A Brief Overview

This semester, I've learned to appreciate all that social media has to offer. My ALES 204 class has introduced me to some handy new pages and reintroduced me to some of the classics in ways that I had never imagined. When ever my friends from nutrition and food (who had previously taken the course) ask me what the new ALES 204 format is like, I've found the best way to describe it to them is, "experiencing social media, rather than observing it". Personally I've found it to be a much more effective way to learn about social networking in respect to what works for me and what doesn't. As well I know that I'm using these tools properly rather than just diving in head first and hoping for the best.

Honestly, I'll admit it, I had a twitter account before I began the fall 2011 semester, and I was not using it like I should have been. I frequently tweeted about the most pointless things! In July, a lot of it was about the weather I was experiencing on my way to work. I honestly don't know who would care about that. Fortunately though after a few lectures focused on Twitter I decided to smarten up and use my profile at least in a slightly more appropriate manner, because I will admit that pointless tweets do get tossed up on my profile every now and then. However I have been able to use it for good, and intend to do even better things in the future. I hope to soon be able to use it for business purposes when the semester is done because in retrospect I should have changed my username to something a little more professional before submitting it to the class list. Having a more professional username would have allowed me to start promoting the catering company I work for in a manner where I could be taken seriously. Unfortunately "veg_sasquatch" lacks that professional edge and I have to hold off until the semester is out.

I am also incredibly grateful for the lectures we had received on proper citations, effective writing, and proper research because of it is knowledge that I can apply throughout my university career. Nobody had really taught me how to write effectively for a science degree. The one thing I had learned in my first year was never to use the word "significantly" unless you were discussing a statistical value, otherwise I was pretty much lost. Being introduced to refworks and the OWL website though has made citing in APA style so much easier for me. I rarely was 100% sure that I was using the proper format on my assignments in previous years and always had to consult my TA, but now that I actually understand the format and have had practise using it, I am much more confident about citations.

All in all, I have benefited from taking this class and can see why it is a mandatory course for all ALES students. It's not enough to graduate with a degree, whether you're top of your class or somewhere in the middle. If you cannot present yourself to the public or any future employer in a professional manner you will never be taken seriously. As well if you cannot keep up with the times and make sure that you are a clear stand out from the rest of the competition, you are not necessarily going to be as desirable a candidate as they would like, and any employer may miss out on what you have to offer them.

A lot of my classmates seem to really have gotten the same results from this class. One of them is Naomi, who I had the pleasure of meeting in my lab on Wednesdays.

Here are some more of my class mates blog posts and my thoughts on them:
Tania's final post
Brandon's post about vlogging
Sydney's post about CC
Naomi's post about Google docs
Nicole's Wiki stub post