What is a community?
My dictionary defines community as “body of people living in one district; the public; joint ownership; similarity” (“Community,” 2000). To me, a community is a group of people with something in common that threads them together: who do life together.
We have been asked to choose a topic of particular interest, from an OT practice area, a fieldwork experience, or a personal occupation. Last week at polytech we had a guest speaker, Anna Baker, who was instrumental in designing and developing a new active movement program for pre-school age kids called Headstart. I am so glad I went – what a learning opportunity!! Although I have no idea what area of OT I want to practice in (it changes weekly), I loved hearing Anna’s story. She works with a complete cross-section of children and their parents, and has become totally involved in her community. Therefore, for this blog post I’ve decided to focus on online community within the realm of “paediatric OT”. Sweet!
So the first community I’m looking at is Anna’s Facebook page for the Head-Start group. I can’t claim any epic scholarly reasoning or explanations – Anna talked about the purpose of being on Facebook on Wednesday. The group has an info page for prospective Head-Start parents and those interested in the service. It seems like a really good networking and publicising tool. It’s also a means of keeping in touch with parents throughout the week.
Services provided
Like I said, the Head-Start group is really informative for those interested in finding out about the service. It links them to the main website, provides enrolment details and links to theory that backs up the practice. More than just being purely informative, this group is really all about community.
Anna talked about the potential for motherhood to be quite isolating when you have small children. None of us were created to do life by ourselves; rather, we’re here to build each other up and do life together. The interactive Facebook group is a really modern and effective way of doing this. While mothers may not have the energy or time to meet up with other mothers and friends, Facebook is pretty much always at their fingertips. It’s a really interactive site in which the mum’s can communicate with each other and with the service coordinators anytime. Anna and the other coordinators update the statuses regularly, and parents can comment on these. They can get access to each other’s personal Facebook pages, chat as a group in the chat function, or use the discussion forums. The contributions I’ve seen are really varied. There’s lots of feedback on the activities offered at the program, questions about logistics, feedback on their child’s performance, encouragement and topics for further discussion.
Like I said, the Head-Start group is really informative for those interested in finding out about the service. It links them to the main website, provides enrolment details and links to theory that backs up the practice. More than just being purely informative, this group is really all about community.
Anna talked about the potential for motherhood to be quite isolating when you have small children. None of us were created to do life by ourselves; rather, we’re here to build each other up and do life together. The interactive Facebook group is a really modern and effective way of doing this. While mothers may not have the energy or time to meet up with other mothers and friends, Facebook is pretty much always at their fingertips. It’s a really interactive site in which the mum’s can communicate with each other and with the service coordinators anytime. Anna and the other coordinators update the statuses regularly, and parents can comment on these. They can get access to each other’s personal Facebook pages, chat as a group in the chat function, or use the discussion forums. The contributions I’ve seen are really varied. There’s lots of feedback on the activities offered at the program, questions about logistics, feedback on their child’s performance, encouragement and topics for further discussion.
Why it’s used and the benefits
As the online communities learning package (reference) outlined, online communities can often supplement real-life communities. I’d assume that this is the main reason for why people chose to contribute here. While it may not be feasible to meet up during the week to bounce ideas off each other and talk about the things that matter, or feedback on the programme, it gives the mums a means to do this that is accessible to them. This is the core benefit of the online community. The other benefits are that potential parents have access to lots of information – and fast! They can also get a real sense of the community atmosphere that’s created by the Head-Start coordinators and parents just by flicking through the site. They can silently observe and suss out the community for themselves before pursuing it further. The information is very reciprocal – Anna does a lot of posting and questioning, but many parents reply and have discussion with coordinators, and amongst themselves. This is another huge benefit – Coordinators of the program can make announcements in the form of status updates which are immediately available.
This is an example of how the site is used - Mum feeding back on their session and getting some feedback from the therapists.
The ethical issues and the negatives
The negatives of this community are few, but mainly tied very closely with ethical issues. The one that stands out to me comes back to social justice (see Tutorial one). The digital divide is present even in our Dunedin society, and with such a strong online community, are the parents that don’t have access to the Facebook group disadvantaged in anyway? The other big negative about many discussion type websites is the lack of quality information and the potential for misinformation. Anna has this well sorted, as program coordinators seem to use the Facebook page on a very regular basis.
As the online communities learning package (reference) outlined, online communities can often supplement real-life communities. I’d assume that this is the main reason for why people chose to contribute here. While it may not be feasible to meet up during the week to bounce ideas off each other and talk about the things that matter, or feedback on the programme, it gives the mums a means to do this that is accessible to them. This is the core benefit of the online community. The other benefits are that potential parents have access to lots of information – and fast! They can also get a real sense of the community atmosphere that’s created by the Head-Start coordinators and parents just by flicking through the site. They can silently observe and suss out the community for themselves before pursuing it further. The information is very reciprocal – Anna does a lot of posting and questioning, but many parents reply and have discussion with coordinators, and amongst themselves. This is another huge benefit – Coordinators of the program can make announcements in the form of status updates which are immediately available.
This is an example of how the site is used - Mum feeding back on their session and getting some feedback from the therapists.
The negatives of this community are few, but mainly tied very closely with ethical issues. The one that stands out to me comes back to social justice (see Tutorial one). The digital divide is present even in our Dunedin society, and with such a strong online community, are the parents that don’t have access to the Facebook group disadvantaged in anyway? The other big negative about many discussion type websites is the lack of quality information and the potential for misinformation. Anna has this well sorted, as program coordinators seem to use the Facebook page on a very regular basis.
This is one of the blogs that is included in the Advance OT Website. It states its purpose as being a place to share “therapy ideas & strategies, inspirational stories, and offer a place to discuss the challenges and inspiration that comes with working in the paediatric occupational therapy field” (Spoor-Hof, 2011).
Services provided
This site isn’t as interactive as the Head-Start site. It is the blog of a paediatric OT, who shares lots of her insights and challenges. Comments are left on blog posts, which trigger discussion. I guess you could think of the blogger as a bit of a mentor who provide examples of her own practicing experiences to inspire and challenge other OTs.
This site isn’t as interactive as the Head-Start site. It is the blog of a paediatric OT, who shares lots of her insights and challenges. Comments are left on blog posts, which trigger discussion. I guess you could think of the blogger as a bit of a mentor who provide examples of her own practicing experiences to inspire and challenge other OTs.
Why it’s used and the benefits
The benefits are much the same as for the Head-Start Facebook group, although the blog doesn’t contain information pertaining to a specific event. It can be used as an educational and support tool for practicing OTs, and a trigger for discussion surrounding issues in paediatric OT.
The benefits are much the same as for the Head-Start Facebook group, although the blog doesn’t contain information pertaining to a specific event. It can be used as an educational and support tool for practicing OTs, and a trigger for discussion surrounding issues in paediatric OT.
The ethical issues and the negatives
As this blog isn’t about a particular service, the info provided is much more subjective. Content isn’t monitored by the Advance website, it is just trusted that the OT is knowledgeable. Unlike journal articles, the blog isn’t peer-reviewed – so could be slightly misinformative or bias. I guess there is room for some breaches of privacy if a case is looked into and the client or family are able to draw parallels between themselves and the blog post. This would need to be monitored carefully. The blog is a professional development tool, but must still respect the privacy and rights of clients/families.
As this blog isn’t about a particular service, the info provided is much more subjective. Content isn’t monitored by the Advance website, it is just trusted that the OT is knowledgeable. Unlike journal articles, the blog isn’t peer-reviewed – so could be slightly misinformative or bias. I guess there is room for some breaches of privacy if a case is looked into and the client or family are able to draw parallels between themselves and the blog post. This would need to be monitored carefully. The blog is a professional development tool, but must still respect the privacy and rights of clients/families.
and
This is another Facebook page and website which are all about an OT who is working with children who have autism and their families.
Services offered
Just like the above!! Dana also includes heaps of links to new research and sites of interest. This may trigger discussion and expand on people’s understanding of topics.
Just like the above!! Dana also includes heaps of links to new research and sites of interest. This may trigger discussion and expand on people’s understanding of topics.
Why it’s used and the benefits
This is getting quite repetitive!! The benefits are much the same, and as this is a public Facebook group everyone can find out more about Dana’s work in paediatric OT. It comes across as more accessible than the Advance OT blog, as it’s on a more mainstream website and doesn’t include screeds of writing. Dana uses her website to link with the families she works with and other OTs interested in the field.
This is getting quite repetitive!! The benefits are much the same, and as this is a public Facebook group everyone can find out more about Dana’s work in paediatric OT. It comes across as more accessible than the Advance OT blog, as it’s on a more mainstream website and doesn’t include screeds of writing. Dana uses her website to link with the families she works with and other OTs interested in the field.
The ethical issues and the negatives
Of all the online communities I’ve looked at, this appears the most ‘professional’ for want of a better word. The Facebook page and website don’t look at specific case studies, so there isn’t so much risk of breaches of privacy. The sites are not designed to take the place or complement a physical community, so no issues arise around this.
Of all the online communities I’ve looked at, this appears the most ‘professional’ for want of a better word. The Facebook page and website don’t look at specific case studies, so there isn’t so much risk of breaches of privacy. The sites are not designed to take the place or complement a physical community, so no issues arise around this.
References
Anonymous. (2011). Head start – active body, active brain. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com /pages/Head-Start-active-body-active-brain/149008228465262?sk=wall#!/pages/Head-Start-active-body-active-brain/149008228465262?sk=wall
Community. (2000). In L. Gilmour (Ed.), Collins pocket dictionary and thesaurus. Scarborough: HarperCollins Publishers/
Johnson, D. (2011). Dana L. Johnson, MS, OTR/L: Pediatric occupational therapy services - Tampa Bay area. Retrieved from http://www.autismchildtherapy.com/
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