Lessons Learned

     April is finally here and with it comes warmer weather, summer plans, final projects and exams. During this busy time it is important to look back and reflect upon the semester. The majority of my semester was spent on projects and assignments, as opposed to exams. I really enjoy this method of assessment because it allows me to demonstrate my capabilities and what I truly know. In particular, ALES 204 has its assignments set up to reflect what we learned in class. An example of this is the poster project. In class we learned techniques to create a scientific poster then later in lab we had to create one. The poster assignment let me immediately apply what I learned in class to real life, which will help ensure that I remember this skill.

     This semester I have come to realize how many social media sites there are. These sites are on the Internet to help people connect socially and professionally. Our class focused on the professional side of social media. We used sites like Facebook and Twitter to teach us how to maintain professionalism on our personal pages. I thought this would be easy for me to learn because I do not post inappropriate photos or comments online. What I quickly learned is that I need to watch my grammar and how I address people online. At the time these lessons were easy to implement, and I hope to continue to use them in my future online activity. My classmate Nicole discusses the importance of professionalism in blogging, a different form of social media our class used.

WEB3MANTRA (2010). Ultimate set of facebook & twitter icons vector material. Retrieved on: April 11, 2012 (http://www.web3mantra.com/2010/10/04/ultimate-set-of-facebook-twitter-icons-vector-material/)

     Another site that our class used was Flickr. This site allows people to upload pictures and share them. We used Flickr on several occasions but its main purpose in our class was to teach us about copyright. Being in University I am consistently being reminded about referencing my work. It was nice to take a step back and learn about where copyright laws come from and ways that the Internet has gotten around them. Flickr uses Creative Commons, which helps people share their work and stay within the rules of copyright. I appreciated being exposed to this site because I feel it is one I will use after ALES 204 is done.

     Throughout the semester I have gotten the chance to connect with my classmates through their blogs. Here are some of the comments I left on their posts:

Clara T 

Hannah O

Emily D 
Yvonne-Qiyun Liang
Sydney K 

     ALES 204 has taught me the lessons listed above and many more. I hope to take these lessons and apply them in my professional life.

Wiki Week

This week we had the opportunity to learn about wikis. Initially I thought this just meant Wikipedia, but what I have found out is that there are numerous wikis throughout the web. A wiki is a web site that allows users to edit its content and structure. Many wikis require its users to register before they edit, which helps the webpage monitor who posts what. A wiki that I found is called Green Wiki. This wiki focuses on the environment and its members share how to live sustainable.

In addition to learning about wikis we have had to edit a Wikipedia page. To do this we had to create an account with Wikipedia and then find a stub. The stub I found was one on zero-carbon cities. The process of finding a stub was quite time consuming, as there were many interesting topics to choose from. Once I selected a couple stubs I did minor research to see how much information I could find on each. When I thought I had enough information I settled on zero-carbon cities. 

The most difficult part of this assignment was finding references that had what I needed. There was lots of information about each city that was becoming zero-carbon, but each already had a page. Eventually I found some papers to pull information from. What I found to be the most useful in the papers were the abstracts and introductions; these gave general ideas about the topic. Here is a picture of my Wikipedia page.

My Wikipedia Page

Patterson, J. (2012). Zero-carbon city Wikipedia Entry (Screen Capture). Retrieved on: March 22, 2012 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-carbon_city)

In doing this assignment I realized how much I rely on Wikipedia as a starting point to find sources and information. A problem with Wikipedia is its accuracy, a classmate of mine discusses this problem. 

Career Profiling: A Post About Where Our Choices Can Take Us

The thought of life post graduation is both exciting and terrifying. Many graduates have anxiety when faced with having to search for a full time job. It can often be difficult to find a job that applies to your degree and that you are qualified for, as many places require at least two to three years of experience. A good idea for soon to be graduates is to keep an open mind when it comes to career options, doing so helps make every chance seem like an opportunity. In this blog post I will look at two potential career opportunities for myself.

The first potential job I will look at is an Environmental Educator. This job requires educating others about conservation, preservation and sustainability. The opportunities are vast because environmental education does not just apply to one demographic; children, teenagers, adults and seniors need to be educated. Some roles that an Environmental Educator takes on are planning programs, such as outdoor schools, and organizing and delivering presentations. This type of workplace would require strong oral communication skills. A great employee would need to be able to capture their audiences’ attention in a way that would make them passionate about the topic.

Giving an inciting presentationPresentation Agency. (2012). New research: Presentation slides make more of an impact than words. Retrieved on: March 8, 2012(http://www.presentationagency.com/)

The other potential job I will look at is an Environmental Communications Officer. This job involves informing the public about environmental information on behalf of a specific company. Communication styles in this type of work would be verbal and written. A job posting that I found states that a viable candidate must have excellent communication skills. In this job communication is very important because the future employee will be leading a team. When an individual is leading a team they not only communicate with the team, but they also must convey findings to their employers. In my opinion this type of job should also require a degree in communications or public relations.

The role communication plays within a workplace is astronomical, because of this a fellow classmate of mine points out that it is important to always stay caught up with new forms of social media. By doing this blog post I have learned that there is a wide variety of career opportunities in my field and more than one suits me.

Who Views Your Facebook?

This week’s lab led us to Facebook, one of my favorite time wasters. I was excited that I finally had a good excuse to go on. Our assignment was to design a public page to be used as an online resume. An important aspect of this assignment was to keep our page professional. In order to do this I continually told myself, if I put it on the page I would have to be prepared to talk about it in an interview. This definitely helped me to keep my page professional.

        The most difficult part of this assignment was finding a photo. Above all the display photo is a gateway for me to earn respect from my future employers. Therefore I needed to find one that reflected who I am and that I take my professional life seriously. The main reason I chose this display picture is it shows myself in nature, which demonstrates my passion for the environment. Another important reason for picking this picture is I am the only one in it. The employer is not looking to hire my friends or family, just me. A classmate of mine has a similar display picture, she involved nature and it is just of her. 

Top Part of My Facebook Profile (Photo Credit: Jenna Patterson)

Bottom Part of My Facebook Profile

           In her article on CSO Online, Joan Goodchild discusses social media mistakes that can lead to job loss. These mistakes range from complaining about your job to posting too much information about your social life. The alarming part of this article is how many companies use social media to track their employees.

        I will end my post by writing this, job opportunities do not come around everyday. It is silly to let something like one bad photo come between you and the opportunity of a lifetime. This assignment has taught me the value of a professional Facebook page, and this is definitely something I’ll remember for the future.

Introduction

    One of my greatest challenges in writing is figuring out where to start, blogging is no exception. As a first time blogger I am looking at my keyboard unsure where to begin. Yes there are mandatory topics to write about, but what I am struggling with most is how much detail about my life I want to share with strangers. Unlike facebook I can’t control who sees my information. 

    With that being said I have decided to share this. My name is Jenna, after a year of studying Public Health at the University of Lethbridge I decided it wasn't for me, I am now studying Conservation Sciences at the University of Alberta. I enjoy swimming, reading and going to the beach.

Photo Credits: Jenna Patterson

    
   Communication played a large role in my decision to transfer programs. I emailed and read blogs from people who were in my current and future fields. Because of the internet I was able to make an informed decision that will hopefully steer me towards my future career. One of the online profiles I visited was on the University of Alberta website. It showed me a realistic career path. 
    With my major being Human Dimensions of Environmental Management I have the potential to work in public outreach programs. If this is the case I will need to be able to communicate to large groups efficiently. A good way of reaching out to people is through social networking such as twitter and blogs. Although I prefer face-to-face communication, I understand that the world is becoming increasingly reliant on social networking to do business. I will therefore need to open my mind to new opportunities.
    Taylor Anderson brings up how communication can be limited by lack of cell reception. This is important for all employees in the field of conservation to consider. It means impeccable planning will need to be done pre-fieldstudy, and that the people out in the field are able to adapt appropriately to change.