Wrapping it all up

L.Adam (Personal collection, December 2011)

December already?! Yes, it is. Fall semester 2011 classes are coming to end, and final exams are looming. This blog was made as a part of my ALES 204 class on "Communication Theory and Practice". Coming in to this class, I was not sure what to expect. I had heard it involved lots of public speaking. On the first day, I soon realized this class would be more than just public speaking....it would transform my ways of communicating via the internet. Reading the syllabus, I noticed that would be using a wide diversity of social media sites to promote ourselves as a business person, to actively communicate with people in our respective fields    and to share information. To be honest, was also nice to see there were no exams...a huge relief for any university student! 

Now for a short story. This semester, I found a Registered Dietitian (R.D.) to volunteer with when I went to meet with her, she asked what classes I was taking. I explained them to her, and I told her about ALES 204. Her eyes instantly lit up; she was so happy to hear that we were learning how to use the internet effectively. She said her skills are lacking, yet this is the "new way in Nutrition". She mentioned that these skills will be very beneficial for me as I graduate. She further asked me about Twitter, because she knew she had common misconceptions-I told her I used to have those too. Twitter can be used effectively as R.D. to communicate nutritional facts, recipes and helpful websites. It can also benefit a R.D. as a place for rapid updates on food outbreaks (CFIA) or following other R.D.'s in the field who have specific expertise. From that meeting, it was further emphasized that this class would be useful in my career. The lectures on proper citations, scientific posters, library research and presentation skills will be particularly helpful even before I graduate.

Now that four months have passed, I have not only expanded my knowledge about the uses of the internet, but also have the confidence to put it into practice. I have made a Storify of an overview of my activity on the internet this term. In addition, I was able to effectively communicate with fellow classmates through Google Docs, Twitter and their respective blogs. By reading other students blogs, I felt this class had more of a personal feel. We were able to get to know our classmates through a different setting then the typical "sit in a classroom and I have seen you once before across the room" kind of feeling. Through this class, we were all linked through the ALES 204 class blog, and from there it was easy to click on other people's blogs and read their thoughts as well. I just finished reading my classmate, Kelvin's most recent post on a super-fruit that he is passionate about. I have never seen such a fruit before, however it seems like is a very functional fruit with additional health benefits. I would love to try it sometime! This is just another example of how information can easily be spread from person to person. If it wasn't for Kelvin, I may have never heard of a Mangosteen ever in my life! Thanks for expanding my knowledge Kelvin. This semester I also commented on some of my classmates blogs: Rebecca, Laurel, Kylie, Mareli and Julianna.

Image: Retrieved December 6, 2011 from the Flickr account of kmclean 2.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/67755971@N07/6299154322/

When I started this class I heard the combine roaring out my window, now as I end this class I am listening to Christmas music. Change is rapidly upon us, be it knowledge or something as simple as the seasons. Through the use of communicating on the internet, change can be communicated rapidly. Folksonomy, Flickr, Email, Delicious, Cloud Tagging, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, Google Docs, Audioboo, Storify....its incredible to see the vast diversity of the internet. Each and every one of these tools can be used effectively to market a product, or share scientific knowledge to the general public (or kept personally if one wishes). It amazes me to see where we all have came from, I remember in grade 6-I did not know much about the internet except Google and Ask Jeeves....see how far we have all come?!  Thanks ALES 204 and Dr. Laccetti!  

From L.Adam ( Personal collection, December 2011)

Merry Christmas! 

Changing the World of Wikipedia with Dried Cranberries...

Retrieved November 9, 2011 from personal Flickr account http://flic.kr/p/aDf9kx 

In ALES 204 we are leaving our personal footprint on the internet. I now have my own blog, Flickr account, Delicious account, Twitter account, and now a Wikipedia account! The assignment was to add to a stub on Wikipedia. A stub is an article on Wikipedia that is deemed as incomplete, and people are encouraged to add valid information to it. There are many, many stubs on Wikipedia-thus the possibilities are endless! The stubs are organized into topics-ranging from athlete biographies to vegetables to rock songs. I chose to add to the "Dried Cranberries" stub because I am in Nutrition and love food. I also have to admit it was because I have this excellent recipe for White Chocolate Craisin Cookies....and it reminded me of them. Now to get back on track...

To my surprise, the process of editing a Wikipedia page was actually quite simple. When I first went to edit the page, it looked overwhelming with the reference coding. However, once I figured out the <ref name=""> </ref> coding, I was good to go.

This assignment has given me a more positive outlook on Wikipedia, because as long as the author cites the information, one has a source to look back upon. I don't believe Wikipedia is appropriate for scientific articles, but if in need of a quick reference, this can be a source. In an article posted in the Edmonton Journal last week, it further mentioned that Wikipedia can be a source of information, but should not be your only source.

Through this Wikipedia page I feel as if I have made a contribution to the internet. I know this was a small contribution, however it is neat to think that when "Dried Cranberries" is searched on Google, my page can be a resource for people. And just as Kate mentioned, Wikipedia allows us to share our knowledge with others. So go on, update a wikipedia article and spread some knowledge.

Click here to see the Flickr screenshot.


*Note: I did not write the 1st paragraph in Benefits or the paragraph that begins with "Cranberries also have an anti-adhesion...". 

Science Article Assignment

One of the assignments in ALES 204 was to complete a comparison of a journal from 15-20 years ago to a current edition of the journal. Due to my interest in Nutrition, I chose the Journal of Nutrition. This journal dates back to September, 1928! Portraying nutritional information is not a recent concept, and dates back more than 80 years!


When reading some of the articles for this assignment, as I was thinking about the importance of communicating scientific information. Before coming to university, I was unaware there were scientific journals filled with articles that were published monthly for scientists to read and reference to. (Looking back on this now, I am not sure how I thought scientists communicated their information?) Yet, once attending university, I was bombarded with knowledge from professors or textbooks. However, ultimately this knowledge was from a scientific article, published by researchers into a journal. This is the basis of communicating science information from Edmonton, Canada to Shanghai, China and back. 


However, one of the issues that arise from scientific articles is the type of language, or jargon used in these articles. 


1st year me: "What, you want me to read this? None of these words make sense!"
3rd year me: "Okay, I can understand some parts of the article really well, and some not so much. Some of the parts I understand, I actually get excited to read because I might have just learned about that in my Biochemistry class." 

Portraying this information in a language that all can understand is the job of graduates with university degrees. As an aspiring registered dietitian, I will be a "recognized expert in translating scientific, medical and nutrition information into practical individualized therapeutic diets and meal plans for people"(College of Dietitians of Alberta, 2010). My role in society will be to understand these scientific articles and help the public in understanding how to better their health, based on recent findings. My fellow classmate, Naomi shares similar thoughts on her blog stating we as nutrition experts have to put the science into simple terms. Naomi also states the importance of the use of social media sites to 
promote health facts quickly, like "wildfire". 


By comparing these articles from two different time periods, I was able to see some advancement in science through the very specific research done currently, and the technological advancements such as computers. I look forward to seeing what the advancements will be during my career.  


Photo:
From L. Adam (personal collection, Nov 2011)
References:


College of Dietitians of Alberta. (2010). About Registered Dietitians. Retrieved from http://www.collegeofdietitians.ab.ca/Public/About RegisteredDietitians.aspx

Cooking Tree

On our ALES 204 blog, we were shown an example of an infographic on the current world food crisis. I was quite impressed by this article because I thought it was a effective method of communicating to a wide range of audiences, even one with little literacy capability.  


Recently, I just came across another effective method to share what foods/spices complement a food (See website for a larger image). The format of this tree has a center theme such as "Root Veg". The branches are corresponding root vegetables, such as a carrot. The carrot then has its own "mini branches" which are foods or spices that pair well with a carrot. For carrot, the branches are:


Apple, Chicken, Mango, Rasins, Beef, White Fish, Corriander, Biscuits, Ginger, Mild Cheese, Butter, Honey, Onion, Sour Cream, Lemon and Potato                       


This can help a cook plan meals with flavors that go well together, in an easy format. It's quick a quick and efficient way to communicate information. This visualization was designed by looking at 1000 different recipes and noting common flavor pairings.


I think this tree/web model could be used for many different functions. It could easily be something like a pamphlet on the signs of a heart attack vs. a stroke, and the branches could be . This visualization is another format that  I will have to remember for the future when trying to target different groups. Even someone with little literacy could probably pick up on the main concepts by reading a few key words, and not having to understand 'sentences'.  


What are your favorite food pairings? 


Excuse me while I go make myself a honey, carrot dish tossed with mangos and a side of chicken...


Image from:

McCandless, D. and Tyrer, W. (Oct 4, 2011). A Visualization to Help You Know the Complementary Flavors to Use When Cooking. TAXI. Retrieved October 30, 2011, from http://www.designtaxi.com/news/350727/A-Visualization-to-Help-You-Know-the-Complementary-Flavors-to-Use-When-Coo%20king/

From L. Adam (personal collection, September 2011)

A Second Facebook Page?

From L. Adam (personal collection, September 2011)

Another Facebook page I thought to myself, that just means more passwords to remember! But, yes Laura, this is for the professional you! So yes, you can see my professional page as a flickr screen shot as part 1 and part 2.

With this page, I wanted to reflect the path I have taken to bring me to where I am today. It has not been so easy for me in deciding what I wanted to do for a career. Take my brother for example, he has known he has wanted to be a pilot for about 5 years now, and has not wavered one day from that decision. Yet, I myself bounced between different career ideas-teacher, dietitian, speech therapist, teacher, dietitian.....it's difficult! However, right now I am so happy to say that I think I made the right decision. In class I get to learn about microorganisms that grow in foods, how the body utilizes all the food we eat and how what we eat can promote the health of our body in the future. Our bodies are incredibly, efficient machines.

The professional Facebook profile can be used by future employers to get an idea of who I am and what ideas I would bring to their organization. This could provide an employer with another source of information of who I am, a resume in a different format. Through this Facebook profile, creativity can be expressed more than in a standard resume on paper. I agree with what my fellow student, Larkin, had mentioned: "the internet is a tool that can either help or destroy your chances of succeeding in the work force". Personally, I would rather use the internet in a positive way, and help my chances of succeeding in following my passion.

Why Laura's harvest you ask? Well, two reasons:

1) I live on a farm, and as I start this blog it is harvest time-one of my favorite times of the year. Currently, I can smell dust in the air, and I hear the constant hum of the combine.
2) The definition of harvest is the act of gathering a crop. I thought to myself, crop can be the literal plant that most people think of, but it also can be anything we as an individual choose to gather from our day. Even something as simple as little joys in our day or something we learn. This blog is for my ALES 204 class, and the discoveries I make along the way in terms of social media.

So a little about me...

I am currently a fresh and new ALES student at the University of Alberta. For the past two years, I have been enrolled in the Faculty of Science, however this year I was ready for a change and to follow my passion-food! I am now in the BSc. in Nutrition program, and learning all about food and how it can be used to promote health. One day I hope to not work in a hospital, but work in my community, particularly with children promoting health and developing recipes. But we'll see where life takes me....

Some of my passions in life are baking, skating, skiing, curling, photography, gardening, traveling and my new found interest...rowing!

Communication in the realm of nutrition is abundant. The internet is over-saturated with information on what to eat, and what not to eat. I feel the importance, in my career, will be to effectively communicate credible information to the public. They want resources they can depend on, and understand. Currently, a great resource out there is the Dietitians of Canada website: http://www.dietitians.ca. It is a simple website filled with great recipes and resources for individuals of all ages and lifestyles.

It will not only be important to communicate with the public, but also with my fellow colleagues. This will be a way to share information regarding research findings or experiences that have worked or not worked. This communication could be something more private, such as through email, or public through a tweet or a blog. Through these communication sources, information can travel very fast which is a positive in this fast paced world. One of my favorite websites is http://www.tastespotting.com-a place where many food blog posts are placed on one page with great pictures! ....Believe me if you need a distraction during studying, this is it!