Reflection on ALES 204

Another semester is coming to an end and it is time to wrap up this blog. Communication Theory and Practice has definitely shown me theories of scientific communication in social media and how it may change the future of science. It has also shown me how far social media has come in the professional and non-professional world. I found that this course was almost completely based on the capabilities of the internet. In addition, it also demonstrated the power of virtually instantaneous information on demand. These components of the course appear to be the most emphasized, which makes sense because it reflects the transition of modern society to cyber society.

The priorities of ALES 204 differ greatly from a previous communications course I have taken at a different institute called Technical Communications. Tech Comm for short, demonstrated the importance of interpersonal communication through technical papers, presentations, job search, interviews, and connecting with people in your field of work "for real". I believe these are the skills most important for getting a job. The required text book for that course was also a very good resource. I still use it today. Here is a link to it.

The skills gained in ALES 204 also covered these subjects and did well in many areas, but there was less emphasis on how to write technically and how to search for jobs, which for many students in their first couple years, frankly are poor at doing. The role and trends of the internet and social media in communication is very important but not as useful for students who can learn much of the ALES 204 subject matter on their own. Students are more concerned with their paper at the end of the term and getting a summer job. Not once did I hear someone say "make sure to start looking for summer jobs early!", a tip that I have found invaluable over the years.

Throughout the course I have benefited from being encouraged to develop a professional persona viewed by the public in the realm of internet inquiry. I got the chance to practice some interpersonal skills working in groups under strict time constraints, and got to to practice my speaking and introductory abilities to strangers. Chelsea describes what she learned in ALES 204 for public speaking in her blog post. I also received the chance to make my first academic poster with my own paper (shown below).

Image: Curtis Vieville

Seeing as this is a communications course it would make sense to connect with fellow students and their blogs. I Posted on Lucas', Lutong's, Karen's, Clara's, and Daniel's blogs.

Finally, cheers! Best of luck to the rest of ALES 204 students. I will see you in cyberland.