The next instalment of IT lecture...

So...another week passed which meant it was IT time again.  I had some positive anticipation for this class, hoping that it was going to enlighten us further following on from last week's session.  Last week most people were introduced to something new.

I think this demonstrates what I have learnt...to insert pictures using URL's!!!

Upon arrival we were in fact given details about our ever approaching group task.  It seemed like a massive weight dropped when we were told exactly what this was going to entail.  It does seem like an enormous amount of work to research and co-ordinate...

The lecture continued to explain common errors/problems/issues with certain formatting of documents, presentations, websites etc. to consider when using the various mediums for our group task.  These were perhaps traits that people were sub-conscientiously aware of as we have all sat in THAT presentation where it was either death by PowerPoint or an absolute headache inducing busy, flashing screen.  I did find it frustrating to find out that there is no continuity across the university with regards to word documents, typing styles, fonts, spacing etc it does come down to lecturers personal preference.  I think if there was an accepted "standard form" this would massively help in assessment preparation and hopefully prevent students from losing, perhaps vital, marks for the sake of essentially a matter of opinion.  I totally appreciate that there would be deviations from this in the form of certain scientific report formats or technical specific documents.  However, for a basic typed word document it could provide a small form of confidence for the writer.  This is perhaps just a reflection of my own lack in confidence in written assignments but I think it could prove useful.

Well...until next time...off to revise biology!

Technology

Technology 

  On Thursday 15th in my I.T lesson I was introduced to new technological advances that will prove very useful throughout the course my uni life and beyond. 

 Tim showed us the uses of technology in the forms of Google hangout where videos can be uploaded for a specific audience related to previously asked questions to avoid repetition of the answers for multiple individuals. I believe that this is a great way to get a message to a large and diverse audience that all want the answer to the same question, it will also be helpful in the sense that the individual can watch the video over multiple times until they grasp the concept, for example if someone wanted Google Drive explaining to them as the didn't understand how to access certain areas a video can be uploaded explaining how to do this and then when the next person comes along with the same question they can be pointed in the direction of the video. 

 Speaking of Google Drive in my lesson I was also enlightened into the world of Google Drive which I was previously aware of but never understood just how helpful it could be. For example, using Google Docs to work with a group on the same document at the same time. I think that this is perhaps one of the most useful things I learnt on Thursday as it solves the problem that I have found myself in numerous times when working on class projects in a group. This is the problem of each person having a different versions of the same  document and emailing them back and forth only to end up with 6 files that you have to then collate into one. Google Docs allows you to work simultaneously on one document by sharing the doc between your group. I also think that the chat forum that pops up in the bottom right corner is very useful to brainstorm ideas in the group without everyone talking at the same time and therefore avoiding the chaos that can be associated with group discussions. 

   The next topic I found to be by far the most fascinating in the I.T class, this is the concept of a neurosurgeon being able to operate on a patient from the other side of the world by using a robotic arm. This will not only save time (having to fly across the world, get over the jet lag and then perform the operation), money (paying for the surgeons travel expenses and fees) but will also enable the surgeon to operate on other patients in their area in the time that it would have taken them to travel to the patient and then back. 

   I find the advances in technology in healthcare very interesting and think that it is so amazing that a  surgeon is able to conduct not only the procedure but also able to understand the force and technique required to control the robotic arm to perform the correct depth of incisions.

   Another very useful website I was introduced to was Bobnational.com which I rushed home to tell my flatmates about and I can honestly say will become a flat favourite. Bob National is a website that allows you to access TV shows, movies and documentaries that have been aired on TV going back the last few years. Keele University have intended it to be used for educational purposes to accompany your studies however, I highly doubt that this will be the case.

 Well that wraps up a very informative I.T lesson. :)

Interesting I.T class

Well, I've made the mistake our teacher Tim told us not too, which was leaving this blog till last minute because now I can't really remember every detail of what we did so i'll try my best.

I was a bit apprehensive about the class because I.T isn't exactly my favorite subject. However I actually found it quite interesting, learning new things and ways to communicate especially through google drive. I think this is something i'm going have to get used to using so i'll be able to use it for other modules. I thought it was great that more than one person can edit the document at the same time and it even showed you who was doing what. It's useful that you can chat on there but for some reason I couldn't get mine working. :( I'm hoping to have the hang of it soon. 

I was amazed when Tim showed us how I.T is expanding through the medical industry, as surgeons can operate via the computer and robot systems etc... wow! What next? I think i'd quite like to learn more about this.

Now onto bob national. This is such a great idea! It contains loads of different television channels that you can catch up on and record. So this will really be useful if we needed to catch up on any documentaries for education purposes of course and also for students to use if they haven't got a T.V or T.V license. 

Google hangout was something else we learnt about, it's great for pupils to ask questions through via a video conference and for the staff to be able to respond as though you're there with them, it just makes like easier. Although I would just prefer to email or ask in the class, but that's just me. I know a lot of companies use video conferencing to communicate to other companies all over the world so it's such an effective and useful piece of technology. I normally use Skype to catch up with my family on birthdays and Christmas so i suppose google hangout would be just as effective, if not better. 

I actually really enjoyed our class last Thursday and I hope this weeks class will be just as interesting and fun. I'm expecting to learn some more and definitely  won't leave posting on my blog until Wednesday evening. Whoopsie. Haha!

IT Lesson!

Before our IT session on Thursday I would never have known about Google Drive or thought to use a service like Google Hangout.  The only reason I ever sign in to Google is to check my old and very rarely used Gmail account so it was surprising and refreshing to discover the many features we explored.

As part of my Chemistry module I have been introduced to the concept of screencasts and have found them very useful as a learning tool.  I would have no idea how to create one though and was therefore interested to learn that they can be made easily using Google Hangout. This is a skill I’d be keen to practice in the future for any teaching I was doing.

Google Drive was a completely new concept for me; I was unaware that we could use it to share and collaborate effectively on group projects. The section of the class where we all worked separately on the same document was not something I had ever done before, and I was expecting it to be confusing and overly complicated. I was wrong. The group was able to complete the task quickly and efficiently while cutting out the unnecessary admin involved in coordinating separate documents. I found the visual experience motivating; watching our project develop as people contributed was a satisfying way to work.  The chat function was also a revelation and allowed us to communicate via yet another medium!

One focus of the class was the variety of technological options now available, from communication to healthcare (remote robot surgery anyone?) The ‘Death of Distance’ is widely perceived to be a revolution in communication technology and a powerful economic force. There is no such thing as unreachable or remote when it comes to modern technology. We certainly don't need to travel any more in order to impart information. Whilst this is undoubtedly a useful and inspiring trend, I wonder if something might be lost in translation – can we rely too much on the convenience of technology and does this inhibit ‘real’ communication between human beings? Answers on a postcard.

As a technophobe I can see that the IT class will help me to embrace new ways of creating and collaborating with others. Now I’m off to catch up on some Bob National…there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say!

I.T

Good day everyone,

                                   The I.T class on Thursday was very interesting indeed and informative as we did learn some amazing features of the Technology. Everything we learnt was very useful, I found certain areas to be fascinating and I did feel like an Alien at some point, as I have never seen few things before. It was a great opportunity to find out what is around us in terms of technology and various methods of communications. It is amazing how technology is not limited to connecting with family/friends, Business conferences but also has reached Health Field where surgery can be performed from a distance. The technology should be appreciated as it has given somewhat comforts in our life and we do not have to travel from one place to another for communication purposes.

As part of the Lecture, we learnt about BoB National. I have to start with this as living in Halls means I miss watching television and what can be better if I have found programmes in one place which can of course help with education purposes too such as science related documentaries.

We gained knowledge on how to use Google Hangout which I thought was an excellent method of communication in terms of Professional use. Google Drive is magical as all files are stored in one place without having to carry any memory stick around and files are easily transferred. We also learnt to share screens (which scared me at first but then I thought it is so much useful for group studying). It also allowed us to collaborate and share slides and we even had a chat through the system hence “Google” overtook and the best thing I enjoyed and shocked everyone as I told them about the Google Classroom feature as who can think of class registration being taken through a screen, I found it such an efficient method.

It would have been hard to find these features on Google as an individual, and I now feel I am very much enjoying the I.T classes and look forward to learn some more mystery of technology.

Tele-Health & BoB

    We had a good session last week in our Information for Health lecture.  Tim took us through some examples of how technology is bringing about huge advances in healthcare, changes to clinical practice and radically different ways in which clinical pathways are delivered.

One particular advance which really blew my hair back was remote surgery, where surgeons with very specialist skills might be situated miles away from where the operation is actually taking place, undertaking the operation via robot technologies.  I've heard of similar examples in other areas of medicine, such as tele-radiology and tele-dermatology, where interpretation of imaging is being undertaken remotely.  This is very useful for small and remote hospitals who may not have access to diagnostics or in areas where radiologists and dermatologists are hard to recruit.  The way this governments is going, I might be working in Australia and interpreting images sent over from Blighty in the future!?

 

Another interesting aspect of last week's lecture was learning that we have to BoB national.  BoB stands for Box of Broadcasts and enables all staff and students in subscribing institutions to choose and record any broadcast programme from 60+ TV and radio channels.  Its for educational purposes primarily, but I'm sure I'll be using this to catch up with some of my favourite T.V. programmes in the future.

Much more was covered in the lecture and I look forward to telling you more about it in my next blog, unfortunately I need to speak to the Mrs using Google Hangout, another cool feature Tim showed us.  'Til next time folks.

What did I learn yesterday...

So, yesterday in the IT lesson I learned about Google hangout which I have never heard before.  I thought it was a really good service available for say how Tim uses it.  I imagine that being asked the same question A LOT could get tiresome so something like this saves time, repetition and someone sanity!  At this point in time I can't see how a situation that I would use it in, I also don't feel comfortable at the thought of video recording myself.

We were also told about Bob National which I think is a fantastic thing.  No doubt people will use it not solely for "education purposes" but I can see how this could be be really helpful.  Especially if people learn and respond well to that kind of medium.  I have just been told recently about a programme called Marvellous...Bob seems to be the only place that still has it.

We then went on to look at Google Drive (GD) which I have used a very small amount in the past but to very basic means.  Yesterday demonstrated one of the benefits of GD and I appreciate the technology that it uses.  Plus, sometimes it is better to interact and share info this way rather than face to face with someone.  However, upon leaving the lesson my partner for a some work in another class messaged me to say "We should use GD" .  I had already constructed a handout in Word and when I tried to export this into GD the formatting didn't cross over - I find this SO frustrating with GD and when I use it in the past this was a real bug bear because certain forms we were using for work purposes had to be in a certain format.  I felt it then increased work and duplication of work as you had to upload and download and change and reformat and edit so often to try and get something that resembles what you need!!!  In this instance the format wasn't essentially so it could be easily edited.  However, the document had images in it which I got from Google Images...these weren't available in GD.  There is a search facility when inserting an image on GD but this wasn't pulling up the same images as Google Image - it seemed bonkers to me.

I must admit I can be quite ignorant to technological advancements as I am not brilliant with using computers and gizets.  I appreciate how clever the devices are and things that can now be done but if I think I probably don't NEED it in my life I won't tend to look into it.  I am very much "the easiest way is they way you know how" so IT should be good to force some of these things upon me.