Sarah Stewart

I just found out today that Tom Jones is coming to Dunedin for a concert in February 2010, so I'm off to buy a pair of new, flash knickers to throw at him. I couldn't possibly throw my old baggy, no-elastic granny knickers!















Image: Tom Jones and undergarments Burns!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mykalburns/3615858065/

This is my last post about the symposium I facilitated for indigenous and Torres Strait people this week, looking at their use of technology in aged and community care.

Here are the key points that came out of the symposium.

Thoughts about technology

• Indigenous people would rather meet face-to-face than communicate electronically.
  
• They recognise that they have to get their heads around technology as their young people become more familiar with it.
• They are visual learners and like the idea of using tools such as Skype and webcam to see the person they are talking to.
  
• Professional development and education must be flexible in time and mode of delivery.
• Education and professional development must be culturally appropriate.
• They recognise the potential of technology to help them with networking and sharing resources.
  

Barriers to implementation and integration of technology into workplace practices

• Lack of access to the Internet because of rural and remote geographical location.
• Concerns about mis-use of the Internet by staff at work.
• Concerns about security of organizations' networks.
• Lack of understanding of role of technology by management and board of governors.
• Concerns about inappropriate organizational sharing in context of highly competitive finding applications.
• Attitudes about what is 'work' and 'play' in the workplace eg see Facebook as a 'play' tool as opposed to one that can be used for professional purposes.
• Cost of hardware and Internet infrastructure.
  

Where to from here?
The majority of symposium participants were very interested in how they could use technology for better workplace practices and networking.

• They were positive about Skype and Google Docs which they saw as tools for effective collaboration.
  
• Thought it would be better to keep a computer free from the organization network to reduce risks of security breaches.
• Many felt the first step would be to try out the tools on a personal level before they attempted to introduce them organization-wide.

Some of the advice or thoughts I passed on

• I urged the participants to think outside of their organizations, to consider where in the community they could access computers and the Internet - make it a community issues, not just one for the organization they worked for.
• Advised them to look beyond aged care and Queensland to see how indigenous people were using technology, and network with people beyond their immediate professional and geographical locality.
• Advised them to think how they could mentor each other as they explored the potential for electronic networking.
  

I drew a picture of my vision for them...to have an online space or community where they shared resources, networked and supported each other; held synchronous meetings/seminars that were culturally appropriate and brought in people that they normally would not have access to on a face-to-face basis. Recordings of the meetings would be made for those who could not attend and dispersed in other media such as CDs for people who could not access the Internet.

The participants acknowledged that this vision may be a few steps too far at the moment, but they recognized that they seriously had to consider anything that brought them together in a way that made them culturally and professionally stronger.

What advice or tips would you give pass onto people who are new to technology and thinking about how they could integrate it into their work practices?

This week has been a very hectic one for me as it has included a quick trip over to Cairns. I was employed by Aged Care Queensland (ACQI) as a consultant with the remit of facilitating a symposium of indigenous and Torres Strait staff working in aged and community care. The focus of the symposium was their use of technology, especially in relation to eMentoring. The participants ranged from care givers to managers.

In this post I want to focus my reflections on my facilitation - in the second post about this symposium, I will report what participants discussed and how they saw the use of technology amongst indigenous people in aged and community care.

What happened
The symposium lasted over two days. During the afternoon on Wednesday we sat around and had a discussion about technology; how it could be used, if at all, by aged and community care staff; what the barriers were and what education and resources they needed to be able to use technology effectively. The second half of the symposium on Thursday morning was planned to be a computer skills workshop. The participants had access to laptops and wifi, and we planned to help them look at Skype, Google Docs and other tools that they might find useful.

What went well
The two days were very social. We had lots of frank and honest discussion. Initially, I was nervous because I hadn't worked with Australian indigenous people before and I was mindful about cultural differences. I did not want to be disrespectful and offend anyone. However, we had a simple 'welcome to country' and I felt very welcome to the place and gathering of people.

Initially, there appeared to be considerable confusion about the purpose of the two days, and people appeared to be resistant to the idea of technology in their workplaces. However, at the end of the symposium the evaluations were very positive. Everyone went away with at least one thing to think about, whether it was a tool to explore or recommendation/s to make to their organizations.

What didn't go so well
There were two main things that didn't go so well as far as I am concerned. The first session was very muddled. I had a plan for what we would discuss and the sequence for events. But there appeared to be considerable confusion about aim of the symposium, what eMentoring was, and little or no understanding about the ACQI eMentoring program. Consequently, we seemed to go round and round in circles getting more and more confused. Eventually I was able to pull things together with a simple definition of mentoring and a demonstration of Skype which showed people what could be achieved using electronic communication.

Break down of technology
The computer workshop was a shambles because the wifi network kept dropping and the lap tops were not set up properly for us to use them. I spent far too long trying to fix the technology than I normally would. I felt a keen responsibility to ACQI to 'succeed' with the demonstration of technology because that was an important part of my brief. Once I gave up worrying about that, I was able to relax and lead a discussion about the tools I recommended and how they could be used.

Self-evaluation
In terms of my own evaluation, I am not really sure what to think. I don't feel things ran half as well as other workshops I have facilitated. Yet at the end of the two days, the participants sounded very positive in their comments - they had definitely moved in their appreciation and understanding of technology in the workplace.

The feedback I was given by someone at the symposium was that facilitation did not appear to be my natural role and I did not cope well when things did not go to plan. I certainly agree that I was not so relaxed as I usually am because I was very conscious of the outcomes that I had to achieve on behalf of ACQI. At the same time, I believe I coped extremely well considering the technical difficulties that were thrown at me.

What I'll do differently next time
1. Insist that a computer workshop is held in a computer laboratory set up for the purpose.
2. Make things very simple, go right back to basics and assume people know nothing, and build from there.
3. Start the session with a demonstration of the technology so people immediately know what I am talking about.
4. Have a fully developed Plan B - something I can do or present if the technology fails.

What are your tips for good facilitation?

I have been asked to compile a list of places in Second Life that are useful teaching tools for nurse and midwife educators. So here's ten suggestions from me - please let me know if you know of any other places.

1. The virtual birth unit
Of course I had to put the virtual birth unit at the top of the list considering I was the lead midwifery educator on the SLENZ project. This place is designed for midwifery students who want to learn about birth environment and caring for a woman in normal labour. It can also be used by anyone interested in birth including medical students, obstetric nurses and doualas. What is particularly unique about the birth unit is that the interactive normal birth scenario is open and free to use - here is a video that explains how it works, and here are the teaching resources and plans that go with the birth unit.

2. Virtual hallucination
I have written about this place in Second Life before and feel that it is one of the most moving and effective learning experiences I have ever encountered. Suitable for all areas of health education, this simulation gives you the visual and audio experience of a person with schizophrenia. I think it is worth watching this video if you are going to use this resource with students to be sure that you do not miss any aspects of the simulation.

3. Post-partum hemorrhage simulation
The post-partum hemorrhage simulation is part of the virtual hospital built by the University of Auckland. Particularly relevant to midwifery students and obstetric nurses, this simulation allows you to direct students in their management of a post-partum hemorrhage. For further information, contact Scott Diener.

4. Genome Island
Genome Island is a fun place to take students when you are teaching genetics. There are a number of activities that give a visual element to a topic that can be difficult to teach and learn. This is a place that is open to walk around so needs no special permission or funding to use.

5. Menstrual cycle
One of the things I took ages to get my head around as a student was the menstrual cycle. So if you're involved with teaching this to students, take them to the OSU Medicine site. At this place you can follow the growth of a follicle and take a quiz on how the menstrual cycle works.

6. Da Vinci Gardens, Kalepa
Another 'dry' subject is the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system. If you want to put some fun into your teaching of blood, take your students to the Da Vinci Gardens at Kalepa. Once there, you can be miniaturized, put on a diving suit and swim through a blood vessel.

7. Second Health Orientation Experience
If you and your students are completely new to Second Life, you may first wish to work your way around this orientation trial. During your walk around you will find out how to move around, change your avatar and manage your inventory. Once you have finished the trail, you'll be directed onto the Second Health Virtual Hospital. Personally, I do not find looking around empty hospitals very exciting or engaging, so you'll have to develop lesson plans that take this into consideration.

8. Imperial College London
This simulation gives students an opportunity to investigate respiratory disease in the Respiration Ward. Whilst this sim is designed for medical doctors, I feel it is just as useful for nursing students. I found the sim quite complex initially so if you're a newbie, it is worth taking the time to sort out what to do before you introduce students. Here is a video that gives you an overview of what to do.

9. HIV Prevention and Education Center
The HIV Prevention and Education Center is jammed packed full of information about HIV and AIDS. A treasure hunt type activity may work well as a lesson plan for this place. It is also probably worth checking that the information is up to date before you recommend it to students.

10. Free stuff
Whilst this may seem frivolous, part of the learning experience in Second Life is tied up with the appearance of your avatar and how he or she behaves. To get your avatar looking how you want and to improve your SL skills, I suggest you go to the Forou Freebies Store where you can acquire all sorts of free things like hair, clothes, shoes, jewelry etc. Pottering around this store will help your students gain confidence in Second Life which in turn will improve their learning experience.

What places in Second Life have you found and would recommend for nurses and midwives?

At the beginning of the week I chaired a panel at the IRGO unconference at Otago University. The brief of the panel was to consider how we can be more collaborative in our Internet research in New Zealand.

Our brief
I started off the session by explaining that one of my great passions is to encourage researchers to work more collaboratively together. I see this gaining more and more importance as research funding becomes increasingly difficult to access in New Zealand. In particular, I made a plea for researchers in universities to remember the polytechnic sector because a lot of great research is being carried out by polytechnic staff.

Open research
Wayne Macintosh, member of the Board of Directors of the Open Education Resources Foundation, talked about research in an open environment. Wayne talked about the importance of putting our material in the open domain as a moral and ethical duty to the greater good. At the same time, he did not deny the importance of being able to earn a living from the production of education and research material. The challenge for us as educators and researchers is to figure out how we work in an open and collaborative environment at the same time as fulfilling the demands of our employers.

Wikiresearch
Wayne also announced the beginning of a new wiki: Wikiresearch. The wiki will work on the same lines as all other wikimedia projects and will be a place where researchers can collaborate, seek funding, plan, conduct and publish research.

Collaborative research in action
I told the story of the Second Life Education New Zealand project as an example of how people from all over the country and many institutions can come together and collaborate on a research project. Every aspect of the project has been openly published on the project blog and the research outputs are available under a Creative Commons license, which means anyone can use the research that was developed in Second Life. I explained this approach to research came about for many reasons, one of which was our responsibility to be completely open to our funders ie the tax payer of New Zealand.

Barriers to open and collaborative research
Cameron Campbell was given the job of playing devil's advocate and outlined the barriers to being open and collaborative. The commercialization of research and government funding of academic institutions based on research outputs are huge barriers, as are the locked-down intellectual property policies of academic institutions.

Discussion
The group had a lively session of discussion which focused on research publishing. There was a lot of concern about the way traditional journals control the publication of research. At the same time, researchers are forced to comply because of the "publish or perish" attitudes that prevail in universities. Whilst the group consensus appeared to support open publication of research, people were also concerned that this would adversely affect their opportunities for tenure, or ability to make money from their research.

My personal thoughts
We did not really address how we could work more collaboratively or come up with concrete strategies which I was a tad disappointed about. I am thinking that a follow-up workshop may be one way to progress this further. However, from a personal point of view, I appreciated the opportunity to meet people and strengthen networks between Otago Polytechnic and the University of Otago. If this panel leads to more conversation and activity between the two institutions in the field of Internet research and education, then I will feel the panel had a constructive outcome. Just little things like making sure each institution is aware of research-focused activities makes a difference.

What suggestions can you make that will help build a more collaborative research environment in New Zealand?


Image: 'Otago University campus' themachobox's photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8610884@N07/3308741628

The 5th Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference is coming up next July in Vancouver.

This session will specifically focus on concepts and controversies around the experiences of physiologic birth by providers, women, families, and systems of care within the current social, political, and economic context.

The conference will provide the opportunity to develop and disseminate evidence related to the benefits and challenges of preserving normal labour and birth with a particular focus on the multidisciplinary perspectives on the implications for clinical practice, perinatal outcomes, education, management, collaboration, and policy.

I am thinking I will submit an abstract, talking about how we're using the Second Life normal birth scenario to teach midwifery students about birth environment and how to work with women in primary birth units.


Image: Vancouver at night janusz l
http://www.flickr.com/photos/januszbc/3841429899/

I am off to Cairns for the few days next week to facilitate a symposium about eMentoring on behalf of Aged Care Queensland. This is an extension of the eMentoring project I was involved with earlier in the year. The aim of the symposium is to explore the issues around eMentoring related to indigenous aged care and community staff - to find out what the barriers and enablers are, and how eMentoring can be progressed in a way that benefits staff.

Working with indigenous people
The symposium will be made up of Australian indigenous and Torres Strait people. This is the first time I have worked with Australian indigenous and Torres Strait people so I have been concerned that we develop a program that will be relevant, and in particular my facilitation is done in an appropriate and respectful way.

I will be co-facilitating with Steve Begg, who has done a lot of work in aged care in Australia and is an indigenous person himself. It has been very interesting talking to him and comparing approaches in Australia to how a Maori hui in New Zealand would be facilitated.

Facilitating a conversation
I'm still not sure that we have things right. I'm not sure I'm the right person to facilitate the session - I think it should be an indigenous person. But having said that, I am the one with the in-depth knowledge of eMentoring so that is the justification for having me as facilitator. I am still a little fearful that we're coming into the symposium with our own agenda which may inhibit responses. Time will tell.

The key things for me are to:

• acknowledge the people of the place - and bring greetings and acknowledgment from my own land
  
• give people time and space to get to know each other and get to know me
• keep the symposium as a flexible conversation as opposed to regimented formal program
  
• make sure we achieve ACQI outcomes ie answer the questions we have to ask
• give people opportunities to answer the questions in different formats - verbal and written...paper and online
• give people the opportunity to give feedback in a supported way that does not shame them.

How to facilitate in-depth discussion
I feel that my main role is to encourage conversation and discussion in a way that feels safe to the participants. When it comes to asking about their personal skills and experiences I aim to use anonymous methods so that people can disclose without feeling shamed. I'm going to use small groups to discuss questions about cultural issues pertaining to eMentoring. And broad issues such as organizational barriers, which hopefully do not feel personally threatening, will be discussed as a large group.

Do you have any advice or tips on how to facilitate discussion that generates lots of information but keeps people feeling safe?


Image: Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia The Lightworks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leonardlow/340824760/