Introduction

Melvie update

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 00:34:36 -0400

Melvie did a brief presentation at the Michigan State Speech and Hearing Association conference last week. She complimented ProfJZ on his giant larynx and for some odd reason, the crowd found it funny. Melvie is scheduled to present at the Council on Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders conference April 22. The conference is in California...but Melvie will be presenting from her living room in Ohio.Hope it’s at least a little warm.

Melvie goes shopping for a baby av

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:24:35 -0400

Melvie wanted to have a baby avatar for possible use in simulations for coursework. Well, she learned that “tinies” can only get so small before they start to distort. The picture above is Melvie after she put on the baby avatar “outfit”. The box in front of her is what she had hoped to look like. It will be a while before she is ready to try that again!

Melvie and zsu to exhibit at sl5b

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:48:27 -0400

Melvie Pawpaw and Zsuzsa Tomsen (Thomas Jefferson University Department of Occupational Therapy) are presenting on Interprofessional Education at the Second Life Fifth Birthday Celebration which begins June 23. The theme for the presentation is a naturalistic setting portraying how occupational therapy and speech language pathology work together with patients, clients, students and families to provide better services. This is the primary focus of the Interdisciplinary Practices Group Melvie manages in Second Life.

ISTE Barbecue

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:20:30 -0400

Melvie turned in a respectable time on her very first bull ride. The ride was intense, and as you can see she lost her shoes (and her feet) during the bone jarring test of endurance. Melvie suffered bruises about her head and neck due to the lack of a sports bra. Other injuries were minimal.

Environmental Accommodations

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:43:32 -0400

Melvie and Erin took part in the new exhibit on environmental accomodations by the Thomas Jefferson University Department of Occupational Therapy. Erin developed a set of educational materials for memory and organization aids. Melvie liked the device on the right...it reminds you with voice when it’s time to take your medicine, go to an appointment, etc. Melvie said she would be purchasing a dozen!

Summer intersession

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 09:38:13 -0400

Dr. Melvie taught summer intersession. Intense, but interesting. We held one full class in Second Life at the Ohio Learning Network Island designed and managed by Fleep Tuque, SL avatar “par excellence”. Really nice setup and lots of useful “freebies” available there. We also had a guest speaker for the class: Nadiya Destiny, an Assistive Technology Specialist, who spoke on Free Literacy Support Tools. Students felt the session was informative and interesting. For more information about Nadiya’s work, see http://agapelearning.net

ps: Melvie had calmed down by the end of class and we were able to pry her away from her filing cabinet.

The Sojourner has passed on

Wed, 28 May 2008 21:13:34 -0400

The Sojourner of Dreams had a passionate commitment to the disability community in Second Life, and to Second Life as a whole. I am awe-struck each time I go to the memorial site for her, as the expressions of caring and gratitude are overwhelming. She has had an incredible impact on many, many lives.

Life has such unusual and fateful twists, and the fact that Melvie would get to know Soj and work with her in the past months has been one of those twists. Melvie very much admired her accomplishments and spirit.

In a presentation Soj gave on May 19, she said of her series of strokes:
“Life continues. It isn’t the life you knew or wanted, but it continues and it forces you to keep moving and growing. With that growth comes a new life with continued growth. Second Life helps with that.”

She wants people to know that.

May we all live lives that matter.

(Please visit the wiki page in her memory,http://tributetothesojourner.wikispaces.com/)

The biome and coral reef

Tue, 13 May 2008 11:29:51 -0400

Dr. Melvie went on a tour with the ISTE group. There were quite a few in attendance. The highlight for Melvie was this trip underwater to visit the Coral Reef at the BIOME area. Melvie felt that the octopus was trying to make a pass at her, because it cuddled up quite closely. She did stumble upon two avatars kissing behind a large piece of coral, and just scurried along sheepishly. Melvie worries that they might put some kind of “additive” in the water that enhances attraction to others. She wonders if she could get some of that water and bring it home... just for scientific purposes, of course.

Ellen Ellenberg

Thu, 1 May 2008 11:00:43 -0400

Dr. Melvie has a new teaching assistant that you might see around the VIP and CSD eLearn areas. She is a nice young woman. ( Melvie worries that her pants are a little too tight, though. Dr. Melvie tries to wear tight pants sometimes, but there have been quite a few laughs. She likes to think people were laughing with her not at her--but wait, she wasn’t laughing!)
Ellen will be helping with some classes and simulations- her resume said she is trained and prepared to be a little girl avatar or a spider monkey, and is willing to become other avatars “as needed”. Melvie is not sure what to do with the spider monkey, as she has noticed it tends to throw feces. Since she already has a peanut throwing sock monkey, another monkey throwing anytihing seems redundant.

Dreams Community Fair

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:07:48 -0400

Dr. Melvie attended and had a booth at the Dreams Community Fair. It was a great event. She reported meeting a lot of people, finding great resources and having a generally good time. A MUST DO FO NEXT YEAR!