Wrapping it all up

L.Adam (Personal collection, December 2011)

December already?! Yes, it is. Fall semester 2011 classes are coming to end, and final exams are looming. This blog was made as a part of my ALES 204 class on "Communication Theory and Practice". Coming in to this class, I was not sure what to expect. I had heard it involved lots of public speaking. On the first day, I soon realized this class would be more than just public speaking....it would transform my ways of communicating via the internet. Reading the syllabus, I noticed that would be using a wide diversity of social media sites to promote ourselves as a business person, to actively communicate with people in our respective fields    and to share information. To be honest, was also nice to see there were no exams...a huge relief for any university student! 

Now for a short story. This semester, I found a Registered Dietitian (R.D.) to volunteer with when I went to meet with her, she asked what classes I was taking. I explained them to her, and I told her about ALES 204. Her eyes instantly lit up; she was so happy to hear that we were learning how to use the internet effectively. She said her skills are lacking, yet this is the "new way in Nutrition". She mentioned that these skills will be very beneficial for me as I graduate. She further asked me about Twitter, because she knew she had common misconceptions-I told her I used to have those too. Twitter can be used effectively as R.D. to communicate nutritional facts, recipes and helpful websites. It can also benefit a R.D. as a place for rapid updates on food outbreaks (CFIA) or following other R.D.'s in the field who have specific expertise. From that meeting, it was further emphasized that this class would be useful in my career. The lectures on proper citations, scientific posters, library research and presentation skills will be particularly helpful even before I graduate.

Now that four months have passed, I have not only expanded my knowledge about the uses of the internet, but also have the confidence to put it into practice. I have made a Storify of an overview of my activity on the internet this term. In addition, I was able to effectively communicate with fellow classmates through Google Docs, Twitter and their respective blogs. By reading other students blogs, I felt this class had more of a personal feel. We were able to get to know our classmates through a different setting then the typical "sit in a classroom and I have seen you once before across the room" kind of feeling. Through this class, we were all linked through the ALES 204 class blog, and from there it was easy to click on other people's blogs and read their thoughts as well. I just finished reading my classmate, Kelvin's most recent post on a super-fruit that he is passionate about. I have never seen such a fruit before, however it seems like is a very functional fruit with additional health benefits. I would love to try it sometime! This is just another example of how information can easily be spread from person to person. If it wasn't for Kelvin, I may have never heard of a Mangosteen ever in my life! Thanks for expanding my knowledge Kelvin. This semester I also commented on some of my classmates blogs: Rebecca, Laurel, Kylie, Mareli and Julianna.

Image: Retrieved December 6, 2011 from the Flickr account of kmclean 2.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/67755971@N07/6299154322/

When I started this class I heard the combine roaring out my window, now as I end this class I am listening to Christmas music. Change is rapidly upon us, be it knowledge or something as simple as the seasons. Through the use of communicating on the internet, change can be communicated rapidly. Folksonomy, Flickr, Email, Delicious, Cloud Tagging, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, Google Docs, Audioboo, Storify....its incredible to see the vast diversity of the internet. Each and every one of these tools can be used effectively to market a product, or share scientific knowledge to the general public (or kept personally if one wishes). It amazes me to see where we all have came from, I remember in grade 6-I did not know much about the internet except Google and Ask Jeeves....see how far we have all come?!  Thanks ALES 204 and Dr. Laccetti!  

From L.Adam ( Personal collection, December 2011)

Merry Christmas!