Author Archives: Julie Dodd
NBC’s two-hour Teacher Town Hall showed complexity of trying to improve education
* Home issues that hinder student learning. * Low teacher salaries. * Lack of support for teachers by school administrators. * Tenure. * Standardized testing. * School uniforms. * Technology to promote learning. * Technology gap. * Collaboration between schools and the community. All of those topics plus Melinda Gates’ perspective from the Bill & […]
Learning how to blog can help students with media-related internships
The value of setting up and maintaining a blog was repeated by many of those who wrote comments to my post on “8 tips to help recent college graduates (and others, too) find a job.” The value of blogging for college students planning a career in the media made me decide to make blogging one […]
8 tips to help recent college graduates (and others, too) find a job
As we celebrate Labor Day, I feel fortunate to be one of those employed in a full-time job with health benefits and a retirement plan — something that many Americans don’t have. I’m especially thinking of recent college graduates who had the aspirations that most graduates have of joining the work force in their chosen […]
4 tips for writing cover letters for job applications
For this week’s assignment, each student is identifying a media-related opportunity and writing a cover letter and resume to apply for that position. Even though most of the 278 students in the course have written a cover letter before, most have never written a cover letter to apply for a position. Here are four tips […]
Tips for a positive start to your school year as a teaching assistant or new faculty member
More than 350 graduate students will be new teaching assistants at the University of Florida. A ballroom full of them. I enjoy being one of the faculty members to be part of their three-day orientation, sponsored by the UF Graduate School and the Teaching Center. Dr. Ken Gerhardt and Dr. Winifred Cooke do a good job […]
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi promotes corporate responsibility at BlogHer 2011
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi talked about corporate responsibility, fighting the obesity problem, and her own background during an interview during the BlogHer 2011 luncheon. She drew applause in saying that companies should work with governments and concerned individuals in solving big problems, from the financial crisis to the obesity problem. In a question from an […]
BlogHer 2011 provides surprise opportunity to see former students
I was standing in the long registration line at BlogHer 2011 in San Diego. Finally, my name was called to pick up my name tag. A gal standing nearby turned around. It was Brooke Aronoff, a former student of mine at UF. “I heard your name and just had to see if that was the […]
How stories in the news can help you in your teaching
What do Anthony Weiner, Rupurt Murdoch and Daniel Radcliffe have in common? All provide helpful examples for use in media classes. The recent stories about these three can be excellent for promoting discussion in class and connecting current events with media issues that your course includes. I’m going to talk about those stories, but stories […]
Seven tips for writing letters to the editor that can help you get a job
This is a tough job market. Quite a few of my former students who graduated in May are pursuing leads to finding a job in the media (but other options are being considered, too). They are updating their resumes, preparing their portfolios in print and digital forms, checking job postings (from classified ads to job […]
Julie Dodd 