{"id":5233,"date":"2015-07-27T19:43:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T18:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sl.governormarley.com\/?p=5233"},"modified":"2015-07-27T19:43:45","modified_gmt":"2015-07-27T18:43:45","slug":"dr-sandra-winkler-talks-of-the-benefits-of-second-life-at-amputee-coalition-national-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sl.governormarley.com\/?p=5233","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Sandra Winkler Talks Of The Benefits Of Second Life At Amputee Coalition National Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sea<\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Amputee Coalition<\/a> National Conference took place between July 22nd – 25th in Tuscon Arizona and one of the presentations involved a discussion about support and education in Second Life, with Dr. Sandra Winkler of\u00a0Nova Southeastern University in Florida leading the presentation :<\/p>\n

Virtual Support and Education Through\u00a0Second Life<\/strong> –\u00a0Sandra Winkler, PhD, OTR\/L; Jim Mercier;Eme Capalini<\/em><\/p>\n

Tucson C<\/em><\/p>\n

This presentation will:<\/em><\/p>\n

(1) Demonstrate\u00a0a virtual world environment that\u00a0provides amputees with evidence based\u00a0knowledge about amputation\u00a0and prosthetics \u2013 including a virtual\u00a0prosthetics museum.<\/em><\/p>\n

(2) Launch the collaboration of this\u00a0project with the Amputee Coalition.\u00a0Participants will experience how\u00a0daily activities, such as exercising and\u00a0conditioning, can be learned as an avatar\u00a0in a virtual world. Amputee presenters will\u00a0discuss the potential of this virtual world\u00a0for distant \u2013 even international \u2013 peer\u00a0visitation, education, and socialization\u00a0and\u00a0support activities.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unfortunately I do not have a full transcript of the presentation.<\/p>\n

\"Presentation\"<\/a><\/p>\n

However a report on Healio by Shawn M Carter<\/a> does have some quotes from Dr. Sandra Winkler :<\/p>\n

This tool could strengthen awareness and self-management of a user\u2019s specific disability, Sandra Winkler, PhD, OTR\/L, lead researcher of the project, said during a presentation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe trend in health care is managing your own care, rather than relying on a provider to tell you what to do,\u201d she said. \u201cManaging your own care provides access to knowledge \u2026 then you can start problem-solving what is best for you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Recreational activities are easiest to understand when engaging in the activity, according to Winkler, who believes this program provides that opportunity.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dr. Sandra Winkler’s work can be further investigated on the Virtual Health Adventures website<\/a>, or, if you prefer, you can visit Virtual Health Adventures in Second Life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"RL<\/a><\/p>\n

Inworld you will find information boards, which include a presentation in a seated area outside the main building. There we can see information such as 20% of Second Life residents identifying as having a disability, which is higher than the 15% who identify as having a disability in the real world.<\/p>\n

We also see what some of the challenges are for disabilities in a virtual world, the most glaring being if people have trouble using a mouse and keyboard. Moving forward, as more devices develop that allow people to control avatars in virtual worlds, some of these barriers will be broken down.<\/p>\n

However it’s also clear that virtual worlds already allow opportunities for amputees to engage in activities in a virtual world that would be a struggle outside the virtual world.<\/p>\n

\"Virtual<\/a><\/p>\n

Virtual Health Adventures work with other organisations in the virtual world, including Virtual Ability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sandra Winkler’s name may sound familiar to some readers, that might well be because Dr. Winkler’s research was featured on episode 22 of The Drax Files : World Makers<\/a>. I’ll embed that here too, it’s around five minutes long and well worth a viewing.<\/p>\n