Bye bye blog

So i have finally finished the last of my technical description blog post's so all that's left to say is peace out and thanks for reading :)

Technical Description Eight: Assistive technology

Assistive technology can be defined as products devices and equipment which are used to help people who are having trouble functioning increase or improve their capabilities. Products of assistive technology can enable people to carry out their activities of daily living and increase independence (Gerad, 2001). To me this means equipment that makes people with disabilities lives easier as well as allowing them to do tasks without help from others. It can make everyday tasks much more simple and let them focus on more important things. This can be done with the use of a range of technologies whether it be electric wheelchairs  or communication devices which allow people to talk to others.

One item that was introduced to us in our assistive technology tutorial was an apple Ipad. This device was a very interesting piece of equipment and the way it was explained to be used in practice was very cool. Ipads with wi fi cost anywhere from $799 to $1099, depending on how many GB’s you want and need, its size is 241.2 mm in length and 185.7 in width. The Ipad has many functions as it allows you to download all different kind of applications, in total it has 65,000 applications made just for the Ipad and the range is huge. With this huge range of applications you would be sure to find one that would suit almost anyone and it can be a great way to help people interact. There are many built in features the Ipad had such as camera, music, internet and emailing as well as much more. It is very light which would make it appropriate for a range of different users whether they be children or adults as well as appropriate functions for all ages.

The Ipad can the very helpful to increase the occupational capacity for the user as it is a very interactive piece of equipment within the applications it comes with things such as children’s games, help with children’s education as well as helping children interact whether it be with music pictures or words, here i have found a few videos on youtube which show how children with disabilities are able to communicate with the help of an ipad.

here is a video of a nonverbal boy who is able to communicate and play games with the use of an ipad

and finally this video shows how a mother is able to communicate with her nonverbal daughter via the Ipad

Technical Description Seven:

For this blog post we were asked to search for 5 online blogs that relate to OT practice and make links to them so here we are J

http://bloggingot.wordpress.com/ this site is a general site for occupational therapist to discuss issue and things involved when practicing.

http://otstudents.blogspot.com/ this blog is by a practicing OT that captures her journey from beginning to now.

http://wiihabtherapy.blogspot.com/ a blog about how Wii is used in rehab settings

http://karajojo.blogspot.com/ a blog capturing the events of a traveling OT

http://jonesfr1.blogspot.com/ a class mates blog J where I posted a comment on her class video

Technical Description Six: The internet and online communities

Tutorial Six:  The internet and online communities

“An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual” (Wikipedia, 2011) so under this topic I decided to look more closely at social networks. I am a huge fan of art and photography so each social network site I have chosen gives you the chance to share your pictures online with people from all over the world. Here are links to the sites I have chosen.

www.deviantArt.com

www.facebook.com

www.flickr.com

DeviantArt is the first online community I have listed; it is a website which allows anyone wherever they are in the world to share their art publically online. There is no limit to what people can put up it can be anything from sketches, photos and paintings to murals and sculptures the list is endless. One thing I really like about this site is that it allows any other members of the site to view and comment their opinions on your work. I think that the purpose of this site is to get peoples work out and seen by others, it gives them a chance to share their creations with millions of others and see what they think. The second community I found is the common facebook, I chose Facebook not only because I am a frequent user but because it also has some of the same aspects as deviantArt like the sharing of photos. Although this may not be Facebooks main feature and what it is known for I still think it is a very good feature as it too allows people to share with people pictures as well as allowing them to leave their comments I think the purpose of this website is to share your feeling and opinions as well as keeping in contact. Flickr.com, like DeviantArt focuses its website around photographs. Just like Facebook and DeviantArt Flickr allows you to share your photos with people all over the world and receive comments as well. All of these sites give people means of communication through pictures and art.

Although having something’s in common all of these sites also offer some very different services. DeviantArt for example is solely based around art; it has online forums and chat rooms where you can discuss topics with any other members of the site as well as having the availability to purchase peoples prints. Facebook offers a huge base around keeping in contact with people by being able to leave them messages on their pages, post status updates as well as keeping up to date with everyone and their lives. Flickr is another website based around art but more specifically photographs it allows you to share photographs and videos with people you know.

The reason to why I think people contribute to the site deviantArt is it is a way to express yourself as well as a way to get other people’s views on your works. With Facebook I think the reason people contribute to it is it is a very good way to keep in contact with people no matter where in the world you are. With flickr I think that people like having the chance to show their pictures and videos with all their friends to share fun times like holidays or trips they may have had.

Here are some topics discussed on these sites:

Deviant art has many different forums that anyone can comment on like this topic for example “What do you spend most of your money on”. Facebook has many pages and groups that people can discuss such as this topic for example: When someone says "stop" my brain says "Hammertime!”  Flickr has groups similar such as “The world through photography”. Each site has a huge range of topics that are discussed; each site gives peoples to express their own opinions.There could be many problems that arise from these sites such as lack of identity and accountability. With all of these sites it would be very simple for individuals to create fake accounts as well as the details that go with it. Because of this it protects the identity of the user which is good in general but it could have some implications with fraud and people saying they are someone who they are not. These sites can be very time consuming as I have found especially around assessment time and can be a huge distraction. When having and involving yourself in these sites it would be important to not get too caught up in it as it could become quite over ruling.The benefits these online communities have over traditional geographical communities are that no matter where you are in the world you are able to communicate. With these online communities it makes taking to someone on the other side of the world so simple. You no longer need to see people if you want to talk to them or catch up on their lives. Along with this it makes it a lot cheaper than having to phone someone when they are halfway around the world as we know how expensive this can be. These communities provide a cheap and easy way to communicate with any one no matter where they are as long as they have access to the internet.Although this community has many positives it also has some negatives when comparing to traditional forms of communication. Traditionally if you wanted to talk to people you had to do it face to face or over the phone. Because of these online social networks we lose a lot of personal conversations as well as personal interactions. By being online and talking to loved ones overseas it can also take the meaning away from getting to see someone you haven’t for a long time.

Technical Description Five: Video Production Sessions

YouTube can offer many services to us whether this is for work or play. For example YouTube has a huge amount of educational videos and explanations of many different topics. It can be a great place to learn a new skill for example, dances moves, photography tricks and almost anything you could think of. From YouTube we are able to gain video resources which we can then use to help further explain examples like I have been doing within this blog.  YouTube can provide people with music and videos which can be very meaningful to individuals as well as giving them a chance to express their own opinions.

I was asked to introduce a topic of interest which I have drawn on from fieldwork placements so I decide to do relaxation. Relaxation is a broad topic to explain but in general it is a release of tension. On my fieldwork placement we had night sessions once a week where the occupational therapist took a relaxation class with the clients on the ward. People who attended expressed how much they enjoyed these classes and I must admit they worked very well. At the end of my placement I was lucky enough to be allowed to give it a go and found it a very cool exercise to run. So with this topic I have been asked to find five different sources of online video content that help explain or demonstrate this topic so sit back and enjoy.

Firstly I have an example of guided relaxation.

This video focuses mostly on relaxing your muscles and has a really helpful explanation at the beginning.

This explains some techniques to help relaxing and also mentions alternatives you could do if this kind of relaxation is not for you.

This movie I found really good as the instructor talks you through how to get relaxed when experiencing a phobia. I found it very helpful as she uses herself to demonstrate.

There are many relaxation tracks on YouTube that are all kinds of noises that individuals may find relaxing such as waves crashing and birds singing. Here I found a video which is the sound of rain.

Technical Description Two:

There are many different ways people store share and manipulate digital images by using a range of hardware and software. Some examples of hardware used to store digital images can be devices such as USB’s and external hard drives. People can use devices like these as a back up to keep their photos safe as well as using them to share digital images by transferring from computer to computer, here is a link to a website which describes this http://www.ehow.com/facts_4969259_what-external-hard-drive-used.html (Demand Media, 1999-2011). There are many examples of software used for digital imaging such as websites like Facebook and flickr.com where people can put photos online to share with people all over the world. There are many Photoshop programs which people can use on computers now which allow the users to enhance and manipulate here is a link to a site which explains photoshop in more detail http://www.washington.edu/lst/help/graphics/photoshop/what-is-photoshop (Technology, 1998-2011). Digital imaging is used in many ways to provide information and keep records for example news papers and magazines use digital imaging every day, they use them to further explain stories or sometimes set the scene. By using images the media is able to draw in the reader and hopefully encourage them to read articles. The media uses digital images on the news to in a similar and to further describe a situation for example the Christchurch earthquake, here is a link to this example http://www.3news.co.nz/Christchurch-earthquake---PHOTOS/tabid/1125/articleID/199311/Default.aspx                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

“A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature”  In relation to digital cameras we can see how this statement is very relevant. We can see how many advantages digital cameras have such as your able to copy images onto computers and other storage devices as well as share them online. Digital cameras also allow us to edit and manipulate images so we can create different effects which we would not be able to do on an old style film cameras. In this video a man explains in detail a more advance list of advantages.

Although there are many obvious advantages with digital cameras there are also some disadvantages. One huge disadvantage i think there is with digital cameras are they are less social. This may sound like a strange statement but by having all of our photos stored on computers we are now less likely to sit around with family and friends looking through hard copies. I think these hard copies were more special to us as it was something that you had and appreciated as you could not just go online and print more off.

Many ethical issues can arise when capturing and distributing photos when using IT. The first example of this is privacy, the problem with photos that are captured and shared today are that they are accessible by many others when put on such websites such as Facebook and Flickr.com. When photos are taken of people and put on these websites without consent it can breached people’s privacy as many often many others see the photo’s before they have a chance to themselves. This can be a similar problem when taking photographs in public places such as shops and libraries as they may not appreciate photos been taking and shared where they have no control of how they are portrayed and shared.

Digital imaging is and could be used in many different ways within occupational therapy practise. One example of this could be record keeping with clients and could be used to show progress and how someone has advanced. They could also been used as before and afters to show clients how they have healed for example in burns units with clients who have had treatment or to show people results with things like scar management her is a link to a site which further explains what OT’s do on these wards http://www.rch.org.au/burns/staff/index.cfm?doc_id=2014.

With this technical description we were asked to open Flickr accounts and to share these photos on our blog my photos are of a few towns I like to consider home so enjoy. 

References:

Demand Media, I. (1999-2011). What Is an External Hard Drive Used For? Retrieved May 3, 2011, from eHow: http://www.ehow.com/facts_4969259_what-external-hard-drive-used.html

Technology, U. I. (1998-2011). What is Photoshop? Retrieved May 3rd, 2011, from Learning & Scholary Technologies, University of Washington: http://www.washington.edu/lst/help/graphics/photoshop/what-is-photoshop