Marty and Eric talk about ways in which you can plan, organize, execute your digital academic brand.

Helpful Tools for Academic Websites & E-Portfolios

Website Builders:

- WordPress – https://wordpress.com

- Squarespace – https://www.squarespace.com

- Wix – https://www.wix.com

Academic-Focused Platforms:

- Google Sites – https://sites.google.com

- Notion – https://www.notion.so

- Weebly for Education – https://education.weebly.com

- About.me – https://about.me

Practical Approaches

- Start with a one-page website.

- Use templates for teaching, research, service, and media.

- Embed Google Scholar, ORCID, or Zotero widgets.

- Sync updated CV PDFs to your site.

- Include professional photos and a consistent color palette.

Practical Takeaways

- Your website is the public front door to your professional life.

- A personal site maintains control of your academic narrative.

- Use the site as a centralized hub for your work.

- E-portfolios help others understand the breadth of your work.

- Search committees expect digital presence.

Email: ThePodTalkNetwork@gmail.com

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechSavvyProfessor

Eric and Marty diving into classroom polling and quiz apps—like Poll Everywhere, Mentimeter, and others—that allow professors to gather instant student feedback. Live polls inject interactivity into lectures and have been shown to improve attention, participation, and retention.

Quick Tips for Success:

· Integrate polls directly into PowerPoint or Keynote (Poll Everywhere plug-in).

· Use open-ended questions sparingly; they work best for brainstorming.

· Try a pre-lecture quiz to gauge understanding and a post-quiz to reinforce learning.

· Encourage students to create their own polls for peer learning.

Practical Approaches

· Keep polls short — 1–3 quick questions maintain energy.

· Use polls as transitions between lecture segments.

· Visualize results instantly to spark discussion.

· Rotate between tools to match class size and goals.

· Record responses and trends to inform future lessons.

Popular Platforms for Faculty:

- Poll Everywhere – https://www.polleverywhere.com

- Mentimeter – https://www.mentimeter.com

- Kahoot! – https://kahoot.com/

- Slido – https://www.slido.com/

- Socrative – https://www.socrative.com/

- Quizizz – https://quizizz.com/

- Nearpod – https://nearpod.com/

-Booket - Booket.com

- Quizlet - Quizlet.com

Email: ThePodTalkNetwork@gmail.com

Website: https://ThePodTalk.net

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechSavvyProfessor

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Marty and Eric look at tools that organize, polish, and publish your academic work — balancing power, simplicity, and ethical use.

All-in-One Writing and Organization

Scrivener – Powerful long-form writing, corkboard planning, manuscript export.
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener

Manuscripts App – Simplified alternative to Scrivener with structure tools.
https://www.manuscriptsapp.com/

Ulysses – Distraction-free Markdown writing for blogs & articles.
https://ulysses.app/

yWriter – Free project-based writing tool good for dissertations or long reports.
https://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html

Academic and Collaboration Platforms

Overleaf – Collaborative LaTeX editor with journal templates & real-time co-authoring.
https://www.overleaf.com/

Authorea – Hybrid LaTeX/WYSIWYG tool for scientific papers and preprints.
https://www.authorea.com/

Google Docs – Ubiquitous collaborative writing & version history.
https://docs.google.com/

AI-Assisted and Grammar Enhancers

Grammarly – Context-aware grammar & tone checking.
https://www.grammarly.com/

ProWritingAid – Deep style and structure feedback, integrates with Word & Scrivener.
https://prowritingaid.com/

LanguageTool – Open-source multilingual grammar checker.
https://languagetool.org/

Writefull for Overleaf – AI-based academic English feedback built into Overleaf.
https://www.overleaf.com/learn/how-to/Writefull_integration

Ginger Software – Real-time grammar & sentence rephraser.
https://www.gingersoftware.com/

Citation & Reference Managers

Zotero – Free open-source reference manager & PDF organizer.
https://www.zotero.org /

Mendeley Reference Manager – Integrated PDF annotations & bibliographies.
https://www.mendeley.com/

EndNote 20 – Professional citation tool with journal style templates.
https://endnote.com/

Moderate and Accessible Alternatives

FocusWriter – Minimalist writing interface to reduce distraction.
https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/

Typora – Seamless Markdown editor for structured notes & drafts.
https://typora.io/

Notion – Modular workspace for research organization and writing.
https://www.notion.so/

Email: ThePoTalkNetwork@gmail.com

Website: https://ThePodTalk.net

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechSavvyProfessor