Ambience + Play

The last week of undergoing our activities and analysing! How far we have come. I feel as though I have learnt a lot. This week I focused on ambience. Ambience is described as being the atmosphere of the place (Collins et al, 2006). It includes the feeling that the activity brings about due to the particular nature of it. In relation to poker, this would include things such as temperature, lighting, how much breathing space each person has and noise.
Here is an example from the last time I played poker;
It was a sunny Friday afternoon and everyone had finished tech/ work. We decided to go outside and the air was warm, with the sun directly on our backs (temperature). This made it quite frustrating at times as when I get hot, I get angry! So losing around wasn't the happiest time for me. The sun was bouncing off our cards into our eyes at times, making it a little difficult to see. This is where we had the bright idea to put our sunglasses on! It was rather noisy outside as everyone was knocking off work in the neighbourhood, getting ready for the all blacks big game! This added to the atmosphere of the game as it pumped us up. It sounded as though everyone was having, which made us feel that way too. Seen as we were in the outside air, it gave us plenty of breathing space. No one was crowded into each other (like when we play inside).
Some key phrases in relation to poker would be;

the atmosphere is heated and suspenseful
everyone looks worried and anxious to see their cards
the beauty of seeing a pocket of aces creates joy
suspicious vibe
secretive and hiding


Poker comes under the framework of play. Play is described by Christiansen & Townsend (2004) as occupations that are selected for amusement or recreational purposes. Poker, for me, fit under this framework as it is something that I do for fun, rather than for survival/ necessity.

References:
Christiansen, C. H., & Townsend, E. A. (Eds.). (2004). Introduction to occupation; The art and science of living (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Collins, C., Cross, R., Gilmour, L., Holmes, A., Mackie, W., & Weber, P. (Eds.). (2006). Collins paperback dictionary & thesaurus (3rd ed.). Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers


My comments on others pages :)

References:
Anderson, S. (2007). Collins dictionary. New Hampshire: Harper- Collins Publishers.
Arendt, H. (1958). The Human condition. New York, Doubleday Anchor Books. in Butler, M. 2011, lecture notes on Work, in Participation in Occupation 2 (BT238001)
Caulton, R. & Dickson, R. (2007). What's going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson- Porter (Eds.), Contemporary issues in occupational therapy (pp. 87-114). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Christiansen, C. H., & Townsend, E. A. (Eds.). (2004). Introduction to occupation; The art and science of living (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Collins, C., Cross, R., Gimour, L., Holmes, A., Mackie, W., & Weber, P. (Eds.). (2006). Collins paperback dictionary & thesaurus (3rd ed.). Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers
Green, T. (1968). Work, Leisure and the American Schools. New York: Random House

Last Engagement in Poker

My Story:
The suspense of the start of the rugby game between the all blacks and Canada almost drew my flatmates and I bonkers. We needed something to do. Alix shouts "I know, lets play poker!" (communication) What a brilliant idea I thought. It took about 5 minutes for us to remember where we had left the poker set, finally, we found it, in the cabinet where it always is! We cleared the coffee table to enable plenty of space for us to set up (ergonomics). I watched as Alix took on the leader role, handing out the poker chips and cards. We decided to get less chips so that the game didn't go on too long (ergonomics). We wanted to watch the game after all. I watched as each player picked up their cards, wondering what was going on in the two little cards upon their hands. I could see in some, little butterflies flying around in happiness (connections), in others- straight disappointment. I was one of those people. The game started to roll out, everyone having a turn at winning a round. I noticed that the predominant conversations were about winning, so and so cheating (communications) and the rugby we were so desperately waiting for (connections). I could feel the heat rise up as I lay my $1000 chip on the table. If i lose this round, i'm screwed for the rest of the game! Pete won. I suddenly felt a change in my mood. I went from energetic and excited to completely bored and wanting to get out. That shows my competetive "have to win" attitude (spirituality). I decided to go all in just so I didn't have to play anymore. Thankfully I lost. Time for a drink I thought whilst I watched the others churn in pain! (physical) Not wanting to lose. Claire won that day.

Practical Considerations:
Pack of cards (or two)
Poker chips
Table / flat surface to play on
People
Rules and Guidelines
Money
Chips and Dip!

Labour, Work

This week we focused on labour and work, and what the difference is.
"Labour" is defined by Green (1968) as a humans whose "energies are spent in response to necessity, under the aegis of forces outside himself, forces that he does not set in motion and cannot control." My understanding of this is that labour is something that we are required to do, is a necessity of life e.g. eating, gathering food, finding shelter etc. This definition has shown me that my activity, poker, does not fit under this category.

"Work" is defined as that activity which produces the artificial world in which we live in... making it what we want it to be, rather than what has to be for survival (Arendt, 1958). My understanding of this definition is that work is anything that we CHOOSE to do, rather than for necessity and survival. This has shown me that my activity, poker, fits under this category.

I would say that poker fits under work as it is something that myself, and I'm sure most others do for fun. I can choose whether I want to play poker or not, and if i do not choose to, then my life does not depend on it (whereas labour is a matter of survival or not).
Some could flip this around and say that poker could fit under labour too. There are those out there who play poker for a living, and this could be there only source of income. Therefore, it is done for survival in those cases (if you have no money, you can't buy food. If you can't buy food, you can't eat).

Anyways I'm off now, survival mode has kicked in and I need to eat :)
Ciao

Reference List;
Arendt, H. (1958). The Human condition. New York, Doubleday Anchor Books. in Butler, M. 2011, lecture notes on Work, in Participation in Occupation 2 (BT238001)
Green, T. (1968). Work, Leisure and the American Schools. New York:, Random House

Affordances cont.

This week we continued expanding our knowledge around more things that come under affordances and how they fit in when analysing my activity.
The next three headings are; aesthetics, memories/ history, and physical.
Aesthetics:
(a few key words) the way it looks, attractions, express sense of beauty. The attractions for myself when I'm playing poker would be the eagerness to win, the challenge, trying my luck and its something that I can do to de-stress. The beauty of poker is the happy and bright faces on the people who have good cards, the togetherness we feel once we have finished playing, the laughter involved and the awesome feeling when you win.

Memories/ History:
As stated in my first post regarding poker, poker has been played in my family for many years. Playing the game reminds me of all the years I spent watching the other members of my family play, and wishing I could play. In the future playing it will also remind me of playing it with my flat mates in this flat. All my memories around this activity are positive, even though I have lost my fair share of games...

Physical:
includes things such as stretching arms to put cards down on table, raising hands when you have won a round, dealing the cards, flicking your finger against chips to push into the middle, running to get food so that people don't cheat and look at your cards, tapping your foot in suspense, clapping for those who won at the end.


Reference:
Anderson, S. (2007). Collins dictionary. New Hampshire: Harper- Collins Publishers.

Ergonomics and Affordance

Ergonomics is described as: “constantly make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt to the needs of those taking part and ensure that it continues to work for its intended purpose” (Caulton and Dickson 2007).  This is helpful in my learning around ergonomics, and how to fit it into my own activity. 
How this can relate to POKER;
- well as stated in my first post on poker, when we first initially started to play poker, there were people who were just learning how to play. we (the one's who knew how to play) "adapted" how we played the game, using little tactics and going easy on them.
- depending on how we are feeling that day is how long we play for (sometimes stop half way through)
- depending on how many people are playing, is where we play the game
and many more


Affordance;
Communications; 
flatmate relationship
winner/ loser
instructor/ student
non- caring relationship
non- verbal + verbal communication
(to name a few)


Connections;
e.g this is the game of poker
these are the cards we use in the game of poker
this is the table that holds the cards we use to play the game of poker
this is the room that the table sits in that holds the cards we use to play the game of poker
this is Claire whos room we are in where the table sits that holds the cards we use to play the game of poker
Poker - Claire


Ethics;
Burden- guilt of winning, guilt of not doing homework, keeping straight face
Joy- winning, spending time with friends
Good- learning new skills, happiness, bringing people together
Bad- addiction, time wasting, money loss, overeating bad food


References:
Caulton, R. & Dickson, R. (2007). What's going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson- Porter (Eds.), Contemporary issues in occupational therapy (pp. 87- 114). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd

P P P P Poker; My Chosen Activity

Back into it for our second semester of learning, in our second year!

We were told to choose an activity that we enjoy, that's meaningful to us, or that we just want to do!
Guess what i chose.... Poker.
Poker is a game that has been played in my family for years! Any chance the boys in my family get, they whip out their cards, chips and money!
I was never allowed to join in this fun, due to the fact that I was too young for gambling, however I took every chance I could to watch them play. I was so intrigued by it. I learnt the rules through observation (which shows that modelling works) and started getting really into the game.
At last, I was old enough to join in. There was a joining fee of $5- eeeek! I was going to try my best to win it back. Turns out, I was a better observer than I was a player. I lost my first game. In fact, I lost several games.

It has now become a tradition in my flat. One of my flatmates, Ron, decided one day that he would buy a poker set for all of us to play. I was rather excited by this. It didn't take long from when the poker set entered the house, to being sprawled across the coffee table ready to be played. Ron and another one of my flat mates, Thomas + myself were the only one's who knew how to play the game. So we spent the first 20 minutes explaining the rules and objectives to the other, Claire, Alix and Monique.
At first we played easy, very little strategy was used. Alix won. Beginners luck I say.

Poker + Mindfulness =
Seeing the people around you, trying to suss out what their cards are
Seeing your cards and wondering "how am i going to win with this"?
Feeling smooth but hard cards
Feeling round bobbly chips
Smelling the dinner burning
Smelling the plastic cards and new smell of chips
Hearing people screaming about their "dumb" cards
Hearing others yell in delight because they won
Tasting salty chips and creamy dip while you play


So what are some feelings/ describing words when playing poker?
For me personally;
enjoyment
fun
strategic
hope (for good cards)
laughter
addictive
thrilling
challenging
long lasting
psychological
bluffing
competitiveness
poker face
table talk
"pocket aces" (Thomas)
anger/ sadness (when losing)
"all in mate"

How this relates to occupational therapy?
Meet new people
Join groups
Learning new skills
Keeping the mind active
Give them something to do during the day
It could even be a "meaningful occupation" to some (which us OT's are all about)
& I'm sure there are many more...

That's me for today.
:)

Participation in Occupation II

This blog will now be used for my semester two paper occupation in occupation II. It is a follow on from the paper i done relating to the information already within this blog
Cheers

Tutorial Eight: Assistive Technology

This week we had two speakers come in to teach us about assistive technology. These workshops were VERY interesting and will be helpful for the future when I am a working Occupational Therapist.
Cook & Hussey (1995) define assistive technology as "any item, piece of equipment or product system whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" (pg 5).
I interpreted this as a device whether it be changed to suit an individual or straight off the shelf, which assists people to do things they may not be able to do otherwise.

One device that i found really interesting out of these sessions were the "talking tins." They are round pieces of equipment (about the size of the circumference of a H2g0 bottle) which sit on top of tins that talk. People talk into them and state what is being stored in that can/ jar. This increases occupational capacity for a user who may be blind and cannot read the label on the can/jar. They can simple press a button which will then play back to them the content of that jar. The client can either record this message themselves, or have someone else do it for them. It increases independance when cooking simple food.
This website goes more in depth about what talking tins exactly do for those who are interested :)

http://www.talkingproducts.co.uk/talking_tins_education.htm

Well this comes to the end of my blog postings. Hope you have enjoyed them, see ya round
:)
Gemma

Tutorial Seven- Linking to blogs of interest and exchanging comments

This week we looked at linking to other peoples pages. In specific other useful blogs that were to do with OT.
I have linked to 2 people studying OT blogs, the participation in OT blog, NZAOT, OT Blog, google, moodle and facebook :)
I then posted on Claires video about a father who done an iron man with his son- his son being in a wheelchair. I thought it was so inspirational. I also commented on one of her blog entries. I thought she had some good comments.

We also looked at the snipping tool. It is a tool which allows you to "snip" (copy) an image on a website/ microsoft word etc. Here is an example of what I snipped. It is the comment i left on Claire's page.

To do this you click the start menu and click on snipping tool. You then drag cursor around the area you wish to "snip". You then save the image and upload on blog as an image.

End of tutorial 7
:)

Tutorial 6: The internet and online communities

What is an online community?
An online community is similar to a community in the real world. It is a group of people that contact using the internet. It is a form of communication between people, but over the internet rather than face to face (Wikipedia, 2011).

I have chosen to carry on my theme of total hip joint replacements.
The first online community I have found is from farm orthopedics. This website has a forum where people can discuss hip replacement surgery and recovery with other patients. This is the hyperlink to the webpage:
http://bonesmart.org/public_forum/hip-replacement-f21.html?gclid=CPDfmf3s_6cCFUmDpAodiTxTqg

The site has different topics/ sub topics where anyone can go in and share their stories or ask questions. I find this very interactive as it allows anyone to voice their opinion, and has the ability to give a wide variety of opinions.

People contribute by clicking on the topic at which they want to read/ add an opinion to. They then click on "new thread" and add their part. You then click on submit and VWALA you have contributed to this forum.
People who use this site contribute things around THR, or any other surgery. Such as their experiences, the good things, the bad, facts, etc etc. They contribute to these because they want to get a varied response on specific topics. They are seeking to find answers about what to expect, or compare their experiences with others. Information isn't shared one way. Its reciprocal.

Examples of topics are:
Noise Issues

articles by the experts on noises in hip replacement

Hip Replacement Recovery Area

The "other side" - for post-operative hip patients: also Noise Issues

Ethical issues around this online community?
The people can never be sure where the information is truly coming from. They can never be sure if the informaton provided is true, they may just be making it up.

The benefits of this community include a wide variety of comments from a wide variety of people.
Patients can share their opinion without being judged.
It may help people to be more honest about their experience.
Can talk anytime.

This community lacks/ isn's as good as geographical community because:
You can never fully trust the information provided.
Inability to really get to know the person you are conversing with.

The second community I have looked up is article city. This is the hyperlink to the website: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_8029.shtml
This is where authors can submit an article they have written, and people can comment about it. The article example is around why online communities are helpful for people who have had total hip joint replacements (hitting two birds with one stone here).
The purpose of this site (in my opinion) is to voice peoples using article form, and recieve feedback from others.
The site isn't tooo interactive. Pretty much a person submits an article, and others can choose whether they want to comment back or not.
People contribute by clicking in the comment box, writing the comment, then pressing submit.
People contribute their opinion of the article written, give praise/ feedback.
I think people choose to contribute to this community as they may feel strong about some of the issues/ information brought up in the articles. They may also feel that the writer needs to be given praise for there good work. Asking for more information around the information may also be a reason.
I do not think people really seek anything from this community. However, they may want clarification around information provided, or just want to show their appraisal of the work.
The information is reciprocal.

Other subjects/ topics on this online community include things such as:  marketing, children. parenting etc.

The potential ethical issues around this may be:
people stealing one others work
lack of identity
lack of accountability
social justice

The beneftis of this online community:
people can get feedback around their articles
others can read the articles and give comments on the ideas addressed
true feelings can be shared
can share feelings any time
This community lacks/ isn't as good as geographical communities because:
You are not assured that you will definately get a response on your comment
Inability to build rapport with who you are talking to
Can not fully trust the information being shared
Takes longer to communicate

The third online community I have looked at is blogspot.com (this website)
Here is a link to the page that I have looked at specifically: http://www.francine-hipreplacement.blogspot.com/
This blog allows people to share their experiences of hip replacements.
I think the intensions of this blog is to help those out there who are about to undergo a hip replacement. It allows people to read stories, and comment on them, asking questions or just give a general comment. This makes it a rather interactive web page. People can contribute by either sharing their story in the "tell your story" box. Or.. you can contribute by writing comments about other peoples blog entries, e.g. what they like about their entry, can ask questions etc.
People contribute to these because of their general interest around hip replacements. They wish to share their experiences, or find out more around what happens when you get a hip replacement. It is a reciprocal way of sharing.
Some examples of topics shared in this webpage is: Scoliosis, Now I'm a Health Maven:-)

Ethical issues around this website include:
People may take the information given in this website without permission
The information given may not be legitimate
Can be bias

Benefits of this online community:
Can have a range of opinions
Can be accessed whenever someone wishes
Easy to use
Not very time consuming
There is not a certain time you have to access it

This community lacks/ is not as good as geographical community because:
True feelings can not be shown over the internet
It is very bias
Takes longer to communicate
Cannot fulyl trust the person sharing information

This comes to the end of this blog entry
'Til later
Gemma :)


Reference List:

Wikipedia. (2011). Online Communities. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_communities

Tutorial Five: Video Productions Sessions

Youtube. Oh how I love you!
This week we learnt all about this wonderful site. We made our own logins to Youtube, so that from now on we can add videos to it.
So the services provided by youtube:
Youtube allows us as individuals to upload movie clips, music, home videos and TV clips RIGHT from your computer at home (Wikipedia, 2011). Youtube also allows corporations and businesses to advertise for example BBC. And why wouldn't you, registration is FREE!
Not only can you add photos, you can also rate others videos, comment on them and "subscribe" to certain producers who's videos you enjoy watching (Karch, 2011).

From my fieldwork experience, I have chosen to look further into the net around Total Hip Replacements, and their precautions. Within my feildwork last year I worked on the orthopedic ward with clients who were experiencing total hip replacements. My supervisor and I would converse with them, and prepare them with the precautions they need to make after their surgery, e.g. your hips should never go below your knees.

This link here shares some information around what precautions you should take.



This youtube clip gives you a brief overview of what happens in a THR.

In this youtube clip an 84 year old lady shares her story with everyone about her two experiences with her THR.

This youtube clip shows the rehab side to a THR.

This youtube video shares someones experience two weeks post surgery.

 

Reference List:

ArthritisMD. (2008). Post surgery precautions. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYk1NVB8KE

ArthritisMD. (2008). Post surgery precautions. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYk1NVB8KE

Lee, S. (2008). Total Hip Replacement Patient Story. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/orthosportsalabama

Medicine Net. (2011). Total Hip Replacement. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Medicinenet: http://www.medicinenet.com/total_hip_replacement/article.htm

nucleusanimation. (2008). Hip Surgery. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DosqbEy8ecY

Pao2ndchance. (2009). Hip Replacement Surgery Recovery. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNnYOQJ6Kak

Tutorial Weeks 4/5- All we ever wanted Movie

Tutorial 4/5: Video Production Sessions

Week ten already. WOOOO!
This week we got into small groups to make a video. We had to choose a specific letter of the alphabet and go out and explore all things that started with this letter. We were yet to present it. My group (Claire, Anna, Cara, Godhelp and I) decided to do the letter L. L for love, laughter, lunges, leaving, lavender, lonely ETC. If you didnt click already, that is what our video consisted of.
We then came back into class and uploaded our new pretty sweeet videos onto windows live movie maker, where we edited and put our videos into sequence. I must admit ours turned out pretty cool!
What good actors and actresses we are! We used the song 'all i ever wanted' from basshunter. It fitted in well with some of the slides we were showing.
Seen as there were only two cameras available, two groups went out to film, while the other two groups stayed and watched a clip on youtube from the Canadian OT students. It really did describe what we as OT's do!

I'm now going to upload our video to this blog.
Have a squiz at it if you'd like :)

See you
Gemma

Tutorial Three: Blog Creation Tasks

WEEK 9
The week i created this awesome blog :)
I must admit that it took me a bit to make a flikr account. They would accept me and kept stating that "access denied." Not going to lie, it got me a little frustrated. So i spent half of this tutorial attempting to make the account, and the second half was full of writing my first blog entry. I've never "blogged" before so i find this quite interesting. So i set up everything, and followed the tasks we were allocated on the technical description sheet. Hopefully it all worked.

On our presentation for this weeks lecture I came across a statement which really interested me.
James Sunderland (2007) (I'm guessing) stated that "we are in the business of manipulating contexts, not people." I don't fully understand the message, but it sounds pretty good to me.

This week we learnt all about communication and the potential advantages and disadvantages around IT. Also we looked at "what is a blog?"
It stated that a blog is like a personal diary. It is where you can express and share your personal opinions and concerns. A blog, in the simplest form, is a website that you regularly add "stuff."
Blogs enable you to connect with your friends and share ideas, photos, links and many other wonderful things.
Even though I have only just been introduced to blogging.. I'm quite enjoying it.


'Til next time
Gemma :)

Tutorial Two: Digital Imaging

So here's me trying to find out a cool way to start my blog. Bit of a fail, so I'm just gonna start from the start of the sheet.
Hardware and Software that I'm familiar with? The main ones would have to be digital cameras, video recorders and photoshop. An example of this is from today. St. Patricks Day. We (as a class) decided to go for a casual drink after tech to celebrate, and whats brought out other than the handy ol' camera to document our mean green time. For one of my courses I also had to do a big study on photoshop and how to use it. I found this quite fun transforming an ugly boring photo..to awesome funny photo. Manipulation and making the photo look different is what photoshop is all about.
Facebook is a good place to upload your newly created photos. There are digital albums where you store all photos you wish. You can make a setting so that only your friends can view them (such an good idea). The ability to do this allows others that would not normally (but would like to) view photos of events that you attend. For example, my school ball. My aunties and other relatives who live overseas were able to view them, with out cost, and comment.
Last week (or week before) we all made accounts on Youtube. Youtube is pretty much a video site where you upload any home videos for everyone else to see. Here is a link to a video on youtube which explains in more depth about what youtube is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2PbdIzAVKs
A final example of digital imaging to provide information would have to be nothing more than our own ONE NEWS. ONE news provides us with all of our day to day updates about what is happening in our country, and all around the world. It uses video recorders to capture important / exciting moments in time, and then replays it back to us between 6pm and 7pm. A good use of digital technology I think.

"A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature"

I think I agree with this comment to a certain degree. Back in the day everything was so much more valued. Taking photos was a big deal. Taking videos was even BIGGER. It wasn't just like these days where we take thousands of photos in one night, and then choose only the fair few which we like. You were able to get around 30 good photos (because you didn't want to waste your film and take silly ones) and then you would go get your film developed.
However, there is a huge plus side to the new technologies. The advance in technology has enabled us to take millions of photos, which would not necessarily be a bad thing. Not everyone likes the same photo so having the option is definately a PLUS. The video quality is also much higher, with no crackles and shifting shots. Not to mention colour TV. The ability to manipulate photos (like on photoshop) is also a cool idea. It allows you to change colour, sizing, scale, put other images in and take some parts out etc etc. It also provides some people with a different occupation (which is what us OT's are all about).

HOW CAN/IS DIGITAL IMAGING BEING USED IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY?
I think digital imaging could be used in many ways within Occupational Therapy. Its a good tool to use to show clients the correct technique, e.g. for lifting. They could be provided with a DVD of the correct technique, which they can review at any time if they forget. It could also be used to record sleeping patterns, so we can find out what it is thats troubling them whilst they sleep. Using it to show clients their progress is another way it could be used. Videoing them at the start of their therapy, and then at the end will give them a great sense of achievement. It would also be useful for the therapist to this also.

ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO DIGITAL IMAGING:
You must always have permission to take a photo of someone, and to also put this photo into use e.g. in the newspaper.
Privacy Issues around taking photos is also very important. Paparazzi's are big benders of this rule, as they film celebrities, even when they don't know it. You should always be careful about who you take photos of, and also where.

That comes to the end of my blog addition.
Catch you next time :)

Tutorial One: Information Technology and Ethical Issues

My first (proper) posting for this blog is going to be about Information Technology (IT) and Ethical Issues around this.
IT is the area of managing technology. It spans to a wide variety of areas that include things such as processes,  computer software, information systems, computer hardware, programming languages, and data constructs (Salaam, L. 2011).
I find this as a good definition, and can not put it into any clearer words.
IT is used in everyday life. I'm using it right now. Its a wonder how they used to do things in the "olden days" without technology. It is used for social reasons, gaming, storing data, collating data. In fact the list goes on too long that I'm not going to write it all down. For me personally, my phone is glued to my hand, facebook is only a click away as my laptop is hanging off my shoulder and I'm not exactly camera shy.
I find all these things as a NECESSITY! But then i think about it, they did survive back in the "olden days" without this stuff. We have become reliant on technology in our everyday life. Another example is assignments. These days our assignments like our humanities essay, or concepts in health HAD to be written on a computer and handed in online. What would we do without it ay?!?! I find using majority of the technology today pretty easy. I also find the new stuff that I'm introduced to e.g. the iPad rather easy to pick up on after a few hours of "playing." Limits.. They would have to be access to power sources to charge/ plug in my piece of IT. Also the lack of access to certain technologies, for example money, and lack of it. Some come at a high price, which limits my use.

Here is a link to how information technology has progressed over the years. It's quite amazing : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

So.. Linking it back to OT and how it fits in there I can think of a few ways it does after being on fieldwork. First thing that I saw when I arrived on placement was my supervisor sitting on her computer writing up notes. To order equipment for our clients we would have to use the computer to access enableNZ's order forms. My supervisor would use the phone to call the clients to organise meeting times. She would also use her cellphone to ring clients when we were out in the community. It was also a safety requirement. All our clients past medical notes were held on the computer and were just a click away.
Next, when you think about clients actual occupations IT comes into it alot. After reading the article Computer Games and Karate: the Arts and Crafts of Today written by Chard, G (2007) I have realised how much IT can play a part in our therapy. The new technology such as computers, ipods and email are the new arts, and computer games, using Xboxes and the internet are the new crafts (Chard, G. 2007). Therefore us OT's will be incorporating these into treatment plans as they may be meaningful occupations to some.

The issues around using IT in OT will be things such as some peoples capabilities (and lack of) when it comes to using these. Also I find that if a computer crashes, and thats the only place with stored information on a client, then there may be a bit of a problem. Things around ethics will also become an issue.

Thinking about how IT will become in good use for OT's, I wondered that maybe if in future OT's will be videoing their sessions teaching clients how to do certain exercises, or to use equipment which they can take home with them and look through at any time.
I then found this link on youtube which is sort of illustrating my thoughts : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJjIzEaUILo&feature=related

Why do I think that the use of IT will help us in our practice and daily life? Well, the world is forever developing, so therefore technology will too develop. Watching my parents try and cope with the new technologies is a little bit of a joke, and I think if they had kept on top of technology, there wouldn't be such a barrier. In our practice we will forever be using it, whether it be to access someone's records, or incorporating it into therapy sessions.

Obviously when working with IT, there are always ethical considerations that come within it. An example we used in class was taking photos of children at school. Teachers need specific permission to take photos of kids, and post them on a newsletter/ website. Another example is when using information off a website, you must be referenced correctly, and not violate any plagiarism.

Thats all for this blog
Til next time..
Gemma

Me

Hi, my names Gemma Campbell and I'm currently studying Occupational Therapy at the infamous WINTEC in Hamilton. I'm in my second year and for one of my courses I am required to write a blog. So here it is.. Starting this blog was a mission and a half for me, so lets see how the rest of my postings go. Time to start doing the work that actually counts..
:)