Reflecting ALES 204

Before ALES 204 I was quite skeptical of social media and thought it was simply for individuals to brag or complain online. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were the only social media sites that I was aware of prior to this course. Although I had a Facebook account I was rarely on it, and I refused to join Twitter! YouTube was a site that I went on occasionally in order to watch funny videos or listen to music.

Social Media Blogs. From “Online Marketing Stuff,” 2012, 
http://onlinemarketingstuff.com/best-social-media-blogs

Now that I have nearly completed the ALES 204 course, I am so much more aware of what social media was really created for. Even though I was against Twitter before the course, we had to make an account and Tweet every class about what we learned.  Although you can use Twitter for personal comments, this website can also be used in order to find potential employers, get information from people that interest you (for example I am following a dietitian that gives wonderful health advice that is extremely beneficial) and communicate with individuals worldwide. I also learned about new social media sites such as Flickr, LinkedIn, and Blogger.  Flickr is a site that you can download your own pictures and personally copyright them.  It was very useful to learn about the various copyright laws in lecture and then put them into practice by uploading photos onto Flickr and picking the copyright laws that is best suited for the photo and the owner.  LinkedIn is a fantastic website where you can upload your resume and create cover letters as well as find jobs.  However, LinkedIn is not only for jobs, it’s also an information site where you can find individuals and message them.  Blogger is a blogging site where individuals can create an account and blog about anything.  The site is set up very well, is very easy to use and also looks very professional.  We also worked on Facebook, creating Facebook Pages that can help find potential employers as these Pages act like an online business card. 

Overall ALES 204 was a very informative course and I will not stop using the social media sites that we were introduced to during the class.  The class not only covered social media but related topics such as giving presentations, the proper format of CV’s, podcasting and futurecasting.  A huge thanks to Dr. Jessica Laccetti, my wonderful TA MC, and all of the other TA's that presented during the lectures, for making ALES 204 a great class.

My 5 comments:

Cassandra H

Bianca Cimino

Courtney Milford 

Lindsay Gervais 

                                                    

Rheon Fisher 

Until next time,

Janessa is out.

Giving a Presentation

Giving a public presentation or speech is not the easiest task to accomplish.  The fear of public speaking is the number one fear for the majority of individuals, according to this website.  I am by no means an expert at this subject however in ALES 204 we have had many speakers that have guided us with knowledge and expertise. Therefore, I am writing this blog to inform and educate you on how to give a good presentation in front of an audience, in hopes to reduce the stress involved with public speaking.

From "Public Speaking: A Few Tips from my List," by Prabhu, B.R., 2007,
 http://deshika.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/public-speaking-a-few-tips-from-my-list/.

Organization is a huge element in a presentation since flow is needed in order to keep the attention of the audience.  According to MC, the presenter must connect with their audience by telling a “hook,” which could include a greeting, a joke or even a story that is appropriate to the audience.  The introduction follows the hook, which includes the main objective of the speech.  Next is the body that is the core of the presentation, containing one or two main ideas.  Lastly is the conclusion that not only sums up the presentation, but also includes the take home message that the audience should remember from the presentation.  If these elements are included, your presentation is sure to flow, as well as look organized.  The most important part of your content and organization is that your speech needs to flow, be logical, be simple and be informative. 

Even though your speech may be well organized and have all of the important parts of the content present, your speech needs to be practiced.  Practice is the key to a great speech!  If your presentation contains everything that it should, but the way that you present it is insufficient, your presentation will not be memorable.  In order to better convey your message to the audience, it is really important to connect with the audience emotionally, through a common interest and through a common passion.  Another important aspect to consider is the clarity of speech.  Projection, tone, pronunciation and inflection are important factors to consider with clarity of speech.  If these factors are properly done, the overall presentation can greatly benefit by connecting with the audience and allowing the audience to be able to hear the presenter.

Although giving a presentation may be nerve racking, a lot of people also worry about social media and other advanced types of communication.  Cassandra H, a fellow classmate, has a great blog about the debates surrounding social media.  She goes over the different kinds of social media or other types of communication, and talks about the benefits and disadvantages she has found in her personal life about these communication methods.

Until next time,

Janessa is out.

Wikipedia Stub

This week in ALES 204, we are contributing to Wikipedia by adding missing information or correcting false information in a stub.  Wikipedia is a “wiki,” defined as a web site that allows anyone to add, delete, or revise content by using a web browser, according to this online dictionary.  Wiki originally came from the Hawaiian word wiki which means quick, fast, or to hurry, and is therefore completely applicable to Wikipedia and other wikis. Many people do not trust Wikipedia since anyone can edit the stubs on this online encyclopedia, however the pages are monitored frequently to ensure such things as vandalism does not occur.

 The original Wikipedia stub, a photo by 7Sulli7 on Flickr.

I chose the Wikipedia stub of cardiorespiratory
fitness, which was a pre-existing web page.  Since this stub was pre-existing, I ensured that the information given was accurate and that the references were valid and credited properly within the text.  Therefore, I had to add the in-text citation, which in this case was a hyperlink to the references, into the existing sentences in order to properly credit the authors. I also had to put the existing references into the Wikipedia format with the appropriate hyperlinks (which was not easy!).

Completed Wikipedia stub, a photo by 7Sulli7 on Flickr.

I ensured that the information I added was pertinent and appropriate to the topic.  Cardiorespiratory fitness involves the cardiovascular system, as well as the respiratory system, hence the “cardio” and “respiratory” terms within.  Therefore, I added information about the cardiovascular system that involves cardiorespiratory fitness, and the respiratory system adaptations that should be considered when cardiorespiratory fitness is involved.  I also added a temperature regulation section to provide some background information about this topic during cardiorespiratory fitness, as temperature of the body is clearly important when fitness is involved.  The in-text citations were more difficult to complete due to the fact that different codes were used to cite the same reference, and new codes were used to cite different references.  I also hyperlinked important and/or difficult words to other Wikipedia pages in order for the reader to better understand the text.  I visited the help page numerous times to fix page errors, and I started to feel a lot more confident in my work once I  stopped getting the error code on the web page.  After I fixed all of the apparent errors, my Wikipedia stub started to look a lot more professional!


Remaining healthy involves much more than just exercise and eating right, however food does play an important role in health.  Lindsay’s latest blog is also about editing Wikipedia stubs, and she focuses on superfoods!  If my Wikipedia page and/or blog interested you, you should definitely check Lindsay’s blog out!  She highlighted some other key elements about Wikipedia that I did not, and she added onto the Superfood's Wikipedia stub, which can further increase your knowledge of cardiorespiratory fitness.



Until next time,
Janessa is out.

Facebook page

I created a Facebook page today in order for potential employers to have easy access to all of my personal information in one place. My Facebook page has everything that a resume would and acts like an electronic business card. Such information includes: academic history, work experience, interests, activities, and personal information.  I believe that this is pertinent information that an employer would want to know and have before hiring an individual.  My Facebook page is easily accessible as it is online, can be retrieved by anyone, and can be easily edited by myself if information changes. This is much more convenient for employees as they no longer have to drop a hard copy of their resume off at the business that they are interested in.  This electronic business card also allows the employers to get a better perspective of the employee, as the employer can now see the creative side of the employee by simply looking at their electronic business card, such as a Facebook page.  An electronic business card is a great way to get more resumes out to more businesses, and best of all, it is environmentally friendly!

 Facebook page, a photo by J Sulli on Flickr.

 

I believe that this electronic business card could be a very useful tool in my future career as employers could know me better on a personal level before hiring me by simply looking at my Facebook page. As mentioned above, my Facebook page contains everything that an employer would need, and best of all, they could see my creative side by looking at pictures, my personal experiences, etc.. Another advantage that my Facebook page could have on my future career is that millions of individuals are on Facebook daily (according to 5 Big Advantages Of Facebook Page's). Therefore, some of these people could come across my Facebook page and I may get a job that I did not even apply for!  This being said, my name and abilities are more likely to be known by employers and businesses by having an electronic business card.


You should also check out Courtney's blog, as she has some great suggestions for Facebook pages! 


Until next time,
Janessa is out.

The Introduction

Bonjour!

I'm Janessa. This is the first blog that I have ever written and I am excited to explore the possibilities that blogging brings.

First off I would like tell you a little about myself. I am 19 years old and I speak both English and French  (hence the "bonjour").  I grew up in Red Deer, Alberta and my family still lives there so it's not too far of a  drive if I decide to go back on the weekends. Right after high school, I attended Red Deer College in the  pre-professional dentistry program. As an option, I took a nutrition class and really enjoyed it.  A few years  earlier, my Mother had breast cancer and it really opened my eyes up to the nutritional side of the world.  She had to take many supplements and eat very specific foods in order for her body to stay healthy because  of the effect that chemotherapy had on her.  With this tragedy happening to my family and with the nutrition  course, everything was starting to merge together. This past year, I transferred into the nutrition program  majoring in food and nutrition and I am currently in my second year of education at the University of  Alberta.  I am hoping one day to become a dietitian and work with cancer and radiation patients with their  health.

Photo retrieved from: http://avtecmedia.com/credit-union-marketing/social-networking/

Before ALES 204, I simply belonged to  Facebook as a social network, however I will  be honest and say that I'm not a huge fan of  social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).  Most of the time they are just annoying due to  the fact that individuals use them to document  their every move. And personally, I don't care  that you're eating breakfast or that you're so in  love or just woke up from bed. What I am  interested in is things going on around the  world,  tragedies, research etc.. Facebook has  a  specific  role for me, it keeps me connected  with friends by allowing me to send personal  messages to friends that live in other cities,  provinces, and even countries! Facebook also  keeps me engaged with social gatherings by allowing friends to "invite" me to fundraisers, parties, etc.. I am  now a part of Twitter, which is still quite new to me, but I believe that this social network has many benefits  to offer. Twitter is a huge interactive site that allows you to "follow" whoever you wish and anyone can  "follow" you.  I like how Twitter has a maximum amount of characters that can be used per post because  the  writer therefore needs to get their information out directly.  There are many different people, groups,  and  events on Twitter which increases the interaction among individuals. I use YouTube as well which is  very  interactive by allowing individuals to post videos. I feel that these videos are very important because   they can be about anything! They can be awareness videos, humorous videos, just anything that someone's  imagination can come up with. I know there is a lot involved with social media but I believe that I have  covered the important networks that I am involved with.

Photo retrieved from: http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1538R-65364

Communication, such as social media, will have a huge impact on my future work.  In the nutrition field, information changes all of the time.  There is a lot of research being conducted on a daily basis which leads to many contradictions over the same topics.  Since these social networks are increasing and becoming very popular, I believe that in the future, individuals will have no choice but to use these networks if they want to stay connected.  A great example of this is The Health Blog.  One role that communication could play in the future is to keep me connected to the rest of the world for up-to-date research development and new information found. Another very important role of communication is to ensure that health care professionals, such as those in the nutrition field, have the proper information available to council patients.  It is very important that information comes from a reliable source and that it has  background information.  It is also very important to be able to connect with patients.  I believe that being  able to connect to a patient (whether it be on Skype, Twitter, Facebook or through a blog) is absolutely  vital.  For example, if a patient (or even just a regular person for that matter) has a question about nutrition  or food, I believe that I should be available to that person in order to answer their questions.  They could  comment on a blog or "tweet" me on Twitter.  Either way, the information should be available to everyone,  no matter where they are in the world. With that being said I hope to broaden my network connections and  be involved with more social networks in order to become more familiar with what is going on around me.

If this blog interests you, you may also want to check out Bianca Cimino's Blog, that is fairly similar to mine.

I really hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog and that you will come back for more!

Until next time,

Janessa is out.