Social Media and ALES204 Students

In academia there continues to be a lot (a lot!) of discussion about the pros and cons of allowing (or enabling?!) students to use social media in class. There are quite a few (the majority it seems) of professors and teachers who think students should NOT use laptops or smartphones in class. They are a distraction is the oft' touted reason. Well students of #ALES204, you know I think differently! And, in many of our lectures I've tried to highlight why it is so important that we all learn to become digitally literate. It is more than just using Facebook, but learning to use it for specific purposes (like to promote oneself for a job) and learning to make some aspects of our profiles private. We're also learning that tweeting about research-related information can generate new connections - possibly even with future employees.

So, it is with this in mind that I share with you an infographic sent to me from Jenica Rhee. It is called The Digital Promise. What do you think?

Lecture 21: APA, Citation & Science

Image from the University of Alberta library guide profile.

Today we will have the pleasure of a lecture from Diane Clark, ALES librarian at the University of Alberta. Diane will wow us with all things APA.

During Diane's talk, please send three tweets reflecting on her talk to both of us: @JessL AND @di_clark. Also, feel free to ask Diane, via Twitter, any questions you might have. Be prepared too, as Diane might ask you to respond to her during her presentation using tweets!

Read a bit about Diane here and here.

Employability & Social Media Use

Students should find this infographic very informative!

Infographic by Reppler via Mashable.

#ALES204 Blog Stats

I thought you all would be interested to know that in this young blog's life (only 2 months old!), we have already had over 14 THOUSAND people coming to view your work! Congratulations!


Here is some information on the most popular blog posts, where people are coming from and how they find us.

Also of interest, are the words people use to search for us. The most common are:

ales 204
university of alberta blog
jessica laccetti class blog
science blog agriculture

Lecture 7: Twitter for Science Communication

Evan Williams on Listening with Twitter




In groups, read "Why Twitter Will Endure"
Then, fill in the main points of the article in the google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qiz0IywVkxbBKL98IA_pqZAeGIJWOR1DAZ9YzNn8HdI/edit?hl=en_US 
By the end of the activity we will have a complete summary

NOTE: Do not press the back button while working on the google doc otherwise you will refresh the page for everyone!

Lecture 7 - Twitter and Science

View more presentations from Jessica Laccetti.

Lecture 5: Online Class Today

Lots to do today!

By the end of class today students must:

Complete the social media survey on the Module 2 blog post

Set up a blog using Blogger and write an introductory post about you and your field of study and what role communication plays in your work (dissemination of results, linking with fellow researchers, etc.…)


In a comment on the Module 2 blog post, leave a link to your newly started blog and note which Lab Section you are in (absolutely necessary so the professor and TAs can grade your work)


 Note: you require a personal blog for your E-Portfolio.






Here is the rubric that will be used to grade your work. Keep it in mind as you write and create your blog so you can satisfy all criteria:

Lecture 4: Science Journalism

Outline:

• Review of Science Journalism
• Review of Readings
• Science Journalism Activity
• Friday = Online Class

Review:

•  Science communication: explaining the science
• Science popularization: making science popular, promoting science
• Science journalism: critically assessing science and its claim
• Your role: ALL THREE 

Knowing Your Audience and the PLoS Blogs:

• Choose one of the blog posts at PLoS that you read for homework:

• Think about the blogger’s writing style, which is most related: Science communication: explaining the science, Science popularization: making science popular, promoting science, or Science journalism: critically assessing science and its claim

• Who do you think is the intended audience? How does the blogger convey her/his information
• In groups of 5-6, answer these questions in a comment on today’s lecture post (Lecture 5) on the class blog.

Perspective:

nclose to a single person, e.g. a patient or a victim;

n

nhigh above a scene, reporting from a distance, independent and little involved;

n

nclose to an organisation that offers information, such as an NGO or a company;

n

nclose to the scientific community; 

n

nclose to the audience, examining problems in their daily life

Activity on Perspective:

• Choose one article/blog post from Scientopia (http://scientopia.org/blogs/ )  & one from Not Exactly Rocket Science (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/)  
• Compare the writing perspectives: what view does each blogger take? Does their view hamper the “objectivity” of the story? How or why?

• Send your responses to @JessL 

Final Thought

“Some journalists are still stuck in the model: We give you journalism, that’s the way it is. In this world, where we don’t know if there’s going to be a pandemic, or where the next terrorist attack will be, or how bad global warming is going to be, if I’m not engaged in a two-way street with scientifically engaged readers, I’m not responsible.”

Andrew Revkin

Friday's Online Class - By the end of class students must: 

• Complete the social media survey on the Module 2 blog post
• Set up a blog using Blogger and write an introductory post about you and your field of study and what role communication plays in your work (dissemination of results, linking with fellow researchers, etc.…)
• In a comment on the Module 2 blog post, leave a link to your newly started blog (absolutely necessary so the professor and TAs can grade your work) 
• Note: you require a personal blog for your E-Portfolio.

Twitter Alias Spreadsheet

Can everyone please find their name on the following spreadsheet (it's a google doc) and fill in the column with your twitter alias? I would like to cross-reference this with my information.

You can also access the google doc here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjsIVysTrCWkdGZjR1ZmRUxMdmJ3TThyQzRIbTg4Wnc&hl=en_US#gid=0

If you can fill this in by the end of Friday's online class (9:50am), that would be very helpful.

Thanks.





https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjsIVysTrCWkdGZjR1ZmRUxMdmJ3TThyQzRIbTg4Wnc&hl=en_US#gid=0

Lecture 3: Blogs & Twitter 101

Lecture 3: Blogs & Twitter 101, Intro to Science Journalism

View more presentations from Jessica Laccetti.

How To Use Twitter Effectively

Homework:

Come to next class having read:

Public Library of Science (PLoS): http://blogs.plos.org/blogosphere/ 

Scientopia: http://scientopia.org/blogs/ 

Not Exactly Rocket Science:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/  

Module 1 – Introduction to Social Media and Science Communication

The first week will focus on providing an overview of communication modes, assignments, and key terms such as new media, social media, convergence, interactivity, rss, blogs, microblogging…

Video: Did you Know 4.0: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8

Video: The Machine is Us/ing Us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

Lab – Module 1:

No Lab this week.