ALES 204 reflection blog

Communication Technology

Taken from:http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecleversheep/2459276180/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Most of the time, I have communication with others in person and on the telephone. Sometimes I use email. Four months ago, I was not particularly interested in experimenting with communication technology. But after taking “ALES 204”, my thinking started to change.In a class I took called “ALES 204”, we were equipped with the knowledge of utilizing social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogger, for useful purposes! I created a Business “Facebook” page as an online professional profile; “Twitter” to follow news updates, knowledge updates in the nutrition and food science field and in other career fields; “Blogger” to read about the life and work experiences of different individuals; “LinkedIn” to connect with professionals and publicly posting “Flickr” images on my own websites without violating Copyright Law!


Social media is not the only thing we experimented on. We experimented with “Prezi”: a computer technology way of presentation. I learned many skills for interviewing. During the ALES 204 lab, I had a chance to take part in an interview, and I partnered up with Chen Shen. As we were conducting the interview, we discussed ways to improve the way we spoke and the interview's content. I agree Chen's reflection post, he said ALES 204 lets "us share the knowledge which we can use it to improve our communication abilities immediately". That is true, after that interview practice, I felt my interview skill improved.  If you want to know more about Chen, here's his blog: http://cshen3.blogspot.com/.


There was one more interesting topic that we discussed on: “Augmented Reality” Do you know what that is? If you don’t you can go to the ALES 204 blog and search for the blog post named “Futurecasting” and check out the Slideshare presentation. I assure you, it is neat. 
Here's a youtube video on futurecasting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6c1STmvNJc. In real life, you can see the England points of interest. On the phone, you see much more...


I’m glad I took ALES 204. 


Here is my comment for Naomi (http://naomiporciuncula.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-composing-e-mail-think-of-it-as-if.html?showComment=1323317357588#c7119520112273538378)


My comment for Chen Shen (http://cshen3.blogspot.com/2011/10/poster-presentation-in-my-biol-course.html?showComment=1323317984199#c7196709195276420702)


My comment for Kelley Reynolds (http://kelleyreynolds.blogspot.com/2011/11/coffee-production-in-haiti-wikipedia.html?showComment=1323317708921#c8643546634903174405)


My comment for Angela Komarnicki (http://akomarnicki.blogspot.com/2011/10/getting-involved-volunteering.html?showComment=1323318609777#c9049420886976471802)


My comment for Madeleine Bosnyak (http://madeleine-bosnyak.blogspot.com/2011/10/lab-poster-four-degree-future.html?showComment=1323319111908#c8325935722842168084)

Creative Commons

Have you emailed a book chapter to a friend? Have you found an online resource so awesome that you wanted to share with people you know? Have you posted a picture/video/article onto your social media account? I know I have. But guess what, all these things are actually ILLEGAL—unfortunately.  

One time, I found a cool picture online and posted it into a Wikipedia article. Few days later it was taken off. I researched the reason for that occurrence, and I think posting that non-public-domain image may have violated the copyright law. That is discouraging isn’t it? It is not. Why? Nowadays, there is something called “Creative Commons” (CC). Esther Wojcicki explained that Creative Commons “[provides] free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof to help people share materials on the web.” CC liscence is consistent with the copyright law Here is a CC thing. 

And here is the selection of license parameters:

Is posting these pictures a copyright violation? Hopefully not.

There are social media websites building its copyright license based on CC allows people to share photos, text, music and videos LEGALLY! Amazing! Now our friends and family can use OUR photos publicly and we can use THEIR photos publicly! Super!


Creative Commons even have their own search engine! Here is the link:
http://search.creativecommons.org/

Speaking of Creative Common, I think the author of this University of Alberta Biology 207 textbook is an open media supporter, too! He has this book under a Creative Common license!

Here's the reference:
it even has creative common information labelled!

Do you know what else is super besides Creative Commons? Naomi, because she likes superman. Go to her blog here: naomiporciuncula.blogspot.com 

Power of LinkedIn

The "LinkedIn" icon, taken from:http://www.flickr.com/photos/techweet/5397288659/
I enjoy acquainting people, I especially believe cultivating and building bonds with family and friends make life worthwhile. “LinkedIn” takes “relationship” to a new level. It makes a professional network of friends through a website? Amazing!

                        

Today in our ALES 204 class, I learned the “LinkedIn” website can help me build friendships with other professionals globally, and assist me on walking my career path! LinkedIn is also cool in that it is a database for opening job positions and we can get notifications for a job opening. Definitely, I cannot totally rely on LinkedIn, and my usage of it may not be successful all the time, but it is a viable option.

As another advantage, I can build connections with other professionals in the field of Nutrition and Food Science around the world. We can support each other in exploring and learning more about Food Science: New food processing techniques, food preservation tips and secrets (hopefully). Or outside the career field, I can simply get to know people who share common life interests.

LinkedIn is great: Not only does it open doors for a career, it also opens doors for building relationships. Looking at LinkedIn, I may look forward to embracing these technological online network advancement. 

Jeremy agrees with me about LinkedIn because he likes it, too! check out his blog (http://jeremyjamilano.blogspot.com.)and his "Reflection.noitceIfeR" blog post to see his opinion on "LinkedIn".


Are you tempted to get your own LinkedIn account? go to http://www.linkedin.com

Long as you want--Curriculum Vitae

Before, I did know what a “Curriculum Vitae” (CV) was.  In the past, when I wrote my resume, I presentedmy many “significant” (for me, at least) activities and duties. I hoped my audience would understand me better. Sadly, employers prefer concise resumes with experience relevant to the posted job opening. They lost interest to my resume because it was too long to read.

                          

Now I know there is something called “CV”, and I like it. I can concisely exhibit relevant information on the resume and tailor it to the application. If the employers want to know me better, I can give them access to my CV—that lets them get to know more about my “skills”. Best of all, I do not have to worry about making my CV “too long”, because detail is expected of my CV—all my volunteering, working experience, listing of my prestigious research articles published (in the future) and significant activities that I participated in are listed in detail.

                                                                                                   

I can utilize the curriculum vitae and make my resume briefer so I am at ease. I bet when people read my resume, they are at ease, too.

From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pablogracia/4730156741/
This is an example of a CV, but this one is a short one.


Do you want to see another CV? Go to Sara's blog and check out her "CV blog post".
Sara's blog: http://knodelcommunication.blogspot.com/

Easier AND HARDER THAN IT CAN EVER BE.

Without doubt, I agree with one thing that Larkin said in his “Ever write a Wikipedia article?” blog entry (http://larkin-ales204.blogspot.com/2011/11/ever-write-wikipedia-article.html) – Anyone can write and contribute to something, but getting it 'marked' as "Good" and figuring out the citations and coding was more challenging than I had expected for something that turned out to be so easy to edit.”

These few days, I experienced the meaning of doing something important—editing a Wikipedia article! After editing the article, I begin understand what it means to have commitment of time and hard work into writing or editing: I did my own research on Quick bread; verified the accuracy of the information already on the article; expanded on some ideas; and writing  new sections inside the article. It was hard work indeed! Now I know what authors of articles (newspaper, journal, Wikipedia etc.,) are feeling. Good thing someone—or some people—started the article already, so I had a blueprint to work on. Thanks my fellow “Quick bread” authors!


I decided to edit the “Quick Breads” article stub. For your information, “Quick breads” are baked products are leavened with chemical leavening agents (such as with sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid) as opposed to using yeast to leaven the bread. Products include muffins, some cakes and banana bread. Do you want to know more, visit my article! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_bread

Or if you just want to make some banana bread, go to this website, it's really good!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/bread/quick-bread/main.aspx

I have only edited a small Wikipedia stub on “Quick Bread”, but I realized a portion of my time already passed me by. Nevertheless, it was a good experience, because I made the valuable knowledge about quick bread more accessible to others. Next time someone bites into his/her commercially mass-produced muffin or banana bread and wants to know the science behind it, they’ll have a resource!


Here's an common example of quick bread--BANANA BREAD!

awesome picture motivational poster

life goes on...sometimes we have an awesome day sometimes not so awesome...but it is definitely a lesson that should be mastered in life. Regardless good or bad we have to....

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, A new perspective

Online Social media networking groups such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. are only good for keeping in touch with family and friends, right? Wrong! That is probably the common misconception that influences thousands possibly of people including myself. Washing away my ignorance, ALES 204 is showing me how these online social networking sites can have many useful purposes .


Knowledge
I can:

•  read about new discoveries made by scientists in short understandable passages on Twitter
• With other people whose interest is in nutrition or food science, we can share knowledge and I can learn from others. This can be done via Facebook and blogs
• Receive current news updates from around the world!

Online Profile
I can even create a business profile on Facebook which introduces me in a professional way. I can upload my credentials, my resume (past work experiences, volunteer experiences, awards and, skills, strengths etc.) This profile can help me connect with organizations and companies! Although sending resumés to companies by hand shows sincerity, an online public professional profile can be creative, attractive and is easily accessible by others.


Now I can utilize Facebook to help me befriend other individuals who who are in the same career field as I am! 


Here’s my business profile, take a look if you like!

I uploaded my information, resume, some pictures of me in my profession (nutrition and Food Science) and a few recommendations for some websites related to Nutrition and food Science.

go to my flickr site:http://www.flickr.com/photos/67889358@N08/6184436468/in/photostream

COMMUNICATION IS AN AMAZING MIRACLE!!

             HI EVERYBODY! THIS IS SILLY WILLY HERE! Actually I'm not a silly as you may think. My name is Wilson Leung. For those who know me, they just call me Wilson, or my Chinese name. I am a third year student at the University of Alberta. I study in the Nutrition and Food Science program.  However, whether I go to school or not, I think I'm a student for life! You may ask, "Like what?" Well, for instance, this year I'm taking a class called ALES 204--Communication Theory and Practise. I think Learning how to communicate ideas to other clearly and effectively may take a LIFETIME! There's even a "lab" for this class, (My lab section is D6). In these labs, we get to practise communication. That's awesome!

            Incidentally, communication plays a big role in my life, and I think it should! When a newspaper journalist effectively communicates to me about the current events, I can properly learn about what happened. When I read a textbook, and the author uses proper grammar and good flow of ideas, I can successfully understand the content. The best part is that there are so many techniques of communication: television, internet, books, magazines, posters...Simply amazing!

            I personally think communication can bring happiness, too! If language and communication didn't exist, we wouldn't be able to ask IQ questions! For me,  during a family meal or gathering, we ask each other IQ questions. It's sparks our critical thinking skills, builds some discussions (while we discuss we may let out a few jokes here! Afterall laughing is the best medicine, just as Paul McGhee said, “Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.”) IQ question discussion is definitely a good time to apply communication skills!
How about we do an IQ question now?

            There was a wealthy man who hired a security guard to watch his house during the night. One day, he was going to ride a plane to Canada, and booked his flight for the tomorrow morning. The next morning, he was about to leave his house when the security gaurd came to him and said, "Sir, don't go to Canada today, last night I had a dream that your plane you were going to ride would crash. Please don't leave!" The wealthy man said, "Alright, I won't leave today." So the wealthy man did not go to Canada. On the third day, the wealthy man heard on the news that the plane he was going to ride actually crashed! Luckily, there were only minor injuries. That night, the wealthy man thanked the security guard, "Friend, you saved my life! But I'm afraid I have to fire you."

            It seemed like that the security guard HELPED the wealthy man. But why was the guard fired instead of being given a raise?


Continue to follow my blog!! www.abcwilly.blogspot.com
Take  a look at this. Communication is great, but definitely we need to validate what we percieve: http://www.scotsalbury.nsw.edu.au/news/2011/08/18/joy-communication I agree with Mrs Heather Norton