Open Access Continuing Education Occupational Therapy Resources for Rural Communities

Occupational therapists working in rural areas face a number of barriers when trying to access continuing education courses, which are required to maintain licensure. Some of the largest barriers these practitioners face include: time, cost of the courses, and ease of access. Continuing education often requires travelling, time out of one’s day, and a fee ranging from $25-$300 (North Dakota Occupational Therapy Association [NDOTA], 2016; Continuing education, 2013). The purpose of this scholarly project is to address continuing education requirement-related needs and education access for occupational therapists working in rural areas. Following the completion of a comprehensive literature review and identification of a topic area for the continuing education course, materials and resources were gathered for the content of a presentation. Following approval of a final outline for an educational course, the online product was created utilizing Adobe Presenter. An open-access, online continuing education course was developed and centered around a currently trending population in the U.S., adolescents experiencing addiction to opioids. A PowerPoint was created to present an overview of opioids, the person factors of a client, the various environments often impacted by addiction, and the occupations that are most commonly altered as a result of opioid addiction. In addition, numerous assessments, interventions, and resources for parents and clients were presented. The information presented for this course is centered around the occupational therapy theory of Person-Environment-Occupation. This model focuses on the individual factors of person, environment, and occupation, as well as, the interactions between each of them (Cole & Tufano, 2008; Turpin & Iwama, 2013). A case study was incorporated throughout the PowerPoint to allow the opportunity for therapists the apply the knowledge gained during the course. The final recording of the course as well as a concluding quiz, will be housed on the University of North Dakota’s Occupational Therapy Program website and free for the public to access for continuing education credit. We anticipate that the online education session entitled “Occupational Therapy’s Role in Opioid Addiction” will provide valuable information for occupational therapists, specifically in rural areas. In addition to providing a no-cost and easily accessible continuing education opportunity, we anticipate that occupational therapists will find the ability to access this continuing education useful for their practice knowledge and contributing to continuing hours needed for state licensure. Rural occupational therapists face the barriers of access and cost when trying to obtain continuing education credits. The number of teens abusing opioids is also rising, both in the state of North Dakota and across the nation. To address these problems, we created an open-access, online continuing education course to aid in education of therapists working with these individuals. This course is unique as there are little to no continuing education courses available regarding this population

Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2004

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2004

What Parents Want: Designing an Interactive Web-Based Program to Improve Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sex

Background: Parent-child communication is associated with decreased adolescent sexual risk-taking. To date, interventions targeting parent-child communication have been delivered via face-to-face formats. However, online interventions offer several advantages: cost, reach, program fidelity, anonymity and opportunity for individualized feedback. Objective: The present study sought to identify parents’ preferences regarding interactive features for a web-based program to improve parent-child communication about sex. Methods: We conducted seven focus groups with parents (n=29) in Allegheny County, PA to identify their preferences for interactive features to be included in the web program. Results: Parents identified four main interactive features: Ask the Expert, Chat Rooms, Supplementary Information Delivery Modes and Links to Face-to-Face Programming. Parents were interested in receiving individualized feedback regarding their questions/concerns, as well as online peer support. They were also interested in receiving information through other communication tools (texts, email, mail) and having the program connect them to face-to-face programs or seminars. Lastly, parents expressed their desire that the web intervention include a component for children. Conclusions: Understanding what interactive features parents want can help optimize program completion and satisfaction. Public Health Significance: Web-based programs have the potential to reach a large number of parents equipping them with new knowledge and skills to influence their adolescent’s sexual health behaviors

Using a Connected Learning Framework to Promote Democratic Education During a Transition to Online Learning

In this essay, we discuss how a Connected Learning (CL) approach to education can offer students and teachers a democratic framework to follow when designing instruction, especially with the recent shift to online and hybrid instruction due to the global pandemic. We present literature on the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to online instruction in the midst of the pandemic. We then discuss how the CL framework promotes a democratic approach to teaching and learning. Finally, we offer guidance on how to design a unit or lesson plan using a CL framework to provide both a connected and democratic learning experience for students. We also offer suggestions on how to foster an innovative, authentic learning experience that includes elements of an online or hybrid context to support connected learning. Drawing on a classroom example from the field, we conclude with recommendations for utilizing non-traditional, formative assessments to fairly assess a range of learning outcomes as demonstrated by students

An empirical study of the effectiveness of online counseling services from various job settings and features

The challenge for future counselors is using technology in counseling. Online counseling is a strategy that can be applied amid the counselee’s doubts about the effectiveness of existing counseling services. This study aims to identify the point of online counseling services from various counseling service settings. The qualitative systematic literature review design is sourced from 9 scientific journals through the semantic scholar database and has been reputable from 2013-2022. The PRISMA flow diagram model is presented—data analysis of 9 articles (out of 588 invalids) through descriptive narrative. The data findings show that it is more effective than face-to-face. School, college, addiction, health, and community counselors can apply for it. Telephone, chat, video, and text features can support multiple counseling approaches. Counselors need to develop the skills and competencies of counselors with online counseling through training and webinars

A Whole New World: PreK-12 Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Instruction during a Pandemic

This manuscript explores educators’ perceptions about professional and personal challenges and successes with virtual instruction, along with their concerns about the impact on students and student learning in a virtual environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers from seventeen school systems in Tennessee and Alabama were invited to participate in the study with sixty-seven participants completing surveys. A phenomenology design model was used, and In Vivo Coding was conducted to analyze the data. Results revealed four main themes related to teachers’ experiences with virtual learning: personal perceptions, instruction, impact on students, and communication. Discussion of the results and their implications are addressed along with limitations and recommendations for future research

Understanding Instagram’s Deep Dive into Teen Mental Health

This paper considers the ‘Teen Mental Health Deep Dive’ slide set created by staff at Instagram in 2019 to present results from internal research and later released publicly along with annotations. The slide set was initially highlighted by the Wall Street Journal in an article focusing on claims within the slide set that use of Instagram was a having a negative impact on teen mental health, especially that social comparison, afforded by features central to the Instagram app, was negatively affecting the mental health of young people. Our goal within this paper was to summarise the content of the slide set from an academic perspective and consider whether the content of the slides provide any insights which are valuable to the HCI community. While the results and conclusions presented within the slides have clear limitations, they did help us identify a set of issues and areas for further investigation

Building Credibility, Trust, and Safety on Video-Sharing Platforms

Video-sharing platforms (VSPs) such as YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch attract millions of users and have become influential information sources, especially among the young generation. Video creators and live streamers make videos to engage viewers and form online communities. VSP celebrities obtain monetary benefits through monetization programs and affiliated markets. However, there is a growing concern that user-generated videos are becoming a vehicle for spreading misinformation and controversial content. Creators may make inappropriate content for attention and financial benefits. Some other creators also face harassment and attack. This workshop seeks to bring together a group of HCI scholars to brainstorm technical and design solutions to improve the credibility, trust, and safety of VSPs. We aim to discuss and identify research directions for technology design, policy-making, and platform services for video-sharing platforms. © 2023 Owner/Author

DemYouth: Co-Designing and Enacting Tools to Support Young People’s Engagement with People with Dementia

There is a growing body of research examining the role of technology in supporting the care of—and relationships surrounding—people with dementia, yet little attention has been given to how this relates to younger family members. We conducted a qualitative study based on a series of 6 codesign workshops conducted with 14 young people who had personal experience with dementia. Initially, our workshops focused on understanding the difficulties that young people face when engaging, interacting and being with people with dementia. Initial analysis of workshop data informed the design of three digital tool concepts that were used as the basis for user enactment workshops. Our findings highlight the young people's desire to be more involved in their family discussions around dementia and a need for them to find new ways to connect with their loved ones with dementia. We offer a set of design considerations for future systems that support these needs and reflect on some of the complexities we faced around engaging young people in this difficult topic of discussion

Adapting Under Pressure: A Case Study in Scaling Faculty Development for Emergency Remote Teaching

This case study examines the adaptation of an existing online, asynchronous faculty development resource at the University of New Mexico to support the unanticipated need for all instructors to teach remotely starting in spring 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The course—entitled Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Online (EBPTO)—was previously utilized to support instructor transitions to distance education by applying constructivist principles to the development of evidence-based online teaching practices. The course was adapted to address institutional and instructor needs as a result of the pandemic, including increasing facilitation resources. The largest EBPTO cohort, with 117 participants, began in June 2020. Data were collected through a reflective journal administered at the mid-point and an end-of-course survey. Analysis of the reflective journal provided insight into participants’ learning experience in terms of key “takeaways,” LMS tools that they had the opportunity to practice, and “lingering questions” that they had. The top 3 takeaways were the usefulness of course mapping, the usefulness of backwards design, and the deepening familiarity with LMS tools. Results from the end-of-course survey showed positive feedback from participants regarding perceived achievement of the course learning objectives, even after scaling the course to accommodate the large number of instructors moving to remote instruction