tutorial 8 technical description

Tutorial Eight: Assistive technology

Provide a definition of Assistive technology (your Cook and Hussey reading may be helpful with this). Definition from the reading: assistive technology refers to “a broad range of devices, services, strategies and practices that are conceived and applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals who have disabilities.” Dave the occupational therapist and guest speaker defines assistive devices/ technology as being “anything that helps you achieve” in the context of working with people with a disability.

Describe one piece of equipment introduced in the assistive technology tutorial. Provide information on size, cost and functions. A blink switch from Spectronics. “Fibre optic blink switch with power control module” (PCM-2), head strap included. Specifications Dimensions: 1.9cm (3/4") L x 0.6cm (1/4") Diameter Sensing range: 0.6cm (1/4") Costs just $1,068.00 + $133.50 GST. But includes free shipping anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. The switch is very small in size and attaches to a pair of glasses to sit in front of an eye. Even though it is very small it is quite noticeable, looking like something out of a James Bond/ other action film. This switch works best when eye-blinking is the only movement the user is able to perform. The sensor is capable of discriminating between random eye-blinks and purposeful controlled eye-blinks. A head strap is included and the device can also be used with other body parts in fibre-optic mode. The switch is sensitive to the action of blinking; this sensitivity can be adjusted to only respond to purposeful blinks. The switch is connected to a sensitivity control and then to the appliance or ‘thing’ that is wanting to be controlled by the switch. Any electrical appliance can be plugged in allowing the person to take control and participate in their environment. http://www.spectronics.co.nz/product.asp?product=16165

How does your chosen piece of equipment increased functional capacity for the user? Provide examples here from the tutorial and lecture. If blinking is the only “repeatable, reliable movement that does not cause fatigue” for the person with the disability then this action can be utilised by the switch to allow the person to communicate via a communication device and/ or participate in the environment around them. Such as participating in meaningful activity like in the case of some of Dave’s students who wanted to do digital photography and DJ etc.

tutorial 7 technical description

Tutorial Seven: Posting You Tube Videos and Flickr Badges to Blogs: Explaining the process

Task One: Explain the step by step process required to embed You Tube videos into your Blog . Consider using screen captures to provide a visual representation of these steps. Go to You Tube and find the video you wish to embed. Highlight, right click and ‘Copy’ the URL address on the right of the screen. Go to your blogger account and click on ‘add post’. Right click to ‘paste’ the URL address into the new post screen. Click to submit the post. When you return to the main page of your blog the video should be there.

Task Two: Explain the step by step process required to embed a Flickr Badge into your Blog . Consider using screen captures to provide a visual representation of these steps. go to the flickr site and log into your account go to the bottom of the page and click on tools down the right side there in "build a badge" underlined, click on this then a page with step one will come up, click on the type of badge you would like to use. click next choose content choose colours if you want and click next then you copy and paste all the text/code go to blog and paste the text in page format.

tutorial 4 and 5 technical description

Tutorial Four and Five: Video Production Sessions

Task One: Follow instructions and work in a small group to plan and produce and edit a 30 second short.

Task Two: Set up a U Tube account

Task Three: Follow instructions to posting your video on U Tube.

Task Four (Blog Posting): Provide a brief summary of the services offered by U Tube. Information can be drawn from the week five tutorial hand out. You tube is a place where people can upload, watch and share videos they have made.

Task Five (Blog Posting): Provide a brief account (1-2 paragraphs) on how the use of planning (storyboarding and scripting aided your groups short film. Using story boarding to plan our short film was helpful in order to figure out how many shots we could fit into a 30second slot. We decided to use a mixture of still and moving shots, that way we could fit more information in and have more of a story going. Storyboarding allowed us to play around with the order that the shots needed to be in and reminded us which shots we still needed to take when we went out filming. This was important because we were not shooting in sequence.

tutorial 3 technical description

Tutorial Three: Blog Creation Tasks

Task One: Follow instructions to set up a account with Blogger

Task Two: Follow instructions to complete the following Blog construction tasks Choose a Blog Template (this can be changed later if you wish) Provide a Blog title (this will need to incorporate your name and the course title Participation in Occupation 1) Provide a Blog outline. This is a short statement outlining the purpose of the Blog (this information should come from the course outline and assessment guidelines for Participation in Occupation 1). Complete your Blog profile (you need to include your age, gender, industry, occupation and location) Up load a photo to your Blog profile Blog: is a contraction universally used for Weblog, a type of website where entries are made (such as in a journal or diary), displayed in a reverse chronological order.

Task Three: Follow instructions to start posting content. Your first two post should be taken from the technical descriptions for tutorials one and two.

Task Four: Provide a brief summary of the services offered by Blogger (this will be your third posting. Information can be drawn from the attached hand out). In addition to this name one other Blog host. Blogger offers a space for people to share their thoughts, photos, interests and their lives in general with either just their friends or the whole world. Others can write comments back to the person. Each site can be personalised with different backgrounds and page layouts. Blogger allows you to find others with similar interests and connect with these people.

Task Five: Upload 5 photos from tutorial 5 onto your flickr account.

Any remaining time can be spent · Exploring Blogs hosted by Blogger and other services (e.g.myspace) · Setting up a personal Blog · Organising your flickr account into groups

tutorial 2 technical description

Tutorial Two: Digital Camera use and applications

“A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature”. Briefly discuss this statement in relation to digital camera technology. What would you consider to be some of the pluses and minuses digital camera technology holds in relation to more traditional film based cameras? +ves: the process of taking photos and then being able to work with them and see them is almost instant in comparison to film. Digital is a lot more cost effective and less wasteful as you are not paying for the film and other materials and you can simply delete any unwanted/ dud photos. Digital allows you more uninterrupted photo taking time as you do not have to fiddle around changing films and the memory capabilities allow many more photos to be taken. -ves: often the quality of digital is not as good as film. The processing of film means you have a more permanent copy of the photo rather than files on the computer which can be lost quite easily. The ease at which digital photos can be distributed may mean it is harder to keep track of who has access to the photos and therefore is confidentiality still intact or the photos are open to misuse.

List some of the ways that digital images can be stored transferred and manipulated using other communications technology. Email Put on disc or stored on a memory stick Used in presentations Printed Posted on a blog or website Used in client notes or in a funding application

Given the prevalence of image capturing devices, and thinking about the issues discussed in tutorial one, consider what sort of ethical issues may arise with their use. If posted on a blog you need to be aware of how much control you have over who views the images and will this breach confidentiality of a client and do you have the permission of the involved parties. You also need to decide whether the material you post is appropriate and/or respectful of the purpose of the blog or website, and being aware of who will see it and is this ok. In regards to use of image capturing devices the user must be aware of the purpose of using it, will using it be of benefit to others and just making sure everyone knows how you intend to use the images.

Briefly discuss some of the ways that digital images could, or are, being used in occupational therapy practice. To take photos of certain aspects of a client’s house or wheelchair so the therapist can then make a plan for modifications and/or apply for funding. Recording group activities. Taking photos of equipment they see at expos or just out and about. Photos of equipment, clients, activities in action. These photos can then be shared with the team, other therapists, show to clients.

Provide a brief summary of the services offered by Flickr.com It is an interactive photo storage website where people can put their photos and share them with others. It is a way of managing them and making them available to others.

Name one other photo storage website which offers a service similar to Flickr.com Photo bucket

Explain what the difference is between a digital and an optical zoom “Optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the camera to bring the subject closer” where as digital zoom just takes a section of the photo and enlarges it, meaning the photo quality decreases as you digitally zoom in. (Optical is the real zoom). Retrieved from: http://www.photoxels.com/article-optical-digital-zoom.html on 4 june 2008.

Explain what is meant by the term mega pixel A megapixel is one million pixels. And a pixel is the smallest piece of information in a picture. Pixels are normally arranged in a regular 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel on 4 June 2008.

tutorial 1 technical description

Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues

Provide a definition of Information Technology/Information Communications Technology (APA reference required) "Information Technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), 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, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information." Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology on 30 May 2008.

Consider the definition of IT you have provided. How is this form of technology prevalent in our society? How common place has it become? It has become a part of everyday life and is essential for a lot of things we do nowadays because the systems have become so integrated into our society and the benefits of not using it just cannot compete.

What IT devices or system do you feel comfortable and competent using? Cellphone Digital camera Hotmail/ msn Memory stick Basic computer tasks.

Thinking about your own fieldwork experiences consider how IT is being used in Occupational Therapy practice? Internet/ intranet to store data or notes and communicate information via email and search for information. Phones: there is a lot of phone contact to clients nowadays. Digital cameras: to record for example the client’s bathroom when looking to modify it or put in rails. A picture can be a powerful piece of evidence when applying for funding.

What ethical implications arise from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices (e.g. mobile phones) or systems (e.g. internet) Confidentiality could be broken, you just need to be aware of who will have access to the information and that you get permission when appropriate. When using cellphones or email you need to be really accurate as to who you send information to and that you make sure you are sending your message to the right person.

Provide a definition of Computer Ethics (APA reference required) “Computer ethics is a branch of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct. The term "computer ethics" was first coined by Walter Maner[1] in the mid-1970s, but only since the 1990s has it started being integrated into professional development programs in academic settings. The importance of computer ethics increased through the 1990s. With the growth of the Internet, privacy issues as well as concerns regarding computing technologies such as spyware and web browser cookies have called into question ethical behavior in technology.” Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics on 4 June 2008.

Provide a definition of Intellectual Property (APA reference required) “Intellectual property (IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical, literary, and artistic works; inventions; and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, and related rights. Under intellectual property law, the holder of one of these abstract "properties" has certain exclusive rights to the creative work, commercial symbol, or invention by which it is covered.” Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property on 4 June 2008.

Provide a definition of Social Justice (APA reference required) “Social justice refers to the concept of a society in which justice is achieved in every aspect of society, rather than merely the administration of law. It is generally thought of as a world which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society. (Different proponents of social justice have developed different interpretations of what constitutes fair treatment and an impartial share.) It can also refer to the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society.” Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice on 4 June 2008.

Provide a definition of Informed Consent (APA reference required) “Informed consent is 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. The individual needs to be in possession of relevant facts and also of his or her reasoning faculties, such as not being mentally retarded or mentally ill and without an impairment of judgment at the time of consenting. Such impairments might include illness, intoxication, insufficient sleep, and other health problems.” Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent on 4 June 2008.

In your own words briefly summarise why (or why not) a great understanding of ITC and the ethical issues it encompasses will help us in our practice and daily lives. If we are to use ITC we just need to be aware of the ethical issues that could arise and that we prevent those from happening. If we are good users of ITC then we can only benefit and confidentiality and rapport with clients will not be breached. If we can use ITC effectively this will help us in out interactions with others in making sure information is shared in an accurate and respectful way and not only will we benefit but we can enhance others’ knowledge about a subject.

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