Blogging as a tool for learning,

communicating & connecting,and translating knowledge into practice

E Eppler, Vancouver, British Columbia

Image credit: The Journal (1)

Image credit: bookshelf spectrum, revisited (2)

Image credit: Touch (3)

Figure 1: Functions of blogging pertinent to dietitians’ practice

Building & maintaining a personal library

Learning, thinking critically, reflecting on practice

Connecting, communicating, sharing information

About the blog Greens & BerriesWelcome to my home on the Web.

Greens & Berries is my public journal and library: an annotated collection of links to current topics in nutrition, food and health, as well as my most valuable learning, professional practice and healthy living resources.

With blogging I am exploring how information technology can support dietitians' practice, networking and information-sharing.

Image credit: A woman thinking (4)

Figure 2. Structure of Greens & Berries

Journal

Greens & Berries’ organization follows typical blog structure: a main section of dated entries and a sidebar for navigating the site – ie., visiting other pages.

The Journal is the home (main) page. Posts (entries) appear in reverse chronological order – i.e., the most recent one is first.

Other pages include lists of web Resources and Links to other sites.

Past posts are listed on a separate page, called Archives.

Resources

e.g., Research, reviews, practice guidelines, food composition, food allergy

Links

e.g., Blogs on food, nutrition, health, sustainability.

Archives

Posts are stored in Archives by category and/or date.

greens & berriesA DIETITIAN’S COLLECTION OF RESOURCES & REFLECTIONS

Sections & Features• Journal – posts (entries)

by date; readers’ comments• Archives – past posts• Resources – articles &

tools• Links – other websites• The Edible Balcony

Garden (another blog)• Search• SubscribeImage credit: Green leaf salad with comice pears, raspberries

and cashew cheese (5)

Journal Posts (entries) organized in reverse chronological order

Recent Topics:• Nutrition month• Interviews with

fellow bloggers• Wound healing• Nutrition podcasts • Stroke resources• Creating posters

Image credit: Making yeast rolls (6)

Image credit: CDC’s Information Center (9)Image credit: Davidbrain (8)

Image credit: Vegetarian Diet (7)

Journal An example of a post

 One evening I listened to three Rudd Center podcasts on food policy and obesity; the next night my brain had a more strenuous work-out while I listened to the audio track of this Stanford School of Medicine medcast on Vitamin D…. Here's how and where you can find these and other nutrition courses at iTunes U…. {simple, step-by-step instructions follow in the complete post}

iTunes U

Recently I listened to lectures at Stanford and Yale Universities without leaving my home city of Vancouver. And without paying any tuition fees. The post's title hints at how I did this. Yes, I "attended" these prestigious universities via iTunes U….

Image credit: pPod Shuffle (10)

Journal An example of a reader’s comment

About the iTunes U post

Thanks Elaine - I'll definitely be checking these out! I often have a long commute and listen to quite a few podcasts. One of my favourites is the BBCs Medical Matters podcast. It covers a different condition each week and is a nice lightweight refresher, as well as often talking about new treatments. It's aimed at the lay person so isn't too heavy going and it seems that nearly every week there is a nutritional slant to it. There is also a separate call-in programme where listeners can pose their own questions. Both programmes feature a lot of patient interviews/discussion and find the little insights they give into what it is like living with each condition really useful. You can subscribe here (or possibly also via itunes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/medmatters/

Archives Previous posts organized by date and category

Sample categories• Cancer• Cardiovascular

Health• Celiac Disease• Enteral feeding• Evidence-based

practice• Food allergy &

intolerance• Food Security• Head injury• Health Promotion• Medical resources

Image credit: Another day in the library (11)

• Omega-3 fatty acids• Podcasts• Prebiotics/Probiotics• Preceptoring &

Mentoring• Professional

Development & Continuing Competence

• Research • Stroke• Sustainability

Resources Articles & Tools

A bookshelf in my nutrition library – yes, I still value, acquire and read books printed on paper.

Stroke Prevention and Management

• Canadian Cardiovascular Society Position Statement

• Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care 2006 (Canadian Stroke Strategy)

• Evidence-Based Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women: 2007 Update

• Management of Patients with Stroke

• Trans Fatty Acids and Heart Disease and Stroke (Heart & Stroke Foundation Position Statement)

Nutrition Practice Resources –selected files and links from one of the growing and evolving collections

Links Other food, nutrition & health websites and blogs

Dietitians & other health, nutrition &/or food writers• Ceci n'est pas un food blog• Dietriffic.com• Leslie Beck• Liz Pearson• Michael Pollan• Mostly Eating• RD-2B• What to Eat (Marion Nestle)

Security, Sustainability, Ethics• 100 Mile Diet• FarmFolk/CityFolk Society• Kitchen Gardeners International• Slow Food Vancouver

A few examples from a few categories:

Online courses & podcasts• Food, Ethics and the Environment (Princeton University)

• Introduction to Human Nutrition (UC Berkley)

• The Ethics of Eating (An interview with Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life)

Image credit: Connections (12)

Image credits, links & permissions1. The journal by Hobo pd <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hobo_pd/299322976/>

2. Bookshelf spectrum revisited by chotda <http://flickr.com/photos/santos/1704875109/>

3. Touch by chrisevans <http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisevans/89406864/>

4. A woman thinking by ÁWá <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:A_woman_thinking.jpg>

5. Green leaf salad with comice pears, raspberries and cashew cheese by QuintanaRoo <http://www.flickr.com/photos/quintanaroo/2183338734/>

6. Making yeast rolls by Rachelle Mee-Chapman (personal collection).

7. Vegetarian diet <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Vegetarian_diet.jpg>

8. Davidbrain by Priyan Weerappuli <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Davidbrain.JPG>

9. Aisle of bookshelves in the CDC’s Information Center (photo ID #7940)

10. pPod Shuffle by Lawrence Whittemore <http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrence_evil/128337650/>

11. Another day in the library by svenwerk < http://www.flickr.com/photos/svenwerk/207603573/>

12. Connections by Amodiovalerio Verde <http://www.flickr.com/photos/amodiovalerioverde/264864230/>

• Images 1,5 used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en_CA

• Images 2,3,10,11,12 used used Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en_CA

• Images 4,8 used under a GNU Free Documentation License http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License

• Image 6 is in the public domain.

• All links checked and active on April 24, 2008.