Tutorial 8...

Assistive Technology...

Provide a definition of Assistive technology (your Cook and Hussey reading may be helpful with this).

Assisitive technology refers to a broad range of devices, services, strategies and practices that are applied to improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Cook, A M. & Hussey, S M. (1995) Assistive Technologies. St Louis: Clarinda Printing.

Describe one piece of equipment introduced in the assistive technology tutorial. Provide information on size, cost and functions.

Switch Access & Communication Switches....

The Ablenet Powerlink is a control unit to connect mains appliances (eg bigmac switches) to a switch safely for easy activation.

The Powerlink has four modes:

1. Direct mode - keeps the application on while the switchboard is activated.
2. Timed Seconds - allows the application to run from 1-60 seconds.
3. Timed minutes - allows the application to run from 1-60 minutes.
4. Latch mode - one activation turns application on, the next activation turns it off.

From the power link control unit switches are connected, these range dependant on the requirements of user from simple touch plates to auditory sensory units......

The flat Plate switch requires just contact to activate the switching...

This is a very thin membrane switch activated with a light touch on the colored circle.

- No tactile/auditory feedback.

- Available in 5 colours: blue, Red, orange green yellow retailing at $129.00

How does your chosen piece of equipment increase functional capacity for the user? Provide examples here from the tutorial and lecture.

The use of a flat plate switche enables people with speech problems to make themselves heard, it is a fun way to develop switch skills and assess a users understanding.

Switches with auditory responses include The BIG Bean switch...

The BIG Bean Switch is activated by pressing anywhere on the top surface. Its standard flange base makes for easy mounting as well as providing cord storage.

For ease of use, Big Red has been designed with auditory feedback. It is perfect for students who require a larger surface due to visual and motor abilities.

Further switches can be adapted to play a repeated phrase from a story or chorus from a song and the toy control option adds an extra dimension by playing a message whilst switching on a battery toy!!

For more information about 'switches' check out: www.zabonne.co.nz

Tutorial 6...

Tutorial Six: The internet and online communities

Either search online for a community which interest you or choose one of the provided online communities to investigate. Make sure your selected a community that comprises some form of online forum, discussion page or chat room. You may also wish to see if your community has a Wikipedia entry.

Provide the web address and the name of the community you are investigating

Travellerspoint Travel Community

www.travellerspoint.com/

What is the brief or focus of this community?

An online community for travellers - Nurturing Travel Addictions for over 100,000 travellers worldwide!

Whether planning a trip, on the road, or sharing travel experiences, Travellerspoint is where the journey begins!!

Travellers point is a place where people can discuss travel plans, find a travel companion, share ideas and tips and learn more about travelling destinations....YYEEAAAHHH!!!!!

"Travellerspoint's objective is to enrich the travelling experience by offering numerous services, content and products that have significant perceived and added value for travellers worldwide. To travel means to meet other people, experience their cultures and to make, but also to keep good friends. By bringing more people together - albeit before, during or after travelling - Travellerspoint will create more understanding for different cultures and countries and ultimately a better world for everyone to travel in."

Retrived May 312008, from http://www.travellerspoint.com/about.cfm

What services are provided? How interactive is this site? How can people contribute?

Services provided on Travellerspoint:

- Travel guides to destinations around the world

- Accommodation
- Photography
- Travel blogs

- Travel help - discussion board

- Projects and volunteer opportunities
- Non-Destination Articles & Special Pages

Once you become a member of Travellerspoint you can contribute by sharing your insight into the places you visit, answer questions from other travellers and advise others out there of 'tips and traps'!

You can add and edit articles, or just wile away the hours as you virtually travel the globe….ahhhh……

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on why people choose to contribute to this community. What is it they are seeking?

Travellerspoint is a convenient form of communication between people who travel! It allows silent observation prior to participation, giving insight and provoking motivation! ….mmmmm where to next?....

It provides large amounts of information, and connections for people from great distances. It also gives people the ability to connect with people of similar interests (travel!) share tips and give and receive advice.

Cut and paste an example of the type of topics being discussed (you may have to provide a context to your excerpt).

Recent discussions:

Tours vs DIY…..

If you are a 'Do It Yourself' traveler, would you still consider a tour in some countries for safety reasons??
General Talk | Started by jaxstar84 [18th May]

ATM's in S.E. Asia

What is the average maximum amount of cash you can withdraw from an ATM machine in South East Asia?
Asia | Started by -Charlie [16th May]

Considering material presented during the course and make comment on the potential ethical issues that may arise in this community.

Ethical Issues….

There is potential for ethical misuse, as people can sign in with a different username and add false information. Also what ever you write is viewed by anyone so there is a potential that someone may recognise you through the information you have provided (only a real concern if you are wanting to remain anonymous).

Lack of identity: There is the possibility for people working in the travel and tourism sector e.g. travel agencies to access and post material on destinations for the benefits of their own, i.e. exaggerating and advising of places ‘not to visit’ unless arranged prior through a travel agent.

Misuse and termination on travellerspoint…

Travellerspoint reserves the right to remove any member account, including but not limited to all trips, travel maps, forum posts, blog and diary postings, and any other related information for offences, e.g advertising to sell any goods or services for any commercial purpose, conducting and displaying, or forwarding surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, "spam" or chain letters.

In the case you violate terms (for more information refer to website ), Travellerspoint has the right to terminate your account and refuse you access and membership. In the case of a serious violation, Travellerspoint may file suit against you for business interference or any other appropriate legal theories. In these cases Travellerspoint will seek compensation from you for lost revenue and any potential damage to Travellerspoint's reputation caused by your actions.

Further adding…”If you are aware of any possible misuse of this Website or any other actions or content which might be in breach of these Terms, please contact abuse@travellerspoint.com.”

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.

Geographically distance is not a factor, travellerspoint provides information that anyone with internet access can browse and become a member of if they choose. It can compliment real life communities offering a rich source of knowledge while also providing connections over great distances to site users instantly.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment what this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can.

Typical limitations of online communities include:

- Misuse and validity of certain information being shared

- Limited communication tools, e.g. online as opposed to talking face to face.

- Reliance on virtual communities, i.e. being a computer based traveller as opposed to getting out there and doing it!!!

- Possible access limitations in certain pockets of the world, especially for those users who are on the road and unable to access the website.

….in conclusion a FANTASTIC website/online community but nothing beats getting out there and doing the country yourself!!.....

Tutorial 4 & 5...

Video Production Sessions…

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

- Footloose in G block….

Task Two: Set up a U Tube

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

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.

Utube offers a community for the public to join and share videos online. Created in 2005 by three former PayPal employees, the site allows expression of absolutely anything!!! You can watch and share video's, create accounts for storing favourite clips and join groups...... Its brilliant get amongst it!!!!

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.

Firstly was to decide the general topic of our clip...... 'The life and times at polytech' Eight clips were decided sufficient and put on to a story board, brief statements of each clip were written and where the shot would take place e.g. Campus Wonderful, Fluid, library. This enabled us to visualize the scenes and alter the order and sequence to give our movie better flow...

Tutorial 3...

Blog Creation Tasks

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

This will involve setting up a Google account (make note of your user name and password)

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

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 is a tool for creating blogs!!!

First created in 1999 'blogs' are short for web-logs and are a form of online journaling

It gives people the opportunity to have their own voice on the web, a place to collect and share things that are of interest - it is a way of organising the world's information from a personal perspective'.

Other blog hosts: My space Bravenet, livejournal.

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...

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?

The 'good things'.... photos are instant and able to be viewed and deleted,

- choice of what to develop

- choice of camera size and complexity for user

- ease to copy to computer for manipulation i.e photo shop

The 'not so good things'....

- loss of the anticipated ''getting the film back from the camera shop' excitement

- complexity of camera functions requires technical knowledge

- increased battery usage

- expense

- no hard copy of photos as most are stored electronically

List some of the ways that digital images can be stored transferred and manipulated using other communications technology.

Stored and transferred: flash drives, hard drives, websites - social networks, Cd, Dvd, memory cards, email, cell phones

Manipulated: computer programs, instant photo developing in shops.

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.

- Privacy

- misuse of e g copyright

- trustworthiness.... downloading

- The right people receiving the information.

Briefly discuss some of the ways that digital images could, or are, being used in occupational therapy practice.

-photo documentation and recording of clients in everyday occupations, i.e walking cooking exercising for assessment purposes and formulation.

- documentation for housing modifications

- development of in service manuals and promotional material

Provide a brief summary of the services offered by Flickr.com

Flickr is a photo management and sharing application on the web used to upload, organise, and share photos. To use, firstly a basic account is set up, where photos are then stored. It also offers services for 'making stuff' eg cards and framed prints and recieving updates from friends and family.

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

- Ringo
- Snapfish

Explain what the difference is between a digital and an optical zoom

A digital zoom crops an image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame, thus resulting in a loss of quality the larger it gets.

An optical zoom uses the lens to focus, through changing focal length and magnification as it is zoomed The subject is enlarged with the image quality staying high.

Explain what is meant by the term mega pixel

A pixel is a contraction of the term PIcture ELement. Digital images are made up of small squares (pixels) like a tile mosaic. A mega pixel is one thousand pixels.

Tutorial Seven....part 2... Flickr!!!

The 'how to' embed a flickr badge...

1. Open new tab in flickr.com......
2. Sign in or create account.....
3. Choose upload your first photo (or video)...
4. Follow steps 'Choose photos'... selecting from computer....

5. Choose and add photos....select 'upload'
6. Once uploaded select 'tools' at the bottom of the page...
7. Select 'build a badge' .... choose either 'html badge' or 'flash badge
8. Choose the things you'd like to display on your badge from your photostream, or everyone's uploads.
9. Choose colours...
10. Get the code to copy and paste into 'new posting' on your blog website...

11. Assign a title and 'publish post'!!!

Tutorial Seven.....utube...

The’ how to’ embed You Tube videos into your blog….

1. Open a new tab in flickr.com…

2. Find the video of choice….copy the code…

3. Back on blogger select new post and copy code….

4. Assign a title…

5. Publish post…