Tutorial Six

Tutorial Six: The internet and online communities

Either search online for a community which interest you or choose one of the provided online communities to investigate. Make sure your selected a community that comprises some form of online forum, discussion page or chat room. You may also wish to see if your community has a Wikipedia entry.

Provide the web address and the name of the community you are investigating www.housingot.co.uk

What is the brief or focus of this community This allows other OT's to comment on what they are doing in their practice in respect to building modifications and then look at the other links that they have made that can be added to their own blog page.

What services are provided? How interactive is this site? How can people contribute? There are lots of links to other useful sites that can be accessed by OT's that are working in the area of house modifications.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on why people choose to contribute to this community. What is it they are seeking? People who have skills in the area of house modification could be looking for other ideas or to find out what other therapist are doing in this area so they can share knowledge and keep up to date with what is happening in this area.

Cut and paste an example of the type of topics being discussed (you may have to provide a context to your excerpt). I struggled with this so I have chosen to put in a written statement. Information sharing- comments and links may be added in by other participants to share their knowledge or show appreciation for ideas that are being put together.

Considering material presented during the course and make comment on the potential ethical issues that may arise in this community e.g. lack of identity and accountability. You can search and gather information in most cases for free. There is often no cost involved so it is free information share. There is no accountability or reliablity in the information that is on the page.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on the benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community e.g. communities reliant on geographic proximity World wide searches and communicating with people all over the world but there is no face to face stuff. O.T. working in the same practice can communicate through this method at their lesiure.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment what this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can. There is no face to face stuff it is all on line and it stops the basi art of talking and spending time with a real human.