A Final Farewell

It is shocking to think that the end of the semester is coming quickly and ALES 204 will come to a close. At the start of the semester I was skeptical about that class being that we had to join twitter and create a blog. I am not the best with technology so my thoughts were based off nerves. As the course continued we were able to learn more ways of presenting personal information on the internet in a professional way. It was not just a matter of posting tweets about the lectures at hand which made it more enjoyable and useful.

ALES 204 took us through many exercises that taught us how to use social media's in a productive way. I was not on twitter before this class because I already had Facebook and I did not see why you needed more than one form of social media connecting you to people. I didn't know that twitter was a different form of social media and connected you to so many different people. On twitter I am following comedians, actors, singers and researchers. In one feed I can hear the thoughts of dominant researchers or a recent joke; the broad spectrum of people makes it exciting to look through your feed everyday. Also creating this blog was something I had never planned on doing. As I said before I am not great when it comes to technology so to create a blog made me nervous about how the final product would turn out. We also were asked to use Facebook in a way that I did not ever think of, in a resume form. We were asked to create Facebook resumes and through them we made the connection between personal and professional social media. Jayden, created a Facebook page that presented herself in a very positive light for future employers. Julianna, also made an awesome Facebook resume and shared the same feelings as I when starting the assignment!

In ALES we were able to learn how to use different social media's to express thoughts and opinions or to bring up discussion between fellow bloggers. We were asked to expand and Wikipedia article which was difficult because we had to produce relevant, reliable information for other users of the internet. Ashlea, created a Wikipedia article that was reliable and also had a very appealing blog post that made the article even more attractive. In one of our first labs we were asked to make Pecha Kucha presentations which at the start, I had no idea what that entailed. Julie, shared the same views on being nervous going into the lab but the exercise made a difference in our public speaking.  We also got the oppurtunity to learn how to upload photo's using flickr and attaching papers, internet articles we thought interesting. Brianne, posted a very interesting photo that could have struck up a conversation between bloggers easily and create the constant communication that social media's emphasize.

ALES 204 have me a  new outlook on social media and the many uses for them. I was able to learn a large amount about computers and the internet that I neglected before because I didn't think technology could change much about proffessional aspects of life. I was proven wrong. I am sad to see this semester come to an end because I have enjoyed my classes greatly! I am nervous and excited to start finals but now how twitter to distract me when needed!

Here is a final farewell to my ALES 204 class, best of luck on all your future studies!

ALES 204: Science Article Paper

Science journals have been around for many years but have changed in some drastic ways. The content has changed in the biggest way. Over the past 20 years science has made massive jumps to where we are now. The online peer reviewed journal, First Monday, is a science journal based  purely on internet advances and issues. The content has changed as well as the layout and general look. It is exciting that science has come so far in such a short amount of time and I look forward to the next few years and the research going along with them!

Here is my science article paper comparing the journal, First Monday, from its first issue in 1996 to its most recent which was published in November of 2011.

Science Article Paper

Coffee Production in Haiti: Wikipedia Stub

 Wikipedia has become a major search engine for almost anything a person could need. It includes music, food, nutrition, sports and biographies. Before this class I had heard that Wikipedia was not the most reliable when it came to research information. However, I did not know that just anyone could create or include information on the posts. I also was able to learn that if the sources are not reliable Wikipedia will make it known to those looking on the page. I do think Wikipedia, though a public research site, is reliable since it is reviewed by reliable people.

For ALES 204 we were asked to contribute to an article that was relevant to our field of study. I chose the production of coffee in Haiti because it is definitely an agriculture economic issue. A new friend I met in our ALES 204 lab, Ashlea, wrote on sucrose intolerance which is relevant because she is in nutrition.

The production of coffee has played a major role in the Haitian economy since the 17th century when it was first introduced by France. Haiti's Caribbean climate is ideal in growing coffee plants and the nation quickly became one of the worlds largest producers of coffee. Due to politics as well as a constant change in environment the coffee industry has suffered. This has lead to a fall in the economy, which has not been recovered thus far. 

Coffee Production in Haiti

ALES: The Exciting Faculty

Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences is a broad faculty that is becoming more and more exciting and looked into. The faculty offers such a range of popular majors and minors that it continues to grow and become more popular. Not only does ALES provide new and exciting classes and programs but it has exciting events all year long. Bar None is the big event that has been going on for years. My mom was able to tell me stories of her going to it when she attended the U of A. There is also a formal, pancake breakfasts, dinners and other "farm" events like chili cook-offs!

I am extremely happy with my choice to join the Faculty of Agriculture and I am happy to recommend it to anyone researching university studies.

ALES Faculty

Facebook Business Card

One of the exciting aspects of the course was incorporating social media into potential business opportunities. I see Facebook as being a very personal profile that is, ideally, only shared with your closest friends and people you chose to share it with. Often when young adults are looking for an official career they will get rid of their last name so that their Facebook page doesn't play a role in being hired or not. Because of these, I was surprised to hear of Facebook being used as a means to circulate your resume on the web. Although I was skeptical at first a was quick to learn that Facebook could be used as a form to circulate your resume and that people who had done so relieved jobs. After moving away from the idea that Facebook should be purely based on what you were doing in your life or the photo's up from a crazy night the previous weekend I was able to see that Facebook was a smart way to showcase all that a person is involved with and a professional side. Just from looking at a possible employee's professional Facebook page you can see what they like, interesting research they have been involved in or what they are currently working on. It is the most recent form of what a person is doing and in a very accessible way!My friend Jayden, made an amazing Facebook resume and used her real name so it could be used for her next employment opportunity.

I created an online business resume that contains most of the important information employers look for while in the hiring process.

Here is a link to my Facebook business card!
I made it under an alias as to not give away to much personal information for our ALES class.
Agriculture Anonymous is my alias.

My Online Business Card

 

Facebook Business Card

Welcome!

Hello, my name is Kelley and I am happy to welcome you to my first ever blog! I am currently in my second year of Agriculture and Resource Economics  at the U of A and it has taken me down a road that I never imagined.  This blog is for my ALES 204 class which has an aim at getting students comfortable with social media and using it in all aspects of our lives, whether that be school, personal or even business!

When I am finished school I would ideally like to work as a consultant or on a team that is driven with the environments best interests in mind. Being a consultant comes with the task of being in constant contact with different people and groups working towards a common goal. Whether it be through email or phone messaging, consultants are continuously communicating with others. Being as social media's are becoming more and more common in everyday life I have no doubt that in the next few years they will make there way into the workplace as well. Being that everyone is given a blackberry or iphone now for work it is easy to think that Facebook or twitter could one day make its way into the workplace. Even though presently that seems like an unrealistic prediction I feel it is totally possible.

Just to add a little more about myself so you can relate to who you are reading over the term I am happy to tell you a few extras not related to school. I enjoy summer time because I love spending time outside. This summer I went to Newfoundland with my family and we spent the first half of our week hiking and kayaking, we also drove down to St. Johns and saw the icebergs right off the shore! I had never seen anything like it before. Over the weekend we spent our time at the George Street music festival and enjoyed all kinds of music with fellow Newfoudlanders. To end the summer I spent a week on a houseboat with 14 friends which was fun and relaxing in the beautiful Okanogin in BC. I spent my last 10 days before school on a road trip with 3 friends all through BC. We camped and spent much time on the beaches and at roadside stops! Although I had an amazing summer I look forward to winter to spend time snowboarding and outdoors, but this time dressed much warmer!

I hope you enjoy my post's to come and get to know me better as the semester continues! Happy blogging!