Bulverde Creek Elementary staff and students want $50,000 for technology so bad that they’re willing to dance in the halls on camera.

The elementary has entered Clorox’s “Power a Bright Future” grant competition and hopes to drum up enough votes to win by the Dec. 9 deadline.

At the Express-News, we get a million (slight exaggeration) requests for covering needy causes a week, and we don’t get around to writing about most.

However, this elementary harnessed the pop power of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” single and had us giggling within seconds.

The school’s nomination page states: “Technology is a critical piece of our collaborative puzzle” but its laptops have slow operating systems and keys falling off.

If the school wins, it would buy interactive whiteboards, upgrade laptops and buy iPads and apps, according to the nomination statement.

The video alone is worth a share. If you’re short on time or an impatient viewer, the good stuff begins about 25 seconds in.

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During tough economic times, it is very difficult to get a job. Those having a high school diploma have fewer opportunities available to pursue compared to those with a college degree. Earning an online degree in business administration degree will open up several career opportunities in different fields. Busy professionals can also get benefit from an online business administration degree and can advance their knowledge and career. In addition, by earning a business administration degree online, you can acquire with a great deal of knowledge about finance, business, sales, security and operations.

Many job opportunities are available to those having a business administration degree. Individuals can choose from areas such as education, business and government. However, it depends on the degree you hold; for instance getting an associate’s degree qualifies you for entry-level positions, while pursuing a bachelors or a masters degree will help you get accounting, executive and managerial positions.

Possible Career Opportunities with an Online Business Administration Degree

1. HR Manager

A bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA) is usually the minimum requirement to pursue a career position as a HR manager. However, some universities do not offer human resource concentrations until the master’s level. As a HR manager, you will act as the link between management and employees, recruiting new employees, maintaining dossiers on all employees, insurance, and conducting training and orientation programs. After a few years of experience, you will likely get promoted to the position of HR specialist. The earning potential of HR managers is quite good and they can make a yearly salary ranges up to $50,590 to $148,390.

2. Financial Controller

Pursuing a BBA is the minimum requirement to qualify for the position of financial controller; however, some employers prefer MBA grads for this position. As a financial controller, you are responsible to handle the preparation of financial reports as well as oversee accounting, budgeting and auditing departments. With regards to salary, financial controllers can earn a yearly salary up to $54,760 to $166,400.

3. Operations Manager

Those holding a bachelor’s degree in business administration are eligible for the position of operations manager. As an operations manager, you are accountable to ensure the successful operations of an organization including formulating policies, planning the use of resources and purchasing materials. Operations manager is the highest-paid job that can make an annual income with a range of $45,780 to $138,960.

4. Management Consulting

Management consulting is a lucrative profession that can be pursued by MBA grads. Management consultants are industry professionals who identify problems and recommend solutions to other businesses and organizations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that management consulting is one of the fastest growing career fields available. As of May 2008, managers of consulting firms made a median wage of $62.69.

5. Computer and Information Systems Managers

In order to qualify for the post of computer and information systems manager, a combination of education in computers and business is required. Candidates having an MBA degree with an emphasis in technological management are perfect for this job. As a computer and information systems managers, you are largely responsible to implement and administer the computer information systems for corporations, educational institutions and government agencies. Moreover, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May, 2009, the median salary for computer and information systems managers was $113,720.

All in all, a degree, either an associate’s, bachelors or master’s degree in business administration offers inexhaustible advantages. It provides a great variety of career opportunities to students as well as instills skills needed to survive in the corporate world. Anyone who wants to get into financial and business world must earn an online degree in business administration as it will give you the opportunity to pursue rewarding and well-paying jobs in a variety of business sectors.

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Ive already said (and written) it many times: one of the things I love the most in higher education is the fact that we can (and have the duty to) learn all the time.

No matter how the learning happens, it is always nurtured, welcomed and valued in our small community (and, I know, it makes sense as we are in the business of educating others whether we actually teach or not).

Since I started to work in higher education (wow, its going to be 10 years in a few months), Ive learned a great deal of things, skills and lessons. Beyond the blogging and reporting about best practices in web, marketing and communication in higher ed I do on this blog, I spend a great deal of time designing, scheduling and promoting learning opportunities for higher ed professionals via my professional development business, Higher Ed Experts.

As a result, learning is part of my daily job: Im always trying to find out what YOU will need to learn in 6 months, a year or 5 (and to be honest, I have no clue what you will need to learn in 5 years, but I do plan to stick around enough to be there in 4 to tell you then ;0)

But, my interest for learning goes far beyond. Im a life-long learner and I dont plan to become a recovering one any time soon ;0) This year again, I have a long list of things I want to learn: responsive web design techniques (to learn the nitty gritty of what Ive started to preach), quantitative business analysis, more advanced research methods and a few more things about entrepreneurship as well as marketing and communication.

Im also very excited to teach the first session of the 8-week online course about social media marketing campaigns for higher education for Higher Ed Experts in just a few weeks as well as if things go according to plans the second session of the 11-week graduate course on social media marketing for the MBA in social media at SNHU later this Spring.

Responsive web design, mobile web, web analytics, social media, content strategy, web writing and project management among others are on my higher ed learning radar for 2012.

What about you?

What do you think higher ed professionals should learn in 2012?

What do YOU plan to learn this year?

Tell us by sharing your 2012 learning resolutions. Post a comment below!

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Giving students the tools they need to succeed in college and work

College and Career Ready offers educators a blueprint for improving high school so that more students are able to excel in freshman-level college courses or entry-level jobs-laying a solid foundation for lifelong growth and success. The book is filled with detailed, practical guidelines and case descriptions of what the best high schools are doing.

• Includes clear guidelines for high school faculty to adapt their programs of instruction in the direction of enhanced college/career readiness
• Provides practical strategies for improving students’ content knowledge and academic behaviors
• Offers examples of best practices and research-based recommendations for change

The book considers the impact of behavioral issues-such as time management and study habits-as well as academic skills on college readiness.

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