Tutorial 8 - Posting YouTube videos and Flickr Badges to Blogs

The following is an explanation of how to embed YouTube videos onto your blog.




The following is another video tutorial of how to embed a Flicker Badge to your blog

Tutorial 7 - Assisstive Technology

"Assisstive technology refers to a broad range of devices, services, strategies, and practices that are conceived applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals who have disabilities" (Cook and Hussey, 2000). Assisstive technology hence includes a wide range of things to help an individual engage in an activity. When we think of assisstive technology, it is not necessarily 'high tech' equipment. It can be very simple devices such as a keyboard that is bright yellow for visually impaired people.

In this tutorial we had two people come to talk to us and show us a range of assisstive technologies. One of the pieces of equipment introduced was a 'talking tin.' This was intitially designed to help people with a visual impairment to identify their tinned food. Hence TALKING TINS. However these devices have many more uses around the home or in the classroom. You can record a message on them and then play back the message. There were two models of the talking tin. One was a yellow model that cold hold a 10 second message and a red model that could hold 30 seconds of multiple messages. The yellow model cost $18 and red model costs $24 from Star Education.

Clients who have sustained a traumatic brain injury can use these to increase their functional capacity. They or someone else can record steps of a task on the talking tin and then the TBI client can replay the steps as many times as he or she like. Due to their condition they quite often have memory problems so the talking tin assists them to complete a task.

There are many types of assisstive technology!! Check out www.star-educational.co.nz to look at more devices and maybe even get yourself one!

Happy browsing technology friends :)

Tutorial 6 - The internet and online communities

Online communities are communities that reflect a community in the real world but instead, are on the internet. These online communities are a great way to connect with people and get information rapidly.

I decided to join the Mojozone which is an online community that has been established, for people to share information about rock climbing and bouldering in New Zealand. The website is www.mojozone.co.nz if anyone would like to check it out.

This community allows people to gain a lot of information about climbing and bouldering in New Zealand. Latest news items, articles that have been written, information about the different crags around NZ, a forum and access to other links that are related. This is a very interactive site as people can contribute enormously. People's contribution to this site is what makes it effective. There is a large forum that has several categories from general info, to information about crags, upcoming events, access issues, training and injuries, gear and also a category for people who are looking for a climbing buddy.

People choose to contribute to this community because it allows them to gain a lot of information in a short amount of time and over great distances. Because this community is based on climbing all over New Zealand, it allows people to gain information about crags and events in their own area as well as else where in New Zealand if they wish to go on a trip. The ease of this online community is very beneficial. It also allows people to gain information about a crag before going there so that they know what sort of gear to take and what to look out for, for example, whether you need to gain permission from land owner to gain access to a crag, or whether to look out for some dodgy bolting. The spread of the information via this online is rapid.

The following is an example of a topic being discussed under the 'crag' category;
"Has anyone got any idea s to the climbability/ boulderabilty of the limestone karst out pukekohe way? there is a caving business run out there (Nikau Cave) and google earth returns some cool looking valleys. I dont imagine im the first one to question whether its worth climbing as its pretty close to Auckland, i think about 90mins by the caving site, anyway, heres few links in what ive found, any info would be good, otherwise il probably just go for scenic drive with the zoom lense... These guys talk about a 100 ft cliffs..."
This is written by someone who has come across some limestone rocks out Pukekohe way and is wondering whether anyone else has been out to investigate whether it is climbable in terms of the strength of the rock and prospect holds.

With any online community there are always ethical issues surrounding the use of it. With Mojozone you can create your own user name, this is the name you go by when posting information. This means that people can have a lack of identity and if something went wrong because of the information they provided, they can escape accountability because they are essentialy anonymous. Althought there are a lot of people in this community, it is still small enough that people know who each other is, as you meet them out at the crags.

Although this online community is beneficial in getting information quickly and from a variety of sources it can not completely provide what some aspects of what the traditional communities. can. Because you can not see the people face to face there is less personal interaction. Being in a traditional climbing community allows you to interact with your peers, doing and talking about what you all enjoy it a familiar atmosphere. It is all good about talking about it, but it is the act of DOING that is the achievement of the community and being surrounded in the climbing atmosphere. That you can only get from traditional communities.

So although online communities are great they should not by any means completely replace traditional communities.

Tutorial Four & Five - Video Production Sessions

In these tutorials we looked at video production looked at filming techniques, how to use a video camera, the use of a storyboard to plan a video and finally editing the shots to make a complete and effective video.

In tutorial 4 we got to play with editing on the computer. Several scenes of a monkey walking the corridors needed to be cut and blended together to make a realistic and good short video that had consistency. We also uploaded a soundtrack to it.

Once we had learned how to use a film camera and practiced filming shots we got to have a go at creating a short video about overcoming adversity.

Before we started filming, we drew up a storyboard to assist with the filming. A storyboard is a shot by shot plan of the video you wish to create. This helped us to draw out the entire video and each individual shot. This meant that we weren't spending a long period of time filming as we had already decided on the shot. What the shot was going to be of and whether it was going to be a close up, panning, etc. This is also meant that editing became easier because everything was in sequence.

We created a short video about 'overcoming adversity.' After we edited the video we converted it into a Quicktime file so that we could upload it to Youtube. Youtube is an online community where people can upload videos onto the net via this site. People can share the videos whether they be music, comedy, educational or whatever your heart desires so long as it is within the realm of Youtubes terms and conditions. People can rate your video out of 5 stars and can see how many times it has been viewed. Youtube also allows you to share these videos to other online communities such as facebook and myspace.

If you wish to view the video you it can be viewed in the previous post or by going to Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H7U-QdTLK4

Enjoy!

Tutorial Three - Blog Creation Tasks

One of the classes that we do as a second year Occupational Therapy Student is 'Participation in Occupation 1' For this class we started up our own blogs (which you are currently reading) using blogger.com which is one of many blog hosts.

So what is a blog really? Well, it is basically a website that you can write stuff on, on a continuous basis. This allows readers to get new information about the blog's subject. Readers can comment on items that you have posted. Thus, it can be a way of connecting people to similar interests. You can also post photos onto your blog. If your photos are already on the web, such as on Flickr, then Blogger allows you to make a link between the two.

Blogger allows you to publish your thoughts, engage your family and friends and have complete control over it! You can choose to delete any comments that people may have left, you can control who can access and write on your blog and it let's you find people and blogs that share your interests. You can choose your own template, customize colours, fonts and layout of the page.

And if you thought that was exciting, there is one more service that blogger offers for the techno savvy people out there. GO MOBILE! Yes, you can send photos and text straight to your blog via you mobile.

If one may feel the need to spice it up a little you can try another blog host such as 'Blogsome.'

Enjoy Blogging people!

The Great Getaway

The Great Getaway is a short film that we made about overcoming adversity during tutorial 5. The people that took part in this film were NICOLE, Lisa, Chrissy, Karen, Claire and myself. I may be a thief but at least I am very smart thief (or so I thought) :P

Tutorial 2 - Digital Camera use and applications

"A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature." Despite advancements in new technology, they don't always out do the old technology in every way. With it will come some benefits but also some consequences. With digital cameras you need a lot more equipment than you did with old film cameras. You now need, cables, batteries, memory cards, printer, ink, and a computer. It is therefore dependent on other technology. Storage is also an issue. Having all the photos on a computer can mean that all could be lost easily when the computer breaks down. Even if backed up on CD's, these also have a life span of approximately 15 years. Through the advancement from film cameras the element of surprise is also lost because images can be seen straight away once taken. The positive thing about digital cameras is that the information can be sent back and forth relatively quick, hence instant, transferable and images can also be edited.

There are several ways in which digital images can be stored, transferred and manipulated using other communication technology. For example, images can be stored on computers and sent to other people over the internet using email systems or social network systems. Other programs such as photoshop can be used to manipulate and edit photos.

Given the prevalence of image capturing devices there are several ethical issues that may arise around their use. The need for informed consent is important to protect the subject or the subject owner's privacy. Because image capturing devices can be made very small these days, images can be taken without one's knowledge. The issue around storage is also important to consider. Who has access to the photos? Bearing in mind that images can be easily manipulated by is also another important issue to keep in mind.

Digital images could, or are being used in the Occupational Therapy practice for many reasons. Community OT's use a digital camera when doing home visits, especially when doing housing modifications so that therapists can take the images back to the office to review them and develop plans. Saves time for both the therapist and the client. Images are used for staff identification badges so that people can recognise the person as a member of staff and had accreditation.

Flickr.com allows you to upload photos for free into an account which you can share with others.
You can also create a link to flickr through blogs such as this, to take the readers to your photo collection.

Photobucket is another photo storage website which offers similar services to flickr.com.

There is a significant difference between a digital zoom and an optical zoom.
Optical Zoom - the lens changes focal length and magnification as it is zoomed. Image quality stays high throughout the zoom range.
Digital Zoom - Crops the image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. Quality is significantly lost.

The term megapixel refers to the pixel count. A pixel is one tiny square of the image. A digital image is made up of many small squares. A megapixel is 1 million of these squares or pixels.

Tutorial 1 - Information Technology and Ethical Issues

Information Technology (IT), also known as Information and Communication(s) Technology (ICT), is the production, storage and communication of information using computers and microelectronics.

Hanks, P. (ed). (1989) Collins Concise Dictionary. Glasgow: Bath Press

Technology has become very common place in our society. Even today the older generation that were not brought up around the new forms of technology may still be found using them. These days it is pretty much expected that everyone has certain pieces of technology such as cellphones.Technology that falls under the definition of Information Technology include such things as; computers, phones, i-pods, DVD's, Nintendo Wii's, satelites.

The IT devices that i feel comfortable and competent using are; cellphones, mp3 players, computers including systems such as the internet and email systems, televisions (although I don't watch much TV anymore) and DVD players.

IT is used considerably in the Occuaptional Therapy practice and it is continuing to grow. Email systems are vastly used to communicate between other team members, suppliers, clients and other industries. Mobile phones are often used, especially in community setting when therapists leave the building on home visits. It is a point of safety. Communication devices are used to interact with clients who my struggle to hear. Other technologies include equipment that have been designed to help clients, eg. hoists.

There are ethical implications around the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices such as mobile phones and systems such as the internet. Privacy is a major ethical implication. Information that is sent across such devices and systems can at any point be viewed by others if appropriate protection is not put in place. Accountability is another issue where information can be skewed by people. Anonymity can be good but also has it's negatives, such as on social networks where people can give a false identity.

Computer ethics is a branch of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct.

Retrieved March 02, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics

Intellectual property is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas or other intangibles in their expressed form. The holder of the entitlements get various rights in relation to the subject matter.

Retrieved March 02, 2009, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property

Social justice is a concept in society where "justice" is achieved in all avenues of society not just the 'law.' All individuals get fair treatment and just share of the benefits of society.

Retrieved March, 02, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice

Informed consent is a legal condition where a person gives consent based on the understanding and appreciation for the facts and the implications of the action in which they are consenting for.

Retrieved March, 02, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent

Having and understanding of ITC and ethical issues it encompasses will help us in our practice and daily lives because, technology is always advancing and is becoming more common place. Thus having that understanding is important as ITC is used a lot within the Occupational Therapy practice. Not only understanding about the technologies themselves but understanding the ethical issues is important in maintaining client's privacy and confidentiality.