Eagle iAdvantage

Online tutoring available for students

2013-01-30

For many students, finding a tutor that is affordable and fits their schedule is hard to find. That was until Faulkner University started providing access to 24/7 online tutoring via Smarthinking. Smarthinking is available to all students for FREE! They provide tutoring for a wide range of subjects, from basic to advanced. For a complete list of subjects, go to http://smarthinking.com/services-and-subjects/subjects/. The tutors are seasoned teaching professionals and 90% have an advanced degree in their subject area.
Megan McCann, an Elementary Education major, recently took advantage of the free tutoring service. She requested help with an essay to ensure that she completed all the requirements for the assignment. She also asked the tutor to check for grammatical errors. I spoke with Megan to get feedback on her experience and she was very impressed with the service. “I really love Smarthinking! The tutor gave me some ideas to change in my paper, but allowed me to express my opinions. I love it!,” she said.
Help is just a click away for individuals who need tutoring. You can visit the Eagle iAdvantage Smarthinking website at http://www.faulkner.edu/iAdvantage/smarthinking/ to obtain information on how to get started with your session. For additional questions, please contact our eLearning Coordinator, Candance Barnes at cbarnes@faulkner.edu.

Buying Textbooks... Students now have options!

2012-07-25

Students, you now have options as to where you can purchase your textbooks and the type of books to purchase. To get started identifying your textbooks, visit the University Bookstore's website to locate the textbook and ISBN number.
You may choose to purchase your textbooks through the University Bookstore's website or its physical location in the J. L. Perry Cafeteria building. While the bookstore offers a variety of textbook options, including e-texts via CafeScribe and Inkling, some e-texts may not be available through Follett. In this case, be sure to check one of the many e-text platforms listed below.

CourseSmart who has partnered with Pearson, Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Education, Macmillian Higher Education, and John Wiley & Son.
Cengage Brain is a division of Cengage Learning, and now through September 30, 2012, students can save an extra $10 off their purchase of $80 or more. Just use the promo code FALL2012 during checkout in order to take advantage of this great offer.
Apple's iBook which can be accessed through the Apps store on your iPad.
Textbookpricecomparison.com a site that will search dozens of textbook merchants in order to help you find your textbook at the best prices. The best option for all students is to visit multiple sites and shop for the best option.
Google Books
Amazon.com
Half.com

Please note, if you elect to use an e-text, your access to that text may be limited to a period of 180 days on average. However, there are some companies like CourseSmart that offer some e-texts for a 360-day rental period. In the case that a student is required to use a particular textbook for a series of courses, some companies may extend the rental period. One of those companies is Cengage. Cengage has confirmed that the rental period for any CengageBrain e-texts can be extended up to four years.
Why choose an e-text?

Guaranteed to save money: In fact, in most cases, the price of an e-text is 50 percent less than what you would pay for a paper copy.
Enhanced study features: Most e-texts have some great features that make studying and retaining the material much easier. These features include the ability to highlight or underline the text, take notes, and to quickly search through the content to find important information.
Interactive elements: A lot of e-texts have a variety of interactive elements embedded into the text that engages the readers and enhances the learning process. These elements include things like animations, videos, and quizzes just to name a few.

If you need assistance in extending your rental period, please let us know!

Back Channels in the Classroom

2012-07-09

Worried about students being distracted by text messages and Twitter tweets in class? No problem! Instead of discouraging it, why not jump in to the distraction with back channels? Back channels allow online conversations to take place alongside live presentations, and now with the iPad students can easily access them.

There are many benefits to using a back channel in your classroom. One of those benefits includes the opportunity for all students to become actively engaged in the lesson. Now with back channels, every student can bean active participant, even those quiet, shy, students who avoid drawing attention to themselves and who are afraid to ask questions or voice their opinions. With back channels, they too can now have a voice. Back channels also can also be used to help provide clarity to students’ misconceptions of the topic at hand. As students ask questions during the presentation, they are able to get immediate feedback from either the presenter and/or their peers. Finally, by integrating back channels into the learning environment,educators can quickly assess the level of understanding and confusion of their students based on the post that are made.

Now that you are aware of some of the advantages of utilizing a back channel to actively engage your students, you may be wondering how a back channel could work in your class. Below are a couple of examples to help get you started!

When showing video clips in class, instead of pausing to engage students in a discussion, use a back channel to guide the discussion during the video.
Setup a back channel during your lecture to allow students to pose questions. At appropriate moments, take a short break from your lecture so that you can have a look at the back channel and provide answers to any unanswered student questions.
Use a back channel to poll your students in order to check their comprehension of the subject matter.

When creating back channels, here are a few sites that would be useful.

Dr. Hilliard's Plans for using the iPads in his Biblical Studies Courses

2012-06-25

Donnie Hilliard has some big plans for incorporating the iPad into his Biblical Studies courses this fall. In his Marriage and Family Relation courses, the Bible is one of their main textbooks. Therefore, he plans on having students use the YouVersion Bible app. With this app, students will be able to highlight passages, create labeled bookmarks, and take notes all in one location.
Additionally, Dr. Hilliard plans on incorporating the use of the iPads into his existing collaborative group activities. Whether students are performing a parenting skit, conducting surveys on parenting skills, or interviewing individuals on how to handle the challenges of being married, the iPads camera feature can be used to capture it all. No longer do student have to find individuals who are able to leave their busy schedules to come in to participate in panel discussion, instead they can interview those individuals with their iPad camera, and later present those interview to the rest of the class using the AirPlay mirroring feature.

Legal Students Will Benefit from Alabama State Bar's Newest Web-based Mobile App

2012-03-02

According to the Alabama State Bar in announcement released on February 15, 2012, with its new free resource, regardless of the type of mobile device, users can now locate general contact information about all members admitted to practice, search for elected legislative officials, locate members of the judiciary and review pertinent formal ethics opinions. The opinions themselves contain specific references to sections of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
According to the Alabama State Bar, the app is custom-made and perfectly designed for small devices and tablets, easy to read, easy to tap and loads quickly! Students can get started using the mobile app right away simply by pointing their web browser to: http://www.alabar.org/mobile. It is easy to bookmark or save on the home screen of any mobile device (works great with the iPad).
Each Legal Studies course at Faulkner University's ABA-approved paralegal program contains an ethics component. With the Alabama State Bar's new mobile app, legal students can easily search ethics opinions on their mobile device in class, or on the go. This is a great addition to the mobile learning environment!