Information technology (IT) is becoming more
prevalent and influential in the running of our day-to-day lives as individuals
and thus society as a whole. Due to the
high demands of its consumers technology is required to be ever changing and
highly adaptable.
The focus of this first blog posting will
provide a brief outline of some of the advantages, disadvantages and ethical
considerations that arise from technology use.
It is also directed towards recording some of my thoughts and
experiences, both positive and slightly less than positively. As well as explore
the application of technologies for occupational therapy intervention all as part
of the course requirements for my second year of occupational therapy study.
According to TechTerms.com (2012) information
technology refers to anything “related to computing technology, such as
networking, hardware, software, the Internet, or the people that work with
these technologies”. For me (the
somewhat technologically challenged at times) this translates to meaning that anything
with a technology or computing-type base falls into the information technology
bracket as well as the way any potential users interact with such technologies. That is encompassing a variety of different
media and can include the likes of computers, GPS, television, mobile phones,
gaming and everything in between.
The prevalence of ease with which we can
access technology has altered the way people go about their day-to-day
lives. With such a dramatic shift in our
reliance on technology a greater emphasis is also put on sourcing, storing and
sharing information online rather than manually. I decided to look at this from a student’s
point of view for two reasons. Firstly I
am currently part of the student population so seeing how commonplace technology
has become in the student environment is highly relevant. And secondly the majority of students today
have grown up surrounded by technology therefore have minimal fear and maximal
expectations of what technology can/should offer. Below is a link to an infographic on student
IT use in the United States. It talks
about what types of IT students utilise and also how well they believe their
tertiary institutions make use of IT as well as where students consider there
is room for growth in the teaching and learning environment.
Most of the time I would class technology as
my friend and say that I am very comfortable with using basic technological
devices except for the odd occasion when I have to exercise restraint as I feel
the need to throw my laptop or phone against a wall. I wouldn’t necessarily associate my comfort
with technology solely to exposure growing up but I guess one way or another
they began to play a more and more significant role in my life as I got older. In fact I think I tried to steer clear of technology
when I was younger but these days I tend to embrace most of it as I find a
number of the skills required for operating the devices are transferable otherwise
trial and error gets implemented and there is an element of hope that spontaneous
combustion doesn’t follow.
Some of the technologies I use these days are
for personal use while others are more work/study related. The likes of my laptop, cell phone, iPod, and
occasionally my digital camera I tend to use on a daily basis. I also utilise a number of online storage
databases (Diigo and Dropbox) networking/communication systems for keeping in
contact with friends in different parts of the country and overseas (Facebook,
email and Skype). As well as these I listen
to music, watch TV, do my banking and book flights online-the internet has
really revolutionised the way we do previously ponderous tasks. I use IT for my academic studies as most of
our course work can be found online (Moodle), we are required to contribute to
online forums and now with the creation of this blog. Due the relatively simple and easy to use
nature of the majority of IT these days I feel that most of my current IT
skills could be applied to IT equipment I haven’t previously used. And unlike my previous feelings I wouldn’t be
opposed to using e-readers if it meant that I could make notes, highlight
important facts and I that wouldn’t be lugging around heavy textbooks.
There are a number of applications for IT in
the occupational therapy field due to its effect on the changing nature of jobs
and different leisure activities we participate in. This increased reliance has resulted in the
development of some highly valuable resources for OTs, namely the advent of the
internet. With the internet has also come
the ability for clients to make to most of online resources from their own home
such and banking, shopping finding out about procedures and conditions and
support groups for people suffering from the same disease of illness (http://www.cancerchatnz.org.nz/). We can also see how new technologies are
being adapted to allow more users to get involved. This can be seen with the iPad in the
following video as a man from the blind foundation demonstrates how the voice
over functions make it possible for visually impaired individuals to use.
I think having a good understanding of and
being able to effectively use IT will be highly advantageous to OTs both in a
preventative and treatment role. Given how
significantly our occupations are affected by IT these days, I can see utilisation
and integration of IT by OTs as the only logical way to move forward.
There are a number of ethical issues that may
arise from the use of IT, especially the capturing sharing and transferring of
information. Most of these lie around
the areas of privacy and informed consent from the people whose information is
being shared. A lot of such issues can
arise though miscommunications email, text messaging and online chatting are
great examples of this occurring. Other issues
can occur when social justice comes into play and some sectors of the
population are, through no fault of their own, being excluded from participating
in a particular activity. This could
include a website having poor visibility/contrast that cannot be adjusted thus making
it more difficult for visually impaired individuals to read it. The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind
has a created an area on their page specifically for altering contrast and font
size.
References:
Dahlstrom, E., Grunwald, P., de Boor, T., and
Vockley, M. (2011). National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology. Educause Center for Applied Research.
