Reflective Blog Post

Figure 1. A beautiful sunset marking the end of a great semester. Photo author: Kendra Hilsenteger. Retrieved from Kendra Hilsenteger's iPhoto on April 12, 2012.

After completion of this semester, I feel like I have come away with a whole new outlook on the use of social media platforms in a professional setting. I have been introduced to a side of communication that I had never thought to make use of. I still have a lot to learn about how to better apply these social media techniques in my professional life, such as advertising myself to potential employers or applying for further educational pursuits. This course, however, has been the first stepping-stone to pointing me in the right direction. If you are interested in other ways of using social media in a professional sense, here is a website outlining a list of the Top 20 Social Networking Sites for Business Professionals.

My favorite assignment of the term by far was the Wikipedia post. This was the assignment in which I felt my research and citation skills were put to the test. I really began to understand the importance of providing correct and appropriate information, especially that which is available for use by the public domain. It was a brand new exercise that really opened my eyes to the appropriate ways to conduct myself on an online database. The assignment that I felt needed more improvement on my part was the participation on Twitter. I experienced some difficulty writing tweets that were critically literate within such a small character maximum, but I feel that with more practice I can improve upon my Twitter conduct.

I was really impressed with the quality of the student blogs that I read and commented on throughout the term. The students enrolled in ALES 204 proved to be a great set of hard-working, critical-thinking individuals, who will succeed in any career path that they choose. Here is a list of individuals and the corresponding blogs on which I commented:

1. Lauren Bradshaw
2. Rosie Templeton
3. Becky Bohlender
4. Chelsea Livingstone 
5. Deanna Halls

 Have a wonderful summer everyone! Thanks for a great term.