Online Smart School

Cliff Lampe of Michigan State University will deliver the next Faculty Guest Lecture at the School of Information on “Social Media and the Public Sector: Inherent Barriers to Adoption” when he visits Tuesday, March 15. Lampe’s talk will be at noon in the Ehrlicher Room, 3100 North Quad. All are invited.

Lampe is an assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at MSU. He earned his doctorate at the School of Information, and he also holds degrees from MSU and Kalamazoo College.

In describing his talk, Lampe says:

“Organizations that serve the public, including local units of government and nonprofit organizations, see potential in using social media to serve their residents. Seeking feedback on policies, organizing community events, and micro-broadcasting relevant news are just a few of the activities that these organizations feel social media can facilitate. While the external efficacy of these groups is high, and they believe these tools can improve their service, the internal efficacy is often low as the organizations struggle with how to use the tools.

“In addition, the complexity of of multiple constituents, changing policies, and embedded organizational structures of the public sector can hinder the use of social media to meet these collective action goals. This presentation will review several social media projects involving public sector outreach. We’ll focus in on one project, a crowd-sourcing application for a state-wide organization, with analysis of how inherent barriers affected the use and adoption of the application. Using content analysis, interviews, and surveys in a context of action research, we’ll examine a case where social media was not successfully used, and what contributed to that outcome.”

One of the much-awaited moments of the students of colleges and universities are the breaks and vacations they have every school year. It is the perfect time for them to unwind and get a good rest from academic pressures. One thing that college students like to do is to have a great vacation getaway together will college friends. Although the budget of college students for a good vacation spot is only limited, there are still fun and inexpensive vacation ideas that college students will surely enjoy.

One tip for college students who would like to have a cheap vacation spot is to avoid tourist spots that will experience overcrowding and swamping with other tourists during the time of your vacation because it will sure increase the prices for hotels and accommodations.

Consider going to Mexico

Mexico is one of the best and inexpensive vacation spots for college students. Many places and areas in Mexico offer rest, relaxation, nature tripping, and ocean adventures in the whole country of Mexico. You just need to pick what area you would want to come and what activities you would like to do during your vacation. Food and nightlife is also a fantastic experience in Mexico. From sea to mountains, and from rural to urban life, Mexico will not fail you when it comes to a vacation escapade that you want.

Why not North Carolina?

Are you looking for a quiet and tranquil place where you can enjoy the wonders of Mother Nature and be free from the busy and noisy life from college? Then, one cheap place you can go to is Boone, North Carolina. Cheap but great quality hotel and inn accommodations are available in this vacation spot so your limited college budget will not go to waste if ever you decided to explore mountains, nature museum orchards, the historical Tweetsie train and many more.

If youre over 21 Vegas is a good option

Las Vegas is also a good vacation place for college students. Aside from the casinos, Las Vegas offer more to its people and tourists because of the performing arts theater, hotels, nightlife, gourmet restaurants, night clubs, shopping malls and other places that you can visit. You do not need to be in an expensive or luxurious vacation spot if you really want to enjoy your break. The only thing you need is to be with a good and fun company of friends or relatives, and for sure, the things you will experience are moments full of fun, laughter and genuine happiness.

Twenty semifinalists have been chosen out of 172 entries into the semifinals of the 2011 Student Venture Challenge, sponsored by the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fresno.

These collegiate entrepreneurs will vie to advance to the finals by participating in three workshops and giving a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation about their business idea on April 1.

The competition was open to students from Fresno State and 11 community colleges in the San Joaquin Valley. Of the 20 semifinalists, 16 are Fresno State students, two from Fresno City College and two from College of the Sequoias in Visalia.

After the presentations April 1, five finalists will be chosen to participate in four workshops, write a five-page business summary, and deliver a 15-minute presentation April 30. The winner will earn $5,000 and the runner-up will earn $2,500.

Semifinalists also are competing for a People’s Choice Award, as the student whose business idea video receives the most “likes” on YouTube.

Voting for this award runs March 4 through noon April 29, and the winner will be announced April 30.

“The ‘People’s Choice Award is a significant aspect of the competition,” said Dr. Timothy M. Stearns, executive director of the Lyles Center. “More community involvement will allow us to better understand the public’s perception of the students’ business ideas and how each idea may – or may not –  hold up if it launches.”

“To ‘like’ videos, you must be logged in to your YouTube account or use your Gmail account information to log in,” said Stearns.

For a list of semifinalists and other information, visit . The challenge also is on Twitter @LylesCenterSVC or Facebook @ Lyles Center Student Venture Challenge.

The competition is sponsored by Spencer Enterprises, Alibaba.com and Bank of the Sierra.

For those of you following the public union fights in the Midwest, I recommend Steven Greenhouse’s story in today’s New York Times.  According to Governor Mitch Daniels and other Hoosier state government managers Greenhouse spoke to, Daniels’ 2005 executive order eliminating collective bargaining by state employees has saved millions of dollars while streamlining services.  Not everyone is happy, of course, but when you hear that because of union rules in Wisconsin a county executive can’t close a juvenile detention center that houses just one child, the logic of public sector collective bargaining seems hard to support.  And it is a logical impasse that has so many teacher union representatives tongue-tied.  Here’s Mary Bell, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, which represents 98,000 public school employees in the Badger state, worrying to Greenhouse about the abolition of collective bargaining:  “Layoffs may not be based on merit or effectiveness, but on anything management wants it to be.” 

Uh?  This would seem to presume that the union is for merit and effectiveness layoffs.  I guess she has forgotten about the Last In First Out union rule.

 Peter Meyer, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow

Three central San Joaquin Valley educators and a Fresno couple who are California State University, Fresno alumni will be honored for their contributions to education by the Kremen School of Education and Human Development Alumni chapter at a dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 3.

The honorees are:

Misty Her

Misty Her, the principal at Southeast Elementary School in the Fresno Unified School District is the recipient of the Noted Alumni Award. Born in a remote POW camp in the mountains of Laos, Her overcame many challenges life to become an elementary teacher in Fresno Unified and then a principal at Burroughs Elementary School before her current assignment. Her has been recognized by the Hmong community as a “role model” for children and young women.

Dr. Berta González

Dr. Berta González, associate vice-president of Fresno State’s Division of Continuing & Global Education, is the Professional Alumni Service Award winner. Under her leadership, partnerships have been established abroad, and her division promotes student and faculty study and exchanges. González also manages development of special courses, conferences and professional training and has 41 years of experience at various public schools, colleges and international settings.

Elaine Sotiropulos

Elaine Sotiropulos, the AVID regional consultant/coordinator for the Fresno County Office of Education, and her husband Kopi Sotiropulos, co-anchor of “Great Day” on KMPH, Fox-26, share the Friend of Education Alumni Award. Elaine Sotiropulos serves 120 schools in a six-county reason through the Fresno-based AVID Program (Advancementvia Individual Determination). Kopi Sotiropulos worked in television and

Kopi Sotiropulos

movies in Hollywood before returning to Fresno, where he joined KMPH as a weathercaster who has made hundreds of excursions to schools and other venues throughout the region.

Jim Vidak

Jim Vidak, the Tulare County superintendent of schools, is the 2011 recipient of the Kremen Noted Alumni Special Recognition Award. He has been an educator for 45 years after serving at all levels of public education. Vidak, who is in his sixth term as superintendent, is active in civic, community and statewide organizations including a term as president of the California County Superintendent Educational Services Association. He has received the Top Dog Alumni Award in Education from Fresno State, the Association of California School Administrators Superintendent of the Year Award and installed in Hispanic Roundtable of Hall of Fame.

“We selected five outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of education,” said Susan Schlievert, president of the Kremen Alumni chapter. “Each honoree clearly deserves recognition for enhancing the quality of education in our Valley.”

The banquet honoring this year’s awardees is scheduled in the East Room of the Residence Dining Facility at Fresno State. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $40 and are available in Kremen Building, room 205 (associate dean’s office). For more information and to make reservations, call 559.278.0249.

Youre going to soon find out that college dorm rooms arent the biggest rooms in the world.  Since youre going to have to cram so much into a little space with another roommate, its essential that you look into items that are created for smaller rooms, such as a dorm.

Since theres a good chance that youre going to be writing, as well as using your laptop / computer at night, youre going to find that youre going to need light.  Since you probably wont want to turn the whole light in the room on at 1 in the morning, youre going to want to consider some of the these smaller lamps listed below that are designed for desks.

Sunlight Lamp ($40) - This 150 watt based lap consumes very little energy, is very stylish, and will look great on just about any desk out there.  You will also find that it comes equipped with a 2 years manufacturers warranty.

Glob 5210801 ($15) If youre looking for a lamp that is a little under $20, this lamp created by Globe Electric is 14 inches in height, is energy star efficient, and only requires a 13W max lit bulb.

Normande Lighting LED Desk Lamp ($40) - This LED based lamp has a great looking, unique design, and barely takes up space on a desk.  Made of brushed steel finish, as well as comes equipped with a toggle switch.

Grandrich ES-201 ($50) - This desk lamp created by Grandrich is highly rated online, and is great for just about any table / desk.  It uses a fluorescent lamp, its 26 inches tall, and you can twist and turn the lamp as it has an adjustable gooseneck.

Halotech II Halogen Lamp ($75) - If you have a higher budget, you will find that this Halotech based lamp may be the one that you will want to consider.  This lamp uses one energy efficient 35 watt bulb, has an adjustable neck, as well as a sturdy, metal construction finish.

While there are a lot of lamps on the market, these are some that I have found online that have high reviews.  As you can see, you can get one for a little less than $40.  Consider a few of these, as they will fit great in any dorm room.