Digital Health

Do you remember sitting in a waiting room, and meticulously looking for a magazine, health pamphlet, fitness  brochure or a cheeky burn fat with Woman's Day (guys I'm looking at you too)?
Do you remember being unwell and needing to see your doctor, waiting an hour for a 5 minute appointment to only basic advice?

Lets face it most of us in the teacher profession have experienced this. But how do you search for health information now? Importantly, how do our students source information?

It's easy to forget how we used to behave prior to the digital age, with the touch of a button, or an "ok Google" we can know anything our mind desires. Excitingly, so can our pupils!

The digital healthcare sector is evolving everyday, and we are constantly further informed about our health and wellbeing (if we want to be). Now a doctors appointment can involved; researching your symptoms on WebMD, booking your doctors appointment through an online booking system, see the doctor and forget everything he said, claim your medicare health rebate on a HICAPS machine, order your script, go home and research your symptoms and compare with doctors diagnosis. Easier right? Now with the addition of My Health Record our personal Health data has never been more accessible, not to mention other privacy information (Tene & Polonetsky, 2013).

If you want to get in shape for the summer months, what do you do? Google search 'get summer ready in 2 weeks'. Seriously, you can find a plethora of information from reputable sources on how to effectively exercise, eat, deal with mental health issues around body image, track your progress and keep you motivated. Tumbler is a platform where more serious topics can be discussed on a private and public platform, allowing followers to ask questions and receive feedback from like minded people. When shifting our focus to the present school generation we are seeing a huge impact from the YouTube platform. YouTube has the ability to reach millions of viewers and this is where we see young people seeking some of their health information. Currently in the media there has been discussion around young women and who they seek advice from about their menstrual cycle. Mum, Teacher or Online?

Figure 1. Diagram of the 21st Century pedagogy.
When utilising design based thinking and potentially instructing students to think about designing technology, start with a problem. The issue or problem will have specific audience or demographic, including a location is also important. Once these elements are outlined the design process can begin. Blooms taxonomy emphasises the importance of students being able to create, design and develop original work. As teachers we realise that Blooms work is built from a foundation of understanding and a gradual build up of knowledge. We as educators have the unique opportunity to provide young people with the skills to continue to improve this digital age we live in, although if we do not expose our students to 21st Century skills such as; problem solving real world problems and encouraging collaboration both technologically and interpersonally. Teaching in this manner will not only provide students with strong 21st century skills but also the ability to exist in the digital age in a safe and effective manner.

Figure 2. Workshop story board: design technology. An App designed to improve physical activity within schools and reduce social anxiety. The App can provide necessary data for teacher and parents 


Bloom's Taxonomy
Figure 3. Blooms Taxonomy.


Reference list. 
Anderson, L,. Krathwohl, D., & Bloom, B. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: a revision of Bloom's taxanomy of education objectives. Complete ed. New York: Longman

 Australian Government (2018): Australian Digital health agency. My Health Record. retrieved from https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/ 
Tene, O., Polonetsky,J. (2013) Big data for all: Privacy and user control in the age of analytics. Northwestern Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property 11: 239-273.

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