Author: Nonprofit Commons

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Blogging The Health Panel Expo

[Cross-posting from the NetSquared blog by BJ Wishinsky]

N2Y4 Mixed Reality Health Panel, Wed. May 27, 11:15 AM

My name is BJ Wishinsky (avatar name Biji Mornington), and I’m the Communities Program Manager at the nonprofit Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. I had so much fun live-blogging the mixed reality at last year’s NetSquared conference that I volunteered to do it again today. There are Health Panels all day today in Second Life, celebrating the launch of the new inworld Health Commons. The 11:15 panel on Mobile Health Information is mixed reality: Second Life and Real Life (here at Cisco’s Vineyard Conference Center in San Jose, CA). We’re about to begin, so stay tuned.

Seth Gonzales (Avatar Impeccably Peccable) is the Communities Manager for the Boomer Esiason Foundation in New York. They started their SecondLife presence with the long-term goal of starting an inworld community of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. SecondLife can provide CF patients an opportunity to interact with each other without the risk of infection. They are also using SecondLife and mobile technology to engage donors. Donors can give via mobile up to four times a month. The text-to-donate program was launched this month because May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. 263 million people in the U.S. have cell phones so they want to tap into this group. Seth is confident this will be a sustainable program that helps tremendously with fundraising. They just started it and are getting some good responses using promotional PSAs to get the word out.

Our multiple venues in real life and Second Life are starting to fill up, and Susan Tenby (whose avatar is named Glitteractica Cookie) is explaining the format for our new arrivals. Susan asks Seth about the unique opportunity of the Second Life environment for CF patients. CF patients usually are taking 10-20 pills a day and going through multiple treatments from nebulizers to vibrating vests to keep their lungs clear and stay alive. They often live very isolated lives, between treatments and the need to keep them from being exposed to other infectious diseases that can aggravate their CF and prove fatal. Second Life provides an opportunity for them to meet safely in Second Life and connect with other CF patients for support and socializing.

Their measure of success is getting CF patients acclimated (with a SecondLife 101 class) and familiarizing them with what they offer on Boomer Island.

Jessica Dally of Community Voicemail, works for a nonprofit that provides voice mailboxes to people who are homeless and don’t have their own home or cell. This allows those who are homeless to better keep in touch with their families and friends, and for those who care about them to be able to reach them. It also allows Community Voicemail to get important messages out to clients, for example, about the peanut butter recall, or an approaching hurricane. They are also partnering with AIDS.gov in Second Life and using voicemail and mobile technology to help them disseminate information about HIV testing. In Second Life they partner with other organizations and help them set up voicemail programs with their communities. Second Life helps them spread the word about what they’re doing and partnering with other cities and agencies.

Ellehcim Fizzle (speaking from inworld) of AIDS.gov is talking about the stigma of AIDS and the need to continue to pay attention to AIDS/HIV. One in five people who are infected with HIV are unaware of their status, which underscores the importance of Testing Day. They’re still determining all that they want to do in Second Life. They’re using mobile technology for the KNOWIT campaign where you can text 566948 (KNOWIT) with your zip code and receive information on an testing facility in your area. At the CDC Conference a few months ago she heard about how Community Voicemail was used to reach homeless people regarding the peanut recall and thought it would be a great way to reach the homeless community with information about HIV testing. They are also highlight videos created by partners like Kaiser Family Foundation, MTV and others to help promote testing day.

About 15 of the people here in the room with me are also currently present as avatars at the event in Second Life (SL). Our host, Cisco, has provided great support for all these people running the graphics-intensive Second Life application over the conference wireless. We’re starting some Q&A — microphone in the room, text chat in SL. Jessica (Kali Idziak in SL) notes there was a bit of a steep learning curve for her getting started in SL since she was not a gamer, but there are lots of people and resources to help you learn. She notes that you don’t have to be a techie to learn your way around in SL.

How do nonprofits get started? Come to the weekly inworld Nonprofits in Second Life meetings (http://nonprofitcommons.org/ for info). There’s a meeting every Friday at 8:30 a.m. SLT (Second Life Time, which is Pacific Time).

Susan introduces Jeska Dzwigalski (avatar name Jessica Linden), Director of Communities at Linden Labs. Jessica says recommends telling your boss that IBM saved $320k in Second Life. She recommends also looking at some of the case studies at http://secondlife.com. Some groups in Second Life where you can find help: Virtual Ability (http://virtualability.org/) helps people with disabilities and Wiki Tecture helps people work on their 3D spaces.

The NetSquared Conference is a program of TechSoup, which also offers discounted technology to nonprofits through their TechSoup Stock program. TechSoup Stock is actively working to get more software partners to offer discounted products to health-related nonprofits.

Written by: penguin kuhn

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Live blogging and tweeting from the Health Panel Expo event May 27th


Yesterday’s Nonprofit Commons Health Panel Expo innovative online event in Second Life brought together panelists from health-related organizations, including experts in the disability, HIV/AIDS, mental health and cancer communities. Panelists came together to showcase recent developments in health care research, and to connect efforts in fighting disease and creating a cooperative and supportive environment for patients and their providers. This event marked the grand opening of the Health Commons island in Second Life, the fourth Nonprofit Commons location, that focused on health-oriented organizations.

We had a terrific line-up of panelists for yesterday’s event and a number of volunteers who live-blogged the action by taking summarizing notes into the Second Life text chat, as well as tweeting the action, and blogging the experience.

You can follow the tweets from the event here.

Check out blog entries and pictures about the event and stay tuned for video coverage to follow!

You can also check out the archived panel presentations as we post them:

Health Panel Expo Panels
All times are in Second Life or Pacific Standard Time

9 am Virtual Support for Mental Health Issues Panel
10 am HIV/AIDS Awareness Panel
11am Faster Cures
11:15 am Mobile/Phone Health Information Panel Mixed Reality Event
12:15pm TechSoup Stock Donated HIPPA solutions
1 pm Physical Activity/Dietary Habits/Healthy Lifestyles Panel
2 pm Disability Panel
3pm Cancer panel

Written by: penguin kuhn

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The Health Panel Expo – May 27 in Second Life & in the Real World

The Health Panel Expo planning is coming together and the event is right around the corner! Here are the details!

Click here to view a complete agenda of the days events.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO—May 26, 2009—The Nonprofit Commons, a project of TechSoup Global (TSG), today announced an all-day, innovative online event in Second Life to showcase recent developments in health care research, and to connect efforts in fighting disease and creating a cooperative and supportive environment for patients and their providers. The Health Panel Expo, an international online conference sponsored by FasterCures.org, will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST (also called Second Life Time, SLT) in the virtual world of Second Life and simultaneously in the real world, being broadcast live at the fourth annual NetSquared Conference at Cisco in San Jose, CA.,The Second Life online event is free to attend and open to all interested participants. It will be accessible through Second Life, and the full agenda is listed on the NPSL wiki.

The Health Panel Expo panelists will include speakers from Aids.gov and Community Voicemail discussing mobile health initiatives; Virtual Ability, Inc., a nonprofit that brings people with disabilities and chronic health conditions into virtual worlds; and Susan Tenby, Online Community Director for TSG and the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life. Other panelists include experts from the disability, recovery services, nutrition, cancer, and AIDS communities.

The Health Panel Expo marks the official launch of the Health Commons in Second Life. As part of TSG’s Nonprofit Commons project, Health Commons seeks to bring together real-world health-related nonprofits, academics, educators, thought-leaders, foundations, and volunteer-supporters to showcase recent developments in health care.

The Health Panel Expo: Event Details

  • The Health Panel Expo is a day-long event with several hour-long expert panels in the virtual world of Second Life at Health Commons AMO island.
  • The Mobile Health Initiatives panel is a mixed-reality session on Wednesday, May 27, from 11:15 am-12:15 pm PST (SLT). The live portion will take place in the real-world of San Jose, California as part of the NetSquared Conference, and simultaneously within the virtual world of Second Life. The panel will also feature interactivity between the two worlds.
  • Panels and tours of Nonprofit Commons’ four virtual locations will take place throughout the day. The complete agenda can be found here.
  • The event will be recorded via live video and audio and will be archived on the NonprofitCommons.org Web site.
  • Watch the live web stream from 11:15 AM-12:15 PM.
  • Twitter hashtag of the event: #npslexpo.
  • Twitter account for Nonprofit Commons in Second Life is @npsl.

Written by: Beth J. Bates

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Free Second Life Script Collection

You don’t want to pay for a Visitor Tracker, Chat logger, Power Point Presentation, a video screen, or whatever tool that makes your stay in Second Life more pleasurable?

Or you simply want to learn the Linden Scripting Language? With the free Second Life Script Collection you can have it all. You can make your own SL Welcome Mat, or take apart the scripts, see how they work and learn from it.

Over 150 free SL scripts have already been uploaded for fast retrieval at the NPC http://www.freeSLscripts.com
Share your free scripts too and watch the collection grow.

Have fun,
Adalace

PS: for newcomers, please see the npc toolkit page at
http://npc-toolkits.wikispaces.com/

Written by: Adalace

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Just one month until the first RezEd Conference on Learning and Virtual Worlds!


Are you an educator using virtual worlds for learning? Interested in gaining inspiration for your work, showing off your program, learning practical tips, and connecting with your peers within this emerging field of practice?

If so, then the first RezEd conference on Learning and Virtual Worlds is for you!

The conference will run from June 10th – 12th in partnership with the renowned Games, Learning and Society Conference at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

As an official “working group” of GLS, RezEd conference attendees will participate in RezEd-only sessions and gatherings while gaining full access to the always remarkable GLS agenda.

RezEd is an online social network of over 2,000 educators using virtual worlds for learning across a variety of worlds and learning institutions. The mini-conference will feature intimate, interactive sessions with luminaries like Robin Harper, James Paul Gee, Peggy Sheehy and others. There will be many opportunities for small group discussions, networking, and sharing of best practices.

Register for the RezEd.org Mini-conference for just an additional $50 (or $345 if new to both). Space is limited so join us today!

And be sure and indicate that you are going in the RezEd event calendar listing!
________________________________________

Tentative RezEd Conference Schedule (subject to change):

June 10
(*Note that the GLS conference does not begin until the afternoon of June 10)

9-10: Breakfast/Registration/Opening
10-11: Keynote with Robin Harper, former VP at Linden Lab and current consulting for Metaplace
11-12:30: “What’s Wrong with This Picture? Key Challenges in Learning and Virtual Worlds” with Peggy Sheehy, Kelly Czarnecki, Lane Lawley, and Amira Fouad
1-2: Birds of a Feather lunchtime conversations

June 11
11-12:30: “Education across Virtual Worlds: A Case Study,” A conversation with Audrey Aranowsky of the Chicago Field Museum
1-2: Birds of a Feather lunchtime conversations

June 12
1-2: Lunch session with James Paul Gee
2-3: Closing session (tba)

Other RezEd tagged sessions at GLS
These are other sessions going on during GLS that we think are particularly relevant to RezEd members.

June 10
3:30pm: “Teaching Economics and Anthropology in a Virtual World: A Cross-Cultural Comparison”

June 11
2pm: “Online Game Fan Communities as Affinity Spaces for Diverse Learners” 3:30pm: “From Game Mods to Math Models: Using Garry’s Mod for Math, Physics, and Programming Problem-Solving” with mother and son Elizabeth and Lane Lawley

June 12
11am: “Ramapo Islands in Teen Second Life: One Educator’s Journey” with Peggy Sheehy

About RezEd
RezEd.org was developed by Global Kids, an independent educational nonprofit organization that educates and inspires urban youth to become successful students, community leaders, and global citizens. It launched after being selected through the HASTAC competition and builds on prior work in virtual worlds made possible through support from the MacArthur Foundation.
RezEd is a community of practice that brings attention to the myriad ways virtual worlds are being used for learning in various settings. It covers both commercial and educational virtual worlds through news updates; multimedia resources; a podcast series with youth, theorists, world builders, practitioners and experts in the field; a curated best practice report series, various digital media resources, guest-moderated discussions, and more. In addition, knowledge is generated and shared as members contribute photos and videos, facilitate special interest groups, and manage personal blogs. In 2009, RezEd began a regular seasonal meet-up in virtual worlds and, at GLS, the first in person conference.

Be sure to tag any messages or media about the event with #rezedconf!

Written by: Beth J. Bates

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Join Jonathan Fanton and Cory Ondrejka on MacArthur Island on Monday May 18

mac_island.gif
We are excited to announce that on Monday May 18, the MacArthur Foundation will be officially launching MacArthur Island in Second Life with a public forum featuring Foundation President Jonathan Fanton and co-creator of Second Life, Cory Ondrejka. Ondrejka and Fanton will be discussing the future of virtual worlds and philanthropy, and then taking questions from the virtual audience. An informal reception will follow.

All at the Foundations sim (click here to teleport.)

MacArthur Island in Virtual World to Open with Public Forum on May 18

On May 18, to mark the launch of MacArthur Island in the virtual world of Second Life, the Foundation will host an event featuring the avatars and live voices of Foundation President Jonathan Fanton and co-creator of Second Life, Cory Ondrejka. The discussion between Ondrejka and Fanton will consider the future of virtual worlds and philanthropy. This public forum also will be broadcast as a webcast to standard internet browsers.

For those with avatars, a visit to MacArthur Island will offer a way to understand MacArthur’s grantees and work, via interactive 3D exhibits on issues ranging from biodiversity to human rights and education. The island is also open to other foundations and nonprofits for events and activities in the public interest.

The investigation into virtual worlds and philanthropy is led by Global Kids and the Network Culture Project at the University of Southern California, with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

For more information:
Details on the webcast, the event, how to attend the event as an avatar, and how to visit the Island are available on MacArthur’s Spotlight blog.

To learn more about MacArthur’s digital media and learning initiative, visit our website.

Written by: rikomatic

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Mixed Reality Takeaways from TechSoup Global Donor Day

TechSoup Global Donor Day

  1. Have one printed page with all access URLs, SLURLs and contact data shared across all places 24 hours ahead and make this available on all public channels.
  2. Prepare canned messages for hosting online chat, Second Life chat, Twitter and group notice posts shared with all organizers.
  3. Include all #hashtag keywords and @npsl information in every post for easier tracking throughout events.
  4. Make sure all hosts are confirmed, prepared ahead of time and assigned to specific tasks: chat moderators (+1 per channel), streaming coordinator, event producer, additional video/sound/tech assists, teleport & RL space services, PR/Outreach/Twitterer, live blogger, photographer, machininatographer.
  5. Get the word out two weeks prior, 2 days prior and the day of the event using all organizational channels, event listings and public calendars.
  6. Clear all bandwidth, firewall and streaming capacity needs on site at least 24 hours prior to event and test all streaming media before broadcast.
  7. Make sure your production team has contact info and a steady backchannel (we use Skype) to communicate across rooms/worlds during the event.
  8. Assume that all participants will not have enough bandwidth to run multiple programs and make all information available in every space.
  9. Reach out to associated groups the week before your event if not before: use SL groups, LinkedIn, Facebook groups and professional associations to help draw interest.
  10. Give your production team plenty of time to get settled in their new skins and give all hosts plenty of attention/technical time and care prior to broadcast.

Written by: Beth J. Bates

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Congratulations for Virtual Ability – Co-Winner of Inaugural Linden Prize!!


Big congratulations are in order for Virtual Ability, winner of the Linden Prize.

We are honored to have them a part of the Nonprofit Commons and are thrilled that they are getting recognition for the amazing work they are doing for people with disabilities.

Teleport to Virtual Ability in NPC

From the press release:
Virtual Ability – Offering a series of courses and resources to help people with real-world disabilities get acclimated and start using Second Life, Virtual Ability helps realize the documented medical and psychological benefits offered by virtual environments. The organization has developed a unique orientation process that assesses individual skills, provides customized training and makes recommendations for assistive hardware as needed. Once users are comfortable in the virtual world, Virtual Ability offers a series of daily field trips, including everything from mountain climbs, skydiving, fishing, dancing, and countless other activities that are difficult or impossible in the real world.

Written by: Beth J. Bates