Looking Back...

Well folks this will probably be my last post for this blog so I hope you have enjoyed it while it lasted. I actually kind of enjoyed writing my thoughts down but its pretty much solely been on topics I'm not really passionate about. I think if I were to keep a blog up it would have to be themed towards something that I care about or can talk about extensively, like horses, school, or work. Or travelling - that would be more exciting then the previous three. So this experience has shown me that blogging might be something I could really get into, however this particular blog was just for class.

I also learned a lot about the process of blogging and various other sites and opportunities on the Internet, and I am really grateful for that. I agree with Andrea Roman's blog post about finally understanding the use of twitter, but still don't actually use it, as well as things like flickr, linked in, google docs, and audio boo. All of these things will become more and more useful as I further my education and start thinking about a career. I also really enjoyed writing my paper on open access publishing. So far I have been very ignorant to everything the Internet and global connection has given us, and took the things I do know about for granted. I truly learned a lot about the technological revolution that is currently taking place and how it radically changes all processes that came before it. Information should be freely accessible all around the world and the Internet is facilitating that opportunity. If you're for some reason interested in reading my paper on the Open Access Movement, here you go.

So in the end, I really enjoyed this class and gained exposure to so many new things that I will continue looking in to. Social media and on-line communication is the future and its about time I started to explore the possibilities. So who knows, this may not be my only blog yet!

retrieved from http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?safesearch=1&search_type=similar&similar_photo_id=69984652 

Well its been a good one ALES 204 and thanks!

Making My CV

Hey,

So today I am going to share with you my CV and the process I went through to make it. I have actually never needed a CV before because I have been working at the same job since I was 14. That job is for Stonecountry Farm and I never really had to apply or interview because I have been riding there since I was 7. So I started working on this for my ALES 204 class and I did not really know where to begin. I did some research on-line and found useful templates but I still wasn't sure what kind of information I wanted to include. The turning point for me was an ALES lecture where the prof and TA's shared their CV's with us. It was helpful to see how students and professionals in different areas formatted their CV and I chose to use a similar style when writing mine.

At first it was difficult to remember and put together everything I needed and then filter out only the important information. However, I am very happy with how it turned out. I took some points out from Kylie Mcleans blog post on good presentations and used them for my CV, like being to the point, structured and organized. Initially, I think I was trying to add too much when the simpler version is more concise and easy to read. I also thought about it from the employers prospective and ordered my points from most to least important. It is definitely a work in progress and since I am doing this for a class and not an actual job it could also be more tailored to a specific area of interest. This class was a good push for me to actually write this CV so I will have it in the future for other jobs.

PS. The document did not transfer well from word to google docs so the bullets and format looks better on the original :)

Thanks for reading,

Kira Macmillan

Making a Wiki Article

Hey!

This week I have been working on my own wikipedia entry. As part of this ALES 204 assignment we had to find an article stub (an incomplete article) on Wikipedia and add our own information to hopefully make it a "good" article. We also had to choose a stub that had something to do with our field of study. I am doing a major in companion and performance animals so I chose an article on an aspect of equine performance that I am personally familiar with, free jumping. I found it easy to write the actual information as I have done free jumping myself numerous times, however actually getting it on to wikipedia was another matter. I have to say that I struggled with the coding, especially when adding references. It was nice to see that they had some copywriter enforcement for downloading pictures but it also made my life a little harder. Gone are the days when anything on google images seemed to belong to you as well. Other then that things went quite well.

For some reason I can't add my screen shot picture so you will just have to look at the link. This is a picture of a horse I used to own, Duke, free jumping

I really enjoyed this experience, I have looked at Wikipedia articles many times and its nice to think that other people will now be looking at the information that I put up. Even though the information can be edited by anyone, for the most part it seems to be a good, open system that encourages the sharing of information and not the possession of it. I finally got to take a look at how that website works and it felt good to have some input this time. At the same time I also agree with Brianne Cheng's blog post that Wikipedia is not a legitimate source for a paper, however it can be used to look at other references. While it is nice to be able to freely share information, when it comes to a scholarly paper sources, articles that are written by professionals in the field are more appropriate.

Until next time,

Kira Macmillan

Furthering My Education!

Hello hello,

Retrieved from http://www.saskatoonsportscouncil.ca/nccp-part-b.html

So a couple weekends ago I took my first course in becoming a certified riding instructor. The NCCP course (national coaching certification program) was a 2 day, 16 hour course that I took at Whitemud Equestrian Centre. This was a horse-back riding specific course and we covered making ethical decisions, teaching and learning, preparing a lesson plan and analysing performance. Again all of this was thankfully horse specific so we covered making decisions about students and horses, teaching and learning styles to benefit both student and horse, emergency action plans involving human and horse injuries and analysing riders. This course is required in order to to be a certified instructor of beginners in Canada. This course is offered by the Alberta Equestrian Federation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was long days but I learned a lot! I currently teach 1 lesson a week and fill in when necessary. I have always gotten good feedback and see good results in my students but i definitely had room for improvement. Even going back and teaching my first lesson I felt I was much more organized and had a stronger structure to my lesson. The biggest thing I realized was I was trying to do too much in each lesson, so by picking one topic and  designing my exercises around that I was able to have a better flow to my lesson and able to reinforce what I was trying to teach. This course also boosted my confidence in preparing for my coaching exam. For me the most intimidating factor was presenting a professional lesson plan and emergency action plan. Both I am aware of but its more something I keep in my head rather than formally write down. Now I feel like I understand and can formulate both plans sufficiently.

The requirements for this coaching exam involve the NCCP course, having at least your level 6 riding, completing 10 hours under a mentor, and various paper work. I actually challenged and completed my level 8 over a year ago so that is settled, done the course, and now just need to be mentored. Through the course I met an instructor at Whitemud Equine Centre so I think I will do my mentoring there as I live only 2 minutes away. Then I will go for my exam which is an un-mounted lesson, mounted lesson, lesson on a lunge line, and a stable management portion. It will be over 2 days in front of 2 examiners. Still a little apprehensive. My ultimate goal is to complete my Equine Canada Competition Coach certification but I felt that doing the instructor of beginners was a good prep for that!

Bye for now, 

Kira

Business Profile!

Hi Again,

I want to share with everyone my new Business Profile on Facebook. I think this is an excellent idea because I am very private with my personal profile so potential employers would not be able to see or access it. Facebook is a good way to promote yourself in a way that is professional and transparent, an excellent source for businesses to get a sense of who they are considering hiring. By having a business profile I can "advertise" my work and volunteer experience, a bit of a background on myself, and pictures of achievements and activities I have been a part of. Its also a good way to keep my personal life, i.e photos  of me drinking or doing stupid things, and my friends private. It also shows that I am somewhat knowledgable in various forms of social media and communication. Facebook is a convenient and non-confrontational way for future employers to get a look at me. 

As social media becomes more and more popular it is more likely that businesses will turn to things like Facebook, blogs, and twitter to find and check out potential employees. I agree with Angela Komarnicki's blog when she says that it is likely employers will start turning to Facebook for things like resumes and that your profile should be that good first impression you always strive to give off at a first interview. This profile is a professional view of my life that is open to the public!

                                              Flikr Screen Shot

My Introduction

Hi!


My name is Kira Macmillan and welcome to my blog! I am in my second year of Animal Health Sciences and I am majoring in companion and performance animals. Actually thats kind of a lie.... right now I am registered in Environmental and Conservation Science but I have applied to change my program and have taken all my courses in accordance with the AN SC timeline this year and last year. So i just say I'm in Animal Science. Don't tell.

As far as my use of social media goes I would describe it as slim to none. I do have Facebook but that is mostly to say in touch while travelling and to communicate with a volunteer group I am part of. So I do check it almost daily but I rarely upload pictures or update my status. Because of my ALES 204 class i also now have twitter but I hate using it and I am only following 3 people, my prof, my dad, and Conan O'Brian - cuz he's awesome. As for followers, its just my dad and mad deals edmonton. I'm all for email, Facebook, and texting but outside of that I prefer all my communication to be face to face. I hardly connect with people in real life how am I supposed to do it electronically?

I spend most of my time on a farm working with horses and have been doing so since I was 7. I train horses, teach riding lessons, run a breeding program during the summer, and compete in jumping, dressage, english and western pleasure, reining, and gymkhana. I own a yearling filly named Eclipse and ride anything that needs work at my barn.

In addition to horses I am the treasurer for the Alberta Mentorship Society, a volunteer based organization the focuses on peer to peer support of our group and our community. This is a relatively new society, incorporated this year, and will shortly become a student group at the University of Alberta. We encourage leadership in young adults and taking an active role in the community. Check out AMP on Facebook :)

Well that's all you need to know about me right now.



Kira