Virtual Ability, Part Two

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

To follow up on my first article about Virtual Ability (link), let me tell you more about what goes on during the week for members and friends of members of the group. Sunday there is a fun party at the Tavern on the Cape Heron region. This is a residential community where many members have rental apartments or land parcels. Stepin (Stepinwolf Darkstone) is DJ and always has great tunes for the party. I attended the Lunar New Year Party and went as a rabbit to open the year of the rabbit! There are other events that take place there too.

Two other residential communities where not only disabled members of the group can rent but others who enjoy the quiet living also can live. This region caters to the deaf and has a Coffee Shop replicating the real-life Deaf Chat Coffee House. Cape Able has rentals but also hosts a Museum featuring the creations of deaf and other disabled artists in Second Life. I have been to several openings held there in the past and stop in to view the art on occasion. There is a resource center with information on American sign language and more.

Cape Serenity, another region with rentals is Cape Serenity which also hosts a library featuring works by disabled authors and a poetry garden outside.

I took a walk through and read some of the lovely thought provoking poetry. At the garden I found a poem by my old friend who passed away a few years ago and was thrilled to see it again. There is still a memorial there for her too. 

 

This is a very active group and offers something to members and friends almost every day of the week. Linn Darkwatch keeps everyone informed of all that is going on every week with a reminder every day. Monday is an exploration day with ღ Andee ღ (Andee Cooper). Her visits take participants to various sites around the grid , new and old. The latest tours are to the Da Vinci .. one of the older venues in second life where spending time is worthwhile. There is so much to see it takes more than one trip to take it all in so she has scheduled several to cover all the sites.

Across the bridge from Cape Heron is the region called VAI Sanctuary. Many activities take place here. Vulcan Viper has his game day here on Tuesdays. All are invited to take part in this activity. I tried to learn Hand and Foot a while back and got the gist of it but need to practice more. Greedy is popular as well as bowling. Wednesday There is a “rant and rave” Campfire gathering just to talk about life in general in sl or real life in fellowship. Members and friends gather just to chat about anything at the fishing hole at Sanctuary. Iskye Silverweb hosts and invites others to take over hosting if they like.

Saturday morning there is a gathering at the Project Done event. Members meet to share something that they have accomplished .This can mean many things. Some come and work on a creation while there and hope to get it done or even wash the dishes in real-life. Some come and clean inventory. I tried that once but I ended up talking so much I got nothing done! That is an early event. Later in the day is another gathering called Show and Tell. This is a fun event where people share anything, like a gift to all attendees. Gentle passed a fun penguin at one meeting. Some share new places to visit and pass a landmark or a notecard about an activity. That evening on Sanctuary there is another Campfire get together just to close out the day hosted by Stepin.

Many more interactions with real world take place at the Virtual Ability Island during the year.

“Virtual Ability, Inc. organizes and hosts two acclaimed international conference series each year.  These conferences bring together noted researchers, entrepreneurs, advocates, and thought leaders from around the world.  They make presentations in a virtual world environment, where all may participate.  Each conference session is followed by interactive participation from the audience – also from around the world.

The International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference is Virtual Ability’s annual conference celebrating disability rights. Held annually in the fall, the conference covers legal, social and cultural aspects of disability rights from around the world.

The Virtual Ability Mental Health Symposium is an annual gathering of mental health professionals and others interested in academic and practical topics pertaining to mental health.

Both conferences are conducted virtually, on Virtual Ability Island within Second Life®.”

I enjoy greeting at both of the conferences and learning so much about what is going on around the world to help those with disabilities have a better life.

This is just a thumb nail of Virtual Ability and second life participation. The website give you more of the resources and extensive information about real-life and SL. Check out the new exhibits at Health Island too. February is heart health month.

https://virtualability.org/

Gemma Cleanslate

Virtual Ability

 

By Gemma Cleanslate 

 I have not written about Gentle Heron and Virtual Ability group for a while and was reminded of that when we were asked to attend a most interesting conference, 2023 Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit. Here the emphasis was on how difficult rural communities have such difficulties accessing digital life, and often real life activities. There are so many gaps in infrastructure, access, affordability and so little recognition by not only state government but also national government.

Gentle(Alice Krueger), a real example of having rural living issues, gave her presentation explaining what people could experience in second life that enhanced their real life and made it more enjoyable regardless of disabilities. There are so many on line communities that assist others. Three others made presentations affirming their real life situations and use of the internet and broadband. Gentle would send you access to the entire Summit is you want it.

I thought I would remind you all that there is such a wonderful group in second life that has so much information that can help one experience second life regardless of disability. Virtual Ability offers people places to learn about how to use second life viewers, to chat, mingle, experience exploring and find groups that might assist one with their individual issues.

Just visiting the region is a pleasure. A great place to start is just outside the Sojourner Auditorium where there is a teleport to many other locations on the regions, Virtual Ability (68/168/23), or enter at the Welcome Center. Here visitors can see a map of the region and find out about the background of the whole project and the mission.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/127/127/23

For newcomers to Second Life the stop at the Orientation Path is easily reached by tp. The path has instructions from moving through camera control, flight training and more to make the people feel comfortable enough to move on.

Talking with Bob the Chatty Monkey (an intelligent bot) who inhabits the orientation path is fun so try it if you walk through the instructions path. Social interacting is also addressed as well as using inventory, map skills and teleporting. They can also pick up some basic free clothing to get started. When I stopped in I even grabbed a free pair of loafers that looked great. When one leaves they are ready to fly into second life activities especially if they visit the advanced tutorials area. In your travels stop by Mentor Park and take a balloon ride to see the whole region from above. It is a very pleasant region to visit. There are other ways to access second life for those visually impaired.

Right next to this region is an associated region called Health Island. This is such a boon for any people needing or just interested in any health issues physical or mental.
1. Welcome Center (Current)
2. Consumer Health Library
3. Health Exhibits
4. Conference Center
5. Herb Garden
6. Path of Support
7. Health & Wellness Center
8. Healthy Living Displays
9. Research Pavilion
10. Reading Room
11.Tai Chi Center
12. Outdoor Meditation
All these are available and easily reached by teleport at the entrance area.

I love the Path of support. I have taken friends there who are seeking a group that will support them in time of need. There are so many groups to check out and they all have a poster with the name and by right clicking seeing the group information and invitation to join.

As Gentle says about the island “It's a good idea to plan a monthly visit to Healthinfo island to check out at least one of the displays and exhibits. Informative and useful, they change each month. There's lots of variety! January's topics are: about sleep, lefthandedness, potatoes, dry skin, Braille, COVID test results, and how to interact with someone who has chronic pain. I stopped by one on sleep. This is such a basic need that I think we all have issues with at one time or another or chronically.
Start your tour here.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/128/128/24

That is not the end of all that Virtual Ability has to offer and I will be writing more about it. The extent of presence in second life is not just on these two regions. If you are interested in becoming a member of the group you can contact Gentle Heron, Treasure Ballinger, or Eme Capalini. To learn more about Virtual Ability and all it’s resources check the website. https://virtualability.org/

Gemma Cleanslate

Klub Sinau on NonProfit Commons

By Marcel Mosswood

Klub Sinau, A Nonprofit Family Learning Center In RL Come to The SecondLife Through The Nonprofit Commons (NPC)

I'm so thankful for the Nonprofit Commons in SecondLife for the parcel so I can build a virtual office for my nonprofit family learning center in the real-world, Klub Sinau, among the other nonprofit organizations. With this virtual office, I hope what we are striving for at the Klub Sinau will be known internationally.

Klub Sinau ("Klub" has a similar meaning with “club” in English, Sinau is Javanese means learning) is an institution founded by four homeschooling families in Sidoarjo, a small town on the island of Java - Indonesia in 2007. Starting from a desire to mutually help our children's learning process, in the following years, Klub Sinau has developed into a national institution, and now it has become an institution that serves as an information center about homeschooling for anyone who wants to implement homeschooling in Indonesia.

So, this virtual office will contain information about Klub Sinau activities, learning materials, and parenting ideas which can be read for free. If you want to know about the implementation of homeschooling in Indonesia and get the benefits, please visit Klub Sinau virtual office at Nonprofit Commons: LM : Aloft Nonprofit Commons (125/69/23)

From the beginning I’ve joined SecondLife I knew about NPC, but because I live in Indonesia, which has a timezone difference of 14 hours from SLT, I often can't attend the meetings. Several times I visited the two NPC sims and saw various nonprofit organizations there, I wish I could have a virtual office there and be able to collaborate with them or at least listen to their stories in fighting for their ideals, of course, it will be very fun and encouraging for me who often work alone in the Klub Sinau. As you can see, I'm so excited to be a part of Nonprofit Commons in SecondLife right now.

In accordance with the Klub Sinau vision and mission, I represent this virtual office in a very homey house model. Each room represents a section served by the Klub Sinau . When you enter the house, you can see a welcoming room. The first door is access to the office and family room, this office will connect you to the Klub Sinau's admin in the real-world. After that you will enter a room that is quite wide, here you will see a portfolio of the kids in the Klub Sinau who are doing activities together. Then you will find a door leading to the garage, this is a craft room where you can find various craft ideas and photos of the kids' activities working on a craft together. From the first room, if you choose to go up through the stairs, you will find several rooms that represent various academic subjects, arts, and parenting ideas.

I hope this virtual office will become the center of ideas for learning in the family. So that we can help more families to educate their children.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/125/69/23
--

Regards,

Marcel Mosswood  Artist

Second Life's Entry Areas: Learning And Social Islands

By Bixyl Shuftan

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step," goes an ancient proverb. And for Second Life residents, there has been an entry area for most of it's history. Over the years, Linden Lab has made changes to what kind of experiences those entering Second Life for the first time receive, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better.

In the early days, at least when yours truly started out in 2006, there was Orientation Island. While a pleasant grassy area when the lag was low, my initial experience was slow and laggy. Trouble was, only an estimated ten percent of newcomers were bothering to continue past their first day, Hamlet Au saying, "Within sixty minutes of creating an avatar name and entering ... most people become too bored, frustrated, or confused to continue."

By 2010, Orientation Island was retired as the newbie starting area, though remains open to residents wishing to see it. In it's place were Welcome and Discovery Islands, in which the trees and grass were replaced with a white, high-tech, looking place. The reviews on the place I saw were mixed. Hamlet Au compared it to how an Apple store would sell Microsoft PC computers, saying it was an overall improvement, but didn't solve all of the basic problems. From early 2012 to mid 2013 were a couple changes for the worse. Destination Island was a much simpler, more bare bones experience, which gave people a few basic instructions before offering them a choice of portals that threw them at a random location, the one I chose throwing me out for having a new account. The New Resident Experience that was apparently around in Summer 2013 was described as even worse by Uccie Poultry, being dropped into a shopping area with no instructions at all. One could be forgiven for thinking the Lab was basically giving up on ways to find ways of keeping new residents.

In September 2013, I found out about Learning Island. This was the first half of a two-stage process for newcomers, the second half being Social Island, which was open to more experienced residents. Taking a look around learning Island, I found it to be a definite improvement from Destination Island, and an overall one from Orientation Island. Looking around Social Island, I found occasional older residents giving pointers to newcomers, a club area, and a whole islands with nooks and crannies to explore.

Some months ago, Social Island was changed to a more Greco-Roman look. But it wasn't until I created a new alt to test the new starter avatars announced on July 5 that I learned that Learning Island had been changed as well. I don't know how many months ago it was redesigned, but here's a look at it.

 And a new account, Rezzdarnnit, takes his first steps into the virtual world, sword in hand.

 There was a sign nearby explaining how to move around, and a HUD popped up with instructions on where to go next.

 Panning around, I saw the place had been given an overall Greco-Roman look. Of course, a newbie would not be thinking of that, so this was probably done for aesthetics, or to keep bloggers and newsletter writers from making questionable remarks.

Learning Island on the map.

More instructions. Newcomers would learn how to jump over gaps, the HUD giving an encouraging ring when you made it across. If not, there were stairs one could find their way back up.

 The third set of instructions was on how to fly up, and then back down.

Continuing on.

 The fourth set of instructions was about how to pan around to get a better look at things.

This was an area with an aquarium, so there were some fish to zoom in on.

As well as some weasels running about.

 Going through a portal, I ended up in the Courtyard. The fifth lesson was how to talk to others, or in this case the parrot that had also been used in the days of Orientation Island.

Approaching the portal, I was told this was the way to Social Island for continued instructions, but once through I could never return.

Comparing this to the Learning Island a few years ago, the big difference to me was no instructions on how to adjust your avatar. But as people were now using mesh and Bento, new residents wouldn't need to know that with avatars like those. And as I would mention in an article about the Bento avatars, there were no instructions on how to take off and remove objects on your avatar, as people just don't walk up to one another, sword drawn.

And Rezzdarnnit's first look at Social Island.

 There was a video screen nearby, that when clicked had Magellan Linden welcoming the new resident to Second Life.

Among the first things mentioned was the people, "some may look strange. Others may actually *be* strange." The second remark was most likely a muted warning about the griefers that have been noted to hang around places to harass newbies.

 It was then down the steps to a central area.

 It was there that the player would start to learn about Linden dollars.

 But for now, they would have to make do with "Tutorial Dollars," which were displayed in a new part of the HUD. People got more by completing certain actions.

 Nearby were some basic rules to follow when going about Second Life.

And there were some details such as this little birdie.

There was a room about building things in Second Life, "Not only is building ... possible, it is encouraged!" It would go on to explain things like prims and how to move them, and mesh.

 One display was a demonstration of textures, another one, not shown, was about how to move them around.

This display was about how scripts work, this one being for a light bulb that went on and off when touched.

 Another section was introducing new residents to shopping, the video showing Magellan getting out of his hardsuit and wearing something else.

Tutorial dollars are used to guy the handful of products here, hairpieces, shirts, pants, and shoes.

I got the angel a new shirt and hairpiece. I figured this is where some newbies would learn how to ditch the sword. There was a changing room one could click on to be ported to.

 Another area was the "camera challenge," where there was a game to help people practice their camming skills.

 There was a reminder on how to do so. The build in the middle of the circle had seven red spots you had to press to get the 50 Tutorial dollar reward. The three fastest times were on display.

And camming arount, there was much detail to see around the place.

I noticed a gathering, and among the newcomers was an experienced resident. I greeted him hello, and he gave me a landmark to a freebie store. I saw a couple others, and chatted with one, a Spanish-speaking resident, but she only wanted to talk for a few minutes.

Going down to the lower level.

Like the old Social Island, there's a club here.

 There were instructions on how to get a music stream going. Note the naked guy sitting down, which would probably make a newbie think of Magellan's warning, "some of the people actually *are* strange."

I never could get the danceball to work by clicking on it. But there was no one to dance with, though.

One newbie hasn't bothered to change his look yet.

Another activity I saw was the boat ride.

 There were a few, flat, images, of hammerhead sharks swimming around. Falling or wadding too deep into the water would get you tossed out onto shore, with a remark telling the player the sharks aren't to be fed for several hours.

The player was instructed to get in the boat, and sail through the rings in the cave and head back to get the tutorial Linden dollar reward.

 The last activity was the maze.

 One was reminded you could always pan up for an overhead look to figure your way out faster.

Getting the prize in the middle got you the tutorial dollar reward. You still had to find your way out, though.

 The video before the last area, the portal circle, was Magellan instructing

There were nine portals to chose from, marked as: Art, Roleplay, Popular Places, Portal Park, Newcomer Friendly, Gaming Island, Editor's Picks, Music, and Adults Only.

I decided to try "Newcomer friendly" first.

By chance, it led me to what looked like a community gateway at Lazy Adams, in Great Staughton. The description of the place was of a community and social hangout, and there were a number of games, and people around. I never did talk to anyone, but this looked like a promising start to a newcomer.

After trying the "Art" portal, and ending up at the Vordun Gallery, I then decided to give Portal Park a try.

Newcomers might be inclined to give "The Cornfield" a try, so I gave it a whirl.

After getting about a hundred cornbucks, and a souvenir t-shirt, I was ready to call it here. I've seen enough of what happens when noobs try to flirt with girls whom are regular residents, "You need to up your game, Mister," so I can only conclude those heading straight to the Adults Only areas would likely be disappointed. But my impression of the new Learning and Social Islands was this was an overall improvement from their predecessors. Will it encourage more newcomers to stay? Combined with the community gateways, it just might.

Bixyl Shuftan