Denver Comic Con ran from May 23rd – 25th and was the expected mixture of comics, computer games, science fiction, fantasy and more. The more part had what was to me, a surprising part to it as it included Virtual Ability Inc. a non-profit organisation who have a presence in both Second Life and Inworldz. Virtual Ability build community support for people with a wide range of disabilities in virtual worlds.

That they were part of Denver Comic Con initially seemed odd, but then I noticed that Denver Comic Con also has links with Pop Culture Classroom, whose mission statement is :

Pop Culture Classroom ignites a love of learning, increases literacy, celebrates diversity and builds community through the tools of popular culture and the power of self-expression.

If you’re still scratching your head, then a blog post may help you : Live from DCC’15: Virtual Ability Helps People in the Real World :

It’s not just about comics at Denver Comic Con. Denver’s fandom is unique in supporting the efforts of education, through our associated nonprofit, Pop Culture Classroom, as well our new and unique gaming and development area, the E.D.G.E.

The post is worth a read in full because it exemplifies a lot of the good work Virtual Ability do in Virtual Worlds,  th author of the post spoke to Alice Krueger, the President and founder of Virtual Ability and Alice made some very positive and interesting comments on virtual worlds, particularly with regards to Second Life :

We provide education and entertainment to our community members and do outreach to the general population in Second Life. Most people don’t realize that in virtual environments, one out of every five persons has some kind of disability and that’s a higher percentage than in the general population outside the virtual world.

There are many good uses of Virtual Worlds of course, but the way they can aid people with disabilities is a very important use case.

Sometimes these use cases are understated and under reported. The blog post explains a good example of Virtual Ability’s work in Virtual Worlds :

The technology has dramatic real-world applications. Virtual Ability Inc. recently held a focus group for a large group of nursing students who were partnered in a virtual world with parents of autistic children. By using the virtual world to simulate a medical setting, these parents were better able to explain the unique challenges of treating autistic children in a clinic setting and make the nurses better prepared to offer treatment and compassion to autistic children when they have to have complicated procedures like an MRI or a blood test.

It’s all too easy for people to write Virtual Worlds off as boring, a glorified chat room, only for people who want to engage in adult activities, but there are many good use cases of Virtual Worlds that deserve a broader audience and Virtual Ability’s work is definitely something that should be showcased.

Therefore I’m extremely pleased to see the likes of Denver Comic Con and Pop Culture Classroom becoming avenues for the promotion of such work. Long may it continue.

Virtual Ability

Virtual Ability is a place where people with disabilities and chronic illnesses can safely learn about virtual worlds. Winner of the Linden Prize!

Visit in Second Life

SLURL To Virtual Ability : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/170/100/23/

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