Moving on Up

Using Digital Cameras

This video was made by fellow students of my tutorial group. We recorded a short video, to experiment using a digital camera. It is important to consider factors such as camera angles, camera level, focus of the subject, light, anything that could disrupt the recording of the shot. Building a sequence, storyboarding, scripting and editing were practical components of making the video.

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

This video explains the step by step process required to embed You Tube videos into your blog.





This video explains the step by step process required to embed a Flickr Badge into your blog.

Tutorial Seven: Assistive technology

Provide a definition of Assistive technology (your Cook and Hussey reading may be helpful with this).
We can refer assistive technology to the broad range of devices, services, strategies and practices that are conceived and applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals who have disabilities. (Cook & Hussey 2000)
Cook. A., & Hussey, S. (1995). Assitive Technology: Principles & Practice. Missouri: Mosby-Year Book Inc.

Describe one piece of equipment introduced in the assistive technology tutorial. Provide information on size, cost and functions.
During this weeks tutorial we were introduced to a range of devices and equipment for assistive technology. The Matias 508 is a one-handed keyboard. It can be incorporated as part of the standard desktop that will allow both one handed and two handed touch typing. Holding the space bar will access the alternate keys that mirror the other half of the standard keyboard. It can be used on both PC and MAC operating systems with a simple USB connection. Cost of this assistive technology can range from $300-$1200 (NZD)

How does your chosen piece of equipment increased functional capacity for the user? Provide examples here from the tutorial and lecture.
The Matias 508 keyboard uses the idea of reflective key typing to assist the client to minimise hand and arm movement travelling across the whole width of the keyboard frequently. Once the client becomes familiar with the alternate keys it can increase their typing speed which will in turn decrease fatigue and conserve energy.

Check it out!

http://www.508keyboard.com/

Tutorial Six: The Internet and online communities

Provide the web address and the name of the community you are investigating
www.facebook.com

What is the brief or focus of this community
Facebook is a free-access social networking website, a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.

What services are provided? How interactive is this site? How can people contribute?
Facebook users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. It is a highly interactive site, as people contribute by writing wall posts, emailing, commenting onto their friends profiles as well as their own, inviting people to events, joining groups and clubs, adding and tagging photos, and adding applications.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on why people choose to contribute to this community. What is it they are seeking?
Social interaction, Keep in touch with friends and family, Networking and Chat

Cut and paste an example of the type of topics being discussed (you may have to provide a context to your excerpt).
Below are two excerpts from my facebook profile. The first is about a comment from my friend. I use facebook as an easy way to keep in touch with friends. Facebook also has many applications which users can add to their profiles and post so others can read them. Popular applications are quizzes. You can choose from a huge range of topics – I recently completed the quiz “What decade are you?”

Facebook Wall Post
Emma: bro ! my fb keeps closing so i cant chat to anyone!
we should defs catch up tho, hope u r alll good! how bout sunday 4 u?

Facebook Quiz Application
Ellie completed the quiz "Which decade are you? With the result 1940s Glamorous Revolutionary.
You are quite the glamorous revolutionary! You have a sense of pride in everything that you take on, whether it's filling in to do a man's job during wartime or raise your daughters to step up to the challenge of helping to establish women's rights, you take things head on! You are a hard worker and are always looking out for others. Your style centers around clean lines and timeless designs. Women in the 40s had the same sense of pride in their bodies and dressed in a way that accentuated their figures! You are not one to stand by and let things happen to you, you go after what you want and you are respected and admired for it! .

Considering material presented during the course and make comment on the potential ethical issues that may arise in this community e.g. lack of identity and accountability.
All users of facebook should be aware of potential issues that can arise in this community. For example, privacy issues relating to photo and video uploads, confidentiality relating to friend requests and cyber bullying when using the online chat application.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on the benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community e.g. communities reliant on geographic proximity
Benefits of facebook is that as an online community it:
-Can provide information quickly
-Can provide connections over great distances instantly
-Has the ability to connect with people of similar interest/needs/concerns

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment what this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can.
The traditional face to face interaction when it comes to socialising is what an online networking community such as facebook lacks.

Tutorial Four and Five: Video Production Sessions

Task Four (Blog Posting): Provide a brief summary of the services offered by YouTube. Information can be drawn from the week five tutorial hand out.
YouTube is a leading online video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. The YouTube service is free to register, once signed up users are able to upload and share videos, save favourites, create playlists and comment on videos. Anyone has access to watch videos on YouTube.
More info visit
http://www.youtube.com/t/about
http://www.youtube.com/t/fact_sheet

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.
Producing a short film involves planning, scripting and storyboarding processes. The producer needs to be aware of the target audience, and the main aim of the film. Thoughts and ideas of the author are scripted to document all which will be seen and heard on screen, this includes dialogue as well as moods and expressions, movement, interaction with other characters, special effects, lighting, camera angles, and background sound and setting. Storyboards are essential to ensure the film is well constructed, as any possible problems can be highlighted before they occur. The story board is a drawn up sequence of illustrations used to visualize the actions in the film.

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?
Positives

-Ability to look at photo after shot has been taken, delete or keep it
- Ability to stitch together several photos on camera for a panorama shot
- Choose what degree of quality the photo will be
-Digital automatic settings, automatically detect light, focus, environment
- Pictures can be put straight onto computer, uploaded onto internet

Negatives
- Film-based cameras better for professional shoots ie. Modelling, art and landscape shots
- Negatives provide a hard copy back up
- Easier to control light levels and shutter speed

List some of the ways that digital images can be stored transferred and manipulated using other communications technology.
Images stored and transferred via...
- mobile phones
- photocopier
- scanners
- cameras
- internet
- Skype

Manipulated using...
- Computer software programmes e.g. Photoshop

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.
Ethical considerations based around issues with privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, distribution of information may arise with the use of image capturing devices.

Briefly discuss some of the ways that digital images could, or are, being used in occupational therapy practice (include reference and links to any web sites, or blogs you might come across)
Digital imaging can be used in OT practice as an educational tool (to teach client), for MDT meetings (if unable to attend), home visits (store data needed for modifications).

Provide a brief summary of the services offered by Flickr.com
Flickr is an online photo management and sharing application. Flicker enables new ways of organizing photos and video, and allows you to make content available to share with others e.g. family and friends.

Name one other photo storage website which offers a service similar to Flickr.com
http://www.tinypic.com

Explain what the difference is between a digital and an optical zoom
A digital zoom is the ability to zoom in on a photo after it has been captured. Optical zoom is the ability to zoom in on a point from a distance before the photo taken.

Explain what is meant by the term megapixel
A megapixel (that is, a million pixels) is a unit of image sensing capacity in a digital camera. (A pixel - a word invented from "picture element" - is the basic unit of programmable colour on a computer display or in a computer image.) In general, the more megapixels in a camera, the better the resolution when printing an image in a given size. Retrieved on 24/5/09 from http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci995969,00.html

Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues

Provide a definition of Information Technology/Information Communications Technology (APA reference required)
Information technology n. The production, storage and communication of information using computers and microelectronics.
Hanks, P. (ed). (1989) Collins Concise Dictionary. Glasgow: Bath Press.

Consider the definition of IT you have provided. How is this form of technology prevalent in our society? How common place has it become?
Within our society today a range of technological resources are available including television, computers, cameras, ipods, university blackboard, emails, scanners, printers etc. These technologies have become prevalent within society as information technology has become commonplace, certainly within developed countries.

What IT devices or system do you feel comfortable and competent using?
Computers, cameras, mobiles, design computer software programmes, mp3s.

Thinking about your own fieldwork experiences consider how IT is being used in Occupational Therapy practice?
Considering IT used on placement, my supervising OT would use IT to:
- store clients notes/records on computers
- cameras to record activities of clients eg. Adventure walks, crafts groups
- mobile phones for communicative purposes
- portable laptops for convenience
- printers, photocopiers and scanners available within office environment

What ethical implications arise from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via IT devices (e.g. mobile phones) or systems (e.g. internet)
Ethical implications can include:
- bridge of privacy
- misuse of info
- social justice issues
- management and access to information
- greased data (easily copied and transferred easily)

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.
Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ethics

Provide a definition of Intellectual Property (APA reference required)
In law, intellectual property (IP) 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 this legal entitlement is generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property. However, the use of the term and the concepts it is said to embody are the subject of some controversy.

Retrieved February 14, 2007, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property

Provide a definition of Social Justice (APA reference required)

Social Justice mostly refers to an ideal of society, where "justice" refers to economic status rather than to the administration of laws. It is based on the idea of a society which gives individuals and groups fair treatment and a just share of the benefits of society, although what is "fair treatment" and a "just share" must remain unclear or subject to interpretation.

Retreived Februry 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice

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.

Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent

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.

As occupational therapists an understanding of Information Technology Communications (ITC) and the ethical issues it encompasses will assist us in practice. Use of technology is unavoidable, with benefits such as helping us to speed up processes, easy access to resources, and work proficiency. However, it is important to keep in mind issues of privacy and confidentiality.

Introduction to Blogger: Tutorial Three

Blogger is an online blog publishing system, a tool provided by Google which is free for anyone to create a blog. Blogger has developed features to make blogging as simple and effective as possible. People use Blogger to make their “BlogSpot” to post comments, upload anything from photos and games to YouTube clips. Family and friends can become ‘followers’ to be able to access your profile, read your blog posts and make comments. Blogger services include; postings, group postings, third party applications, discussion groups, 41 languages available, customized blog layouts, photo and video applications. Blogger is one of many online blogs, Live Journal is another blog host site (http://www.livejournal.com)

Computer Workshop Wk9

Yay! Photo Gadget now uploaded!! Genius!

My first post!

Yay! This is incredibly confusing, but i do believe it is finally working! How excitin' !!!!