Independent Blog

Physical Therapy is a huge part of my senior project. Zoezi Park is basically an exercise game that helps strengthen the patient's muscles. Therefore, for the past few research checks I have been looking into the anatomy of the body, specifically the legs. I think that knowing exactly how these muscles work together to create movement will help me understand exactly how the excises that are in the game help the patient improve.

Independent Blog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GjKk7ZtJsE

This video is basically a summary about fall prevention and it's different aspects. The PT in the video, Shannon Brady, mentions some things that I have done parts of my research on, such as exercises to strengthen muscles, impact of medication on the patient, statistics on falling and its effects, and risk of falling. She also talks about types of questions a patient can ask their self in order to kind of self-assess how high their risk of falling is. That is one of the things that Zoezi Park does at the very beginning of the game. There is a questionnaire in order to help assess the player's risk of falling. Overall, I think this video is a good starter to fall prevention and why it is important in our community.

Blog 10: EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2.
a) This, technically, fulfills all of the requirements. However, I feel that it can be worded differently in order to better understand the question. I also think that it should be more specific in order to really find the best answer.
b) This leaves a good amount of room for debate of answers. It does allow a fair amount of research to be done. But I think that the format should be changed, because I did have to re-read it a couple of times in order to fully comprehend what they were asking.
c) This question is very broad and there can be so many different answers. It needs to be more specific. But it does allow room for argument, especially since I think it is more of a personal preference for what the style is. It does provide many things to research, too.
d) I think this is the best one so far. They are specific about what kind of pain and what kind of doctor, while still allowing tons of research to be done. It can also be a good argument.

3. What is the best way for a health care professional to reduce the risk of falling in the elderly over the age of 65?

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I was actually proud of myself for remembering where I wanted to go with the presentation. I almost always have some sort of power-point to guide me in case I loose my train of thought, but I didn't this time. Not having a power-point gave me more of a feel of how this is really going and what areas I need to improve on.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I honestly think I deserve a P or P-. I enunciated, spoke loudly and clearly, and made eye contact with the whole room. I stayed on my top and used information listed from my sources and mentorship.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

I doubt that anyone used it, but the sheet I handed out helped keep me on track and I could refer back to it as I went along for a little bit of guidance.

4. What would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?

I definitely would have made some sort of visual aid. Obviously, not a power-point, but some sort of poster board. This could have helped me stay a little more focused and organized.

Independent Blog

Creating a video game is a huge process. Part of it is making sure that the game runs smoothly and that there are no bugs. How do you do that? By playing of course!

Game testing is a crucial part of the game making process. In order to make sure that the game is ready to be sold and played, it needs to be able to run smoothly and without glitches. This is one of the things I have decided to focus on for my independent component.

The other part i'm focusing on is the data checking portion. The games at Blue Marble are created to rehabilitate brain injuries and prevent falling in the elderly. So, in order to track the patients' progress, the information and results from the different games played are sent to a data base called Deep Ocean. The actions' results, that help the health professionals determine whether or not you are making progress, are recorded in Deep Ocean. There, they can access all of the information from the game under that certain username. 

My job in data checking is to make sure that the data is being sent and recorded properly in the Deep Ocean. This will prevent future miscalculations in a patient's progress.

Below are some photographs of the data checking process. 

1. First, I set up a camera to record the level as I play in order for me to be able to go back and check what I did. This is also just in case there is a bug that needs to be fixed. It is easier to just show on a recording than to go back and try to recreate what happened. 

2. The game is pulled up on whatever device I am playing on. I sign into an account and select a level. I play the level all of the way through. The data will be sent to Deep Ocean once I finish the level and go to the level select screen.

3. After, I go back and view the recording. This way I can write down the data and compare it to what is recorded in Deep Ocean to make sure that everything is being recorded properly.

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1. What is your working EQ?

What is the best way to prevent elderly people from falling?

2. What is a possible answer to you working EQ?

EQ: What is the best way to prevent elderly people from falling?

• Through using video games that provide exercises and information.
• Having the patient's progress monitored by a medical professional and working on the weak areas in order to improve.

3. What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?

The most important article I have read so far is "Prevention of Falls in the Elderly" by Dr Laurence Knott. The reason being, this article provides a large amount of information on falls. It talks about the risk of falls, injury, the impact of medication, as well as many other facts and insights as to why an elder may be at risk for falling. Along with all of this information, Dr. Knott provides statistics to show that there has been research done instead of him just giving an opinion.

4. Who is your mentor, or where are you doing mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to you working EQ?

• My mentor is Nina Withrington and I mentor with her at the Blue Marble Game Company.
• Nina is one of the Physical Therapists at BMGC. She is in charge of the community outreach. However, at my mentorship, she has taught me all about the different game that they have created. Through teaching me about the games and how the database works, I have learned why this form of rehabilitation and prevention is so important and helpful.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan on doing for your 30 hours.

I am doing my mentorship at Blue Marble Game Company. At BMGC, they create video games to rehabilitate brain injuries as well as prevent falling in the elderly. Since I am focusing on the fall prevention aspect at Blue Marble, I was thinking of doing my independent component on game testing.
Game testing is a super important part of what they do at Blue Marble because without testing the game and looking for bugs/glitches, how can one be sure that it is ready to be played by the public? I am planning on testing the game, reporting bugs to their database, and just learning more about the game itself.

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I am planning on taking many photos of this process in order to show evidence of my work. I could even create a video to show the whole process of how game testing goes on to reporting bugs which would lead to the programmers fixing the game.

3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

My project is on a video game that helps prevent falling in older people. So by learning the ins and outs of the whole game, I will really know how the game helps these people. I am basically learning exactly what the game is all about and why it's made the way it's made.

Independent Blog

For this post, I wanted to share one of my most valuable sources for my research so far.

My mentor, Nina, is actually the one who turned me on to this site called PubMed. Basically, this website is a search engine for biomedical literature. It consists of over 24 million sources from online books, MEDLINE, and life science journals.

This source has been extremely helpful to my growing pile of research. I trust this source not only because my mentor suggested it and said that BMGC uses it as a resource, but also because it is created and maintained by The National Center for Biotechnology Information located within the National Institutes of Health. PubMed has helped me understand more about my topic, as well as give me insight to other techniques used for fall prevention.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

Blog 6: Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work?

My mentor is Nina Withrington. She works at The Blue Marble Game Co.

2.What five questions will you ask them about their background?

• How did you first get interested in PT?
• Where did you study to become a PT?
• What was(were) your major(s)?
• Did you do any addition preparation for this field?
• Where did you work before?
• How did you find out about the BMGC?
• What is your job here at Blue Marble?

Blog 5: Mentorship Reflection

1. Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship.

My mom is a real estate agent and as a result of that, she meets a lot of interesting people. When she was asking me what I thought I might do my senior project on last year and I mentioned physical therapy, one of her clients popped into her head. She told me about her client, Sheryl Flynn, and the Blue Marble Game Company and what they do there. I thought that it would be a really cool and fun learning experience, so I looked into it some more. And that is where I ended up doing my mentorship.

2. What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

The most important article I have read so far is "Prevention of Falls in the Elderly" by Dr. Laurence Knott. The reason being, this article provides a large amount of information on falls. It talks about the risk of falls, injury, the impact of medication, as well as many other facts and insights as to why an elder may be at risk for falling. Along with all of this information, Dr. Knott provides statistics to show that there has been research done instead of him just giving an opinion.

Independent Blog

There are two way I can go with this project. I can do the brain injury aspect of it, or I can do the fall prevention aspect of it.

1. There are two games in the brain injury category. One is called RESET, and the other is called Treasure of Bell Island. Both are to help the patients recover from a previous brain injury. The games evaluate the patients' attention, memory, visual perception, executive function. The mini games within these games test these different brain functions. By doing them over and practicing makes those skills improve, therefore, recovering their injury.
2. The fall prevention game is call Zoezi Park. This game can be played at their home under the instruction of a clinician. There is an xBox Kinect version and a tablet version, but both perform equally. In Zoezi Park, the patient performs simple exercises to build up muscle strength. By building up this strength, it decreases the chances of them falling.

For all of these games, when they are completed and work fully, during play, there will be information sent to a data base. Every player has their own login/password and their information is recorded throughout playing. This is so that their doctors can see their improvement and monitor their progress. This data base is called Deep Ocean.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. I plan to interview Sheryl Flynn. She is the CEO of the Blue Marble Game Company, where I mentor. Her husband and she basically started the company, so I would like to interview her because she knows about everything that goes on.

2. Questions:

• How did she come up with the main idea/foundation of the BMGC?
• What do you believe the best way to prevent falling in elderly people is? Why?
• How does Zeozi Park prevent falling in elders?
• How big of a role, do you think, is this game going to play in the future medical world?/Do you think it someday will be?
• What was the most valuable place you went that led you here?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. Topic: Elderly Care

2. What is the most effective way to keep the elderly safe, yet still have them able to accomplish daily tasks?

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

1. Hours log:

Summer Mentorship Log

2. Contact name and number for volunteering:

Sheryl Flynn: (626)296-6400

3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience? List them.

• What is the best way to prevent falls for elderly people?
• Why is this solution one of the better solutions to fall prevention?
• How did they come up with this idea?
• When will this method be put into effect/be ready for the public?
• How much more can this method be expanded upon?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

I learned why fall prevention for older people is really important to society. Since a fall basically marks a downward spiral of many health issues for elders, preventing that fall and prolonging the inevitable greatly contributes to society. By preventing these falls, we have a wider range of people that should live longer.

5. What is you senior project topic going to be? How did what you did help you choose a topic? Explain.

My senior project is going to be fall prevention. Seeing what they do at the Blue Marble Game Co. showed me why what they do is so important. Since the baby boomer generation is coming up, this way of preventing falls is super creative and is a fun and effective way to help the older generations. I saw how important this is, and I want to learn more and help out as much as I can throughout the course of this school year.

Blog 1: 2-Hour Presentations

1. What presentations did you see?

• Debora Martinez - Social Work for Abused Children
• Jasmin Quiroz - Soccer Training
• Sarah Solar - Goalkeeping
• Arianna Castellanos - Forensic Science
• Nitjasin QP - Dentistry
• Stacy Peralta - Yearbook
• Samantha Torres - Music Performance
• Vanessa Machuca - Microbiology
• Daniel Song - Physical Therapy
• Regina Ongowarsito - Music Store Operation
• Ralph Hernandez - Pharmaceutical
• Elizabeth Valle - No Kill Rescue Shelters
• Alexis Teixeira - Teaching Kindergarten
• Allyana Salud - Nursing
• Jazmin Castro - Physical Therapy
• Daisy Zavala - Animal Care

2. What Questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.

• What are the requirements for mentorship? Is that the only place we can get hours?
• Is there a penalty for going over time during our presentation?
• What are the exact requirements for the final presentation?
• Some people I noticed didn't make time, though it seemed like they talked enough to me. What exactly do you need to discuss, then, if not all counts towards your time?

3. What was the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

• I think the most important part of the presentation is to really know what you're saying by doing as much research as possible and knowing the requirements/rubric of the presentation in order to utilize your time/talking time to the fullest.

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

• I am thinking of doing Physical Therapy for my senior project. I chose this topic because for a while I thought it could be a possible career field for me to go into. Doing this project could help me see if it is really something I could enjoy doing for a career. I also know a physical therapist and pretty much have it lined up as my mentorship.

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

• I'm not quite sure exactly, yet, but I am meeting with my possible mentor soon to discuss this and the rest of the project/requirements.