| Here is a link to a short video about how to embed You Tube videos into Blogs: |
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Monday, May 25, 2009
Tutorial Eight: Posting You Tube Videos and Flickr Badges to Blogs
Tutorial Seven: Assistive technology
“Assistive technology is a generic term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them”. (Retrieved 26 May 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology)
A piece of assistive technology that was explored in tutorial 7, was the ‘Talking Photo Album’. This is a device that allows messages – up to 10 seconds in length - to be recorded and played back. Drawings or photographs can be inserted into the plastic wallets to compliment this recorded information. The ‘Talking Photo Album’ is available from Star-Educational in either an A3 ($88) or A5 size ($65). It can be viewed and/or purchased online at: http://www.star-educational.co.nz/view_details.php?detail=true&cat=42&subcat=&id=107
“The Talking Photo Album supports speaking and listening…especially focusing on photo sequences, presentations, hiding and revealing pictures and word recognition”.
(Retrieved 26 May 2009 from http://www.star-educational.co.nz/view_details.php?detail=true&cat=42&subcat=&id=106
This technology was used in the tutorial to provide instructions on how to make pikelets. Each stage of the recipe could be played back at the touch of a button if instructions had not been understood.
The Talking Photo Album could be used to aid people with short term memory problems in that tasks can be recorded in sequence, and replayed if the information has not been processed or forgotten. It could also be used as a form of communicating personal thoughts to others e.g. someone with Motor Neurone who may lose the ability to talk as the disease progresses, could record their thoughts about special photos which they can then share with others.
A piece of assistive technology that was explored in tutorial 7, was the ‘Talking Photo Album’. This is a device that allows messages – up to 10 seconds in length - to be recorded and played back. Drawings or photographs can be inserted into the plastic wallets to compliment this recorded information. The ‘Talking Photo Album’ is available from Star-Educational in either an A3 ($88) or A5 size ($65). It can be viewed and/or purchased online at: http://www.star-educational.co.nz/view_details.php?detail=true&cat=42&subcat=&id=107
“The Talking Photo Album supports speaking and listening…especially focusing on photo sequences, presentations, hiding and revealing pictures and word recognition”.
(Retrieved 26 May 2009 from http://www.star-educational.co.nz/view_details.php?detail=true&cat=42&subcat=&id=106
This technology was used in the tutorial to provide instructions on how to make pikelets. Each stage of the recipe could be played back at the touch of a button if instructions had not been understood.
The Talking Photo Album could be used to aid people with short term memory problems in that tasks can be recorded in sequence, and replayed if the information has not been processed or forgotten. It could also be used as a form of communicating personal thoughts to others e.g. someone with Motor Neurone who may lose the ability to talk as the disease progresses, could record their thoughts about special photos which they can then share with others.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Tutorial Six: The internet and online communities
This week I have been exploring online communities and one that has particularly interested me is www.snowflick.co.nz.
Snowflick is an online community for people who “love the snow” whether pro athletes or just friends and family enjoying the experience. It allows people to upload videos which show others their individual experiences of skiing, snowboarding and hiking in the backcountry. It is targeted specifically towards snow experiences in New Zealand or Kiwis who want to showcase their ‘on snow’ activities elsewhere in the world.
Snowflick offers a range of services. Once signed up to the site, members can upload videos of snow experiences and comment on other people’s videos. The site also offers snow reports for ski fields throughout New Zealand and has links to merchandisers of ski/snowboarding equipment. It is a very interactive site relying on its members to provide video blogs.
People choose to contribute to this community because of a common interest in snow related activities. They want to share their experiences and passion for the sport with other like-minded people. It gives them the opportunity to showcase their talents and also keep friends and family connected with what they have been doing in their spare time via blogging. Members of Snowflick are also encouraged to keep participating if they receive good feedback relating to their video post
Video blogs are updated by Snowflick members and cover individual experiences such as the following:
Marc's blog
quick update
Posted by Marc in Untagged on Mar 31 2009
Snowflick is an online community for people who “love the snow” whether pro athletes or just friends and family enjoying the experience. It allows people to upload videos which show others their individual experiences of skiing, snowboarding and hiking in the backcountry. It is targeted specifically towards snow experiences in New Zealand or Kiwis who want to showcase their ‘on snow’ activities elsewhere in the world.
Snowflick offers a range of services. Once signed up to the site, members can upload videos of snow experiences and comment on other people’s videos. The site also offers snow reports for ski fields throughout New Zealand and has links to merchandisers of ski/snowboarding equipment. It is a very interactive site relying on its members to provide video blogs.
People choose to contribute to this community because of a common interest in snow related activities. They want to share their experiences and passion for the sport with other like-minded people. It gives them the opportunity to showcase their talents and also keep friends and family connected with what they have been doing in their spare time via blogging. Members of Snowflick are also encouraged to keep participating if they receive good feedback relating to their video post
Video blogs are updated by Snowflick members and cover individual experiences such as the following:
Marc's blog
quick update
Posted by Marc in Untagged on Mar 31 2009
(Retrieved 15 May, 2009 from www.snowflick.co.nz)
So a bit late again to keep my blog updated but beter late than never. This season was good times over in the states again based in Winter Park which is about an hour and a half from Denver. The kind of mountain that once you get to know it can be alot of fun and has some great terrain. Now that is over im back at uni for one last semester to get my degree sorted and finished and then back down for another season in Wanaka. Till next time.........
As Snowflick relies on people uploading videos and blogging about personal experiences there is the opportunity for misuse of the site. There is evidence already on Snowflick of people using it as a channel to sell their own merchandise (not relating to subscribed retailers). There may also be a reliance on this form of communication to keep others informed rather than more traditional and healthy face to face contact with friends and family.
Benefits of Snowflick in comparison to traditional notions of community are that it allows a person to look in detail at the site and what it offers before committing to being part of the community. Information shared is almost instantaneously seen by others so allows for immediate feedback and dialogue with other like-minded people. This type of community is not reliant on being geographically close to another person for dialogue to take place. It also allows for large amounts of information to be shared which may not be possible amongst a traditional community where people often compete to get their point across.
Online communities can lack the formation of real, honest and valued relationships with other people. There is more opportunity to be offensive towards a person that is ‘faceless’ in regard to the material they put onto the site, and this could potentially have serious consequences for an individuals self-esteem. This community cannot be supportive of a person emotionally unlike more traditional communities. Finally as the site grows in popularity there may be unwanted or unperceived changes that are not favoured by its members resulting in them removing their membership.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tutorials Four & Five: video production
Tutorials Four and Five involved planning, producing and editing a 30 second film. The remit was ‘Problem Solving’ and the video you see here entitled The Great Getaway is the result. I set up a YouTube account and the video was posted here for the world to see!!!
YouTube is website that allows people to upload and share their video clips with an online community. Videos can range from being informative to fun and YouTube can be linked through other websites, blogs, email and mobile phones. There is no requirement to be a YouTube member to view videos but people must sign up to the site if they want to share their own video clips online.
Storyboarding helped the group to get our ideas down visually to form the basis of our story about problem-solving. By doing this we were able to see what shots would be needed to best tell the story in the limited timeframe. The storyboard also gave us an idea about what props we needed e.g. a bike, car, keys and lightbulb. Scripting provided additional information to the storyboard in detailing what was expected at each stage from the actors and the people behind-the-scenes.
Tutorial Three: Blog Creation
In tutorial three I created the blog that you are now looking at.
Blogger is a website that gives individuals an environment where they are able to share information with an online community and express their own opinions, ideas and feelings on any subject matter. Individuals create their own blogs, and visitors to this blog can then comment on what they see. Blogger also allows photos and videos to be uploaded to the blog and mobile phones can be used to send pictures and text straight to the blog as a new post.
Another blog host is www.wordpress.com
Blogger is a website that gives individuals an environment where they are able to share information with an online community and express their own opinions, ideas and feelings on any subject matter. Individuals create their own blogs, and visitors to this blog can then comment on what they see. Blogger also allows photos and videos to be uploaded to the blog and mobile phones can be used to send pictures and text straight to the blog as a new post.
Another blog host is www.wordpress.com
Tutorial Two: Digital camera use and applications
Some of the pluses and minuses of digital cameras, in relation to traditional film based cameras, are as follows:
+
· Cameras can be small and light
· 1 memory card stores many more images than a roll of film
· Images are viewed immediately – no waiting for film to be developed
· Images can be edited
· Images can be uploaded to a computer and shared with others
· Only images that are liked have to be printed
_
· Higher initial cost
· Memory cards are small so easily misplaced
· Images can accidentally be deleted
· Computer can crash when uploading and lose the images
· No physical photograph is produced
Digital images can be:
· Stored on a computer hard drive
· Stored on a memory stick or CDRom
· Transferred via email
· Transferred via websites (e.g. Blogs)
· Transferred through cellphones
· Printed either at home or in a printing store
· Manipulated using computer programmes (e.g. Photoshop)
Ethical issues can arise from the use of digital image capturing devices which include:
· Storage of the images – are they safe and protected?
· Access to the images – who has the right to look at them?
· Manipulation of the images – to take them out of their intended context.
· Consent – was this sought from person before image taken or used?
· Privacy – do individuals want their images to be distributed for others to view?
Digital images are being used in occupational therapy practice through the recording of a person’s home environment that is being assessed for modification e.g. the bathroom being redesigned for a wet area shower to be incorporated. These images can be forwarded to the appropriate funding authority to demonstrate why the current design is not suitable for the persons needs. Digital images can also be used to show clients what a piece of adaptive equipment looks like rather than trying to explain this to them http://www.disabilityfunding.co.nz/cms/imagelibrary/100426.pdf
Flickr.com is an online service where digital images (including still camera shots and video clips) can be uploaded, stored and then shared with other Flickr account users.
Another photo storage website, similar to Flickr is www.photobucket.com
Optical zoom works in the same way as a zoom lens would on a film camera; the focal length and magnification is changed by the lens as it zooms in and image quality remains high during this process.
Digital zoom works by cropping the image to a smaller size and then enlarging the cropped portion so that it fills the frame. This means that there will be a loss of image quality.
Megapixel, “refers to the size of an image, usually in reference to a photo from a digital camera or camera phone. Megapixel means one million pixels. The resolution of digital cameras and camera phones is often measured in megapixels. For example, a two-megapixel camera can produce images with two million pixels”.
(Retrieved on 13 May, 2009 from http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=145)
+
· Cameras can be small and light
· 1 memory card stores many more images than a roll of film
· Images are viewed immediately – no waiting for film to be developed
· Images can be edited
· Images can be uploaded to a computer and shared with others
· Only images that are liked have to be printed
_
· Higher initial cost
· Memory cards are small so easily misplaced
· Images can accidentally be deleted
· Computer can crash when uploading and lose the images
· No physical photograph is produced
Digital images can be:
· Stored on a computer hard drive
· Stored on a memory stick or CDRom
· Transferred via email
· Transferred via websites (e.g. Blogs)
· Transferred through cellphones
· Printed either at home or in a printing store
· Manipulated using computer programmes (e.g. Photoshop)
Ethical issues can arise from the use of digital image capturing devices which include:
· Storage of the images – are they safe and protected?
· Access to the images – who has the right to look at them?
· Manipulation of the images – to take them out of their intended context.
· Consent – was this sought from person before image taken or used?
· Privacy – do individuals want their images to be distributed for others to view?
Digital images are being used in occupational therapy practice through the recording of a person’s home environment that is being assessed for modification e.g. the bathroom being redesigned for a wet area shower to be incorporated. These images can be forwarded to the appropriate funding authority to demonstrate why the current design is not suitable for the persons needs. Digital images can also be used to show clients what a piece of adaptive equipment looks like rather than trying to explain this to them http://www.disabilityfunding.co.nz/cms/imagelibrary/100426.pdf
Flickr.com is an online service where digital images (including still camera shots and video clips) can be uploaded, stored and then shared with other Flickr account users.
Another photo storage website, similar to Flickr is www.photobucket.com
Optical zoom works in the same way as a zoom lens would on a film camera; the focal length and magnification is changed by the lens as it zooms in and image quality remains high during this process.
Digital zoom works by cropping the image to a smaller size and then enlarging the cropped portion so that it fills the frame. This means that there will be a loss of image quality.
Megapixel, “refers to the size of an image, usually in reference to a photo from a digital camera or camera phone. Megapixel means one million pixels. The resolution of digital cameras and camera phones is often measured in megapixels. For example, a two-megapixel camera can produce images with two million pixels”.
(Retrieved on 13 May, 2009 from http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=145)
Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues
“Information Technology (IT) refers to anything related to computing technology, such as networking, hardware, software, the Internet, or the people that work with these technologies.”
(Retrieved 12 May, 2009 from http://www.techterms.com/definition/it)
We live in an ‘information age’ and so IT has become part of our everyday lives and penetrates society as a whole. It has almost become the norm to have email, a mobile phone, a digital camera, an Ipod, internet access, be part of an online social networking site and be able to fight off opponents on Wii!
I am comfortable and competent using a cellphone, my IPod (and its software,) the internet to search for information and keeping in touch with family/friends via email or social networking sites. Using a webcam and Skype to speak to people on the other side of the world has become second nature. I can use computer programmes (Word and Powerpoint) to create presentations and write essays. It has been a gradual learning process as I did not grow up with all this technology around me and there are still times when old fashioned methods of communication work much better!
As medical notes are gradually becoming computerised, information technology is being used more and more in occupational therapy to record and update interactions and treatment with clients. IT is also used as a method to keep in touch with other practitioners via email. In my fieldwork experience, OT’s have used mobile phones to stay in touch with the department if out on a home visit or when taking a client into the community. A system where OT’s in rural areas can dial into meetings and conferences was also in use on my last placement.
The main ethical implication that arises from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices/systems is that being able to control the content and reliability of the data gets increasingly difficult. As more and more users of IT devices and services appear, then regulation of who has access to often sensitive information becomes a huge ethical implication.
“Computer ethics is set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. Some common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted electronic content), privacy concerns, and how computers affect society.”
(Retrieved 12 May, 2009 from http://www.techterms.com/definition/computerethics).
"Intellectual property (IP) are legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law."
(Retrieved 12 May 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property).
Social Justice is: "The distribution of the benefits and the hardships in society, together with the way they are allocated. Geographers are particularly concerned with the spatial expression of social justice; where do the advantaged and disadvantaged groups live, why do they live there, and what is the connection between their place of residence and their future advantage or disadvantage?"
(Retrieved 12 May 2009 from http://www.answers.com/topic/social-justice).
Informed Consent is: consent given with full knowledge of the risks involved, probable consequences, and the alternatives.
(Retrieved 12 May 2009 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/informed-consent.html)
It is important to have an understanding of ITC and its ethical issues because, as I mentioned earlier, it is now part and parcel of everyday life and to not use it will mean not moving forward. There is no possibility of ignoring it when we work with future clients as they too will have been exposed to IT in some form. It provides an excellent means of communication and research both professionally and personally. However we do need to be mindful of what information is stored and who has access to this considering our ethical obligations to clients. There is the potential for information from IT sources to be damaging to either myself as a professional or on a more personal level.
(Retrieved 12 May, 2009 from http://www.techterms.com/definition/it)
We live in an ‘information age’ and so IT has become part of our everyday lives and penetrates society as a whole. It has almost become the norm to have email, a mobile phone, a digital camera, an Ipod, internet access, be part of an online social networking site and be able to fight off opponents on Wii!
I am comfortable and competent using a cellphone, my IPod (and its software,) the internet to search for information and keeping in touch with family/friends via email or social networking sites. Using a webcam and Skype to speak to people on the other side of the world has become second nature. I can use computer programmes (Word and Powerpoint) to create presentations and write essays. It has been a gradual learning process as I did not grow up with all this technology around me and there are still times when old fashioned methods of communication work much better!
As medical notes are gradually becoming computerised, information technology is being used more and more in occupational therapy to record and update interactions and treatment with clients. IT is also used as a method to keep in touch with other practitioners via email. In my fieldwork experience, OT’s have used mobile phones to stay in touch with the department if out on a home visit or when taking a client into the community. A system where OT’s in rural areas can dial into meetings and conferences was also in use on my last placement.
The main ethical implication that arises from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices/systems is that being able to control the content and reliability of the data gets increasingly difficult. As more and more users of IT devices and services appear, then regulation of who has access to often sensitive information becomes a huge ethical implication.
“Computer ethics is set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. Some common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted electronic content), privacy concerns, and how computers affect society.”
(Retrieved 12 May, 2009 from http://www.techterms.com/definition/computerethics).
"Intellectual property (IP) are legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law."
(Retrieved 12 May 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property).
Social Justice is: "The distribution of the benefits and the hardships in society, together with the way they are allocated. Geographers are particularly concerned with the spatial expression of social justice; where do the advantaged and disadvantaged groups live, why do they live there, and what is the connection between their place of residence and their future advantage or disadvantage?"
(Retrieved 12 May 2009 from http://www.answers.com/topic/social-justice).
Informed Consent is: consent given with full knowledge of the risks involved, probable consequences, and the alternatives.
(Retrieved 12 May 2009 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/informed-consent.html)
It is important to have an understanding of ITC and its ethical issues because, as I mentioned earlier, it is now part and parcel of everyday life and to not use it will mean not moving forward. There is no possibility of ignoring it when we work with future clients as they too will have been exposed to IT in some form. It provides an excellent means of communication and research both professionally and personally. However we do need to be mindful of what information is stored and who has access to this considering our ethical obligations to clients. There is the potential for information from IT sources to be damaging to either myself as a professional or on a more personal level.
Monday, May 11, 2009
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