This week we learned about Visual Literacy. According to visual-literacy.org, visual literacy is defined as the ability to evaluate, apply, or create conceptual visual representation. At first, I did not quite understand the topic because we were just looking at pictures and our goal was to use Photoshop to create an image. I did not think that this has any specific term associated with it. After completing my visual literacy project, I can see that there are underlying themes that some pictures convey and photographers are displaying their concept of something through their artwork. Even after researching the topic independently, I do not fully understand the concept.
I looked for a visual representation of the visual literacy concept. I found this image on a Purdue website and feel that it helps to add an organization to the idea.
When thinking about visual literacy in the field of audiology, I feel that it is important to portray a good visual image as a professional and a service. The environment that I work in after receiving my doctorate will create a perception for my future clients. It is important to associate my office with good service and this will be done through my good clinical experience and the other visual images that I portray. The clothes that my employees and I wear as well as the cleanliness and organization of the office will provide a more legitimate and respectable atmosphere. As with a former post, the website that I create for my office must also have a purpose that can be understood by the youngest and oldest of populations.
Also during this week, we discussed image manipulation through programs such as Photoshop and other older methods that were used prior to computers. We saw the "Top 10 Doctored Pictures" which really opened up my eyes to what the media portrays to us. I know that models and many images used to sell products to consumers are altered, but I didn't think that political or war pictures would be. Ethically, I think that pictures taken to inform the public of what is going on in other countries or in the real world should not be altered. Images that are used as propaganda and are altered to portray something different than reality is wrong. Although I don't think it is right, I am not as bothered by the manipulation of images of models or other images used for entertainment or sale. I do feel that these changes of models to make them more "beautiful" and slender gives children the wrong message, especially little girls. I feel that we need to show our youth that who they are is absolutely enough and they don't have to live up to the images of very slender models.
One day, I hope to have my own practice as an audiologist. I envision decorating my office with images to provide a more stimulating and pleasurable environment for my clients. It is also guaranteed that these images are going to be manipulated photos or artwork. Personally, I do not see myself creating my own images or using Photoshop much as an audiologist. I will most likely pay a graphic designer to help me with my company's images and as long as it is for entertainment purposes and one's perception of the real world is not altered, I do not mind.
I found an article that discusses the controversy of image manipulation. It is an article written by Vikas Malhotra that is posted on thejavajive.com. I feel that this article provides a good discussion of the controversy and explains image manipulation prior to the computer.
During this week, we learned about image manipulation, Photoshop, and information literacy. In the presentation that we watched, I learned about the designing and formatting of online media or presentations. I remember learning about this in high school and have tried to put it into practice in my presentations since then but a refresher is always important. We learned that not all PowerPoint templates should be used for presentations, colors must be contrasted, and if you must put text over a multi-colored background, you should insert a textbox with a single colored background.
A very useful tip that I received was to always have a link back to the homepage on every page on a website. My future practice's website will benefit from this week's lesson because it will make the website more accessible and user friendly. I plan on making the site very pleasing to look at while being informative and easy to read. Many clients may be older and using a computer may not be easy for them, therefore the most straight forward the site the better.
I searched online to see if there was anything out there specifically for audiologists to use when it comes to websites. I found out that there was the first annual Audiology and Hearing Aid Internet Marketing Symposium last August. This is such a great resource and I plan on utilizing it when I am a professional. There was also a video that AudiologyWebsites.com has posted that is long but provides some great information about website marketing for audiologists.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this week's topic, Web Technology! We learned about the term Web 2.0 which I had never heard of before. Web 2.0 is different from the original Web 1.0 in that it is an interactive internet whereas users of the world wide web upload images, write blogs, comment on articles, etc. This is pretty much the only internet that I've ever known so it is interesting to look at it in a different way. When I started using the internet, I had a had a DeadJournal which I modified to fit my liking and then they started charging so all of my friends moved over to LiveJournal which some people that I know still use today. We were given a great resource which was a website providing us with different examples and links to sites that are considered Web 2.0. We all had to write about 3 sites which was extremely beneficial because it allowed me to explore sites that I have never used before. I know that there is a lot out there on the internet that I've never seen, but the extremely useful tools that are out there to be used with photos, family trees, cooking, etc.
In my career as an audiologist, I will use Web 2.0 often. I plan on having a website for my practice where I have links and interactive programs. I will refer my clients to other websites where they can blog about their hearing loss or Deaf culture, too. Other than that, Web 2.0 will not be an extensive part of my career. Most of my interaction with my clients in person or on the phone so I will be able to maintain the one-to-one interaction that the internet has replaced for my professions and relationships.
I found this image on Voices.com. It provides an easy-to-understand visual representation of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. The contrast that the image provides between the two terms allows for us to better understand the explosion that Web 2.o has provided users.
During the second week of class, we were exposed to the concept of "educational technology". Today's students are living in a world with a never-before-seen connection. They are no longer in a private world but rather a world where their parents can reach them by a text immediately, their friend's Facebook stati remind them of their upcoming paper and they can email their teacher for explanations of assignments they do not understand. Children receive so much stimulation from television and computers that it is important to incorporate all of this technology to make a more efficient and effective learning environment. Educational technology is the practice of this integration between books and desks with SmartBoards, computers, websites, microphones, blogs, etc. For some teachers or school systems, the easy to understand concept is hard to put into practice. Not all school distracts are financially able to bring 'basic' technology such as a computer to their schools, let alone each classroom. Aside from economic reasons, the lack of training that teachers receive for these technologies also pose a problem. These are just two examples of explanations for the difference in the technological landscape of the world's education system.
I do not think that educational technology only applies to school settings. Parents have the ability to incorporate many aspects of a child's experiences into "teachable moments". There are many negative things that have come from the boom in technology that we have seen such as online bullying, a lack of privacy, sexually explicit websites, and dependency on video games. I feel that parents, or those that are responsible for the proper upbringing of a child, have a responsibility to expose these issues and shed light on them. It is important that we provide our children the knowledge of how to overcome obstacles that they may encounter and open up dialogue about the child's perspective on negative things in their environment. These discussions show the child the reality of our technology in the 21st century and allow them to learn and make informed decisions for themselves.
As a future audiologist, educational technology means that I have the ability to use technology to provide my clients with as much resources as possible to benefit from our interaction. I can provide them with websites that discuss hearing loss and show them demonstrations using computers or screens on how to use their hearing aids. The concept of educational technology is not something that ties together with audiology automatically but it is a practice that I choose to use to enhance my client's experiences. I want them to know that I am able to use all of my resources to provide them with the best service possible and allow them to have everything that will help them increase their quality of life.
While researching this topic, I came across a video on YouTube. It is a video of a girl who lives in Spain with her parents. She receives piano lessons via Skype from an instructor in Chicago. I chose this video because it shows that distance means nothing when it comes to receiving an education these days. It displays how technology can be used in unconventional teaching practices so a child's learning is not spared.
This video was found on YouTube and posted by soultravelers3 on June 08, 2008.
This week we spoke about copyright laws, plagiarism and the ethics behind it all. Copyright laws and the copyright symbol are seen very often and we think we know about them. Up until this week I had a poor representation of what copyright truly is. I didn't realize that it was put in place to protect the author of the original work and that it extends to literacy, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other published and unpublished works (www.copyright.gov). Under copyright laws, ideas and non-tangible work is not covered but they are covered in plagiarism. Plagiarism is stealing or passing off the ideas or words of another as their own (plagiarism.org). Ethics come into play because we must educate children and students that it is ethically wrong to commit fraud by using someone else's work and claiming it as your own. I feel that I intuitively know this, but I was most likely educated about it as a young age. Not all students have this opportunity so I feel that this is a subject that must be expanded upon in the school system.
This video is a bit long but it will bring you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and will provide you with one of the many opinions of a Deaf individual in regards to altering the auditory status of a child. The man in this video is talking about making his hearing child deaf. This story is meant to parody to the cochlear implant controversy over whether or not if is the parents' choice to give their child a cochlear implant to make their deaf child hearing. This is a booming technology that is continually improving. This topic causes great controversy in the Deaf world among those with hearing loss and their families (hearing or not). Many people that are Deaf feel that implanting a child before they can make that decision on their own is abuse. My position wavers frequently when I think about my stance on it but in the end, I feel that it is the decision of the child's family and although at times the audiologist may disagree, it is not their child to make the decision for.
The terms "copyright" and "audiology" don't seem to confront each other very often. However, I can see possible issues when administering common tests or sharing information to students and clients. In several classes, I have been exposed to several methods that audiologists or speech language pathologists have created for their clients. This includes questionnaires that they create administer, games that they have created, written materials they provide their clients, etc. My teachers always give credit where credit is due, though. Ethically, an audiologist should not take credit for a test or material made by someone else. When observing in audiologists' offices, I have noticed that they share information with their colleagues and borrow great and useful items from each other. This is important because it allows one audiologist to allow another audiologist a more efficient and effective method of doing something. I have always seen these audiologists give background to their patients by saying, "A great audiologist named _____ told me that if you turn the music on this level.....etc". Just like any other field, it is important that we not take credit for other people, direct people to the correct sources to receive information, and share but protect anything that we create so others cannot benefit without the creator also benefiting.
