This is where most apps and tools stopped working for me. In Toodledo, I can easily structure my "view" to be by priority, due date, folder, etc. It is wonderful. I can mix high and low priority items and type in notes and even import files related to those tasks (the files can be attached to a specific task). Today, I opened Toodledo to find a beautiful list of both large and small tasks. I sat right down and started working through my highest priority tasks first (imagine my sigh of nerdy pleasure here).

Tasks by due date (see variety of options to organize by due date, folder, priority, etc. in upper left corner)

Since it has become a tradition to start the new year off with a conversation of organizing the new semester, I simply had to mention my satisfaction with my electronic options to hyper-organize my last few months before the tenure review.

What tools, apps, or strategies do you find most effective to prepare for a new semester?

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Great Ideas for Adobe in Higher Ed mini-contest: January 15- February 15, 2012

After exploring the new Creative Suite 5.5 from Adobe, it is impossible not to see the exciting ways we can integrate the CS options into our classrooms. In fact, today marks the beginning of a the "Great Ideas for Teaching with Adobe Products" Mini-Contest here at Communication and Higher Education blog as part of an exciting collaborative partnership with the blog, "A Millennial Professor's View of Higher Education" (http://www.millennialprofessor.com/). 
 

"Great Ideas for Integrating Adobe Products in Higher Education" Mini-Contest

Look for the mini-contest to launch on January 15, 2012. Final submissions will be due by midnight on February 15, 2012.


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, February 20th to Friday, February 24, 2012. The WINNER of the contest will receive a copy of the CS5.5 Master Collection!

Good luck everyone and HAPPY CREATING!

See the submission form below!

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Semester in review

From Twitter to tenure, it has been a busy semester here at The Communication and Higher Education blog. Thank you for reading, emailing, following, liking, and tweeting throughout the semester! As the term draws to a close, it is easy to shift into a reflective mode. This is true in the blogosphere as well. There were many diverse topics this semester.


Check out some of the top posts (most often read, clicked, or those resulting in the most emails) from the recent months and consider sharing a few of your thoughts or comments:

That academic life: 

There were many discussions about our sometimes tenuous hold on faculty life and the swirling responsibilities housed within that life, but the top read in this arena were:

• "Faculty job descriptions" and all of those unexpected responsibilities...
• "Mock productivity" in the academic work day...does it steal your time, too?!
• "Faculty and first names" drew a lot of emails. How do your students and colleagues address you?
• "More effective meetings" ... yes, we can all use this post when we enter the next, new semester!
• "The lost ink pen" illustrated the way our work life can change with new technologies.
• "Prepping for RTP" shared some lessons learned on the road to a tenure review.

Teaching and technology:

Tech toys and options for our class including:

• "YouSeeU and online public speaking" to handle the issue of student video projects...and guess what? There's now a student app (currently FREE!).
• "Tech tools to avoid the midterm slump" showed a few easy options for enhancing our grade-based productivity.  
• "Embracing the large lecture environment" showed new ways to reach large audiences. 
• "New semester perks: a few sites to explore" helped us find new ways to start a new term.

Most read:

Of no surprise at all, the most read topic of this Fall 2011 semester was..."Social media in the college classroom" which resulted in many emails and some amazing conversations about the changing place of social media in our every day instruction.

THANK YOU for sharing this semester with Communication and Higher Education blog and look for many new topics (and continued topics) throughout the winter break and as we embark on another new term in January.

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Saving the problematic assignment...

Around this time of year, we start to see the end of another long semester. We can pat ourselves on the backs and note with appreciation that our planning and organization led to another successful semester...or we may find that we hold our heads in our hands as we lament the assignment that did NOT work.

Every semester I try something new. I have to, I teach multiple sections of the same course year after year with a small smattering of new courses. I have to jazz up the course for myself and for my students. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This semester I had an assignment that was slightly modified from last semester when it was VERY successfully received and accomplished by my summer classes. This semester, the assignment bombed in half of my sections. It tanked, it stunk, it was the bane of my students' existences.

I am certain this has happened to every reflective professor at some point in his or her career. You try a new assignment or branch an old assignment into new territory (technology) only to find something did not work out. You suffer through a mountain of emails, student confusion, complaints, grumblings, and find you are working way too hard for their assignment. It is time to reflect...that assignment did NOT work.


1. Own it.  Generally, an assignment bombs because of US. Yes, we need to own our role in the flopped feature of the course. It isn't always student procrastination or student disinterest, sometimes it is a flawed assessment. We somehow did not plan effectively or appropriately. In many cases, we were vague about our expectations (leading to student questions/stress) or about the grading. An easy fix is to revisit the assignment description and see what might be clarified for the future. Don't discard that assignment yet! It is, most likely, able to be saved.

2. Ask your students to comment on the assignment. Ask them what worked, what didn't, what they would change. You don't have to take all of their advise, but you can retain the integrity of the assignment and modify to allow the assignment to be clearer or more understandable/approachable from the students' perspective. [In the case of my bombed assignment, changing it to a GROUP project was a huge reason it was problematic]

3. Revisit the INTENT of the assignment. Did you veer off course by putting it online? By adding an oral presentation element? By somehow enhancing the older, more functional version of the assignment? This activity also helps you clarify the goals/objectives of the assignment (which should be quite clear). Perhaps you have the RIGHT idea, but the WRONG forum. [Again, for this semester, I shifted the WAY the assignment would work by making it a group project without revising the intent/goals to reflect the group perspective. This led to confusion for the students and a lot of headaches for all of us. If I had modified my goals/objectives clearly, this issue could have been managed much better.]

4. Ask for feedback from other professors. Seek a read-through from others in your discipline. This way you can easily gain another perspective on what you were TRYING to say/do in the assignment description and explore the students results.

5. Be fair. If the assignment has gotten derailed in some way, then work with the students (modify a timeline, change from small groups to a class-based project, offer alternatives) to find a fair way to address the confusion or concern during the current semester. Again, you can maintain the rigor without penalizing the students for an unclear assignment or for reaching beyond the scope of the semester.

6. Consider outside influences. Yes, sometimes we constructed the assignment goals appropriately, the students worked diligently, and some other factor took the entire assignment off course. [Again, in my example, I forgot to address the fact that during the Summer we met every single day and group work was easily worked into each course session, students were easier to track down, and fewer students "drifted" away from the course. When I energetically took the assignment to this Fall term (and groups), I did not account for any of the issues of student attrition and group meeting time when I have the students 2 or 3 days a week (instead of 5 like the summer).]

7. Compile all of this new information and revisit the assignment. Start with the goals, work through the forum (online, in person, paper, project, video, etc.) and the contributors (individual, small groups, or class), and don't forget to re-examine everything for clarity.

Maybe, just maybe, you can re-make that problematic assignment into one that you and the students are excited about.

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Costs of tenure in higher education

Welcome to guest blogger. Elaine Hirsch! She joins us today to explore the costs of tenure in higher education. 

Attaining tenure as a professor usually takes seven years at most American universities. During these seven years, the individual reaches levels of increased responsibility and higher rank as specified objectives are met. These objectives include teaching, publication, receipt of grant funding and significant research contributions to the world of knowledge of that particular field of study. Commonly, these position titles begin with the level of instructor or lecturer, followed by assistant professor, associate professor and once tenure is reached, professor. At the end of the specified period of time, the individual seeking tenure is reviewed by a committee and tenure is either awarded or not. Pay during the seven years leading to the awarding of tenure is usually nominal and not much more than that of a high school teacher or community college teacher, who are not required to have doctoral degrees and not required to apply for and receive grant funding or publish research. If the individual is not awarded tenure, he is usually asked to resign from his position, explains the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

Additional Requirements for Tenure
Some educational institutions require additional activities beyond the usual research, publication and teaching demands for obtaining tenure. Tenured professors usually have at least a master's degree in their field of study. Medical schools such as the University of North Carolina School of Medicine med.unc.edu/surgery/facdev/faq/difference require tenure track professors at the medical school to complete community and state service such as volunteer medical work, as well as evaluation by patients, undergraduate and graduate students and assistants, colleagues and university administrators. The hours spent meeting these requirements can detract from time that could otherwise be spent earning income, but could lead to a higher income in later years if tenure is awarded.

Earnings
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average earnings per year was $108,749 for professors, $76,147 for associate professors, $63,827 for assistant professors, $45,977 for university instructors, and $52,436 for college lecturers. Based on this information, tenured professors earn more than twice as much in yearly salary than untenured professors just beginning on the tenure track. However, untenured and tenured professors can expect to earn more at privately run independent universities and less at public universities.

An interesting point brought up in The Atlantic was the risk involved with hiring a tenured professor. The article brings up the fact that hiring a professor on contract only holds the contract terms' liability, while hiring a professor on tenure holds unlimited downside, given the professor holds onto the position for their entire time as a teacher. Furthermore, hiring contracted professors provide universities with the option to downsize given a financial downturn (which is very relevant in today's educational landscape). With the higher risk involved with tenured professors, however, comes greater potential benefits. Providing tenure to a successful professor will allow the program to continue to reap the benefits of employing a valuable teacher without worrying about the professor leaving. Financially, the university will be able to reap dividends from a tenured professor if they continue to perform at a high level.

Tenure Track Employment
The proportion of tenured professors at a given university varies by field of study. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that universities are offering fewer tenured professorships as the need for flexibility of instructors increases and the university budgets decrease due to decreases in government funding. Untenured professors may have more flexibility in moving to different colleges and universities, while tenured professors are allotted more academic and professional freedom; most universities stipulate in the tenure contract that employment is thereby guaranteed for life with rare exceptions of abhorrent or scandalous behavior. Untenured professors may have difficulty maintaining employment at desirable high levels of pay, but may have less difficulty in obtaining lower ranked positions such as that of instructor or lecturer.

Meeting the requirements for tenure is not an easy or quick process. However, the professional rewards of tenure are many and include a generous salary and professional freedom not available outside of academia. Untenured professors, while earning lower salaries, have greater flexibility and work-life balance.

Elaine Hirsch is kind of a jack-of-all-interests, from education and history to medicine and video games. This makes it difficult to choose just one life path, so she is currently working as a writer for various education-related sites and writing about all these things instead.

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The last business card of the day...

You know you are having a good conference when you dig into the STACK of business cards only to find that you are down to your last card... There were so many interesting panels, ideas, products, and people, that you went through the stack without realizing it. That happens a lot at Communication conferences, but especially here at NCA (www.natcom.org). So far, I have heard amazing talks about first-generation college students, online student identities, new technologies, teaching ideas, conflict management, and mentoring. My brain is doing that blissfully full spin that tends to happen at these events...where new ideas, new people, and new applications merge together to make a Communication Nerd like myself VERY excited about the courses and future of the discipline. Today I got to introduce my undergraduates to their first National Conference, and again find myself excited as I talked to a few undergrads considering their futures as new opportunities opened right in front of them. I was proud to see how they handled themselves, how they spoke, and how they supported one another. It was enough to reinvigorate me for the rest of the semester! (and I certainly needed that after the last hectic weeks...) I love the way a conference can re-awaken passions and boost energy levels. I love the way they can make us re-think how we are teaching. But mostly I love the ability to connect (and re-connect) with others in my discipline. I can't wait to start the post-conference follow-ups with all of the reciprocated business cards gathered after interesting talks today, cards which are now tucked carefully in my bag and full of potential. There are some interesting collaborations, projects, technologies, and discussions on the horizon!

Great Ideas for Integrating Adobe Products in Higher Education Mini-Contest!

After exploring the new Creative Suite 5.5 from Adobe, it is impossible not to see the exciting ways we can integrate the CS options into our classrooms. In fact, today marks the beginning of a the "Great Ideas for Teaching with Adobe Products" Mini-Contest here at Communication and Higher Education blog as part of an exciting collaborative partnership with the blog, "A Millennial Professor's View of Higher Education" (http://www.millennialprofessor.com/). 
 

"Great Ideas for Integrating Adobe Products in Higher Education" 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!

Good luck everyone and HAPPY CREATING!

See the submission form below!

Don't forget, you can "like" Communication and Higher Education Blog on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CommHigherEdBlog

What does your signature say about you?

There's no in-depth handwriting analysis here, just a curious post about what your e-signature says about you. Many of us take a few moments with our email accounts to set up our "options" -- including a signature automatically added to every out-going email.

But have you wondered why you put certain information in your signature? In higher education, it is important to explore the ways we communicate (and how that communication might be interpreted).

I hadn't really considered this issue of e-signatures until I ran across a faculty member from across campus who I rarely see, but often email due to committee responsibilities. This person noted last week, "I am impressed at how available you are to faculty and students--you put it all right in your email." I didn't realize how much we might glean from an email signature.

Can you tell if a person is helpful,  available, pretentious, cooperative, flexible, technologically-up-to-date, willing to work, etc.? I'm not sure that you can get all of that from a simple e-signature, but these were terms that entered the conversation last week as we discussed what people choose to put as their signature. Laughingly, the person who noted my "availability" caught up another colleague in the conversation by saying, "You can Skype her or email or Tweeter her." After gently correcting the "Tweeter" term, I noted that I do prefer to give a lot of contact options--the same options are on my business card and syllabus. What is the use of these social channels and amazing technology if no one knows you are on them?

But there are many online opinions. In fact, most say the shorter the signature the better (name and phone number only) and others note a title, name, and phone number are important. And Wagner noted, "the longer your email signature, the lower down the food chain you are." Which, we might note by my example above, makes me an easy lunch. He also claimed the most important folks didn't seem to have a signature after reviewing his personal in-box. I'm hesitant to embrace a minimalist mentality when it comes to contacting me. I do have slightly different signatures for my different email accounts, which can be a good practice for those who want to avoid over-personalizing their workplace signature (with quotes and cute sayings or clip art).

Is there such thing as "too much contact information?" I really don't think so, though my signature may be a bit lengthy, it does allow people to reach me through a variety of options and has allowed me to connect with people via IM, Skype and Twitter that seemed faster and more appropriate than email. I met people at a conference over the summer (each living more than a thousand miles away from me) and we Skyped our way into a collaborative project.

There is a challenge to these multiple channels of accessibility: managing work-life balance. When you are available and always "on" for those around you at work, it can prove challenging to separate out the personal/home time and the "working" time. In fact, I often feel that I am always working, since I am always available and responding to inquiries from students, colleagues, etc.

There are a lot of resources about what "should" and "should not" go into your e-signature:
CBS "What should your email signature look like" 
"Food Chain" and signatures, by Mitch Wagner.
Signature blocks
"What to put in your signature"

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More effective meetings

Ever feel lost in a cycle of meetings? For most of us (both junior and more senior tenure-track faculty members) are running through a huge cycle of meetings. We may spend our days rushing from one committee to another, to a department or college meeting, then to a sub-committee meeting...not to mention classes and office hours! One of my biggest pet peeves (aside from when presenters read word-for-word from a PowerPoint presentation...I am, after all, a communication professor), is the pointless meeting.

You know them well. You see them often. In such meetings, people become flustered, get off topic, take out the frustration (of a pointless or directionless meeting) on one another, and feel the little time they have in the day slowly sucked away.

My years of studying communication (thank goodness for those awesome Organizational Communication classes!) creeps in and tells me that meetings don't have to be slow, laborious, or dreaded. In fact, we can have highly effective, highly productive meetings. It isn't too difficult-- why, then, are so many meetings seen as a waste of time or unnecessary by the attendees? Try a few of these easy ideas in your area to avoid eliciting a groan every time you call a meeting (some of these ideas also work well for class preparation!).

• Meet ONLY when you need to meet. If an item can be addressed without meeting, then take care of the item without meeting. This helps everyone avoid meeting "fatigue" and can perk up faculty members' or committee members' attitudes.
• Have a clear agenda (which is manageable in time and scope)...then stay on task. Plan carefully! If you have a hot topic item, don't plan 5 minutes with 50 people. Think how you would like to see that item addressed, budget the time, and plan accordingly. This shows respect for everyone involved, allows voices to be heard on various issues, and helps your meeting to stay on time (and avoid the groans as you try to cram in 5 agenda items as people are streaming toward the doors).
• For committees (especially) - have something prepared, due, or required for the meeting (make sure this is a significant contribution and not just busy work). Let the individual work happen outside of the meeting so that the collaborative time together can be maximized. 
• Don't forget to have "action" items. What exactly is the purpose/desired outcome of the meeting? Plan that in advance, assign action items, and leave feeling productive and accomplished. Going in with a plan and a vision will make a meeting MUCH more productive! Also, those in attendance can see the purpose of the meeting and are less likely to begrudge attending.  Assign action items, or note what you (the meeting leader) will do with material generated in the meeting, so everyone knows that the project/task is moving forward and how it is moving forward. This also helps everyone maintain deadlines.
• Set the next meeting date in advance (respect the schedules of others) or, at a minimum, set it before leaving the current meeting so everyone knows what to expect, when to complete tasks, and can clear their calendars to be present.
• Finish a meeting by exploring what worked well and what needs to be continually addressed. This type of reflection can easily help foster improved progress, new ideas, and increased productivity. Be open to feedback and ideas from everyone (if you are leading the meeting). 

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Changing face of university housing

After recently converting to a residential campus (from our previous commuter-campus status), I have been intrigued by the role the dorms can play in both campus activities and campus identity. I was glad to explore the article, "10 Innovative Housing Trends in Higher Education" and to explore some of the broader changes happening.

I can also note, somewhat reminiscently, after seeing our relatively new dorms (apartment-style living), that the world of campus housing has changed! I wonder what (if any) potential student would settle for the communal restrooms at the end of the hall, tiny bunk beds, and clunky, heavy furniture that we enjoyed as undergrads just a few short years ago?! Oh, and the always-creepy laundry room in the basement, let us not forget that. Today's students likely don't have to worry about such issues. The wifi, four room, full kitchen living environment of  offers a very different student experience than I had.

I can remember sitting with my back against one wall of the dorm and my roommate sitting the same way across from me and our feet touched easily in the middle of the floor. Very different from the list of amenities found on our campus housing site which notes,

• The beautifully designed units are fully furnished and offer amenities such as a computer lab, a fitness room, an activity center, on-site postal service, shuttle service, and telephones.  The units are affordable and include the cost of utilities such as telephone, cable and internet.  Financial aid is available for those students who qualify.
• Residents may select from a single bedroom, double bedroom, or four bedroom occupancy apartments. Each unit is equipped its own laundry room complete with a washer/dryer and a living room. Additionally every unit has:
• Standard college furniture  such as bed, dresser, desk, chair, and sofa
• Stove
• Refrigerator
• Dishwasher

It is worth exploring your campus housing, see what your students are working with and even see if there are meeting spaces or areas for club activities. You may not even realize just how much today's residence halls have changed!

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Data Monster

Image from ArkansasRealtors.com site

The Data Monster awoke hungry and angry. She rose out of the dark, damp Cave of Quantitative Remorse and blinked her bleary eyes. She was searching for something, if only her sleep-slowed brain could remember what it was...oh yes, breakfast! With her new goal firmly affixed in her mind, her eyes scoured the plush lands of Qualitative Research World. Where would she find something to eat at this hour? Ah, yes...in Year5--a tiny neighborhood in the TenureTrack division of Qualitative Research World. Why should she go to Year5? Because it had the easiest people to eat! They were slow, groggy, focused with a delightfully distracted air, and they sometimes wandered too close to the Cave of Quantitative Remorse. 


The Data Monster turned her massive head slowly, her eyes becoming rapidly clear as she spied one lone researcher wandering too near the Quantitative realm. Why on earth would this pathetic figure attempt to navigate Quantitative landscape? She obviously belonged in Qualitative Research World...her excursion into the Data Monster's turf was not her first, but her survival skills were lacking, her knowledge incomplete. Without a doubt, breakfast was served. Data Monster swooped in and, in one swift movement, clasped a talon-filled claw around the poor Year5, who would soon be out of her misery.

Yes, despite my training in qualitative analysis, I have several projects that have emerged with quantitative data. While I have no objection to quantitative analysis, I most frequently employ qualitative analysis and have found myself rather rusty and (gasp) unclear on the quantitative maneuvers now required of me. I feel that there is a giant road block in the way -- blocking the END of several projects. I can see the end, I even know (roughly) how to get there, I just forget how to move over the terrain. Isn't that sad? Projects stalled by my own lack of ability...and in year 5 of the tenure-track I have absolutely no time for projects to be stalled or delayed.

Situations like this (I expect and in a sick way rather hope) have happened to others. I don't want to be alone in this silly move to switch from one area of comfort and knowledge to a less known, less comfortable area. Resolving such situations can be tricky. Do I seek assistance, tutoring, lessons and read every book from my long-past classes in statistics class? (CHECK!) Do I ask someone on campus in a more quantitatively inclined field? (CHECK!) Do I sit and bemoan my situation as I feel my research progress grind to a halt? (CHECK!) These efforts to overcome my inept ability have put me on the time lines of others, left me waiting with hope and commitments only to later be turned down, disappointed, and another week or two delayed as first one person, then another, tells me they can and will help only to later change their minds. Their choices are understandable. We are all busy. It doesn't make it any easier. Navigating the quantitative (or qualitative) realm after working so long in the qualitative (or quantitative) one can challenge any researcher. It is exciting to learn new skills and explore data in a new way, but it is also difficult during the middle of a busy semester.

I have employed the options above and now feel stuck, again, waiting and hoping for some grain of knowledge to magically appear as I re-read my stats text from ten years ago -- perhaps that knowledge will come, dressed as a shiny, silver Knight brandishing a sword (suspiciously shaped like an obscure statistics symbol) ferociously bellowing his presence to save me from the clutches of the Data Monster--who is at this time holding me hostage in the Cave of Quantitative Remorse.

Of course, I know I can and will, save myself. The question is, can I do it in time?

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