Blog Entry 5: Reflecting on ALES 204...

Looking back on this course I believe I have learned quite a bit. I was already quite familiar with the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook,  I was fortunately introduced to other social media sites such as Flickr and ironically the site one I'm using right now, Blogger.  Although I was familiar with Twitter and Facebook, I did learn a few kew aspects of them.  For example, I knew about the hashtag feature on Twitter and how to use it, but I had never actually used it for educational uses.  I was quite surprised the information and opinions you can come across even when a person is only given 140 characters to write about something.  When we tweeted about the Farm Tech Conference, and discovered that hundreds of others were tweeting about it too, this is when it hit me that Twitter is an extraordinary place to share information.  Since then, I have found myself looking up trending topics daily and because of this, I stay in touch with a variety of topics such as politics,  entertainment news, and current events in my own city, country and all around the world!  Another example of something I have learned was when we made the professional Facebook page.  I had seen businesses make Facebook pages for themselves but I was unaware of the growing population of people making their own pages. This is a great idea as it is essentially an online resume that can be updated with the click of a button!  With the economy not being at it's best, it is beneficial for people to put themselves out there by making a page.  It makes it easier for an employer to see what a potential employee has to offer, and I believe that it shows the employer that this person has gone over and above to show their skills.  This facebook page is something that I would definitley consider using when looking for a job.

 

 

One site I was not very impressed with and will not use in the future was Delicious.  I found that it was not user friendly and just down right confusing.  When attending class I noticed that a majority of students - including myself - use smartphones instead of laptops.  I hadn't had any issues relying on a smartphone in this class until we started using delicious.  The website was not at all smartphone friendly (most websites now have both a smartphone format and a desktop format, Delicious does not) so it was very hard for me to navigate around when the only format of the site available was a desktop one.  It took me twice the amount of time to get signed up and posting than a classmate beside me using a laptop. 

On a sidenote, one assignment I really enjoyed was the Wikipedia Stub Assignment.  I use wikipedia on a daily basis, so being able to contribute to the cite was quite rewarding.  I was extremely surprised at the tremendous amount of unfinished articles they have and am motivated to keep updating them.  I have also discovered that before this assignment I had never really noticed when an article I was looking at was unfinished, but now I am noticing quite often that even articles that are on the longer side are also missing information. 

Overall, I found this course helpful.  Seeing as I believe that online communication and social media will inevitably be the future of education, this is a good class to get students familiarized with different ways to share their information and get information.  The internet gives us the oppurtunity of self-teaching and diverse learning, and this class has opened my eyes to all the different ways that this is possible.

 

 

Here is another students view on the course!

Also, here are my five comments on other students blogs. It was interesting to see what other students had to say about ALES 204 and the assignments.

1. Rosie T 

2. Cassandra H

3. Bianca C

4. Angela Z

5. Patrick L



References

The power of social media [Blog Post]. (2012). Retrieved April 13, 2012, from: http://innovativenurse.com/power-social-media-nurseup/

Blog Entry 4: Human Ecology

As I am a second year human ecology student, I have learned that a vast majority of people have no idea what human ecology is.  Everytime I tell someone what program I am in fot school I get the same lost face that screams, "HUH?".  So, I have decided to dedicate my free post to human ecology, for those who haven't the faintest idea as to what it is.

To get you started, human ecology is the study of humans and their environment.  It is impossible to define human ecology as it is an interdisiplinary subject.  Some believe it is a branch of sociology, others think it is how humans deal with environmental issues, and some claim it to have, "[emerged] from the study of ecology in the natural sciences and developing as a perspective for analysis and problem solving in several social sciences." (Micklin & Choldin, 1984)...the possibilities are endless. 

Human ecology is not something that is studied widely, infact the only two universities in Canada that offer it is the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta. I am very fortunate to have a university so close to home that offers this program. Since human ecology is rooted from the area of home economics, this is wear my career path fits in.  As Brown (1985) advises, "Enhancement of the well-being of families and improvement of the conditions of their existance has been a dominant value of the field since its origins," this is what human ecology means to me.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am in the human ecology combined education degree and plan to become a food studies teacher.  I honestly can't think of a better job for myself as I am maternal as it gets. Other career options that human ecology offers that I am interested in are; youth worker, shelter worker, family counsellor, social/community agency worker, and social worker. 

This is really just a great program and I encourage students who have not yet decided on a career to check it out here!
Also, I didn't mention the other path of human ecology, which is textiles and clothing, but here is another human ecology students blog who can tell you a bit about it!

 

References

Brown, M.M. (1985) Philosophical Studies of Home Economics in the United States: Our Practical-Intellectual Heritage. (Vol. II), East Lansing, MI; Michigan State University.

Micklin, M., and Choldin, H.M. (Eds.). (1984) Sociological Human Ecology: Contemporary Issues and Applications. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

[University of Alberta Department of Human Ecology] Retrieved March 13, 2012, from: http://www.toolkit.ualberta.ca/en/Toolkit/Logos/ALES/DepartmentofHumanEcology.aspx

Blog Entry 3: Wikipedia Stub Assignment - Friday March 23

Before this assignment I had no idea how much I relied on Wikipedia for quick information.  I also had no idea how much I didn't know about the background of Wikipedia or even the etymology of the word 'wiki' (it means 'quick' or 'fast'...very fitting!), and I appreciated learning those things. Since Wikipedia is my personal go-to to find quick information or a general idea of a subject, after learning in class about the reliability of Wikipedia I've become a little more skeptical of the information there (because of 'vandals') and have learned to take it with a grain of salt.  The good aspect of Wikipedia's reliability though, is the devoted 'wiki-police' that work hard to catch any false submissions or vandalism.

When introduced to the Wikipedia stubs I was interested.  When browsing them I was shocked because I had no idea how many popular items' articles were unfinished, such as the Boston Cream Pie and Disney's Wedding Pavillion.  and I didn't anticipate how difficult it would be to find reliable information on a stub to be able to improve it.  In some cases it just didn't seem like they could be improved.  I first started looking at musicians, assuming I would be able to find one without any elaborate information and submit that to their Wikipedia page.  I found a musician (Nate Ruess), who happens to be the lead singer of a band I am very familiar with, who didn't have any information on him,  and that - again- shocked me.  I thought it was strange that no one had submitted anything more than just what band he was in, so I went on an e-search to find more information, specifically his biogrpahy.  To my surprise, there was nothing.  I had the same problem with a couple other musicians. So, I then decided to take a different route and think about relating a stub to a class that I am taking or have taken in the past. I am currently enrolled in a Nutrition and Food Sciences class and a good chunk of the course focuses on food manufacturing. Because of this, I found myself on 'Food Company Stubs'.  From there I found "Elmer's Fine Foods," a company based in New Orleans, famous for their cheese curls, and I added the company's history (which I found through the company's website) onto their Wikipedia page.
Click here to see the new and improved page!

For another human ecology related edited stub done by a fellow classmate, click here.

Blog Entry 2: Creating a Professional Facebook Page

For this weeks assignment we were asked to create our own professional facebook page.  The idea of it is that it poses as an online resume for future employers to take a look at.  Resume's are very imporant as they help employers filter job applications quickly into who they think is qualified and who they think isn't qualified for whatever job they are posting. This new way of showing off your assets and experience makes it much easier for your future employers to check out what you have to offer.  With workplaces already starting to post positions online and requesting an e-mailed resume, this professional Facebook page looks like it'll be the next step!

I was skeptical at first about this professional page because, being a regular facebook user, I most often see 'pages' being used for promoting restaurants, bars and stores.  But now, I realize that this could be a great way to get my name out there with easy access to future employers, just like it's so easy for these facilities to get their names out there with consumers.  The fact that it is so easy to update makes it very appealing as well, and not wasting paper because of noticing a typo or adding an additional detail about yourself is a plus also.

This is the link to my professional facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ales204-Student/329398010434019#!/pages/Ales204-Student/329398010434019?sk=info

My classmate Paige Powers also has a very impressive facebook page if you'd like to check it out, she has a link to it in her blog, http://paipowers.blogspot.com/ .

Intoductory Post! January 20th.

Hello!
My name is Rebecca Miller.  I am a second year human ecology/combined education student with a minor in special education.  So far I have really enjoyed my experience at the U of A and I don't hesitate to inform others about human ecology because I've learned that not very many people know about it! Anyway my goal at the end of my 5 year degree is to become a high school Food Studies teacher.  Just as I was graduating high school they were starting a Special Needs Food Studies class and with my minor being special education I would love to get involved with something like that. Other classes I can teach with this degree are Fashion Studies, Health, Special Education, and CALM (Career And Life Managment) to name a few.

I would say that communication is a pretty important part of my daily life, having had facebook and twitter for many years and an iPhone with constant access to internet, checking updates and posts has become as automatic as checking my text messages and email.  I feel that being technology savvy is going to be extremely important by the time I start my teaching career.  Some high school teachers are even starting to have their own class websites making it easier for students and their parents to contact them, which is great! With all the new ways that students can go about doing assignments I'd really like to incorporate the online aspect more often in my classrooms than not, and I strongly feel that other aspiring teachers should consider this path also. Because of this, ALES 204 seems to be a great tutorial for those who don't use these great aspects of our technological world (and a good refresher for those of us that do!)

Since we are asked to start our own blog for this class I am pretty excited because hopefully it will give me the push to start my own food blog! I am an avid follower of food blogs (I am becoming a foods teacher so that's normal right?) and have a few personal favorites such as: http://lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com/ and http://www.skinnytaste.com/
I love how easily accessible they are and being able to read the comments of others who have tried the recipes and tweaked them almost always end up with success! These blogs will be a great tool when coming up with lesson plans and recipes in my classroom.
My friend and classmate Paige Powers loves food blogs too if you'd like to check out her blog too. http://paipowers.blogspot.com/
I've included a picture of a menu cover that I took while in Flagstaff, Arizona just a few weeks ago.  The reason why it was so exciting was because this restaurant was featured on the Food Network program "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives", so I was thrilled to be able to eat somewhere so famous!
Well that's enough about me!
-Rebecca