Blogger is an online area that is free where people can share their ideas and opinions, it is available to the whole world and the design of a persons blog can be designed to suit their interests and tastes.
There are many things to do with this online application, people can upload pictures of themselves, upload games, make movies of themseleves and put them on here. They can also put up posts to express their opinions and are a way that people can communicate when they can't speak face to face.
These blogs are a form of entertainment for people and a way to fill time, they are also free to set up which makes them easier to set up.
Tara Boltons OT Blog for participation in Occupation 1:This blog will describe the place of computer and digital technology as a tool for facilitating participation in occupation and enhancing therapy services.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Tutorial seven: Assistive technology
What is assisitive technology?
Assistive technology is commonly used in Occupational therapy.Asssitive technology is as stated by Cook & Hussey (2000)" a broad range of devices, services, strategies and practices that are conceived and applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals who have disabilities"(p.5). They are in simpler words devices used to make life easier for those with disabilities.
One example of an assistive device is the "buddy button". It is a switch that is activated by being touched anywhere on the top of its surface. It is made for individuals with disabilities that prevent them from being able to competently use their hands and/or arms. The "Buddy buttons" come in different colours and cost about $90. They are 6.3cm in diameter and 1.8cm in height and the "buddy buttons" target all age ranges.
How does this piece of equipment increase functional capacity for the user?
This piece of technology helps people interact with their environment and access the world around them by allowing even those with severe disabilities the chance to join in activities like cooking and baking by operating the machines with a simple push of this switch. Some disabled individuals cannot grasp small items like a spatula or do not have the capabilities to stir a mixture of dough, this switch however provides them with the capability to mix dough and be involved by using the switch to operate the machines.
Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice : Cook, A.M., & Hussey, S.M. (2000). Assistive technologies: principles and practice. St Louis: Mosby
Assistive technology is commonly used in Occupational therapy.Asssitive technology is as stated by Cook & Hussey (2000)" a broad range of devices, services, strategies and practices that are conceived and applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals who have disabilities"(p.5). They are in simpler words devices used to make life easier for those with disabilities.
One example of an assistive device is the "buddy button". It is a switch that is activated by being touched anywhere on the top of its surface. It is made for individuals with disabilities that prevent them from being able to competently use their hands and/or arms. The "Buddy buttons" come in different colours and cost about $90. They are 6.3cm in diameter and 1.8cm in height and the "buddy buttons" target all age ranges.
How does this piece of equipment increase functional capacity for the user?
This piece of technology helps people interact with their environment and access the world around them by allowing even those with severe disabilities the chance to join in activities like cooking and baking by operating the machines with a simple push of this switch. Some disabled individuals cannot grasp small items like a spatula or do not have the capabilities to stir a mixture of dough, this switch however provides them with the capability to mix dough and be involved by using the switch to operate the machines.
Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice : Cook, A.M., & Hussey, S.M. (2000). Assistive technologies: principles and practice. St Louis: Mosby
Tutorial eight:How to post Youtube videos and Flickr badges to blogs
The step by step process to embed Youtube videos into your blog:
1. Log into your blog
2. In another tab log into Youtube.com
3. Once you have arived in Youtube locate the video you want to upload to your blog and click on it
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and fing the "Embed" text box
5. Highlight the code in this box and right click on it and select "copy"
6. Now go back to your blog and click "new post"
7. Click on the "edit Html" tab and right click inside the textbox
8. Select paste and give the entry a title
9. Select "publish post"
10. Select "view blog" and you will now have your video embeded on your blog!
The step by step process to emebd a Fickr Badge into your blog:
Here is a youtube site that explains how to emebed a flickr badge onto your blog!
1. Log into your blog
2. In another tab log into Youtube.com
3. Once you have arived in Youtube locate the video you want to upload to your blog and click on it
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and fing the "Embed" text box
5. Highlight the code in this box and right click on it and select "copy"
6. Now go back to your blog and click "new post"
7. Click on the "edit Html" tab and right click inside the textbox
8. Select paste and give the entry a title
9. Select "publish post"
10. Select "view blog" and you will now have your video embeded on your blog!
The step by step process to emebd a Fickr Badge into your blog:
Here is a youtube site that explains how to emebed a flickr badge onto your blog!
Tutorial Four and Five: Video Production Sessions
Stalker on Campus
Here is a short fim that I created and loaded onto the site youtube:
Film production
Making a short film is a fun way to spend some time which involves alot of planning and scriptwriting, once you have created a short film it can be shared for everyone to see on youtube. But what is youtube....?
Youtube is the interactive website that allows people to share their videos with the world. Viewers can rate videos posted and the amount of times a video has been watched can be seen at the bottom of the video. T.V programmes, music, home videos and world news can all be posted onto this site which provides a way for different areas of the world to communicate and share their news and music etc.
....and why is it so important to plan your movie?
When wanting to make a video planning the video is very important. When planning my video with my group we had a big discussion on possible themes of our video, who would be the main characters, whether it would be a serious video or a comedy and other various factors like this. We also used a storyboard once we had a good idea of what we wanted our video to be about. The storyboard was very helpful in planning each scene for our video, it gave us a good idea of what was going to happen in each section of our video and provided us with the necessary stucture to make a good video. As a group we created the storyboard and went through each scene afterwards to ensure everyone knew what was happening.
We then produced a small script for each scene made on the storyboard. Providing a script is important as it gives everyone a starting point for each scene so we weren't just making things up on the spot. It was something that helped to also give our video more structure and gave us all more confidence that our video was going to make sense.
Here is a short fim that I created and loaded onto the site youtube:
Film production
Making a short film is a fun way to spend some time which involves alot of planning and scriptwriting, once you have created a short film it can be shared for everyone to see on youtube. But what is youtube....?
Youtube is the interactive website that allows people to share their videos with the world. Viewers can rate videos posted and the amount of times a video has been watched can be seen at the bottom of the video. T.V programmes, music, home videos and world news can all be posted onto this site which provides a way for different areas of the world to communicate and share their news and music etc.
....and why is it so important to plan your movie?
When wanting to make a video planning the video is very important. When planning my video with my group we had a big discussion on possible themes of our video, who would be the main characters, whether it would be a serious video or a comedy and other various factors like this. We also used a storyboard once we had a good idea of what we wanted our video to be about. The storyboard was very helpful in planning each scene for our video, it gave us a good idea of what was going to happen in each section of our video and provided us with the necessary stucture to make a good video. As a group we created the storyboard and went through each scene afterwards to ensure everyone knew what was happening.
We then produced a small script for each scene made on the storyboard. Providing a script is important as it gives everyone a starting point for each scene so we weren't just making things up on the spot. It was something that helped to also give our video more structure and gave us all more confidence that our video was going to make sense.
Tutorial six: The internet and online communities
Online communities are becoming increasingly popular, examples of these communities include wikepedia, yahoo.co.nz and facebook. As an Occupational therapy student it is important to be able to identify these communities to determmine what draws people to these communities and what they can draw from these communities. The community I will briefly discuss is Facebook (www.facebook.com).
The focus of Facebook is to allow people to communicate with each other by using the internet. People can chat via email or by using chatrooms, they can also leave comments and posts on other peoples pages to keep in touch. Facebook provides an easy way for people who do not see each other often to keep in touch.This site is very interactive as it allows diffrent groups from all over the world to communicate with one another. Services provided involve being able to upload photos,videos and being able to create events pages and groups that you like.
why people choose to contribute to this community (Facebook).
People that use facebook are using it as a way to communicate with people, as Sunderland (2010) states " online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life". Peole choose to use facebook as way to talk to people in a different way than texting or talking on the phone and use it to seek an easy and unique way of communicating.
Below is an example of what may be discussed in this community
Myself and my friend discussing when we will be home for the holidays:
Ella Smits: know wen ur going home yet?? i cant decide wen to book flights an ur decision will be a great help in order to make my decision
May 21 at 4:42pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · View Feedback (4)Hide Feedback (4) · See Wall-to-Wall
Tara Bolton: uhm nup i told mum that i have my last exam on the 24th of june and shes gna book tikz for me,ill prob go back around the 25th or 26th...good to see you still cant make decisions for yourself el haha
May 22 at 7:42pm · LikeUnlike ·
Topics dicussed in facebook are very personal, people discuss plans for the weekend, what they have been up to and where they have been.
Potential ethical issues that may arise in this community
People may try to add you as a friend and they may not be safe to add or people might pretend to be someone that they are not. The lack of privacy these communities provide is another ethical issue as Bynum & Rogerson (2004)state " one of the earliest computer ethics topics to arouse interest in America was privacy"(p.3)
Benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community
Facebook provides a quick way of communication that is cost free and provides every individual with an equal voice. It also gives people a chance to connect with people who have similar interests. They can also provide a great source of entertainment for people(Sunderland, 2010).
What this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can.
People who do not have access to interenet will not be able to be a part of this community and will be seperated from those who have access. As stated by Sunderland(2010) it may produce a "digital divide". People may also become reliant on this as a way of commnuicating with people and may lose appropriate communication skills to communicate with people face to face.
Bynum, T.W. & Rogerson, S. (2004). Computer ethics and professional responsibility. Oxford Blackwell Publishing.pdf PDF document
Sunderland, J.(2010)Online communities and the real world?Participation in occuaption 1
The focus of Facebook is to allow people to communicate with each other by using the internet. People can chat via email or by using chatrooms, they can also leave comments and posts on other peoples pages to keep in touch. Facebook provides an easy way for people who do not see each other often to keep in touch.This site is very interactive as it allows diffrent groups from all over the world to communicate with one another. Services provided involve being able to upload photos,videos and being able to create events pages and groups that you like.
why people choose to contribute to this community (Facebook).
People that use facebook are using it as a way to communicate with people, as Sunderland (2010) states " online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life". Peole choose to use facebook as way to talk to people in a different way than texting or talking on the phone and use it to seek an easy and unique way of communicating.
Below is an example of what may be discussed in this community
Myself and my friend discussing when we will be home for the holidays:
Ella Smits: know wen ur going home yet?? i cant decide wen to book flights an ur decision will be a great help in order to make my decision
May 21 at 4:42pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · View Feedback (4)Hide Feedback (4) · See Wall-to-Wall
Tara Bolton: uhm nup i told mum that i have my last exam on the 24th of june and shes gna book tikz for me,ill prob go back around the 25th or 26th...good to see you still cant make decisions for yourself el haha
May 22 at 7:42pm · LikeUnlike ·
Topics dicussed in facebook are very personal, people discuss plans for the weekend, what they have been up to and where they have been.
Potential ethical issues that may arise in this community
People may try to add you as a friend and they may not be safe to add or people might pretend to be someone that they are not. The lack of privacy these communities provide is another ethical issue as Bynum & Rogerson (2004)state " one of the earliest computer ethics topics to arouse interest in America was privacy"(p.3)
Benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community
Facebook provides a quick way of communication that is cost free and provides every individual with an equal voice. It also gives people a chance to connect with people who have similar interests. They can also provide a great source of entertainment for people(Sunderland, 2010).
What this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can.
People who do not have access to interenet will not be able to be a part of this community and will be seperated from those who have access. As stated by Sunderland(2010) it may produce a "digital divide". People may also become reliant on this as a way of commnuicating with people and may lose appropriate communication skills to communicate with people face to face.
Bynum, T.W. & Rogerson, S. (2004). Computer ethics and professional responsibility. Oxford Blackwell Publishing.pdf PDF document
Sunderland, J.(2010)Online communities and the real world?Participation in occuaption 1
Tutorial two: Digital camera use and applications
Digital cameras are often used in Occupational therapy with clients, there are numerous differences between different cameras and this blog identifies these differences and spots the pluses and minuses of traditional cameras and digital cameras.
Some pluses and minuses of digital camera technology and the more traditional film based cameras.
Digital camera technology is smaller and photos from these cameras can be stored and manipulated using other communications technology. With these cameras there is less equipment to carry around and they are much easier to store. However computers can loose files that hold the information from these cameras and as Sunderland (2010) states "new technologies are never totally superior to the older technologies they attempt to replace". These technologies also require more cords etc,so often end up costing more than older cameras.
More traditional film based cameras are larger and store photos on films which provide alot of character for the camera as these cameras are now rare. They are however larger and take up more space and if you want to look back at a picture you've just taken you can't until you've printed the photos, whereas with digital cameras you can look at the photo straight away and delete it or keep it.
Some ways digital images can be stored, transferred and manipulated using other communications technology.
Digital images can be stord on USB's, laptops and computers, on cellphones and Ipods. They can also be stored on websites like facebook and Bebo and can be manipulated on the television and the computer.
Ethical isues that may arise with using digital cameras.
Ensuring that if you're taking a photo of someone that you have their consent and also acquire their consent if you're intending to use that photo for other uses e. g creating a photoboard. Google map is a good example as many people are on this site and are unaware that people all over the world could view them on this website.
Digital camera use in Occupational therapy
Digital cameras are used to take photos of equipment which are uploaded to websites so clients can view the equipment. Cameras are used often to create photoboards for clients to make them feel more at home and facebook pages are often created for youth and photos of them uploaded onto these pages.
An online site where you can do different things with your own digital photos is Flickr.com
Services offeres by Flickr.com:
- Allows you to upload and organise photos
- Lets you make cards, posters, calendars etc. with your own photos
- You are able to view an array of photos uploaded by people from all over the world
- You can join groups to share interests. These groups have a pool for sharing photos and videos and also has a discussion board where people can interact.
Another photo storage website similar to Flickr.com is shutterfly.com
The difference between a digital zoom and an optical zoom
Digital zoom simply crops the image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. It results in a significant loss of quality however optical zoom works just like a zoom lens on a film camera. The lens changes focal length and magnification as it is zoomed. Image quality stays the same throughout the zoom range(Sunderland, 2010).
Sunderland, J.(2010) Tutorial two:digital cameras. Particiaption in occupation 1.
Some pluses and minuses of digital camera technology and the more traditional film based cameras.
Digital camera technology is smaller and photos from these cameras can be stored and manipulated using other communications technology. With these cameras there is less equipment to carry around and they are much easier to store. However computers can loose files that hold the information from these cameras and as Sunderland (2010) states "new technologies are never totally superior to the older technologies they attempt to replace". These technologies also require more cords etc,so often end up costing more than older cameras.
More traditional film based cameras are larger and store photos on films which provide alot of character for the camera as these cameras are now rare. They are however larger and take up more space and if you want to look back at a picture you've just taken you can't until you've printed the photos, whereas with digital cameras you can look at the photo straight away and delete it or keep it.
Some ways digital images can be stored, transferred and manipulated using other communications technology.
Digital images can be stord on USB's, laptops and computers, on cellphones and Ipods. They can also be stored on websites like facebook and Bebo and can be manipulated on the television and the computer.
Ethical isues that may arise with using digital cameras.
Ensuring that if you're taking a photo of someone that you have their consent and also acquire their consent if you're intending to use that photo for other uses e. g creating a photoboard. Google map is a good example as many people are on this site and are unaware that people all over the world could view them on this website.
Digital camera use in Occupational therapy
Digital cameras are used to take photos of equipment which are uploaded to websites so clients can view the equipment. Cameras are used often to create photoboards for clients to make them feel more at home and facebook pages are often created for youth and photos of them uploaded onto these pages.
An online site where you can do different things with your own digital photos is Flickr.com
Services offeres by Flickr.com:
- Allows you to upload and organise photos
- Lets you make cards, posters, calendars etc. with your own photos
- You are able to view an array of photos uploaded by people from all over the world
- You can join groups to share interests. These groups have a pool for sharing photos and videos and also has a discussion board where people can interact.
Another photo storage website similar to Flickr.com is shutterfly.com
The difference between a digital zoom and an optical zoom
Digital zoom simply crops the image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. It results in a significant loss of quality however optical zoom works just like a zoom lens on a film camera. The lens changes focal length and magnification as it is zoomed. Image quality stays the same throughout the zoom range(Sunderland, 2010).
Sunderland, J.(2010) Tutorial two:digital cameras. Particiaption in occupation 1.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tutorial one: Information Technology and Ethical Issues
Information Technology is becoming increasingly important in the working lives and day to day lives of society. As an Occuaptional therapy student I think it is important to understand the concepts involved with this technology and the ethics related to using it. This post is all about definitions involved with IT and how important it is to an occupational therapist.To begin with it is important to understand what information technology (IT) is.
Information technology
IT is defined by Hanks (1989) as "the production, storage and communication of information using computers and microelectronics". It is important as it is used daily in the way of computers, cell phones, iPods etc. Some jobs cannot be done without the use of computers for emails, scheduling patients in for appointments and other important tasks like this. Use of laptops for students is these days imperative and we have come to rely on technology to use it for lectures and to save files and assignments. Technology has become an important way of communicating with clients and people around us, and is quick and effective.How common place has it become?....VERY COMMON PLACE.Technology is increasingly becoming a bigger part of the way society communicates. I pesonally feel comfortable with using computers as i have used them often to complete work, to communicate with friends overseas and to store imortant photos and files.
IT-IN RELATION TO OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PRACTICE
On my first fieldwork experience i saw first hand how much technology is used in occupational therapy practice. Some examples are:
.Digital cameras used to photograph equipment to show clients the equipment available to them.
.Pager now being used by OT’s to let them know when a client has arrived.
.Computers used to store information about clients.
.Computers used to email other health professionals.
Although IT devices can be very helpful they also come with ethical implications. These implications include things like:
.Some people may get the wrong idea from an email or a text message as emotions cannot be seen or heard through these ways of communicating.
.Computers can decrease level of privacy in relation to client notes and other “sensitive information”. “The ease and efficiency with which computers and computer networks can be used to gather, store, search compare, retrieve and share personal information make computer technology especially threatening..”(Bynum & Rogerson, 2004).
With all this in mind it is clear there are ethics involved with computers and their use. What is the definition of "computer ethics"?
COMPUTER ETHICS IS...
defined by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics as "a branch of practical philosophy which details with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct".
Other definitions related to Information technology and ethics:
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
Defined by the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property as "an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attain to certain types of information, ideas or other intangibles in their expressed form. The holder of this entitlement is generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP .The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that the IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property".
SOCIAL JUSTICE:
"An ideal of society where “justice” refers to economic status rather than to the administration of laws. It is based on the idea of a society which gives individuals and groups fair treatment and a just share of the benefits of society, although what is “fair treatment” and a “just share” must remain unclear or subject to interpretation" as defined by the site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_justice.
INFORMED CONSENT:
Defined by the site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/informed_consent as "a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of the facts and implications of an action".
A great understanding of IT will be beneficial for practice and our daily lives as they have become a big part of society. Computers are being used more to complete daily tasks like communicating with peers and colleagues. Understanding the ethical issues that come with ITC will enable us to use these devices well and do it without doing anything unethical that will offend anyone.
Bynum, T.W. & Rogerson, S. (2004). Computer ethics and professional responsibility. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Retrieved February 14, 2007fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics
Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent
Retrieved February 14, 2007, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
Retreived Februry 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice
Information technology
IT is defined by Hanks (1989) as "the production, storage and communication of information using computers and microelectronics". It is important as it is used daily in the way of computers, cell phones, iPods etc. Some jobs cannot be done without the use of computers for emails, scheduling patients in for appointments and other important tasks like this. Use of laptops for students is these days imperative and we have come to rely on technology to use it for lectures and to save files and assignments. Technology has become an important way of communicating with clients and people around us, and is quick and effective.How common place has it become?....VERY COMMON PLACE.Technology is increasingly becoming a bigger part of the way society communicates. I pesonally feel comfortable with using computers as i have used them often to complete work, to communicate with friends overseas and to store imortant photos and files.
IT-IN RELATION TO OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PRACTICE
On my first fieldwork experience i saw first hand how much technology is used in occupational therapy practice. Some examples are:
.Digital cameras used to photograph equipment to show clients the equipment available to them.
.Pager now being used by OT’s to let them know when a client has arrived.
.Computers used to store information about clients.
.Computers used to email other health professionals.
Although IT devices can be very helpful they also come with ethical implications. These implications include things like:
.Some people may get the wrong idea from an email or a text message as emotions cannot be seen or heard through these ways of communicating.
.Computers can decrease level of privacy in relation to client notes and other “sensitive information”. “The ease and efficiency with which computers and computer networks can be used to gather, store, search compare, retrieve and share personal information make computer technology especially threatening..”(Bynum & Rogerson, 2004).
With all this in mind it is clear there are ethics involved with computers and their use. What is the definition of "computer ethics"?
COMPUTER ETHICS IS...
defined by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics as "a branch of practical philosophy which details with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct".
Other definitions related to Information technology and ethics:
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
Defined by the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property as "an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attain to certain types of information, ideas or other intangibles in their expressed form. The holder of this entitlement is generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP .The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that the IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property".
SOCIAL JUSTICE:
"An ideal of society where “justice” refers to economic status rather than to the administration of laws. It is based on the idea of a society which gives individuals and groups fair treatment and a just share of the benefits of society, although what is “fair treatment” and a “just share” must remain unclear or subject to interpretation" as defined by the site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_justice.
INFORMED CONSENT:
Defined by the site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/informed_consent as "a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of the facts and implications of an action".
A great understanding of IT will be beneficial for practice and our daily lives as they have become a big part of society. Computers are being used more to complete daily tasks like communicating with peers and colleagues. Understanding the ethical issues that come with ITC will enable us to use these devices well and do it without doing anything unethical that will offend anyone.
Bynum, T.W. & Rogerson, S. (2004). Computer ethics and professional responsibility. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Retrieved February 14, 2007fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics
Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent
Retrieved February 14, 2007, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
Retreived Februry 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)