AIDS Information and Outreach in the Virtual World of Second Life

The Alliance Library System (ALS) is pleased to announce that the National Library of Medicine has awarded ALS a $60,000 grant for a project entitled "AIDS Information and Outreach in the Virtual World of Second Life." The project includes the creation of a new island with a community AIDS/HIV library/resource center. The resource center will provide information support and outreach to the Second Life community and beyond about AIDS/HIV and its prevention. The new island will also be home to a garden space where narratives about the AIDS/HIV experience can be shared through art, audio, video, poetry, essays, and more. The project runs from October 1, 2008 – March 31, 2010.

This is the fourth grant awarded to ALS for the provision of consumer health information in Second Life, and will also fund a continuation of current efforts. The project coordinator will be Carol Perryman, known inworld as Carolina Keats.

For more information on the Alliance Library System, please see www.alliancelibrarysystem.com or contact Lori Bell at lbell927@gmail.com, or in Second Life as Lorelei Junot.

For more information about this project, please contact Carol Perryman at cp1757@gmail.com or in Second Life as Carolina Keats.

Healthcare Education group event

A truly interesting and even motivational event, and I'm not just saying that because I had some small part in it. Pathfinder Linden spoke to a group of ~30 healthcare folks at the new Health EduIsland, expressing his strong interest in, and advocacy of, health and health education efforts in Second Life. I love the thought that this group constitutes evidence of the continued development of SL as a platform, moving toward exploiting the networking capabilities of virtual worlds to share experiences and grow together. That's sure what it's about, isn't it?

Plans afoot - Health EduIsland

Next Friday the Healthcare Education group will be meeting in their new space for the first time! Planned as an 'ahoy maties!' pirate-themed party, we'll take a look around and talk about plans for the use of this large chunk of space, deciding how it can best be used to meet our objectives. You're invited to attend!

Announcing..... Health EduIsland!

To the immediate south of Healthinfo Island, please note a new green space, currently furnished only by the sign you see above. Intended as a gathering space for the health community, we will be making the auditorium (which is to be the centerpiece of the island) available to all health groups through a calendaring system. We're excited to be able to host the upcoming Stepping into Health conference here, as well as the next World AIDS Day, and have offered space to the new Healthcare Education group for meetings and displays.

Contact Carolina Keats for further information

Tags: healthInfoisland, healthEduIsland, education, medical, health, nlm, als

"Stepping into Health" becomes Third in Popular "Stepping into Virtual Worlds" Series

Using virtual worlds to promote health and healthcare is the topic of the next installment of the popular "Stepping into Virtual Worlds" conference series, to be offered October 7^th, 2008 in Second Life. Hundreds of people have attended this series, which began with "Stepping into History" in June and continued with "Stepping into Literature" in August. The series is sponsored by Alliance Library System and LearningTimes. The day-long conference is open to the public, with more information available at http://www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org. It will take place entirely in the virtual world of Second Life.

During this conference, participants will make virtual "field trips" to some of the best and most creative locations that are using virtual worlds to promote health. During these field trips, they will be able to speak with those responsible for creating the simulations, and have time to explore them on their own. Among the field trips for this conference are Healthinfo Island, a health education simulation where visitors can test their knowledge of strokes by walking through a giant artery and destroying clots by correctly answering questions, and ToxTown, a typical American town where potentially dangerous chemicals can easily be seen.

In addition to the field trips, the conference includes:

• Keynote presentations by Randy Hinrichs, founder of 2B3D and developer of the "Medipelago," a group of health related simulations in Second Life; and Ramesh Ramloll, creator of Play2Train, a virtual world simulator used to prepare healthcare professionals and others for crisis situations
• Table Talks on subjects such as "Healthcare Education and Advocacy in Virtual Worlds," "Virtual World Health Librarianship" and "Using Virtual World for Training Medical Personnel."
• A panel discussion, allowing participants to question and interact with a variety of experts in the use of virtual worlds in health and healthcare.

Alliance Library System, co-sponsor of the "Stepping Into" series, is a multi-type library system headquartered in East Peoria, Illinois. Alliance has been a leader in developing ways for libraries to expand their missions and serve patrons in virtual worlds. Alliance is on the web at www.alliancelibrarysystem.com.

LearningTimes, the second co-sponsor, is the leading producer of online communities and online conferences for education and training. Their clients and partners include educational and cultural institutions, non-profit organizations, associations and membership groups. LearningTimes provides the training, platforms, applications and expertise these organizations need to make their conferences a success. More information about LearningTimes can be found at www.learningtimes.net.

The cost for this day-long conference is $79, and participants may register for the conference at www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org