A glimpse of the past....my final thoughts on ALES 204

I signed up for this class as part of the requirements for my degree, and had absolutely no idea what it was going to entail.  I admit that when I heard one of the first assignments was to create and online facebook profile I was skeptical about what was to come.  Much to my surprise the class took off in a completely different direction encompassing topics on ways to harness social media to communicate in an ever-changing business world also methods for effective communication in scientific writing.

I liked how the class introduced me to numerous social media sites that I would most likely not have encountered on my own such as flickr and audioboo.  Although the exposure was nice, it is unlikely that I will continue to use many of the sites.  This is because Facebook seems to be able to handle all of my current social networking needs and incorporates the ideas of many other social media sites into one.  Another interesting site was slide rocket, which allows users to create presentations similar in style to powerpoint.  I could see myself potentially using this site for university or business related projects in the future.

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed this class, and also learned many usefully things about my future career in the world of environmental science.

As you can tell the snow is now falling, and we are gearing up for the christmas holidays.  Here is a picture of my dobe Bowser playing outside on a warmer day last week!

D. Steve Ellery 2011

Thanks Dr Laccetti and TA's

As requested, here is a list of the comments I made on other students blogs over the semester:

Filmon Tzagetti

Ian McNeill

Cassandra McKenzie

Alex McCormick

Kelvin Wong

Writing for Wikipedia 1-oh-1

Wikipedia is an enourmous collection of digital information that is available to anybody with access to the internet.  This weeks assignment has the ALES 204 class updating wikipedia ‘stub’ articles.  These stubs are entries that contain incomplete information and usually lack credible sources.  We are attempting to fix that, by updating these articles.  My biggest challenge with this assignment was the actual wikipedia coding.

After writing on my topic of tree topping my biggest challenge was formatting the references.  The online coding guide is very confusing, and not easy to follow.  I haven’t had very much exposure to computer programming, and had a very tough time trying to do the references.  Although I did manage to get the referencing done, it took a lot longer than just copying and pasting from the bibliography.  Luckily, there is something on the site that helped fix my references up once I had the basic information inputted.  

It is also very important when writing encyclopedia entries that you form your points on facts and not opinions.  It is very important to have a credible source from which you obtained the information.  This gives the article more credibility and increases your chance of obtaining the status of ‘good’ article (which is what we are striving for!)  I have learned a lot about both wikipedia, and writing unbiased encyclopedia entries.

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2011)

Click here to view the article I wrote on tree topping.  Also feel free to leave a comment about the article or any challenges you have faced while writing encyclopedia style articles.  While walking my dog, I found multiple topped trees!  Here is the result of a topped Ulmus americana (American Elm),

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2011)

and a topped Populus sp. (Poplar, below) around the university area.  These trees are both producing and abundance of suckers near the wound.

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2011)

Check out a fellow classmates blog here.  He is studing in the field of sustainable agriculture which is a very important subject in a developing world.  Remember to consult a professional arborist before attempting to top or prune your trees, you could be cutting money right off the value of your property.  You may be surprised that trees add a considerable amount of monetary value to a property.

Thanks for reading!

Scientific Articles.....What A Drag

It was just last weekend that I wrote my very first lab report.  It was based on a lab I conducted in Biology 108.  I spent the entire day Saturday reading over the lab / results and analyzing the data.  It was even very frustrating trying to figure out where to start.

Kaustavs' presentation in ALES204 offered some great pointers for next time.  It is a good idea to begin writing the materials and procedures section first.  This way you get something down on the paper, and you will begin to make connections between the experiment and the results.  When writing out the procedure, it is imperative to be thorough and clear so that the reader could re-create the experiment if they wanted. Next it is best to write out the results section.  This section of a paper is often quite straightforward and requires no actual analysis of the data.  This section often includes your tables and figures based on raw data.  Remember, tables and figures need captions to explain the information they display, although analysis of the data should be saved for the discussion section.  Once you have written these two sections, it is time to start the introduction and discussion sections.  

I would also like to point out the importance of the editing process in a scientific  paper.  It is very important that you present your information in a way that is easily readable to the appropriate audience.  Small mistakes with spelling and grammar can be the difference between getting a paper published or not!  You also need to make sure all of the sentences you write make sense.  Have a few people read over your work, it is a good idea to have multiple viewpoints on your paper before submitting a final draft.  A thorough editing process is the only way to improve your paper to its full potential!

My advice is start the paper as early as possible to ensure you have enough time to properly edit your work.  It is also important to take breaks while you are working on these tough assignments, take time to appreciate what is going on around you.  For example this red Oak (Quercus rubra) I found on campus.  These don't grown in Calgary and I have never seen one before.

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2011)

It was quite unfortunate that this lecture did not happen just two weeks earlier!  Anyways, I am sure it will not be the last scientific article or lab report that I write in my university career.

For more information on writing scientific journals check out this site

I would also like to point out the blog of a fellow classmate Cassandra Mckenzie.  She is involved in the CSL program in our class and volunteering her time with Sustain SU.  This is a very great organization to have on campus that many fellow ALES students may be interested in.  You can check her blog out here

Thank you for reading!

...and then there was Facebook...

Hello readers, today's class was interesting as I was instructed to create a professional Facebook profile!  I have decided the aim of my profile will be to extend to future employers, a look into both my professional and personal life.  I have included in my profile things such as my favourite sports teams, activities, movies, T.V shows and other interests.  Adding these extra tidbits of information about hobbies will allow viewers (hopefully employers) to develop a better understanding about who we are.

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2011)

Also included on the page is my relevant work experience.  This is important for potential employers who will want to know what types of background skills and knowledge someone possess.  In the future I will be using this account to upload photos of projects that I have worked on during my career.  Facebook will be a great way to have an online portfolio that will not only describe my person more in-depth than a resume, but will also visually showcase some of the many projects I have worked on.  I will be using Facebook as an online photo album for people (including my boss) to view projects in various stages of completion and give them a sense of what is happening in the field.

To view my profile follow the link here

For more information on using Facebook professionally check out these TIPS ,  Pay attention to the new groups feature.  This allows you to manage your contacts as personal or professional within 1 account.  No need to have 2 accounts now when you can just make a separate list and control the access they have to your account.

While browsing classmates blogs I stumbled across a very well laid out blog with some cool features.  Also one of the only students it seems that isn't a Nutrition major (not that there is anything wrong with that!)  Check it out here

Thanks for reading......

Stay tuned for more adventures with ALES 204

Hello readers

Hello, my name is David (Steve) Ellery I am in the second year of my Bachelor of Environmental Science degree majoring in Land Reclamation and this is my blog.  Im not entirely sure what this blog will be about, but I know that it will develop over the next few months as I progress through my ALES (Agricultural, Life, and Environmental Science) 204 class.  Anyways on to the good stuff :) A little bit about ME!:

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2009)

Some of my hobbies include downhill skiing, vegetable gardening, hobby mechanics (I attempt to work on my vehicles and usually I'm successful), flying micro-helicopters, riding the 10 speed bike my dad gave me (he bought it in 1982 when he went to the U of A) and entertaining my 3 1/2 year old Red doberman pincher 'Bowser'.

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2011)

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2011)

From D. S. Ellerys' personal collection (2010)

I began my degree in 2003 at the University of Lethbridge where I was studying Management but lost interest in the program half way through.  Over the next four years I attended Old College and completed my Journeyman Landscape Gardener certification.  While doing my program at Olds my interests in horticulture and science (Chemistry to be specific) were sparked and I just had to know more.  I have decided to further my education with a Bachelors degree from the University of Alberta, which brings us to today.....September 14, 2011.....Now that I have bored you to death with my life story Im going to explain how communication is a critical factor in my workplace.

Image retrieved from www.uleth.ca

Image retrieved from www.oldscollege.ca

I have been employed with the City of Calgary for the last 3 years working in different departments such as irrigation, maintenance, and most recently Natural Areas Management.  As a foreman communication play a crucial role in my day to day operations.  I need to be able to keep track of my workers in the field throughout the day which is done with the use of a cell phone or face-to-face conversation.  It is important to have access to communication while working in the field in case of an emergency or other problems at site.  Most of the information that I receive during the day about problems in my district or ongoing projects is via email.  Email is a great source of communication as it provides a copy of what was sent, it is easy to store messages for long periods of time and can be opened on the go with my Blackberry.  I must also attend meetings with such people as my superiors, members of the public and co-workers on a daily basis and being able to communicate within large groups of people in a professional manner is critical.  I have recently started following @TheCityofCalgary on twitter, and occasionally check the Facebook site.  This is a great way to communicate information about jobs and upcoming events to the public.

This concludes my post, thanks for reading

Until next time......