Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Wearable Teachnology in Healthcare




          Wearable technology plays a prominent role in today’s healthcare transformation. Wearables are closely intertwined with an evolving healthcare delivery model. With this new model, care is being brought to the patient, wherever he or she is, rather than the patient having to visit a medical facility. At the same time, many medical devices are undergoing an exciting design refresh to enhance the patient experience. They are becoming smaller and more mobile, opening new alternatives to traditional ways providers have interacted with patients, performed tests, collected data and delivered treatments.
Wearables come in many forms. There are smart wristbands, watches, shirts, shoes, shorts, caps, headbands, eyeglasses, belts and necklaces etc. Most contain sensors that gather raw data which is then fed to a database or software application for analysis. This analysis typically triggers a response. For example, it might alert a physician to contact a patient who is experiencing abnormal symptoms or it might send a congratulatory text message when an individual achieves a fitness or diet goal.


        Withings Blood Pressure Monitor : Hypertension is one of the most common chronic conditions throughout the world. In the United States, nearly 80 million Americans have high blood pressure. Many clinicians and patients use home blood pressure monitors to help manage high blood pressure, helping with everything from medication titration to supporting lifestyle modification. One of the earliest connected devices available on the market. It consists of an app connecting through Bluetooth to the blood pressure monitor itself. The app measures your heart rate, blood pressure and also counts the steps you take weekly. The Withings’ several useful features include the ability to set the monitor to take three measurements and report the average, which is consistent with medical recommendations. You can also set up reminders for various issues from taking your blood pressure to taking your medications.

Click here for more info about Withings Blood Pressure:




         Fitbit Aria: For some people, measuring weight might constitute an unpleasant daily activity since obtaining and keeping optimum weight is one of the greatest challenges for many, in an age when people often assume the “perfect body image” equals success and health. It definitely does not, but weight still constitutes an important factor to our health. As you know, obesity might lead to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and even stroke or cancer. On the other hand, being too skinny also leads to health problems such as anemia, low immune system or fertility issues. Thus, it is very important to find your optimum weight, right body mass index (BMI) and to measure it on a regular basis. It is the latest smart gadget of the Fitbit-family. The smart scale tracks your weight and body fat percentage – preferably daily – and uploads the information to a cloud-based account over your home Wi-Fi network. The Fitbit Aria can sense up to eight different people, using historical data to work out who is whom. The best part for me is that it is connected to my FitBit account therefore I see my weight changes compared to the physical activity I have. 





Click here to watch the Video https://youtu.be/tmQpP_r9QsU

         Gymwatch Fitness Tracker: If the tons of information coming from every possible media channel, magazine and common sense cannot convince you about the health benefits of exercising, neither can I. However, you should know that according to the UN Nation Cancer Institute, leisure-time physical activity is associated with longer life expectancy. And it does not matter whether you like to use the treadmill, do cross-fit or aerobic, some healthcare wearables can help you make the most of the exercises. GymWatch is a fitness tracker that is not about counting steps. Rather, it wants to become your personal fitness coach or your professional performance diagnostician. This is a wearable that is built for the gym, specifically for people that head straight for the weights. Worn on the arm or on the leg, it helps you build muscle in the correct way and makes sure you are completing those reps properly.The tracker gives you visual and verbal, real-tine feedback, and also connects you with its community of like-minded fitness enthusiasts.

        PIP: Stress is one of the biggest health risks in the 21st century’s busy environment, full of constant impulses and distractions. As you probably know, stress might lead to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, anxiety – and even asthma. It reduces your level of focus, leads to bad sleep and decreases emotional well-being. It affects everyone – and I’m no exception. However, stress can be fought successfully with the help of technology. PIP is  a tiny device designed to give immediate feedback about your stress levels. Its smartphone app helps you learn how to reduce stress by having you transform a depressing scene into a happy one by actively relaxing, giving you tips along the way. You just hold the PIP device between the thumb and index fingers to measure skin conductivity for a few minutes. The longer you can keep stress low, the faster the scene changes.





       Pebble Time: You surely know from the tale of Sleeping Beauty that the survival of empires could depend on a good night’s sleep. Research shows sleep is very important to brainpower, health, beauty or overall well-being. Sleep trackers usually measure when you fall asleep, wake up and how much time you spend in deep-sleep. The latter is the most important, for me. For some people, how well-rested they feel depends on how much sleep they get. For others, it only depends on the amount of deep-sleep. As it’s pretty personalized, everyone needs to find their own solution. Pebble Time; measuring your sleep is only one of the built-in health tracking applications available to the Pebble Time family of smartwatches. Developed by Pebble in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University. Pebble Health automatically tracks when you go to bed, displaying sleep, deep-sleep, and the times when you fall asleep and wake up.

 Learn more about Pebble Time
     



        Android Sleep App; is a  useful app can pair with your sleep tracker and wake you up at the best possible time so you’re rested and don’t feel groggy at all. The app can wake you with nature sounds, soothing music, captcha or puzzle alarms. It also helps you track your sleep, deep-sleep and warns you if you are running on a sleep deficit. The app even pays attention to the sound in the room while you are sleeping to catch you snoring, record you talking in your sleep, or help you diagnose sleep illnesses.


         Fitbit Surge: The most popular and widely known healthcare wearables are the fitness and sport activity trackers. Most smartphones already have built-in apps for measuring how many steps you take a day, whether you run (even to catch the bus) or bike. The activity trackers might also measure your pulse rate and create colorful graphs and charts to help you figure out the best ways to keep fit and healthy. Of all the brands of fitness trackers on the market, Fitbit is the best-known, and for good reason. This touch-screen wristwatch not only tracks your steps and sleep, but also alerts you to incoming phone calls and text messages, keeps tabs on your heart rate with a built-in optical heart rate monitor and uses GPS to track outdoor activity. GPS is especially useful, as you don’t have to take your phone with you when you run or bike to track exercise. The tracker is reliable, easy to use and connects you to a great community with whom you can share your activities and even compete for the first place earned by the fittest. 




Click here to watch the video https://youtu.be/31wZSC2eI6k

Monday, February 6, 2017

Use of Wearable Technology in the Classroom





      The growth of wearable technology is achieving exciting popularity after random use of laptops and smartphones. Wearable have the potential to change the way we learn, work, and live. It is important to acknowledge the difference between both wearable and mobile technologies. The Educause Learning Initiative (2013) makes the distinction clear: “an Internet-connected smart watch or pair of running shoes with sensors in them is ‘wearable technology,’ whereas a smartphone or a tablet is simply ‘mobile’” (para. 5). https://library.educause.edu/resources/2013/11/7-things-you-should-know-about-wearable-technology 
     Weather teachers like it or not sometimes it feels like technology enters the classroom, leaving teachers and schools to avoid engaging with it at their peril. Wearable technology certainly fits to design for whole integration with everyday tasks. However, after a decade and a half of steady infiltration, educators have come to view new technology as an opportunity to enhance learning rather than a simple distraction. Below there are some lists of wearable technology that we could use in the classroom. In addition, I have included a link below where you can learn about 36 ways to use Wearable Technology in the classroom.http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/technology/36-ways-to-use-wearable-technology-in-the-classroom/

1. Google glass
Google glass is the future of eyewear and wearable technology. It is also a wearable computer. It is worn like a pair of glasses that contains a camera, a microphone, and displays a tiny “heads up display”. This google glass is capable of recording audio, video and taking photos, messages and read emails. I think this technology will be very helpful for any type of learners.

2. iPods
iPods has a wonderful audio and video features. In audio option students can make their own radio show and can learn different language. It has audio-book where they can read books. In video option they can create television show and they can animate their story with different picture. Moreover is has flashcard, digital storytelling, text, games, brain challenge, brain quest and so on.

3. Smart Watches
Smart watches have been very useful in education and are the most accurate information displaying device. It has an extremely simple and a wonderful system that lets the students send messages to their teachers if they are too shy to ask out loud.


5. VRG
This wearable technology has surely taken entertainment to the next level by providing a realistic 3D experience. This is even used by the teachers to record videos that help them explain how to solve a particular problem or explaining about a chemical experiment. Students can even perform and share their video after recording that helps their teachers assess them individually with more care. 

Click here- https://youtu.be/VBRbCoD3r04

6. GoPro
It is a high definition small personal camera that can be easily mounted anywhere and worn too. Students are extremely excited to learn from GoPro since it gives them a wonderful platform to research and explore. Students can use this camera to take pictures during their class for presentations and projects. This device is an excellent choice for the classroom.
          Click here  https://youtu.be/CjNjcrQZtd8


Follow the link for my infographic that I made




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