HRS 5100 Week 1

Hi. I'm Carmen DiGiovine. I thought I'd start the course off by introducing myself.

I have been working with the Office of Distance Education and E-Learning,

the School of Health and Rehabilitation Science

and the Assistive Technology Center to develop this course.

I'm really excited about this course for two reasons.

The first is that I'm really passionate about

assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering.

And the second is that I think online education is an incredible medium for education.

I'll be able to give you access to content that

I just wouldn't be able to do through traditional lecture based education.

Furthermore, we will be able to have more fruitful and in-depth

discussions amongst ourselves than we would in a traditional course.

The educational experience that I'm most excited about,

are the four case studies we will review throughout this semester.

Four individuals allowed me to interview them

so that they can share their experiences about assistive technology.

And you would have real world opportunities to

apply the concepts that I introduce throughout the course.

They have all given permission to record the videos and to use them in the course.

However, I ask out of respect for those individuals that

you do not share their personal information outside the course.

Now, for a little bit about myself.

I've worked at the Ohio State University in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences,

which you can see here and the Assistive Technology Center for the past ten years.

The dual role provided me with clinical experience

as a rehabilitation engineer in the Assistive Technology Center,

which I think will give you a richer experience.

Over the past 25 years, I have had what is a fun and exciting path to getting to this point.

As an undergraduate - - yes,

I'm a little dorky when it comes to my hats -

- as an undergraduate engineering student,

I started at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

where I was introduced to the wheelchair racing team,

rehabilitation engineering and RESNA.

RESNA is the Rehabilitation Engineering and

Assistive Technology Society of North America

and the professional organization I'm most involved in.

I then attended the University of Pittsburgh where I received my doctorate in bioengineering.

While at the University of Pittsburgh,

I worked at the Human Engineering Research Lab.

My first job was at the assistive technology unit at the University of Illinois at Chicago,

where I worked as a rehabilitation engineer.

I worked out in the community with occupational therapists,

physical therapists and speech language pathologists.

The ATU is a mobile assistive technology clinic.

So I had a ton of great experiences as I worked

with people with disabilities throughout Chicago and in the Chicagoland suburbs.

I then started a rehabilitation engineering consulting firm in 2006.

It was called Six Degrees of Freedom.

In 2009, I then transitioned to the Ohio State University.

I need a hat for that one. Now that you know a little bit about my professional background,

I'd like to tell you about myself.

I have two daughters and my wife,

who is a physical therapist.

They keep me grounded and quite honestly are your best advocates.

They are always making sure that I don't get

into my dad voice when I'm teaching and that I stay professional.

Olivia is in high school and Kaitlyn is currently attending the University of Pittsburgh.

I'm a huge Chicago sports fan and I can easily get off track if you want to talk about -

- the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears,

Chicago Blackhawks. You get the hint.

Anything related to Chicago sports.

Finally, I'm a bit nerdy when it comes to technology,

innovation, and engineering and any other application to assistive technology.

I think that nerdiness is what makes me -

- what will make this course a really great online experience.

I know this is a little long winded,

but given that we are going to work together

online and may not have a chance to meet in person,

I figured I'd let you know who I am.

I really look forward to collaborating together as we work through this course.

I really believe that this course will only be

successful if we work together and have regular communication through the Carmen site.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or comments.

I can't wait to start this course and meet you all online.

And hopefully next time I won't need a script and I'll just be able to go off the cuff.

But one thing at a time. Okay thanks and have a great week.