Eve of Ignition Spring Edition: New website, Capital Green to perform & winner to take home $500!

Eve of Ignition has a new online home, spotlightcampus.org. On the site, you can find the easy online submission form. Our first batch of 8 finalists have been announced & are available at the website.

However, because of the awesome amount of interest in submissions that came out of the excitement of the weekend, Spotlight Campus has decided to extend the deadline to include 2 more finalists. So, if your idea is still lingering out there, we are giving you until Sunday night at 5 to submit. So do it…now.

Also, Capital Green, MSU’s A Capella Group, will be giving us an awesome musical performance at intermission.
Finally, as an added bonus, MSUFCU has sponsored to sweeten the deal. They have provided $500 for the winning idea! Thanks MSUFCU!

When: THIS Wednesday, March 3rd
Where: The Hatch, located next to the Technology Innovation Center above Barnes and Noble.

(map)

Doors open at 6:30. See you all there!

Here is the new, shorter, teaser video for the event: (note that url in video is wrong..its spotlightcampus.org)

Connect with them:

Building a Professional LinkedIn

Eve of Ignition Spring Edition: Greenovation

Eve of Ignition was such a hit last September that we’ve decided to bring it back in full force this semester!

Eve of Ignition is an idea contest. Like its parent event, IgniteLansing, Eve of Ignition is a unique competition, in which contestants offer their bright ideas that they believe can add value to the community. Unlike Ignite, Eve of Ignition is just for us students! It started right here in East Lansing at MSU, with local MSU entrepreneur & student Adam Root taking the crown for his business idea, Spartanicity.

Students + Initiative+ Innovation + Sustainability = Greenovation

The theme is ”Greenovation,” so they’re looking for ideas that are
- entrepreneurial
- innovative
- green friendly
- value creating

A website will be up soon, but you can get a head start…here is the easy, online submission form

Connect with Eve of Ignition:

More information will be coming out in the coming week(s), but here is what is known:

Date: March 3rd
Time: 6:30 – 8:30
Location: East Lansing Technology Innovation Center; home of “the Hatch” – new student business incubator (map)

They would love to come to one of your group’s meetings to tell them about this awesome opportunity! Please let Dan know if you’d be interested in hearing from a Spotlight Campus representative (the facilitators of the event). Contact Dan via: Email: danredford10@gmail.com or on twitter @gaoman10

Our Favorite Super Bowl Ads – Happy Job Searching!

Our favorite Ads from Super Bowl Sunday? They’d have to be…

CareerBuilder.com – Casual Friday

Monster.com Fiddling Beaver

Why? Because it doesn’t matter where you search for a job. It’s just that you do.

MySpartanCareer – LinkedIn – TwitterJobSearch – Monster – Career Builder

Happy Job Searching!

Great Google Tools & Resources for Teachers!

I think anyone that knows me knows how I have two loves: Google (& other innovative companies) and technology.

Google because they are constantly producing more & more amazing quality resources for everything & everyone. From the Public Sector to Businesses to Teachers.

Technology because it can enhance life & learning in countless ways. While surfing the web, I came across Google for Educators & was astonished at the resources they put together for educators to use in their classrooms. Teachers K-12 & higher ed, this is a great set of resources to utilize:

Google for Educators

In order to support teachers in their efforts to empower students & expand human knowledge, they’ve put together information & tools for educators.

Tools for your classroom

This is a guide on how to use Google tools in your classroom to search, communicate, show & share. This highlights their common products like Web Blogger, Book Search or Geo Education – but also includes 3 new products: Google News, Google Page Creator & Google Groups. Note, if you get to these products through “Google for Educators” it will take you to pages that link to how educators specifically can use these resources in their classroom.

Classroom Activities

This section provides resources on how to use Docs & Spreadsheets with your students from search games to presentations. They have grade levels separated from K – 5th grade, 6 – 12th grade & All grade levels. What kind of resources are we talking about? Posters, handouts, lessons, sample lesson plans. Yeah, all for free.

Using Google Docs: Docs for teachers

Ideas and how-tos for using Google Docs in your classroom & sites for your classes, school projects or school admin. If you think it’s going to too complex/time consuming for you to do – think again. Google is very good about very easy to follow instructions from creating to customizing & everything in between. For those not sure where to start, they have teacher-submitted docs for you to see how other teachers are using Google Docs in their classrooms.

Become a Google Certified Teacher
The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help K-12 educators get the most from innovative technologies. Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google’s free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local region.

Teacher Community

Google also hosts a Google for Educators Discussion Group for them to give you updates regarding Google’s K-12 Education initiatives and their hope is for teachers to use this space to start discussions with fellow teachers – to share ideas about innovation in education & ask questions, find resources, etc.

So, what do you think?

Teachers – are these resources something you’d like to use in your classroom? Spartans – do you think stuff like this would have been helpful when we were going through K-12?

CASH TIPS: Tips for blogging

New Career Workshops being offered!

Confused about choosing a career? Unsure about selecting a major or minor? Need to learn about more career options? Need more information about different careers? Confused about what services your university
has to offer? Want to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses? Need help adjusting or transitioning to the world of work? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then career workshops may be right for you.

The Michigan State University Counseling Center and the Career Services Network are pleased to be collaborating this semester to offer career workshops to MSU students.

Workshops will provide group test interpretations and guide students through the process of identifying values, interests, myths, barriers, and areas of best fit for career. Students will be provided with resources to complete career research, develop a career plan, and get help to commit to a career choice. You must be present for the first three workshops to complete the career exploration and development process. Attendance for final workshop on 2/17 is optional.

Workshops will be held weekly on Wednesdays from 3:30-5:00PM on 1/27, 2/03, 2/10, and 2/17 in Room 6 (in the basement), Student Services Building. Preregistration is required. If you are interested, email nancyh@cc.msu.edu or call 517-355-8270 & ask to speak with Nancy about career workshops.

HOW-TO: Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

View more videos from Brett Kopf

Advice from Nelly Himself for Students looking to the Music Industry

Attention job seekers looking to the music industry, we’d like to point out some helpful advice from none other than Nelly himself given via Twitter thanks to Dr. Ward!

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In conclusion: key skills students need with Social Media, branding & music business: be confident, listen, & do not fear failing

And a serious thank you to Nelly & Dr4Ward!

Nelly – we love it when stars can reach out to their fans to offer help, thank you for your advice!

Dr4Ward thank you for reaching out to get this advice for all of us – you’re constantly posting awesome information & I know us Michigan State students really appreciate it!

What’s Your Idea?

Wouldn’t it be cool if…? We’ve all thought of cool ideas at some point, and usually nothing happens with them besides us telling our friends about them. Well, this is your chance to make those ideas come to life. Introducing the Next Bright Idea

Simply put, “Next Bright Idea” is an idea competition. We want to foster and reward smart and innovative thinking and ideas to make the world a better place. Traditional business model ideas, non-traditional inspirations, ideas that can help the community, or a non-profit or civic organization. All ideas are strongly encouraged!

Next Bright Idea finalists will be chosen through an online voting process at www.NextBrightIdea.com, and required to present their ideas in-person before a panel of judges on February 18, 2010. The Next Bright Idea winner will win $5,000 and other prizes to further develop their idea, and a slew of other resources to get their idea started!

Twitter | YouTube

HOW TO Study Effectively During Finals

Effective Studying

Find a good study area

Having a good study area can make a huge difference to how well you learn. Your study area should be: well lit, quiet, as away from noises & people as you can get. Depending on where you live & who you live with it might be better to study at the library. If you know you get distracted around a lot of people, reserve a room at one of the libraries. Finally, make sure your desk/table is clean & organized – it will help you concentrate on studying & learning, not trying to find information.

To do lists

Make a to do list before each study session. Breaking tasks down into small, manageable tasks will make it less overwhelming. And we all love the feeling of crossing off things we’ve completed, it will keep your motivation up. You can manage your tasks rememberthemilk.com & sync it with gmail, iPhone, droid, etc.

Find out about the exam

Find out what format the exam will take i.e. Are the questions in essay, short answer or multiple choice format? Is the exam open book or closed book? All professors go over this, but if you missed that class e-mail an acquaintance & ask. (But please, don’t email the entire class through the Angel system, it’s extremely annoying & a sidenote…profs can read message sent to the class through Angel. Think a little.)

Study groups

Forming a studying group can be a helpful way to revise your notes and work through past exam questions (it can also help you feel supported, keep you motivated and focused). If you have questions about your work, a study group may be a good place to have them answered. Ask your teacher if they know of anyone else interested in studying with other people. Again, you can reserve a room for your study group.

Switch the phone (& fbook notifications) off!

If you find that you are being distracted by your phone going off, it might help to put put it on silent (not vibrate)  or just turn it off. Vmail was invented for a reason. & turning off your facebook notifications for a few days (or if you’re on gmail filter them to a skip the inbox & archive so you can go back & look at once finals are over). Everyone knows it’s finals time, your friends will understand. – this is super hard, especially for those of us addicted to our Crackberry (including me) or iPhone, but it will truly help.

Wallpaper your pad

Write down key concepts you have to learn on post-its maybe with examples. Post these up all around your apt/dorm/house. Eg – by your bed, on the bathroom mirror, along the side of your tv, on your Wii…wherever! It helps with remembering things like equations, quotes and foreign languages.

Take regular breaks

Getting up, moving around & away from your desk at least every 50 minutes for 10 minutes makes you concentrate and learn better. If you use gmail, there’s a lab for that: E-mail Addict.

MOST IMPORTANTLY…GET SOME SLEEP

No, seriously. U.S. researchers have directly linked higher grades with getting adequate sleep. (study) You will do better on your exams if you adequate sleep the night before. Lack of sleep impairs motor skills, causes higher stress levels, depression, anxiety.

I learned this from an article in Ing Magazine: Sleepless in East Lansing. “If you are stumbling around when tired, your body is in the same state of mind as if you had had one to many drinks. Conclusion from the article: using an all-nighter to remedy educationally unproductive periods, such as parties, Facebook, or “study group” meetings at the bar, greatly hinders your body’s performance the next day.” So Spartans, get some sleep.

Adapted from: Exam time: Hints for effective studying

How To: Market Yourself on Twitter