Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Collaborative and Distance Communication Platforms and Tools

I actually have some experience with this topic!  I have used Skype quite a bit and really like it.  I haven't used it much in the past couple months because of FaceTime on my iPhone.  They are both really fun, and are great ways to keep in touch with people.  I think that it makes online connection a lot more personal, because you are able to see the person you are communicating with.  I read an article on geek.com that talks about a robot called Botiful that you are able to control via Skype with bluetooth or a USB cable.  It is such a cool idea, there is a short video about Botiful on geek.com that explains it in detail.  I think it would be fun to have Botiful to play around with while using Skype.
An article on businessweek.com talks about a great use for Skype, Skyping a doctor!  According to the article there are not enough physicians in Georgia to serve the 1.9 million rural residents.  I think this is awesome, people are now able to access medical help via Skype within minutes, instead of the hours that they had to drive previously.  I think this technology is an asset and will be used in many more ways that I haven't thought of.  It will be interesting to watch this technology grow and change.

4 comments:

  1. K wait...Doctor appointments over Skype!? As in they check your throat via Skype? They get a urine sample via Skype? I just don't really understand...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In the article it says that they go to the school nurse or the little clinic they have in their town and then Skype the doctor. So I guess the nurse will take the persons temp and will show the results to the doctor.

      Delete
  2. I'm a little leery about the robot business - maybe I watch too much TV. I think Skyping a doctor would be awesome. There's nothing worse than having to wait 3 hours in a doctor's office, especially when you just want to be in bed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I always thought skype would be a great use for constructive needs. It's pretty cool to see this actually coming into fruition.

    ReplyDelete