DIGITAL TOOLS IN MY CURRENT JOB
I work as a supervisor in dental health care and I spend a lot of my working time on the computer, phone and fortunately, meeting and connecting people in person. I use different software a lot and there are a lot of different digital tools at my work. For example a patient record system (LifeCare), software for human resources (CGI), software for shift planning, software for employees’ orientation and Microsoft 365.
MICROSOFT 365
Microsoft tools Word, Excel, Power Point, Teams, Outlook and OneDrive are familiar to me and use them every day at my work.
E-mail (Outlook)
I send a lot of emails to employees and colleagues. The official instructions and notices of my workplace are always sent by e-mail to the employees.
However, it must be remembered that sensitive matters must not be e-mailed outside the work e-mail. People’s privacy must be protected wherever messages are sent.
Teams
Teams is a useful app for me and I use it a lot every day. I can share documents with my colleagues, and we are able to work there together sharing and editing files in real time.
Teams is a common communication platform for us, and we use channels for different things.
The workplace`s common instructions and memos are stored there.
Teams messages are a convenient way to share information or discuss different things.
Meetings are also held by using Teams and I can also join the meetings by phone if needed. Nowadays, I often make calls through Teams if it is possible.
However, Teams application has the same rules on privacy as in email. It’s a good thing to remember.
NEW SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS THAT I COULD USE
Miro:
Miro is a digital collaborative whiteboard software tool for teams to be able to communicate and collaborate together. With Miro team members can connect, collaborate, share, collect ideas and co-create in one space.
I think that Miro could be a nice visual platform for us because part of our team works remotely although we work on the same project. This software also provides familiar ready-to-go templates for us.
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn is a social networking website for people in professional jobs. In these websites, members can make connections with other people, post their own work experience and skills but also look for jobs or look for workers.
In the future, the number of retirees in health care is increasing and it is difficult to hire new employees to replace them. So a new way for recruitment is needed.
Maybe LinkedIn is one platform for this, because there you can find the right job, connect and strengthen professional relationships and even learn the new skills which are useful for your career.
Tik-tok
Tik-tok is a social media app where people can share short videos they’ve made.
Preventive treatment in health care is cheap and increases patients’ health. However, our current ways of teaching are quite ineffective. Maybe a funny teeth brushing video could be more effective as preventive treatment?
Todoist
Todoist is an organizational tool that helps you keep track of your to-do-list and free up your mental space. That sounds great for me because my work management is not really in a good shape at the moment! My desk is full of notes and some of them disappear just when you need them.
WhatsApp is a messaging app to send text and voice messages, make video calls, share images and documents. In my private life, I exchange messages with my friends and family, but the app is rarely used at work.
There are groups of employees at work who use this application for communication, but official information is not distributed through this app. Often when it comes to urgent matters, it is best to call or send a text message.
The application could be used more at work because it is widely used and is free of charge.
THE PROS AND CONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
The good thing about social media is that people can keep in touch with each other around the world easily.
Social media gives you the ability to get information in real time and might inspire you to take better care of your health.
The negative aspects of social media are data-security risks, the spread of false information on social media, online bullying and breach of privacy protection and identity theft.
Nowadays, I carefully think about what I tell about myself and my personal life on social media. I hope that people will remember their own responsibility when they are writing about their own lives on social media. We actually don’t know how our data is collected, stored and eventually, who owns it?
THE SUCCESSFUL USE OF DIGITAL APPLICATIONS
In my opinion the most important thing is that digital applications must be easy and safe to use. Many companies use different digital applications every day, so agreeing on common guidelines for using these applications is also very important.
SELF-EVALUATION
I use many digital applications at my work, but there are a lot of interesting applications which would be useful in my work.
However, people use a lot of social media and can be reached through it. Therefore, it would be important to consider new opportunities for social media in my work as well. To do your own work known and familiar or, for example, to recruit new employees.
There were a lot of familiar things in this course for me, but it is good to stop and think about it. Digitalization has come to our work to stay and it is worth taking advantage of.
Personally, however, I use only WhatsApp every day and I think that is enough for me right now. Work and studying have taken up a lot of my time and attention recently.