New Jersey's Attempt to Get Tough on Bullying

Apparently in New Jersey there is a push to implement the toughest anti-bullying legislation in schools.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/22/AR2010112204676.html?hpid=sec-education  There has been a concern and an outcry about suicides and harassment, especially that geared toward gays.  With the increase in internet use and technology, it is getting harder to monitor and limit this type of harassment.  Students and their parents have few options and resources once this threat is identified.  And, although their are state suggestions for dealing with this type of concern, there is no law and no school education to help discourage it.

I see the need for a change and agree that something needs to be done.  The article (NJ lawmakers approve tough law to fight bullying) did note that the law is awaiting approval of the governor.  It also noted that some social conservatives had concerns over the bill.  What the article didn't provide was more specific information about the bill itself.  I felt this (lack of information) is a disservice to those reading the article.  Clearly, most would want to protect those that are wronged.  The real question is whether or not that protection comes at a price that would affect everyone in the long run (potential loss of our constitutional rights).  Regardless, I felt this article was a good example of one of the dangers of increased internet use.  I had read other articles earlier in the year that had identified this problem with the recommendations that policies and monitoring be put in place BEFORE students are encouraged to use the internet and computers in school.  I think this would be very wise.

Help For the Paraplegic!

I found a RSS feed that links articles related to Physics to one source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/headlines/science/physics.rss.  From it, I found an interesting article about new medical technology developments to help paraplegic patients exercise at:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101122102802.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29.  This is exciting news for my students who may treat paraplegic patients.  If nerve endings can be stimulated at or below the area of spinal injury, then hope for additional functioning is now possible (even though they will continue to research it for a year).  Engineers and scientists are even looking to see how they use the technology to improve bowel and bladder function as well as reduce spasms.  Having these feeds linked to my blog and/or netvibes - makes it easy for me to keep up to date with changing medical trends and help my students with up-to-date information.

How Stuff Works

This week I found a great RSS feed called "How Stuff Works" at:  http://people.howstuffworks.com/rss-feeds.htm.  I found it when I was looking for information on augmented reality (something we will be learning about in the next few weeks).  The article I reviewed was located at:  http://www.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm and was entitled:  How Augmented Reality Will Work.  To be honest, I wasn't sure what augmented reality was.  I was fascinated to learn that I have already started using it in my recently purchased DROID phone.  When my husband and I were out driving the other day, I accessed an application in my phone called "yp".  It gave me options of businesses to locate near my present location including restaurants and stores (to name a few).  It even provided me with ratings (# of stars) of each business.  I was even able to view information about different musicals or other events (including dates, locations, etc...) happening in my area - all through the same application!  In need of something different to do - there really is no excuse with this app!  The article provides information on augmented reality in personal use, professional industries, as well as in teaching. 

This RSS feed is great, addressing areas like:  animals, health, home and garden, science and technology.  Besides being an RSS feed, it also has feeds for video, podcasts, blogs, quizzes and games.  If you are like me - you won't be able to resist but plug in some special topic and see what you find!

Lisa Loves Gardening and Gardens!

I found this great RSS feed at: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/headlines/life-style/gardening.rss.  I've included the feed (along with other feeds I've found) on the right hand side of this blog - for your reference and entertainment.  You might be asking what gardening has to do with teaching.  I am instructor in the field of occupational therapy.  Many think that this has to do with finding someone a job, but it doesn't necessarily relate to regain of functioning to return to work.  It has to do with creating and managing a balance in individuals between work, play and self-care.  For the infant, their work is in getting nutrition and progressing through their developmental milestones.  Play is an important component that needs to be integrated to assure their success.  Their self-care is provided by their parent.  For the middle-aged patient, work might be a larger component to consider in treatment.  An occupational therapist can specialize in work hardening to progress them to return of their profession (which may or may not include gardening).  For the older individual, their work relates more to their self-care and management of their home environment (which may or may not include gardening).  For all patients - play - is an important component to look at.  This is where hobbies and leisure skills are important in improving quality of life for any individual.  Part of occupational therapy is being able to look at anything that might be important to an individual and being able to analyze the steps or components involved and progressing the patient to return it.  If they are unable to return to their previous functional level, then the OT will locate various resources and instruct the patient on how they can adapt the activity - so that they can still participate or accomplish it.

This RSS feed is so much better than subscribing to magazines, because it provides links to magazine articles.  I reviewed one at:http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/garden-ready-for-winter.html that discussed how to prepare a garden for the winter.  Why would an OT need to know that??  Well OT can include instructing patients in anything that they are interested in - to improve their participation in life (quality of life), as well as working with them to create a better balance between work, play and self-care.  Many people do not 'play' enough and are over-stressed.  Stress management (and a better balance between work, play and self-care) is important in remaining healthy and in longevity of life.  I also found an interesting reference to the 'best' bird feeders that showed pictures of the top 10 in a picture slide show at:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningpicturegalleries/8126539/Best-bird-feeds-and-feeders.html.

Podcast News

I found a great RSS feed for podcast information at:  http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/headlines/internet/podcast.rss .  From it I found a great video tutorial telling how to make a music video (or set pictures to music) using iMovie11 at:  http://www.podcastingnews.com/content/2010/11/making-a-music-video-with-imovie-11/ .  When I think of our slideshare project and the difficulty I experienced in trying to time the picture durations to music, this might have been a neat tool to use.  It can be used to locate and mark beats in the music (and yes, music is already programmed in it - free to use) for more effective video or image transition.  I also found information about making podcasting easy with recommendations for specific tools and how to use them at:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/8124113/Podcasting-made-easy.html . 

This RSS feed is a great resource to available tools and information that could help with any potential project that one might desire to create.  It also provided information on webhosting at:  https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/hosting/landing.asp?isc=gppt05A887&ci=12887&domain=sandiegomag.com .  Let me know if you found this blog posting helpful. 

Aging News latest RSS headlines - Big News Network.com

I found a great link at: http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/?rss=e390506bcb297536  that is interesting and applicable to my therapy students.  It links articles on the aged from all over the world.  I found an interesting article that stated that researchers found that they could isolate and use functional stem cells from older cardiac or diabetic patients that could be potentially used to successfully rescue an impaired heart at: http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=708842  I found it refreshing to hear that someone is actually researching older stem cells vs only wanting to research those from fetuses and having success with it. 

I also found two articles regarding older drivers.  This has a significant impact to occupational therapists since they can test for deficits in this area and treat patients to improve their skills.  The first article at:  http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/unexpected-findings-on-elderly-drivers/?partner=rss&emc=rss   noted that older women tend to give up driving earlier than men, but that they tend to live longer.  Noting that by giving up their driving privileges, it may limit and reduce their mobility and  thereby decrease their ability to maintain functioning.  The article also noted that older drivers today are having less accidents than they used to and may be able to drive longer than their families might be willing to let them.  The second article on driving I found at:  http://www.nrtoday.com/ARTICLE/20101120/NEWS/101119737/-1/RSS  noted that there is a growing number of older drivers.  This growing number will require better roads and potentially smarter cars to help keep them on the road longer.  What the article didn't note, but that I readily acknowledged, it will require more occupational therapists to address this area and potentially specialize in it.  There are already driving simulators available through therapy that test some one's  reflexes and response time.  The simulator reminds me of going to an arcade and sitting down at a driving game only after driving it prints out an analysis of the driver's performance.  A therapist can analyze the data and determine what skills need to be addressed in therapy to improve the driver's safety and performance to help them keep their independence.  I have encouraged older driver's (as well as their families) to access this type of therapy to decrease arguments and allow an 'expert' to determine whether or not the elderly driving should continue to drive or not. 

I love Astronomy

This week I found a RSS feed that helped to satisfy a personal passion of mine - astronomy.  It is a blog much like this one located at: http://telescopereflections.blogspot.com/  Even though a number of the blogs are dated from 2009, the creator has provided links to all sorts of other wonderful places to the right of the blog.  For example - Astronomy.com - News as well as Sky and Telescope.com's Most Recent Observing Stories which includes an updated reference for 'this week's sky at a glance'.  There is also a link to an updated monthly audio sky tour.  The fact that all of these leads are automatically linked to this one feed makes it a gold mine to me.  And, although it may appear that this lead has little to teaching Kinesiology, it does have a place in the field of occupational therapy.  Part of occupational therapy is in helping patients to regain their abilities to participate and be independent in the activities in their life that have meaning to them.  This therapy may require the therapist to analyze and adapt just about any life skill including hobbies such as star gazing.  This RSS resource would become even more useful to me as I progress on to teach other courses in the occupational therapy program.  In the mean time - I will enjoy regularly checking it for updates. 

References

Telescope Reflections.  (2009, August 13).  Retrieved November 13, 2010 from
http://telescopereflections.blogspot.com/

Medicare Site Updates

In searching for additional RSS feeds that I could access and use for my students, I found one that provides updates on Medicare information: http://www.medicare.gov/rss/medicaresiteupdates_feed.xml

Teaching future therapists can become more challenging if I ever leave the field of practice to teach full-time.  This particular feed can help me stay abreast of current information and regulations that could affect one's practice.  The Medicare rules and guidelines change every year and having a viable resource is important.  And, even though I also currently practice in the field, I am not working in every field of practice.  This resource can provide additional up to date information that is vital to keeping myself and students current with the regulations and concerns for practice (in the field of occupational therapy).  The information accessible on this feed can also prove helpful to the patients and families that I service.  I particularly liked the Medicare.gov Data Updates link found within the RSS feed. It allowed me to view government information and ratings for all sorts of health care services including hospitals and nursing homes.  Searching out and finding new RSS feeds is a very helpful exercise. 

Reference

Medicare.govSiteUpdates Retrieved November 13, 2010 from http://www.medicare.gov/rss/medicaresiteupdates_feed.xml

Kinematics At It's Best

I found this great article through an RSS feed for Scientific American about kinematics, velocity and acceleration.  The name of the article is "How Can a Slower Runner Catch a Faster One?" 

What I really enjoyed about this article is that it not only perfectly fits into the first week's lesson plan for the Clinical Kinesiology class that I teach, but that it also includes an embedded video link to a video that discusses the 'Science of NFL football' where all of the information is clearly explained through the game of football.  The article goes on to discuss how a lion (which is clearly slower than a gazelle) can catch a gazelle - not with speed, but through acceleration of velocity over time.  Then the article relates the information of the lion and the gazelle back to football.  This is definitely an article that I will use in my hybrid online course for my students to review and discuss.

References

Editors, The, (2010, November 12).  How can a slower runner catch a faster one?  Scientific American.  Retrieved November 13, 2010, from  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=football-how-can-a-slower-runner