Blogs of Interest

As you can see to the right of my blog is a small list of the blogs that I am currently following! Click on the links and have a read! I am also following some of my classmates blogs that I have found particularly interesting. I have commented my thoughts on a few of these blogs and I encourage you to do the same! Here are some links to the blogs of my classmates that I follow:
Janine D
Georgie H
Jasmine M

Assistive Technology

So, this post as you can see from the heading is all about assistive technology! Assisstive technology is used in many different areas of occupational therapy practice which is why I will be providing you with a definition of what assistive technology actually is and introducing you to a piece of assistive technology that I had the opportunity to play with during a tutorial this semester! Enjoy!

Assistive technology is defined as "any item, piece of equipment, or system, whether acquired commercially, modified, customized, that is commonly used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" (NOAA, n.d.). This simply means that assistive technology is any equipment that helps individuals with disabilities function better. Some examples of assistive technology that we were introduced to included:

• Adaptive Switches
• IPAD 
• SMART Board 
• Powered Wheelchair
• Photo thing
• Telecommunication Devices

Reference: 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). Glossary of section 508 terms. Retrieved 10th May, 2011 from http://www.cio.noaa.gov/Policy_Programs//508_Glossary.html

SMART Boards are one of many pieces of assistive technology equipment that are being used to help people with disabilites, especially children with physicall disabilities in special needs schools. The SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard. It is a hand-touch screen board that gets connected to a personal computer, laptop or digital projector (ehow). Teachers can display information from their computers onto the screen instead of writing lessons on a whiteboard. They can simply type information into their computers and it will display on the SMART board. Here is a video that demonstrates how SMART boards can be used:

Reference:
Mitchell, S. (n.d.). Information on smart boards. Retrieved 12th May, 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/about_5087930_information-smart-boards.html


In a turtorial this semester I learnt that children with severe physical disabilities can use SMART boards to play games, make music, and do artwork. The board allows them to utilise their body parts (mainly hands) by using the touch screen. The link to the website below is an example of one of the websites that they can use to play games:
http://www.helpkidzlearn.com/early.html 
As you can see from the website a switch can also be used so that others who have less movement or can't actually use the touch screen can still utilise the board. 


SMART Boards range in size depending on the model. To give you an indication though, one of the newer versions of the board the 680 model is 165.7cm wide, 125.7cm high, and 13cm deep (Smart, 2010). The price of SMART boards also vary. They range from about $1,999.00 to $6,000.00. This all depends on how new the model is and the different features that the it has. 


Reference:
Smart. (2010). Specifications. Retrieved 12th May, 2011 from http://www2.smarttech.com/kbdoc/690

Online Communities

Throughout this next post I will be discussing three online communities that are present in the lives of many people around the world. These three communities are Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. I will be briefly describing each of the communities, what services they provide, how people contribute to them and topics that are being discussed within them. I will also address some of the ethical issues that may arise within the communities and the benefits of these communities as well as what they lack. Read on and enjoy! 


Before we get into looking at the three communities stated above I think it is important to define what online communities actually are. An online community is described as a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual (Wikipedia, 2011). This simply means that without members online communities would not be able to function. In our society today, online communities have become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other primarily in real life (Wikipedia, 2011). 


Reference: 
Wikipedia. (2011). Online communities. Retrieved 11th May, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community 


Below are the links to the three online communities that I will be discussing throughout the remainder of the post:
http://www.facebook.com/

http://www.myspace.com/
http://twitter.com/

Facebook:

Millions of people around the world use Facebook each day to keep up with their friends, upload photos, share links and videos and to learn more about the people tht they meet (Facebook, 2011). 

The main purpose of Facebook is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected (Facebook, 2011). 

Facebook enables its users to connect and share with the people in their lives. 

This site is very interactive as each user can send and receive messages as well as instant messaging others who are online at the same time as them. Facebook users contribute their thoughts, feelings, interests and opinions by posting them on their profile page. They do this by writing current statuses, posting videos and links, uploading photos, ‘liking’ other pages and joining groups. The users can also create their own groups and events as well as play games!

People contribute to the Facebook world as it is an effective, fast and fun way of communicating with friends and family. It allows the user to remain engaged in the lives of others no matter where in the world they are. Facebook users are usually seeking attention and responses to their posts. Most users also seek out the friends that they make in person on Facebook. This allows the people to get to know each other better and stay in contact. This is often the case with those who travel overseas. User’s often find the people that they meet overseas on Facebook so that they have an effective way of keeping in touch when they return home. Information that is shared on Facebook is definitly reciprocol as when a message is sent a reply is generated because in most cases this is what is expected.

A topic that was recently discussed by a large majority of Facebook users was the royal wedding. Leading up to the wedding and on the wedding day itself many users posted their thoughts about the excitement of it all. Some people even went as far as creating their own pages about the wedding where others could post their thoughts. Below are two links to pages that were created in honour of the wedding, one to discuss the wedding itself and the other to discuss Kate’s dress.

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=219399344742552

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Royal-Wedding-Dress/188190284560428

In regards to security, Facebook allows the user to determine how secure they want to make their profile (Facebook, 2011). Some users make their profile available to all users whereas others only allow their friends to see their profile. This could be seen as an ethical issue as a lot of people don’t realise how much of their personal information they are giving away when they make their profile public. Also, because of the nature of the way Facebook is set up users don’t have to give proof of identity which makes it easy for people to create fake profiles. Lastly, another issue to be considered is that photos are most always uploaded without the permission of those who feature in them.


Reference:
Facebook. (2011). Facebook. Retrieved 12th May, 2011 from http://www.facebook.com/

MySpace:

MySpace is a social entertainment network that is powered by the enthusiasm of fans. It is aimed towards Generation Y as it drives social interaction by providing a highly personalised experience around entertainment (MySpace, 2011). It is used to connect people to music, celebrities, TV, movies, and different games (MySpace, 2011). MySpace is also the home of MySpace Music. This allows viewers to freely stream audio and video content. Here is a youtube link which shows you how to set up a MySpace account: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ge_WqptUM&playnext=1&list=PL8B8978395D6EB5EE.

MySpace is very interactive users have the ability to share different applications, links, information and games with other people 

(MySpace, 2011)

. Users can communicate on MySpace by using MySpaceIM. This allows the user to make video or voice calls, and also to use instant chat. People contribute to the site by sharing thoughts, pictures and videos as well as creating a MySpace blog. A MySpace blog allows people to share different stories, write about current events or be creative through the use of poems or songs. Users choose to put all this effort into their MySpace accounts as they are really passionate about what the site has to offer and who they can communicate with.

MySpace is also a great way to get in contact with old friends from school or work. This can be done by sending private messages or using MySpaceIM.  People often become addicted to their MySpace account as they feel the need to constantly check what their friends are up to, what different celebrities are saying, and what new songs are available. It is clear that the information shared on MySpace is reciprocal as communication between users is most often back and forth. 

As previously mentioned, music is a popular topic of discussion on MySpace. Last year MySpace brought out a new MySpace events and calendar platform. One of the users wrote about it and here is what he said:

“Here’s a ray of product sunshine in an otherwise overcast MySpace world. Tonight they are launching a new MySpace events and calendar platform that integrates technology from MySpace Music, iLike, Social Plan and Facebook Connect (told you). It includes new tools for Artists to add concert events and allows users to add those events, share them, and even purchase tickets right from MySpace. It’s an elegant weaving of products that plays to a core strength of MySpace – music, and a huge database of event information – around 1 million concert events in 2010 alone.”

In relation to ethical issues to do with privacy, MySpace has ensured a privacy policy that is used when sharing of personal identification information (MySpace, 2011). Members voluntarily provide this information when the register but as MySpace is a general audience website it does not collect any personal information from users under the age of 13 (MySpace, 2011). There is also the option of having higher privacy for your account which only lets people who have requested to be friends have access to personal information. The MySpace website also offers a variety of safety tips for its members.  Some of the safety guidelines when using MySpace are as follows:

• As the profile and forums are public places, the user shouldn’t post anything that they don’t want the world to know. This includes numbers, address or their whereabouts. 

• It is important for the user to remember that people aren’t always who they say they are. So be careful about adding strangers to friends list.

• Members need to think twice before posting a comment or adding a photo. When there is a photo of other people, users should ensure that those people are comfortable with them posting a picture on a worldwide site.

Reference:
MySpace. (2011). About us. Retrieved 12th May, 2011 from http://www.myspace.com/

Twitter:
The purpose of this website is to connect people to a real-time information network. Twitter allows it's users to write 'tweets' (comments) to express their thoughts or stories and share them with the Twitter world (Twitter, 2011). It also allows people to write tweets on other people’s Twitter pages. This network is run in a similar way to Facebook. Photos, videos and other media content can also be shared on someone’s Twitter page (Twitter, 2011). This youtube video demonstrates how placing tweets and sharing content can be done: 

Twitter offers a number of services that help to contribute to efficiency of business, it also allows users to contact people around the world and is able to be accessed at anytime. 
Businesses can use Twitter to quickly share information with people interested in their products and services, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and influential people.
Twitter is based in San Francisco, but is used in almost every country around the world. It also comes in a variety of different languages. As this social network can be accessed almost everywhere, it makes it an extremely interactive site. 

It is interactive in the way that users can add people that they know, communicate with them via tweets, and see what their friends are getting up to. Twitter is inspired everyday 

by stories of people using Twitter to help make the world a better place. The information shared is reciprocal as users communicate by commenting on other peoples tweets. 

Many celebrities use Twitter to communicate with their fans and the world. One tweet written by Justin Bieber said, “I thankYou for always supporting me and helping me live my dream. I thankYou for being the most loyal amazing fans in the world".
At Twitter, they value the online security of their users. The companies team of independent security researchers volunteer their time to help spot potential issues and solve them in order to keep Twitter safe for everyone. 

Reference: 

Twitter. (2011). Twitter is the best way to discover whats new in your world. Retrieved 11th May, 2011 from http://twitter.com/about

These three online communities have a number of benefits over the traditional geographic community. For one, the community is not limited by location. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, as long as you have access to internet then you can be part of these online communities 24/7. Secondly, online communities can provide and store large amounts of information. Unlike verbal conversations, online discussion is lasting and can be revisited. 

Online communities also allow people who struggle to interact with people in person to interact with them and express themselves online. Lastly, online communities allow people who are interested in the same things to connect and get to know each other through online conversations without actually meeting!

While there are many benefits of online communities, they also have their weaknesses when it comes to comparing them with traditional communities. 

All three of these online communities lack face to face interaction between people. Whilst they may able to talk via video and instant messaging its never quite the same as talking to someone in person. Because there are no visual cues (such as facial expressions and gestures) there is also a risk of miscommunication. Lastly the online conversations that take place in these communities are slower than verbal conversation. 

The End

Its been a long journey but the time has come for me to publish my final post! I hope that you have enjoyed reading my posts and have gained plenty of new knowledge! As you can see from the uneven spacing in some of my posts (which I could not figure out how to fix!) I still haven't quite mastered the art of blogging but I can safely say that I gave it my best shot! Goodbye all and thanks for reading...

Gracie :)

Nintendo Wii

This post will introduce you to a piece of technology that I have used in my assignment for this course, a Nintendo Wii. 

A Nintendo Wii is a video game console that enables its users to play games using physical movements to control what is happening on screen. A Nintendo Wii forces a person to move physically rather than just sitting down and hitting buttons. It uses motion sensored remote controls to direct what is happening on the screen (Nintendo, 2011). For example, in a game of tennis the remote control will act as the players tennis racket and their character onscreen will mimic every physical movement made with the remote. A Nintendo Wii comes also with a controller with a wrist strap (which is also the remote), one nun-chuck controller, a sensor bar, a power cord and a standard composite cable. Like most video games, Wii needs to be connected to a TV to be played! There are hundreds of different games that can be purchased and played on the Wii and you can have multi players in one game.

Reference:

Nintendo. (2011). Wii. Retrieved 12^th May 2011, from http://www.nintendo.com/wii/console

Here is a youtube video that gives you an insight to how a Nintendo Wii works:

From my own personal experience, Wii is an exciting, challenging game that is much more engaging than most video games! If you haven’t already tried playing a Nintendo Wii before I definitely suggest that you try it! 

Video Production Session

This post will be looking at YouTube videos! It will briefly summarise what YouTube is and the services that it offers as well as use videos to explain a topic of interest from my fieldwork placement! 


YouTube is an extremely popular video-sharing website used daily by many people around the world! YouTube users have been able to search for, upload, share and view videos since the websie was first created in 2005 (Wikipedia, 2011). As well as being able to view and upload videos YouTube allows its users to rate videos, add comments and subscribe to their favourite producers (Karch, n.d.). Videos from YouTube can also be embedded in other locations such as blogs like this one or other web pages (Karch, n.d.). This means that you don't actually have to visit the YouTube website itself to view some of its content (Karch, n.d.). In summary, YouTube's video content is always changing and becoming more and more interesting by the day! Follow the link below to the YouTube home page.

http://www.youtube.com/

References:
Wikipedia. (2011). Youtube. Retrieved 6th May, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube
Karch, M. (n.d.). Youtube explained: Overview of the google video sharing tool. Retrieved 6th May, 2011 from http://google.about.com/od/moreaboutgoogleaps/p/youtubeprofile.htm

For this posting we were asked to choose a topic of interest drawn from a fieldwork experience and find a series of videos that help to explain the topic. Something I learnt a lot about on my first fieldwork placement was mental health disorders, in particular schizophrenia. One of the things I learnt was that I was wrong about what I thought schizophrenia actually was! I thought that schizophrenia was split personalities, I soon discovered that this was wrong! Below are a series of informative videos about what schizophrenia is, the common misconceptions of the disorder and the stigmas that are attached to it. Watch, listen and learn! 


1. This first video addresses some of the stigmas attached to schizophrenia as well as what it is caused by and some of the signs and symptoms. It then goes on to explain one particular persons experience of schizophrenia and how the disorder has affected her life. 

2. This next video looks at some of the common myths associated with schizophrenia and explains why they aren't true! 

3. This video talks specifically about what schizophrenia is and some of the behaviours people with schizophrenia would display. It also addresses where the term schizophrenia originated from and other common facts about schizophrenia that are important in understanding the disorder.

4. This next video is an interview about mental illness from an american talk show. The lady who is being interviewed has son with schizophrenia. The video gives you a quick insight to how their family have dealt with having mental illness within the family. 

5. This final video is a song about schizophrenia! It is both very catchy and very informative!

I hope that these videos have provided you with some new information to think about and that you have learnt something new! YouTube has so many more informative video's like these ones so I advise you to click on the link towards the top of this post and go exploring!

Our Movie

This little movie was created and edited in class one day by myself and three of my other classmates. We were given the theme of overcoming adversity and had to create a 30 second short film. We brainstormed ideas for a short time and decided on a basic storyline before drawing up a story board of the different shots we were going to use. We then set out to find a location and went about making our film! The story board that we drew up didn't really help us, however, as we didn't use it that much and just filmed each of the shots by where/how we felt they would look best at that time! So below is our movie...watch and enjoy!