Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Very last blog
Well I think that's me!!
Take care, have fun and be safe.
Cheers
Julie :0)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Assistive Technology
According to Cook & Hussey (1995), assisstive technology is defined as "Any item, piece of equipment or product system that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities".
In our tutorial we had a "hands on" session to see how the devices worked. The one I liked the most was a communication device called a "Go Talk". The Go talk is a recording device that can store up to 100 variable and 5 static messages. It was relatively compact and was made of a hard plastic so it appeared durable. The cost of the Go Talk is approx $500.00.
The Go Talk could be used in a number of different ways to increase independence, for example a non-verbal school child could have messages such as "Hi, my name is Jacob" or "Could I have a bus ticket to Hamilton East please" recorded on to his device so that all he has to do is press the relevant button for the message to play.
Alternatively, they could also be used for individuals with short term memory loss, so instructions for, say, morning procedure, could be recorded onto the Go Talk, and used as prompts if necessary.
Cook. A., Hussey, S. (1995). Assisstive technologies principles & practice. Mosby: St Louis
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wiihabilitation
Q Why do you think Wii Gaming has appealed to people who are not traditional video game player?
The Wii appeals because it is easy to use, involves active movement and is fun. Players get to participate in sports such as ten pin bowling, wakeboarding, boxing, which may be new, or familiar to them. I imagine alot of appeal has to do with the lack of violence in the games.
Q What is the relevance to Occupational Therapy?
Used as a rehabilitation tool the Wii is very relevant to Occupational Therapy. It is important for therapists to keep updated with new technologies and incorporate them into treatment where appropriate. Occupational Therapists have moved on from basket weaving.
Q Investigate the other applications offerred by the Wii. How else could it be used?
One of the reasons Wii is so relevantas an Occupational Therapy tool is because of the many practical applications. It's software includes programmes such as "Cooking Mama" where the playes simulate real life cooking skills such as slicing meat, peeling an onion, breaking an egg. The link below show a patient practising to climb stairs. These are real skills that patients are able to practice in a safe controlled environment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtLDRN--CeY
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Overcoming Adversity Movie
Hey, well here it is finally, WHEW what an effort that was. But it was worth it 'cos now Shaz is famous - a star is born! There was a bit of work involved in making the movie. After uploading the movie sequences from the camera to the computer we then had to make the movie which involved using Windows Movie Maker which can be downloaded free, and is easy to use. So we selected the sequences we wanted, dragged them into Movie Maker, edited them if they were too long, added transitions between the shots -check them out they are pretty stylie well no actually they are majorly overdone, but it was fun trying all of the different effects! Then we added the title and credits which was just a matter of following the instructions on Movie Maker. The only problem we had was the music!! We spent a while trying to figure out some good music that suited the movie and decided on "Road to Nowhere" by Talking Heads, so managed to get that added to our movie and everything was going according to plan until we tried to upload the movie to youtube. Oh no we hadn't understood the copyright laws and as a consequence our video has uploaded but without the music :( Nevermind, as our tutor pointed out it's a learning exercise - and we learnt. I'm just glad we don't have to redo it!!!!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Final Tutorial Embedding videos and Flickr badges
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tutorial Six: The internet and online communities
- People from around the world can contribute to this site, allowing a large diversity and volume of information.
- It brings together people who may live in towns and cities without raw/living food communities, enabling large numbers of people to connect.
- The alternative nature of this community means it may be difficult or limited to meet others with similar ideas regarding food.
Having said that, benefits of traditional communities include:
- The ability of members to physically meet everyone within its community
- Physical resources eg books for borrowing
- Inclusive of everyone regardless of computer skills