Students Showing Amazing Initiative

TEDx Youth Ottawa - February 2010 (Ashbury College)

Two weeks ago I attended TEDx Ottawa Youth along with my 14 year old daughter and two of her friends.  The event was run by youth for youth and I was one of the few over the age of 25 in the crowd. All of the presenters were under 25, many of which are in college and university. The conference was ”A summit for young opinion leaders, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs to foster learning and inspiration, while provoking conversations that matter and creating a forum for “Ideas Worth Spreading”.

This was one of the first ever TEDx Youth conferences in the world.  The original TED conferences are now hosted by the organizers in locations around the world and TEDx is an extension whereby local visionaries can host conferences following the TED guidelines in their own communities.  I’m proud to say that Ottawa has hosted both a Youth conference and a TEDx in December of 2009.

The organizers of the TEDx Youth,Yusuf Malik, Adam Moscoe and David Millen (ok he’s a little over 25), did an amazing job.  The speakers where strong, poignant, professional and entertaining.  They touched on a huge variety of topics and a selection of entertainers dotted the agenda to keep the event engaging for the audience. Presentations ran from 8:30 to 1:00pm.

What impressed me most was the INITIATIVE that was exuding from this experience.  These students all volunteered their time to conceive of, organize and participate in this event.  This type of initiative not only is impressive as a whole but also serves as an amazing experience for the individuals that were involved.  These youth are different. They are putting together big ideas, inspiring others and making things happen that they care about.  By attending the event the over 200 students are also revealing their interest in learning and being involved in something beyond ordinary. The audience was respectful, attentive and very ’switched on’.

I’m sharing this here on our blog because I believe an event like this is an amazing experience For these these students. They are in fact developing their personal brands. Their participation in this event on all levels makes them stand out and shows to others that they have interests and initiative that others don’t.  I applaud their initiative and know that many of them were affected by the experience. Thanks to Yusuf, Adam, and David and the dozens of volunteer participates that helped pull this event together!  Looking forward to the next!

A WhyHire.me Profile Starts with a Pitch

Graduating Algonquin PR Students Using WhyHire.me

The first three classes of the WhyHire.me program focus on developing a positioning pitch which will set the tone and theme for a student’s WhyHire.me profile.  A few pitches from the Algonquin Public Relations class follow.

Ashlie Cormack: A willingness to embrace change and commitment to her values are what set Ashlie apart. She strives to be passionate not only for her work, but for the people she works with. Her skill comes from leadership roles in academic and athletic environments. Her ideal job isn’t restricted to the “9-5” but is integrated into every aspect of her life.

Mae McCrae: Mae McCrae is a compelling speaker with a passion for positively influencing lives. A former youth leader, she now manages a young marrieds group, drama, and music department for her church. Mae has a flare for giving a project a unique and recognizable stamp. Her way with words and great listening skills will be valuable to any organization.

Jessa Millar: Jessa is very passionate about the success of causes she works on. She has a lifelong history of involvement in her community. Delivering a constant out-pour of creative ideas, she makes connections and mobilizes action. Jessa’s problem-solving skills, personable nature and contagious enthusiasm make her a valued part of initiatives she engages in.

Once these students have created their pitches, they then work to develop their profiles using text, photos, blog posts, Twitter feeds to support and prove their pitch.  They will look at their school, volunteer, work placement projects, extra curricular, and part-time work to present rich experiences that are valuable to prospective employers.  I’m impressed with this bunch, they have a lot to offer their industry.

Right now their profiles are private but when they are ready, we’ll let you know.

Jessa’s very passionate about the success of causes she works on. She has a lifelong history of involvement in her community. Delivering a constant out-pour of creative ideas, she makes connections and mobilizes action. Jessa’s problem-solving skills, personable nature and contagious enthusiasm make her a valued part of initiatives she engages in.It’A

Algonquin Career Week – Innovation & Connections

Algonquin’s Career Week is underway.  I was fortunate enough to be a speaker yesterday along with many others.  My 45 min. presentation focused on Developing Your Online Personal Brand.  You can find the presentation on Slideshare and I will be presenting it again on Thursday at 2:30pm.  I digress…

I had hoped to attend the session The Future of Careers in Science, Technology & Engineering by Louis Lamontagne but I was called into a meeting and could not make it. While I was checking Twitter after my meeting, I found a link from the Algonquin Students Association of a video version of the presentation.  I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and was thrilled to see Algonquin being innovative in the use of new tools to share information and promote learning.

As I listened to his insights and words of advice there were many comments that struck a cord with me.  At several points in his presentation he noted the importance of ‘distinguishing’ yourself as a candidate for a position.  His words of advice included adapt and be flexible, be enthusiastic, ask questions, show interest, and get involved.  One of our key messages to our students is about showing initiative.

At the end of his presentation, he stressed the importance of revealing to employers that as a candidate you should be well-rounded. He then suggested getting involved in sports, pick up hobbies and doing volunteer work and overall all to ‘milk this place (the college)’ while you are there. Like Lamontage, we strongly believe that students should be extracting and seeking out experiences during their time at school.  In the end, your goal as a candidate is to distinguishing yourself from the crowd and it takes actions and commitment to do that.  I definitely connected with Lamontage’s view and hope to meet him in person one day soon.

Proud of My Community…

I have been in awe of this great community of ours. For the past several weeks, I have seen people drop what they are doing, lend a helping hand, offer up their profits, pass on their treasures, pass on a message, post a word of encouragement and help a complete stranger. Today’s Ottawa 67’s Family Fun Day for Rene Faucher was a real tribute to community – countless people came up to our table and offered up a signature and a donation to the Faucher Douglas trust fund.

Several were friends or former colleagues of Rene, but many were strangers. It felt great …I was completely touched by people’s generosity and outpouring of support. Patti and I wish to thanks the following organizations and people that contributed to its success:

• The Ottawa 67’s – Patrick Whalen, Sherly Hunt and Johanna Elgie and many others from the organization for making the event happen
• The media who help raise awareness and helped put buns in seats (Team 1200, CTV, CBC)
• Mark and Jill Emery at the Paper Sign Man for event signage
• The game volunteers: April Murphy, Tracey Everitt, Dimitri Pantazopoulos and his two daughters, Laurie Murphy-Pytura and Mike Pytura and their kids and finally, Patti Church and our kids. These people were instrumental to having additional funds being contributed to the Faucher Douglas trust fund.

Rene Faucher Family Fun Day Fundraiser – SUNDAY Feb 7th @ 2PM

Click HERE to buy a ticket for Sunday’s Ottawa 67s vs. Guelph Storm at 2PM. Andy and I hope you and many others will come out and support Rene and his family.

Half of the proceeds from online tickets sales will be donated to the Faucher Douglas trust fund that was recently established by the community. This event is being put on to help René and his wife Dianne Douglas with their financial responsibilities as well as pull the community together to support them. All those that want to participate must mention Rene’s name at the box office or jump to this special link to purchase tickets –>  https://www.ottawa67s.com/ssl/store/fundraiser.asp

We will be sharing pictures and messages with René and all his supporters during the game via Twitter. Please look for our tabletop in the concourse to get your photo taken and sign a get-well 67’s flag. Well wishers that cannot make the game are welcome to donate to the fund online or at Scotiabank.  For more information on how to donate to the family, please visit http://www.faucherdouglastrustfund.com/

All are welcome to Tweet Rene before, during and after the game by simply including #getwellrene in your Twitter message.

Kaplan Message – It’s your time…to simply remotely listen?

Faculty and students – what is your perspective on the Kaplan message?

The message states educators have failed you and that a new model of learning is in order. The actor and visuals suggest the solution is largely about remote distance learning – on a train, at home and in your jammies. I get that.

From our perspective, this message leaves 2/3 of the required changes off the table.

What changes?

• How about more open learning? Why not let students and faculty learn and share across classes, programs or heaven forbid different schools?
• How about offering students a voice such they can learn new ways to share and collaborate in a semi-private setting across their virtual class?
• Why note give students the means to link industry and external stakeholders to a classroom? This would facilitate alumni mentoring, project exchanges and downstream recruiting for those that reveal their potential in an open, more transparent way.

Many talented teachers are experimenting with all forms of new tools, methods and teaching practices aimed at stimulating creativity, innovation and new forms of learning. Early adopters of WhyHire.me were brave enough to move forward with our learning materials and supporting technology – we are all learning in an open and transparent way. Dave Donaldson, Jim Kyte and Wendy Threader from Algonquin College. Leighann Neilson from Carleton University. David Johnson and Michael Vourakes from Centennial College. Lyle Wetsch from Memorial University. Francis Gunn and David Martin from the Ted Rogers School of Business. All of these people stared down the traditional barriers to changing how students can learn and explore new forms of collaboration and communication using social media. Kudos to you all!

I went back to the Kaplan web site looking for a means to offer feedback on the video. I was fully expecting to read comments and learn other perspectives about learning 2.0. A basic search for the term blog rendered no results. I found all kinds of great looking material and the means to chat online with a recruiter…but no means to share, learn or discuss.

Since there is no venue for such a dialogue, let’s continue it here.

What do you think is missing in education?

How should it change?

What are the barriers to transforming how we learn?

Fun with conventional wisdom

DoGood has been getting some great traction in the blogsphere and press this past couple of weeks. Dogood provides web surfers a way to see selective advertising that is tied to green causes. Half of its profits are funneled back to green, philanthropic, health and wellness related causes.

When Faisal Sethi kicked off the project, I had every belief his story would challenge conventional norms within the online advertising world. What advertisers are going to put up with plummeting click through rates? I suggested he could become a new poster boy for Rupert Murdoch, given his views about free content and today’s online advertising models.

I noted Dogood recently posted a special note to publishers which clearly states DoGood does not strip away or block ads from their sites.

So there you have it – no piracy here. He is simply giving people choice when it comes to advertisers they want to browse while they surf. Does this mean causes are now the central linchpin in advertising buys? Does one pitch placement to the likes of DoGood instead of a media broker? Time will tell – it all depends on the depth and reach of such a movement.

To that end, I thought it best we start designing the t-shirt that started a movement called cause driven online advertising. Here is one I shopped up over the weekend. It is ripe for CafePress

Algonquin College Career Week

Algonquin College’s Career Week is coming up February 8-12th at the Woodroffe Campus.

Click on the image or this text to find out more and to register for the event.

I will be speaking on Monday Feb 8th at 1PM and Thursday Feb 11th at 2:30PM on the topic of creating an online presence using personal branding methods and some of the most popular social media tools.  My 45 minute talk will cover: why you should have a online presence and 5 steps to get you started.

Rene Faucher’s Values & Ours

Rene Faucher is a former boss of Andy’s.  Almost 3 weeks ago, Rene had a fall on the ice while playing hockey and hit the boards.  This fall resulted in Rene being paralyzed from the chest down.  Although as friends and supporters, we know this man has the will and energy to change is prognosis.  He’s very positive and already starting to feel new sensations that weren’t there a week ago.  You can read his updates on the Facebook Fan Page ‘Friends of Rene Faucher‘.

Rene is a 40-year-old father of three young children is expected to be in the hospital for at least a year through his recovery and rehabilitation. He did not have any long-term disability insurance. He had recently wound down his business where he worked with Andy and was starting to develop plans for his next venture.

Rene’s story touches Andy and I on many levels because we share many common values:  he’s an amazing dad and loving husband, entreprenuer and idea man, and an optimistic and caring soul.  He’s a good man who has been faced with a terrible situation that any of us could be placed in.  In Rene’s word to Andy at the hospital, “You don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

It is for all these reasons that we have been working with the Ottawa 67s to put on a Family Fun Game in Rene’s honour.  We hope that you will join us, our family and friends, and many of Rene’s family, friends and supporters on February 7th at 2PM at Landsdown.

I would like to send a special thanks to Patrick Whalen and Sheryl Hunt for being instantly ready to help and incredibly supportive.  The Ottawa 67s is an organization that also shares our values of community, kindship and enjoyment of life.  Hats off to you all!

Focusing on the Pitch

This week the Algonquin PR students and I focused on understanding product branding, personal branding and developing their ‘Positioning Pitch’.  In a WhyHire.me profile, students have 350 characters to develop their clear concise message which sets the tone of their personal brand. It should highlight their keywords which could include personality traits, skills, strengths, or values which they discovered in Dig Deep.  Additional ingredients for their pitch include a ’splash’ of proof to provide validity and a target which could be a position, industry, value system, or location they have in mind.

At first it seems easy to write a paragraph but soon into the process I start hearing: ‘this is hard’, ‘I don’t feel comfortable writing about myself this way’ and ‘I really don’t know what makes me unique’.  These are initial thoughts that many people have when they start this process. However, it’s so important to put in the time to craft a message that is clear, unique and strong for not only your profile but your overall personal brand which will be used in meetings, interviews, emails, career fairs, resumes and more.  Employers want to know what grads have to offer, what makes them different and how they can solve the organization’s business problems.

I look forward to reading their pitches as they start to pop up in our social network and I hope a few of these students will get a chance to use their pitches at the upcoming Algonquin College Career Week (Feb 8-12).  Career Week features a job fair and a series of information session and networking opportunities for past and present students to connect with industry.