Digital tools in my work
I am currently at home taking care of my child. My last day at work was in March 2022. However, I feel that so much has not changed since then that I would not be able to complete this assignment based on my knowledge from a year ago. I work as a nurse in the infection control unit at a central hospital, where our responsibilities include guiding, training, creating instructions, managing statistics, and organizing responses to serious infectious diseases or hospital-acquired infections that threaten to spread.
The digital tools I use the most in my work are Microsoft programs such as Teams, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word. Since we work remotely a lot, all meetings of our work unit have been held remotely. We manage our meetings using Teams and communicate through Teams and Outlook email. Additionally, we keep our Outlook calendars up-to-date so that our colleagues can see when we are available. To create work instructions and training materials, we use Word and PowerPoint. We also use Excel for statistical analysis.
In my work, I also use healthcare information systems such as Mediatri and SAI.
Five social media tools
Pinterest is a social media platform and image discovery tool where users can search for, save, and share images and videos related to specific topics such as cooking, fashion, travel, and more. While Pinterest is one-sided in that it only contains visual content, its simplicity can be an advantage in today’s world of numerous applications.
In my work, I could use Pinterest for inspiration when updating our unit’s intranet site, or to search for images when preparing training materials. When using materials from Pinterest, it’s important to remember to respect copyright laws for image use.
Slack
Slack is a communication and collaboration tool designed specifically for use by companies and organizations, based on cloud services. Users can communicate in real-time through calls, video calls, or messages, and can utilize various tools to facilitate company operations, such as file exchanges. Although the tool is unfamiliar to me as we use Teams in our own work, Slack could serve as a useful tool in my work, either as a supplement to Teams or as a replacement for it.
Vimeo
Vimeo is a video storage and sharing platform that focuses on high-quality videos. The platform also allows for live video streaming, making it useful for educational purposes. In fact, I have participated in remote training that was streamed via Vimeo. In my work, Vimeo could be used to save and share educational videos, for example.
Todoist
Todoist is a task management and to-do list application that allows individual users or teams to create to-do lists and organize their work or projects. The application also allows users to set due dates or reminders for certain tasks. Todoist would be a useful app for my work, as I have previously relied on writing to-do lists by hand in a notebook or maintaining a list in a Word file.
Evernote
Evernote is a note-taking application where users can save text, videos, and audio recordings. It is used by private individuals as well as companies. Evernote allows users to create different notebooks to manage their notes, set reminders for tasks, and share notes with others. Evernote would also be a useful tool in my work, as it would allow me to not only take notes but also share them among coworkers.
Elements of successful use of digital application
- Accessibility:
I consider it important for an application to be easily accessible on both mobile devices and computers. Personally, I prefer applications with a web version that can be accessed without the need for downloading. Login should be user-friendly, while ensuring that security and privacy are well considered.
- Speed/good connections:
Few things are more frustrating than a website or application running slowly or constantly giving connection error notifications. Therefore, applications should work quickly and flawlessly, without unnecessary delays. Of course, issues with network connections can always arise and are outside of the app’s control.
- Ease of use:
When I download a new application, I naturally hope to learn how to use it as quickly as possible and that its features are easy to understand. While many applications are user-friendly and easy to navigate, useful features may be hidden from users who do not consult instructions or tutorials.
Self evaluation
While doing the assignment, I started to think, why don’t I make more use of different digital tools in my own work? However, I mostly work on a computer during the day, but I am so used to my own work and the applications provided by my employer that it has not occurred to me to introduce new applications. The assignment made me understand how wide the field of social media is also from the point of view of organizations and working life, and what all there is to utilize.