Editing Wikipedia

For my Ales 204 lab on Wikipedia editing I chose to work on a Swan Lake Stub.

A stub is not enough information to provide encyclopedic coverage of a subject. I do not think that I would classify Wikipedia as a reliable source, or even call it an encyclopedia. Anyone can alter the information as long as they create a Wikipedia account. I think that the idea to have this site is a good one. If people actually took the time to do research on a specific topic and sited all their sources it could be a credible source of information. Since that is not the case, I like to use Wikipedia as a quick fix for information. In argumentative conversations I think that this site helps to settle disagreements. I admit that is one of the main reasons I use Wikipedia, to prove someone wrong! Although, I am not always right, but then again those who are writing articles on Wikipedia are not always correct with their thoughts too.

Another thing that I believe Wikipedia is good for in an academic sense, is to familiarize yourself with a topic before you do any extensive research. I think that getting some general knowledge from this source is good ground work before actually diving into any credible articles. It is good to start but not credible material to site on a topic.

I chose Swan Lake (Martins) as my stub to research and edit because I am a dancer. I have been dancing for 18 years, and I have a passion for it. I thought it would be interesting to find information on a performance that I have actually been a part of. The classical dance and music is amazing and I really did find it interesting completing this stub. After I was finished with researching as a homework break I went on a website called StumbleUpon and the first thing that popped up was the picture below (Kolnik, 2012), of ballet dancers in Swan Lake. I thought that it was a sign that I chose the right stub to work on! I found out about StumbleUpon from Lynda Forsyth’s blog. She is a classmate in Ales204 and when reading her blog posts made me curious and ready to log on that site!

(Photo Credits: Paul Kolnik, 2012)

Online Communication!- Personal Post

I am almost ready to graduate from the University Of Alberta, with my major in Material Culture and my minor in Marketing. I am so excited to finally be moving on with my life, and getting out of the school atmosphere. I am ready to put what I have learned to use, rather than just hypothetical assignments in class. I want what I create to be seen and shared among the community. It is a little bit scary t0 leave school and be in the working force, since all I know is how to be a student and have gotten used to having that title. I want to be on my own, and have a work life, but bitter sweet leaving campus and the freedom I have created being a student. Even though I am ready to leave, when the day finally comes that I have to I know that I will want to stay. When I talk to people who have already been through post-secondary school they tell me how different it is now than it was before. Registering for classes used to be in person and you would wake up extra early to get a good spot in line so you knew for sure you could be in the classes that you wanted. Now, everything is online and all we have to do is set our alarms at 6am and log on. You can still be in your pajamas, make a few clicks then go back to sleep. Back then assignments were all written out, or typed on a typewritter and you had to come to school to hand them in. If you were sick you had to figure out some way to get your assignment in to your professor before the deadline. Now, we can just add it to an email and click send, then off it goes and right to your professor with no worries. The invention of the internet has made life and communication easier. But now, it is still advancing!

I found this funny comic online about mail and email. This shows that back when the internet first came out and email was available as a form of communication we were so excited to get something in our inbox and ignore our boring letters from the regular mail. Now we keep accumulating emails and when a real letter comes in we are excited about that! I think that the invention of email is a wonderful thing, although it can be a bit of an overused convience and become annoying. Anyone can reach you at any time of the day! Online communicaton has made all our lives easier and provides more opportunities for networking. Although, always talking via online can diminish face-to-face relationships and cause people skills to go down the drain. There are two sides the way I see online communication, I really enjoy being able to set up meetings, or hand in homework over the internet, but I still prefer having an actual meeting rather than an online skype date!:)

 Photo Credits: Kelsey Rutar

Screen Shot of my friend and I on Skype. Taken on: March 22, 2012 at 7:13pm

The topics about the internet in my previous two paragraphs show show the internet has made school life easier. But now in the work force online communication has been an asset to getting things done efficiently. It is a great thing that in school we are now able to email our professors, hand in assignments online and get notes because it teaches us professional online edicate skills that we will use in our futures. Even now in classes professors are using social media as a means to communicate to students. It is a less formal way of communication but is still effective to getting your message across. Most of us now have smartphones, and are connected to social media all day every day. In school it allows you to connect to professors, TA’s, fellow students and even class groups and discussions. In the workforce, social media allows us to connect with other people in relative industies to your own. I am in the marketing and advertising field, and on twitter I am able to connect with ad groups in edmonton, and know about upcoming events that will further my contacts and therefore futher my career prospects.