TUTORIAL 8

As part of our course for this paper,we had to create a video then post it onto our blog, for those of you who don't know how to do it here are some instructions..

How to embed a You Tube video:

1-Go to http://www.youtube.com/

2-Select the video you wish to embed

3-To the right of the video is a grey box

4-Written in that box is an item “Embed” which has a white text box next to it
Copy the text (Ctrl C)

5-Go into your blog

6-Select new post

7-Paste the text in the text box (Ctrl V) (you can also give the video a title if you wish)

8-Select publish post

We also had to upload photos from out Flickr accounts to create a Flickr badge to put on out blog.
To embed a Flickr Badge onto your blog:

Step 1 - Log onto your Blog account.
Step 2 - Log onto your Flickr account.
Step 3 - Click on tools at bottom of page.
Step 4 - Follow the step by step instructions until end where the URL code comes up.
Step 5 - Copy the URL code.
Step 6 - Click on customize.
Step 7 - Click on add elements.
Step 8 - Click on script.
Step 9 - Paste URL in box provided.
Step 10 - Give your Badge a name e.g. Photo Badge, Pictures etc.
Step 11 - Save changes to your new posting.
Step 12 - Publish your new Post.

TUTORIAL 7

Today we have been looking at Assistive Technology and how we as Occupational Therapists can use assistive technology to help our clients.....so what is assistive technology? According to Cook & Hussey, 2000 assistive devices are defined as "a broad range of devices,services,strategies and practices that are conceived and applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals who have disabilities".

So what are some examples of assistive devices that are out there?, well there are HEAPS and HEAPS of different types of pieces, but Ill just talk about one which we got to have a play with in out tutorial which is commonly used, its called the Big Red Switch.




<----- THE BIG RED SWITCH






This switch is about 127mm in diameter surface(but you can get ones in all different sizes,depending on the needs of the client), the switch is useful for clients who have either a visual,cognitive, or physical impairment.

The switch is hooked up to something, for example a mixer, and all the client has to do is push the switch (either with their hand or other part of their body) and the mixer will turn on, switches can also be used to activate other electrical appliances (via a controller, battery operated adapted toys and games, a PC switch interface and AAC communication devices.

You can choose between a switch with cables or wireless, however there is a price difference, the switch with a cord is only $80 where the wireless is $200, the issue with that is even though the wireless switch may be better for group work or the individual, Enable will only fund for the cheaper one if they both function the same.

The Big Red Switch increases functional capacity as the switch gives people a sense of control of the activities in their lives, for example the switch is wired up to a mixer via a neuro switch allowing the user to start and stop the mixer so they can make things like pikelets.

TUTORIAL 6

We are now looking at online communities.The online community I have chosen is Facebook.This community allows you to get to know people or find old friends and interact with them. Facebook allows you to "join networks organised by city, workplace , school, and region to connect and interact with other people". Retrieved 17 May, 2009, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook.
Facebook is a very interactive site as you can have online discussions with others. People can contribute to this site by posting comments on other peoples pages, can create profiles including photos, interests, exchange private or public messages and join groups o friends. I think people join facebook for all sorts of reasons. According to Peter Kollock (1999) people join online communities for a sense of community, increased recognition and a sense of efficacy.For instance some people it may be a way to meet new people for either friendship or a relationship, it may increase someones meaning or self esteem if they are a member of some of the groups on facebook.
All sorts of topics are being discussed on Facebook, an example in relation to Occupational therapy is about a student looking for ideas of computer games.

Hi, I'm an OT student doing my first practice.I'm looking for computer games, that are free on the web , so I can use them in the clinic and my client can use the same games at home. We are working on memory, attention, organization ext. I found some but most of the games don’t have direct links for easy accesses and are too "busy".If anyone has an idea ill be very grateful.tammy
Reply to TammyReport

Post #2
Gail Blom (Dallas / Fort Worth, TX) replied to Tammy's poston August 5, 2008 at 8:55am
There is one called "poppit" (because you pop strings of balloons) that I used to play with a free download. It might be spelled "popit"


There are heaps and heaps of topics being discussed on Facebook, just depends on what your into.

Some of the ethical issues that may arise due to being a member of Facebook are lack of identity,how can you be sure unless you know the person that the photo of them or the information they share is real?. Also lack of privacy/informed consent..some people may put photos of other people without their consent on Facebook.

During one of our lectures we discussed the benefits and disadvantages of online communities, I think the benefits that Facebook has compared to real life communities are that it can compliment real life communities as it can provide a lot of information, it can provide connections over great distances easily, you have the ability to connect with people of similar interests/ needs without having to leave your house.
However what Facebook cannot provide where real communities can is the validity of the information being shared as its physically there, also it allows people work on their interpersonal and social skills at a more in depth level as they are right there with you.

TUTORIAL 4 & 5

Today in class we have been doing a short film so we learnt about filming techniques and how to edit, the short film was about overcoming adversity which we then posted on YouTube.
Youtube is an online community where people can upload videos onto the internet. People put almost anything and everything on YouTube...some people have even become famous by putting things such as music videos on the site!!.
People who place clips onto YouTube get rated out of 5 in terms of how many people have viewed their video, for example as of right now the video clip we posted last Thurs called The Great Getaway has had 41 views ( I don't even think it qualifies for even one star but it will get there!).
Before we got into producing our own short film we had to develop a story board containing all the shots we were going to do,this included details such as the shot,e,g close up, who was going to be in the shot and any props. By using a story board it was easy to go on and take the shots as we knew exactly what we were going to do as it produced a step by step guide. After we had taken all the shots we than had to edit the film,we did this by chopping the length of some shots and adding them in a sequence that flowed, we then added a title, music and credits and hey presto we have a short film!

TUTORIAL 3

I have been working on my blog for a few weeks now, just to sum up what other services Blogger offers for people who don't already know, its is a service that's free for anyone to join, its a way to share thoughts and express ideas,users can connect with others, you can design your own blog and customise it by adding photos,videos, changing the layout, colour etc and add links from other websites.
Anyone can comment on your blog, you can also use your mobile phone to send pics to your blog which is pretty exciting stuff.
Another type of Blog host is Blogsome if you want to try something different.

The Great Getaway student video

Tutorial 2
" A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature"
In relation to digital camera technology, it is constantly changing and upgrading but it is not always for the best as older cameras may be seen as more reliable,they are still around and used today.
Some of the pros and cons of new digital cameras
PROS:
-can view the image straight away/don't have to pay to get the reel developed to view
-ability to share photos via the Internet
-can take up to 100 photos on a memory stick
-can edit and print of the photos yourself
CONS:
-sometimes its not worth repairing as parts can be expensive and may be cheaper to buy a new camera
-it can be expensive to buy the equipment/software required to print and edit
-they can be hard to use as there are so many different functions
-the zoom on the camera may not give you a good picture,resulting in you having to pay more for better zoom
Some of the pros and cons of older cameras
PROS:
-simple to use 'point and click'
-don't need to carry around a lot of extra equipment e.g. batteries/chargers,memory sticks
-its nice to have a surprise as you don't know what the photos will look like until they are developed
-the zoom is better
-good to have a physical copy of the photos to put in photo album
CONS:
-harder to buy as digital cameras are more common
-can only fit about 36 pictures at the most on 1 roll of film
-cannot edit the photos,so if they are bad photos due to bad lighting or something its tough luck

Digital images can be stored in a variety of ways,such as on Cd's, hard drives, memory sticks, they can be transferred using items such as Internet, fax, scanner,mobile phones. Images can be manipulated using software such as photo shop and equipment such as photo stations where you can crop, change colours and add special effects.
Some of the ethical issues that can arise as image capturing devices are so commonplace,there can be dilemmas around a lack of privacy as some people who's photo has been taken has not been informed what it will be used for,also things such as text messaging and emails can be sent to the wrong recipient which could contain confidential information.
Occupational Therapists are now using digital images for housing modifications, where a pic of the clients home is used if assistive devices or equipment are required. Videos and photos of a client may be taken during an assessment or intervention to monitor the clients deterioration or progress.
Some of the services that the online photo gallery Flickr offer are
-the ability to share photos and movies
- ability to stay in touch with other people
- can make stuff such as postage stamps, calling cards, photo books, make slide show DVDs
-use sets, tags, collections to organise pics and videos
Another photo storage website that offers a similar service to Flickr.com is www.snapfish.com
The difference between optical and digital zoom is that Optical zoom is known as 'true zoom' as it uses the lens of the camera to bring the subject closer where Digital zoom enlarges a portion of the image so it its bigger not closer up.
A mega pixel is 1 million pixels, 1 pixel is a small square of colour and when they are all put together it creates the digital photo.