E Eppler, Vancouver, British Columbia

1. Blogging as a tool for learning, communicating & connecting,and translating knowledge into practice E Eppler, Vancouver, British Columbia

2. Figure 1: Functions of blogging pertinent to dietitians’ practice Building & maintaining a personal library Learning, thinking critically, reflecting on practice Image credit: bookshelf spectrum, revisited (2) Connecting, communicating, sharing information Image credit: The Journal (1) Image credit: Touch (3)

3. About the blog Greens & Berries Welcome 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. Image credit: A woman thinking (4) With blogging I am exploring how information technology can support dietitians' practice, networking and information-sharing.

4. Links e.g., Blogs on food, nutrition, health, sustainability. Archives Posts are stored in Archives by category and/or date. Figure 2. Structure of Greens & Berries Journal Resources 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. e.g., Research, reviews, practice guidelines, food composition, food allergy

5. 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 • Subscribe Image credit: Green leaf salad with comice pears, raspberries and cashew cheese (5)

6. 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: Vegetarian Diet (7) Image credit: Davidbrain (8) Image credit: CDC’s Information Center (9)

7. Journal An example of a 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)  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}

8. 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/

9. 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 • Omega-3 fatty acids • Podcasts • Prebiotics/Probiotics • Preceptoring & Mentoring • Professional Development & Continuing Competence • Research • Stroke • Sustainability Image credit: Another day in the library (11)

10. Resources Articles & Tools • 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 A bookshelf in my nutrition library – yes, I still value, acquire and read books printed on paper.

11. Links Other food, nutrition & health websites and blogs A few examples from a few categories: • 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) Image credit: Connections (12) • 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) • Security, Sustainability, Ethics • 100 Mile Diet • FarmFolk/CityFolk Society • Kitchen Gardeners International • Slow Food Vancouver

12. Image credits, links & permissions • 1. 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> • Green leaf salad with comice pears, raspberries and cashew cheese by QuintanaRoo <http://www.flickr.com/photos/quintanaroo/2183338734/> • Making yeast rolls by Rachelle Mee-Chapman (personal collection). • Vegetarian diet<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Vegetarian_diet.jpg> • Davidbrain by Priyan Weerappuli <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Davidbrain.JPG> • Aisle of bookshelves in the CDC’s Information Center(photo ID #7940) • pPod Shuffle by Lawrence Whittemore <http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrence_evil/128337650/> • Another day in the library by svenwerk < http://www.flickr.com/photos/svenwerk/207603573/> • 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.