Tutorial Eight: Assistive Technology

Assistive technology can be referred to as "a broad range of devices, services, strategies and practices that are conceived and applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals that have disabilities" (Cook & Hussey, 2000, p. 5).

One piece of equipment that I have been introduced to is a talking card.

This is a small card (75mm x 75mm) containing a recording chip. It is a simple to use record and playback device that has the capacity to record for about 10 seconds.
The card can be mounted with plastic enabling it to be written on with a non-permanent marker.
This device is excellent for recording voice, music, language and phonics. The device is also available in a range of sizes and costs from $20 depending on the size.

The talking card can be used to increase functional capacity for the user in the following ways:

• Helps people with memory loss to remember tasks, using their own voice prompts or someone else's (e.g. a caregiver, family member or employer)
• Allows clients to hear their own voice and get used to how they sound which can help with socialisation.
• Allows another alternative to giving/leaving instructions for clients, caregivers, family members or employers/employees.
  

Tutorial Seven: Posting YouTube Videos and Flickr Badges to Blogs - Explaining the Process

The following video explains the step by step process required to embed YouTube videos on to a Blog:




The following video explains the step by step process required to embed a Flickr Badge on to a Blog:

Tutorial Six: The Internet and Online Communities

The online community that I am investigating is Threadless

www.threadless.com

Threadless is a community-centred online apparel store. Members of the threadless community submit t-shirt designs online and the public vote for the best designs. A small percentage of designs are chosen to be printed and sold online. Designers are paid if their designs are chosen to be printed (retrieved on 12 May, 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threadless).

Threadless offers account holders the opportunity to score and purchase t-shirts online. It offers a great help service for new users with information about orders and shopping, product information, returns and submitting designs.
It is very interactive, very community-centered with lots of feedback from the public. There is a blog forum where people can contribute their own comments and have other people comment on their posting. It is a place where members can post their t-shirt designs to get feedback before they submit it to be scored.

People choose to contribute to this community for many reasons including:

• Anticipated reciprocity - people are motivated to contribute to the site if they know they will get something out of it (eg, comments on their designs).
• Increased recognition - people want to know that their information that they are sharing is wanted.
• Sense of efficacy - the act of contributing lets people know that they have helped someone (eg, by commenting on a t-shirt they have made someone feel good about their design)
• Sense of community - people are social beings, this site gives people a sense of 'belonging' to a group.

Considering the nature of this community-centred website there are potential ethical issues that may arise. Anyone can make any comment on the blog forum (if the website isn't moderated) and because of the lack of identity known there is no need for the person to be accountable for their comments.

The types of topics being discussed are those in relation to feedback on people's designs. For example:

This is going to be my official submissions entry. If you have the time, please vote and/or comment on my subs/WIPs/slogans below. Thank you verrrry much! :)

I'm liking your stuff. A LOT. But you knew this. Good luck on all your designs, they're gonna get high marks from me!

A great start! I've been trying to think of a rubik's cube design for ages and you've got a great idea there. Really well executed, too.

way to be! I predict that camouflage will be a big hit with voters and the extra work you put into it really shows.

nice! keep up the great work!

There are benefits that this online community holds over traditional notions of community.

• It can compliment real life
• It can provide large amounts of information
• It can provide connections over great distances instantly
• Gives the ability to connect with people of similar interests/needs/concerns
• Can foster understanding and unity
• It allows silent observation prior to participation
• Is without monetary cost

(Sutherland lecture, 4 May 2009)

There are however things that online communities lack/cannot provide which traditional communities can.

• The digital divide - only people who have access to the technology can participate
• Misuse - people may have an agenda when participating in the online community
• Delusional reliance on virtual communities
• Validity of the information being shared.
• Deciding who sustains and manages the community

(Sutherland lecture, 4 May 2009)

Tutorial Four & Five: Video Production Sessions

YouTube
"YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips". It's content includes "movie clips, tv clips and music videos as well as amateur content such as video blogging, and short original videos" (retrieved on 7 May 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube).

Storyboarding During a Short Film - The Great Getaway

It was very important for our group to plan how we were going to make our short film. To help with planning we used storyboarding which is "a large comic of the film or some section of the film produced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and television commercial advertising clients visualise the scenes and find potential problems before they occur" (retrieved on 12 May 2009, from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyboards).

Using a storyboard allowed our group to stay on track and finish our film within the allocated time frame because we had a clear idea about what we wanted to achieve and how we were going to achieve it. Any problems that we thought may occur were sorted out during the storyboard stage of filming process.

The Great Getaway:

Tutorial Three: Blog Creation

Blogger is "an easy way to share your thoughts about - current events, whats going on in your life or anything else you are to discuss - with the world".

It has a simple to use interface allowing you to change the style, size and colour of your test. It saves your work automatically so there is no chance of losing your valuable material. Blogger also offers a spell check feature and HTML editor that allows you to customise your posts.
With Blogger you can customise your template to best suit your needs and personality. You can add gadgets, which are extra features including slide shows, user polls and ads. You can also post videos and photos on your blog. Best of all Blogger is FREE! (retrieved on 7 May 2009 from blogger.com).

Another blog host is Blogspot - www.blogspot.com

Tutorial Two: Digital Camera Use and Applications

"A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature". This statement can be discussed in relation to digital camera technology. There are many pros and cons to the evolution of the film camera into the digital camera.

Pros:

• Allows easy distribution of images (via IT systems)
• Allows manipulation of images (could also be seen as a con)
• Ability to store large amount of information

Cons:

• Requires much more equipment, eg, cords, battery, electricity (to charge), memory card, computer and computer accessories (to upload photos, print etc)

The arrival of digital camera has brought with it many conveniences, but convenience often brings with it complex issues.

Some ways that digital images can be stored, transferred and manipulated are:

• Video cameras
• Laptops
• Camera phones
• CCTV
• Speed cameras
• Google Earth
• Hospital scanners (MRI,CT)

Many ethical issues arise given the prevalence of image capturing devices. Because most people are exposed to the above devices it makes it much easier for people to capture, store, transfer and manipulate images often without informed consent.

Digital images are used in occupation therapy to make things easier. Digital cameras are used to take site photos that are included in housing modifications, photos from digital cameras can be uploaded and posted on DHB or occupational therapy websites.

Flickr.com "is an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform. In addition to being a popular website for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository" (retrieved on 6 May 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr).
Flickr allows you to edit your photos (crop or erase red eye etc), organise your photos, share your photos with the world, make things out of your photos (cards, photo books and framed prints). And it's FREE! (retrieved on 6 May 2009 from www.flickr.com).

Another photo storage website which offers a service similar to Flickr is Snapfish Photo Sharing www.snapfish.co.nz

Digital and Optical Zoom
With optical zoom the lens changes focal length and magnification as it is zoomed. Image quality stays high throughout the zoom range. Digital zoom simply crops the image to a smaller size then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. This results in in a significant loss of quality (Sunderland, Tutorial 17 February 2009).

Megapixel
A pixel is a small square of colour in a digital image. A megapixel is one million pixels. It is these millions of tiny pixels that make up the smooth digital image we get to see (Sunderland, Tutorial 17 February 2009).

Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues

Information Technology (IT) is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. IT deals with the use of electronic computers, and computer software to convert, protect, process, transmit and securely retrieve information" (retrieved 6 May 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology).

Considering this definition, there are many different forms of IT prevalent in our society, most of which has become common place. It appears in the form of:

• Social networking sites
• Online websites
  
• Books
• Cell phones
• Telephones
• Google Earth
• Ipods
• DVD's
• Wii
• Email

The above forms of IT are the devices/systems I am most competent and comfortable using. I think this is because I am most familiar with them and I have been shown how to use them by 'IT savvy' people. Other devices/systems that I am aware of but not as knowledgeable about are:

• E-books
• Satellites
• Hard drives
• Blackberry's
• GPS
• MP3 players

IT is being used throughout many aspects of Occupational Therapy practice. Some devices/systems that I have come across during my fieldwork experiences are:

• Computers
• Assistive technology (eg magnifying glass on computer screens)
• Email communication
• Websites used as a reference source
• Mobile phones
• Communications devices (eg speech boards)

Because of the easily accessible nature of IT devices and systems there are many ethical implications that arise from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices/systems. Users need to be aware that people's privacy can easily be breached due to images captured and shared. Hacking and software piracy is an ethical issue that has arisen from the introduction of more modern IT devices/systems. Do people have a moral obligation to refrain from downloading/copying software, music and movies?

When using IT systems or devices the following definitions are concepts that users should be aware of:

Computer ethics is "how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct" (retrieved on 6 May 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics).

Intellectual property is "legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial". "Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights" (retrieved on 6 May 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/intellectual_property).

Social justice is "the concept of a society in which justice is achieved in every aspect of society, rather than merely a select group". "It is based on the concepts of human rights and equality" (retrieved on 6 May 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice).

Informed consent is "a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications and future consequences of an action" (retrieved on 6 May 2009 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent).

I think that an understanding of IT and the ethical issues it encompasses will help therapists in their practice and daily lives because it provides a guide with which to base how we gain and share information through IT systems and devices. By understanding the ethical implications we are aware of how to gain and share this information in a safe and acceptable way.