Thursday, April 12, 2012

the end of ALES

I'm not really sure what I expected coming into ALES 204 in January, but I know that I definitely didn't expect FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging! This course has helped open my eyes to what I think is the up and coming way to do business. Currently many people use FaceBook and Twitter for their personal lives but I think the trend is going towards more and more businesses using social media and other on-line forms of communication to promote and build their business. My goal is to one day own a business and I feel that using social media and on-line communication can really give businesses and edge that not everyone has. Through ALES 204 I have been exposed to the ways in which on-line communication can help me in the future and I think it's great knowledge to have.

One of the assignments that I found the most interesting and valuable was Pecha Kucha. Before being introduced to Pecha Kucha in class I had never heard of it. I have had to do many PowerPoint presentations and I think that my future holds many more. I really feel that Pecha Kucha is a fantastic to give a PowerPoint presentation that keeps peoples attention rather than puts them to sleep as many PowerPoint presentation do. Having the opportunity to practice Pecha Kucha in a safe environment really put me at ease and gave me the confidence and desire to want to try using Pecha Kucha again. This is definitely one of the skills I have developed during ALES 204 that I will take with me!

I find that many university courses do not teach students practical skills and that's where ALES 204 is different. Throughout the semester I have been able to develop skills and learn about technologies that I will most likely use in my career. As technology continues to rapidly change people must also adapt and change with it. Some of the best tools used by businesses today were mostly likely not around 10 years ago and may no longer be as useful in 10 years from now. That is why it is so important to keep up with new technology and new was to grow businesses. One way to do this (since I can't take ALES 204 every year!) is to search the internet for helpful tips. One great website I found is 50 ideas for using Twitter for business. This website and others like it will be a very useful tool for me in the future. Jen has a similar take on the use for on-line communication for professionals. Check out more of what she thinks here.

On that note, it's now time for me to step into my future as a professional. I will take all of the skills I have learned in ALES 204 with me as I'm sure they will be useful in my career one time or another.

Image from: Vitamin Water Canada. Retrieved April 12, 2012 from:http://www.vitaminwatercanada.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/future.jpg

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