Rehabilitation and Games
As some of you know, in my 'other' life (when I am not a student), I am an occupational therapist.  It has been awhile since I have worked clinically as most of my practice these days is centred around teaching the next generation of therapists! :-)  However, I do try to stay up to date with what is going on in terms of effective assessment and treatment for some of the types of patients/clients that I used to work with. 

When we have our discussions about whether technology is 'good' or 'bad' (I don't mean to over-simplify), I often find myself trying to think from the perspective of someone with a disability, or as a therapist trying to help that person recover, live, and function independently. Technology has so much to offer in these situations, yet at the same time it can also create a 'dependence' on the device(s), that may well defeat the very independence that is the goal.  

I wanted to start first by sharing some videos of the use of 'games' for treatment.  The first one gives a brief overview of how the Wii can be used to help engage patients in therapy:

 

If that short clip piqued your interest, you might also be interested in this clip about individuals who have had a stroke: 

 

The study they refer to is published in the journal Stroke (from the American Stroke Association) and was conducted at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.  Here is a link to the "official"abstract:

Video Games Good for stroke patients

And here is a link to the article in the Toronto Sun that explains it in lay terms:

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/04/07/17915391.html

There are lots of examples of games and other assistive technologies being used in rehabilitation.  I've been struggling with whether I should make this the topic of my presentation, but I don't want to bore you with too much information or 'therapy-talk'!! If you'd like to know more, then let me know and I'll post some additional information.  :-)

QR codes

I was inspired by Steph's November 6th blog to try to create my own QR code.  So here it is:

I hope it works!  Thanks Steph for the great tip.....although I wonder if I'm just getting caught-up in technique?  :-)

Audio Recording on Sunday morning

I'm going to try this again since Louise was having trouble with the first recording. Hopefully it will work this time!  It should be linking to the SoundCloud website, and then you will need to click on the play button to activate the track.

Audio Recording on Sunday morning

Audio Recording on Friday afternoon

Well there is nothing like a snowy Friday afternoon to learn something new! :-)

Here is my very first sound file post.  I hope it works! Click on the text....
Audio Recording on Friday afternoon

Long time no see...

I found this old digital drawing my daughter completed about 9 years ago.  I think it was one of the first times she had used the Paint program.  As we struggle with whether technology is 'good' for kids, it's nice to remember that they find ways to express themselves no matter what the medium. 

Anyway, I'm sending you this digital smile because we didn't get to see each other this week, and it seems like a long time since we've been together.  Have a great weekend. 

Back to Marshall McLuhan...

A friend of mine posted this video on her blog. Although it is centred around the messages women and girls receive from the media, there are lots of underlying references to McLuhan and the powerful men who control the media...
Warning - some of the language and pictures are explicit.
 
If any of you have the Oprah Winfrey Network network you can watch the full documentary on November 12, 2011.

Re-cycling E-waste 

I just can't get the images from the 60 minutes video out of my head. And I can't stop feeling guilty about all the 'e-stuff' that is piled-up in my husband's "man cave".  What are we going to do with it all?  He and I tend to have opposite philosophies when it comes to dealing with stuff we are no longer using.  He likes to hold onto things in case he finds a need for it one-day, while I prefer to just get rid of it!!  :-)

So I started looking for some specific solutions in case one day he feels like he can part with some of our old stuff. :-)

In case you haven't discovered it yet, it looks like the Government of Manitoba has set up an agency called Green Manitoba (http://www.mbgreen.ca/cim/1001C7_1T1T3T123T12T753T13T760.dhtm) and they run an e-waste round-up program.  They will accept the following: TVs, microwaves, computer monitors (CRT & flat-panel), laptops, desktops (CPU/hard drive, keyboards, mice & cables), desktop printers, DVD players, VCRs & stereos, phones, scanners, copiers & fax machines, & rechargeable batteries.    They operate 28 drop-off sites across Manitoba, although half of them are only open from May 1 - October 1.  Here is a link to the locations:
Green Manitoba Drop-off sites for e-waste


I did a little further digging and it appears that Green Manitoba then sends 'our' e-waste to the Global Electric Electronics Processing (GEEP) company (see http://www.geepinc.com/Default.aspx).  Check out the page with the videos.  The CBC video is a 'Canadian-version' of the 60-minutes feature and includes a tour of the GEEP plant. Although it all looks quite legitimate, I find it hard to trust after seeing the company-featured in the 60-minutes documentary.  They seemed legit too....  However, it does appear that GEEP has attained international standards certification for 1) quality, 2) environmental, and just last week, for 3) health and safety management systems.  So maybe one bad company doesn't make them all bad! I guess we'll just have to keep watching and asking questions.   
  

Here's one other local option for old computers run by a colleague:

The Inner City Kids' Computer Club, a project coordinated by staff at the Bannatyne campus at the U of Manitoba, has an ongoing need for used, surplus PCs. The club operates as an after-school activity at several sites, and one site in particular could use donated Windows-based PCs. IRCOM (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba) would like to give computers to families in their apartment complex for children to do computer club projects as well as school homework.  Any donated computers should be in working order and not more than four or five years old. For more information or to donate a personal computer, please contact Dennis Bayomi, Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine at Dennis_Bayomi@umanitoba.ca