Farewell "Dumb Phone, I Got An iPhone

I was nervous coming into the UMD internship program,which has a technology emphasis, because I didn’t have a smart phone. My trusty red phone that looked like it survived a stampede could only call and text; it had no apps, no web browsing, no touch screen. I thought how am I going to survive this program when I can’t even send an e-mail or get directions on my phone?
Admittedly, at first I wasn’t excited to get a smart phone. I didn’t want to learn all the ins and outs of a complicated phone. Trusty red and I had a long history together and I knew how to use it well. But recently the time came for me to upgrade phones, so I finally said goodbye to my little red phone and upgraded to a shiny new iPhone.

I felt pretty clueless in the store surrounded by all the smart phone options. The clerk spoke highly of the iPhone, so I thought sure I’ll take that one! I got it home and spent the entire weekend playing with all the features and functions of the phone. It wasn’t always smooth sailing because of my smart phone learning curve. But after about a week I’m happy to report I am successfully using my iPhone for things I never knew I could!

My favorite part so far has been taking pictures and being able to e-mail them and upload to twitter or facebook right from my phone. I was amazed at how easily I was able to take a picture at a rotation and upload it to a powerpoint presentation within a few minutes. I used to not even use the camera on my old phone because it was such as hassle. I’m also really enjoying all the apps. There are some really cool nutrition related apps I never knew about, like the MyDS dietary supplement app from the Office of Dietary Supplements.

I’m still getting used to using my new smart phone but overall I’m happy I upgraded. When I had my “dumb phone” I was blissfully unaware of all I was missing by not having a smart phone. I used to think all I needed a phone for was to call and text; who needs all that other stuff? But all that other stuff is useful technology that can help me be a better dietitian. Now, if given the option to go back to the old trusty red phone, I think I’ll stick with my iPhone.

This is posted on behalf of Emily Izer, Dietetic Intern

FSNE Fall Conference: Technology and Real Food

By: Sasha B. Bard, MSN

Last week all of the dietetic interns had the opportunity to attend and present at the University of Maryland (UMD) Extension 2011 Food Supplement Nutrition Education (FSNE) Fall Conference. The FSNE program employs numerous nutrition educators that work in low-income areas throughout the state. Many of the FSNE educators work in public schools, teaching our children, but there are classes for adults as well. The annual fall conference is an opportunity to get all of the educators, interns, and program organizers in one room to share ideas, network, learn, and discuss the future of FSNE programming. The main focus of this year's fall conference was the use of social media and technology in nutrition education.

One of the highlights was the discussion of public health texting programs. Rebecca Dineen from the Baltimore City Health Department spoke about the Text4Baby program used to promote maternal and infant health. Texting programs are one example of how technology can help health professionals extend a message and reach a larger audience. The UMD Extension FSNE staff revealed their plan to launch a similar text campaign to promote healthy eating and regular exercise. The pilot program will start later this year and targets parents of school-age children.

The other interns and I contributed to the conference by presenting short technology tips throughout the day. My partner, Erika Wincheski, and I presented on Twitter and talked about its benefit for nutrition professionals. Other tech tools presented by our intern class included QR codes, Animoto, Poll Everywhere, and Dropbox. It was great to share our knowledge with the FSNE staff and get them excited about some of the tools we have been learning about in the internship.

We also got to hear Jackie Haven from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion speak about the launch of MyPlate. She discussed the role that technology has played in the promotion of the new food icon, specifically the online tools and resources available on the choosemyplate.gov website.

The day ended with the viewing of a documentary about school nutrition called Cafeteria Man. The film featured Tony Geraci, a chef and former food-service director of Baltimore City Public Schools, who challenged the school system to redefine its approach on nutrition. He is an advocate for garden based nutrition education and fought to get fresh and local foods into the public schools.

Take away message from the conference: It is a great time to be a nutrition professional!

There is a lot of attention on nutrition right now, in the media, in government, and thanks to the First Lady. Being able to navigate and utilize technology is an important part of working with today’s audience, but it’s not everything. As Tony Geraci might say, a bigger part of our job has to do with getting back to the basics. Grow real food. Eat real food.

Photo: Erika Wincheski (left) and myself, Sasha Bard, playing with MyPlate freebies at the UMD Extension 2011 FSNE Fall Conference.

For more information about:

Maryland Extension FSNE http://www.eatsmart.umd.edu/

Text4Baby http://www.text4baby.org/

Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/

Cafeteria Man http://cafeteriaman.com/

Traveling through Technology: International School Meals

By: Rachel Coury

Three weeks ago I started my Technology/Information Management rotation at FNIC (Food and Nutrition Information Center). This rotation has been an eye opening experience for me as it is completely different than the other rotations I have completed to date. At FNIC dietitians have more of a behind the scenes role. They essentially act as a resource center; their job to manage websites for food service personnel, nutrition educators, and others in the field to upgrade their skills and knowledge. They are constantly adding/updating resources to coincide with the current nutrition recommendations and trends. Since I have been here, we have added a “Sodium Reduction” page to go along with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines (they emphasize lowering your sodium intake), updated a Farm to School page as sustainability is a big trend right now, and added a page of webinar trainings- hello 21^st century.

My favorite project though was helping to develop an “International School Meal Programs” page. This page is completely different from any other on their site as it takes into consideration a global perspective on child feeding. I had a fun time researching different school meal programs around the globe and comparing them to ours. I learned that many countries are facing the same problems as us- developing healthier meals and promoting good health to combat the obesity epidemic that is affecting our population from a younger and younger age. On the other end of the spectrum are the third world countries in which humanitarian school feeding programs have focused their efforts. For many children in these countries, school lunch is the only meal they get all day. On the menu- usually porridge.

Although it is disheartening to hear about these struggles, I found many inspiring stories through my research. Organizations are dedicated to bringing food to schools in countries where children normally wouldn't have this luxury; kids are being taught how to start a farm in food deserts so that they can have access to food in the future; children are taking part in the process of growing/preparing meals so that they understand and appreciate where food comes from. We are making great strides in the area of global child nutrition, and I am thankful that, because of technology, I am able to learn about them.