Tutorial Seven

This week we were asked to search online for five blogs that relate to OT practice. Of the five blogs we were then asked to link to at least one fellow student from Dunedin or Hamilton. Joanna Hegan is a Hamilton student that I randomly selected to link with and I posted on her blog. The other four blogs I linked with are students based here in Dunedin. I think that all the blogs I chose are very interesting. Here are the links to the comments I have made on each students postings.

Joanna Hegan
Charlotte Cowley
Nicole Jordan
Pip Watt
Janine Dowling

This is an example of linking to a blog. This is a picture one of my postings. As you can see there have been a few comments on this posting. This is my tutorial six and it is about travel blogs. I have talked about different travel blogging websites that people can go to to share information about travelling the world and different places that people are thinking about going to. Two classmates have commented about their thoughts surrounding the websites and I have then left a comment about what they have said.

From this tutorial I have learnt how to leave comments on different blogs which share my ideas with what people have posted on their online blogs. I think this is a very useful tool to have for future use.

Tutorial Eight: Assistive technology

To define assistive technology I went to an online dictionary and searched for a definition. It came back with numerous results from which I selected one which I thought provided the best explaination. I then posted this definition below. I then defined assistive technology using my own explaination which is below the dictionary definition. Assistive technology: This term may be used to mean an assistive device, but more commonly denotes some kind of electronic or computerized device that helps a disabled person to function more easily in the world. Examples of assistive technology include devices that allow people to control a computer with the mouth, keyboards that can "speak" for mute individuals, and closed captioning systems that help the hearing impaired enjoy television shows and videos. MedicineNet. Inc. (1996). Definition of assistive technology. Retrieved from http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10951   In my own words assistive technology is an assitive device or piece of equipment used to enable a person with a disability to participate in an occupation that they are unable to do without this assistive device. For example a hearing aid or a sip and puff device for a wheelchair.

Below is a definition of one piece of assistive technology which I chose. I decided to go with a sip-and-puff device which I give an in depth definition of what it is, how much it costs, how to use it etc. A sip-and-puff is a method used to send signals to a device using air pressure by "sipping" (inhaling) or "puffing" (exhaling) on a straw, tube or "wand." It is primarily used by people who do not have the use of their hands. It is commonly used to control a motorized wheelchair by quadriplegics with very high injury to their spinal column or people with ALS. The cost for a head-mounted sip/puff switch is around $295.00USD, which is $382.00NZD. Typical applications of Sip-and-Puff devices are for control of a motorized wheelchair. Control typically consists of four different inputs from the user. An initial hard puff will enable the wheelchair to move forward, while a hard sip will stop the wheelchair. Conversely, an initial hard sip will enable the wheelchair to move backward, while a hard puff will stop the wheelchair. A continuous soft sip or soft puff will enable the wheelchair to move left or right respectively depending on how long the user blows into the tube, straw or "wand". Therefore this enables people to use a wheelchair and gain some independence where they were previously unable. During the lecture we were told about a young boy who was able to drive a wheelchair due to this device where he was previously dependent on carer’s. This brought out a whole new side of him and increased his whole outlook on life and his occupational capacity.  Here is a photo of a sip and puff device Here are some hyperlinks to YouTube which show videos of people using the sip and puff device to do different things. Andi with sip/puff Ken's Power Caster- Sip & Puff Control System

Tutorial Six: the internet and online communities

This week we looked at a area of interest surrounding a personal occupation. We had to then search online for three communities that relate to this topic and and address questions and tasks.There is a huge range of online communities to cater for all sorts of people. No matter what your interest people use online communities to come together and share these interests and hobbies. I decided to look at online communities surronding people who love to travel. I looked primarily at travel blogs and reviews of places around the world. These websites are made by people who post blogs about different places so that people who are thinking about travelling there can go to these websites and find out information.
The three websites that I looked at were

http://www.travelblog.org/
http://www.travelpod.com/
http://www.igougo.com/

The travel blog is a collection of travel journals, diaries and photos from around the world. Anyone can start a free travel blog in which you can add unlimited photos, videos and blogs from around the world. You can also join up and participate in travel discussions by using the travelblog travel forum. The Travel Blog.

TravelPod is a free travel blog website that let's you chart your trips on a map, share unlimited photos and videos, and stay in touch while you travel. You can also participate in chat forums and exchange tips about travelling to certain places. You can explore travel destinations and take a guided tour of places via photos and what people have blogged. TravelPod 

IgoUgo Is a travel blog website that allows you to plan your next trip using their simple planning tool. You can browse reviews and photos from any destination and share travel reviews and photos of your own. You can also ask questions and talk with other travelers in their travel forums. The website also offers traveler's favourite journals, reviews and photos. You can also explore the IgoUgo community blog for the latest IgoUgo news and highlights. Another great thing about this website is that you can compare rates of flights, and hotels for your next trip. IgoUgo

The Travel blog: This website is very interactive. It is quite like Facebook in the way that it works as it enables people to add other members and share content with their contacts. The website is used in a way that people add information about themselves, such as interests and hobbies and they can share videos, photos, messages and comments with other members via their profile and network. Travel blog is a collection of tools so that travellers can write down a journal, send the address to family and friends, set up automatic mailing lists so that everytime you add a new entry to your list your friends get an automatic email. Also the theme is travel, the tools are designed to cope with you moving around, maps and flags are linked from each journal. Photos can be added to your blog if you have a digital camera. We encourage our members to link to useful sites about areas, to help out future travellers. Write reviews, guides, journals, add photos.

TravelPod: This website is also very interactive. This website lets you share your trips using your own online travel blog (also known as a travel diary, travel journal or travelogue). You can post travel blogs from previous trips or use TravelPod for your ongoing trips. By updating your travel blogs while you travel, you can share your adventures with everyone back home.  Everyone can also leave comments on your blog about their opinions surronding what you have posted.

IgoUgo: This website is also very interactive in my opinion. IgoUgo travel reviews and photos will spark your wanderlust and help you plan your next adventure and inspire you to share your own experiences. 540,000 travellers think IgoUgo is the best place to store and share their trip stories and pictures, building a library of honest opinions, tips, and experiences that you won’t find in any guidebook. To date, their travel community has contributed hundreds of thousands of reviews and photos of everything from cheap eats to luxury hotels in more than 9,000 destinations worldwide. You can also write reviews and upload photos so that you can share trip memories with friends, family and travel enthusiasts.


Because everyone can comment on these blogs there are some ethical issues that can arise. Lack of identity and accountability can arise because people can steal information from your blog and take it as their own. People may misuse the communities and post things that are offensive to other people. Other people may gain a delusional reliance on online communities and live their life online rather than in the 'real world.' Other people may be able to hack into your account and post items onto your blog so who is actually sustaining and managing the community.



Benefits from a geographical community allow people from your neighbourhood, suburb, village, town, city, nation or even the planet as a whole to come together and share ideas about their trips abroad. You are able to connect with people that you might not of known before and learn things about people that you previously did not know.

Online communities affect how we play, how we talk and how we interact with others. Because of this vitual world people sometimes forget how to interact in real life and become withdrawn and separate from people close to them. These communities lack face-to-face time with people, because they are communicating via the internet and a keyboard they are missing out on actually being able to see the person which typical communities in everyday life provide.

Tutorial five: Video Production Sessions

A brief summary the services offered by YouTube.

Youtube was created by three pals from PayPal - Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim - who raised $3.5 million in venture capital to debut their open exchange video site in November 2005. Less than a year later, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion. Can you say "cha ching?"
The concept is brilliantly simple. People post videos on YouTube and watch and comment on the videos others have posted. The videos can be anything from a simple rant into a cell phone camera by a frustrated teenager to a favorite sports clip Tivo'd off of ESPN - and everything in between. The numbers generated by YouTube are staggering. One hundred million videos are on the YouTube servers, with 65,000 new ones uploaded every day. They're watched by 20 million viewers a month.
The simplicity of the technology has aided its popularity. YouTube uses the popular Macromedia FlashPlayer 7 and the Sorenson Spark H.263 codec - which offers the combined quality of Windows Media Player and Apple's QuickTime without the need to download additional browser plug-ins. In simpler terms, you click and the video plays... period.

Understanding Occupational Therapy

This video shows an occupational therapy student explain what she thinks occupational therapy is. This video explains occupational therapy through the eyes of someone who is currently studying it. It breaks down what occupation is and how it can have different meanings depending on the individual

How occupational therapy can help people

This video describes what an occupational therapist does through the eyes of a consumer and using patients as examples of what an occupational therapist does

A Day in the Life - Occupational Therapist

This film shows what a typical day in the life of an occupational therapist is. It explains it through watching a therapist working with a patient; this video is what an occupational therapist does through the eyes of an occupational therapist