Virtual World Avatars Feed Children in Kenya

Feed A Smile stage at Lavender Field in Second Life

A German woman who declares herself “computer challenged”  is now raising money to feed children in Kenya via live music concerts in Second Life. Musicians play for free and donate their tips to the cause. Second Life residents who attend the concerts also provide additional donations.  A 100 Linden donation (the Second Life currency, equivalent to about 30 cents U.S. currency) provides a warm lunch for a child. The organization, Live and Learn in Kenya (LLK), has been using Second Life as a fundraising venue for their “Feed a Smile” program since 2010.

This inspiring 5 minute video illustrates some cool concepts:

The Newest Technology is Always the One that Will Ruin the World

I don’t typically do just a photo post, but this one was so perfect I couldn’t resist.

The newest technology is always the one that will ruin the world.        Image from Transcendent Man

2013 Blog Review — Courtesy of the Helper Monkeys

I am, at best, a sporadic blogger, violating all the rules of those “how to” blogging posts that tell you to post frequently and consistently. So it’s always interesting to me to see what I have managed to produce in a year, and it’s fascinating to note that some older posts keep popping up.

The Liebster Award

I just learned that this blog has received the Liebster Award– Thanks to thrutheseeyes1 for nominating me. Her blog, The Direction Not the Destination is a wonderful blend of her personal and professional reflections on life and her work as a social worker–I recommend that you check it out!

Of course, the first thing I did upon being notified of this award was to Google “Liebster Award.” I discovered that the main purpose of the award is to discover and recognize new blogs. A wonderful summary of the award and it’s iterations can be found in this comprehensive post by Lorraine Reguly.

Here are the rules to the Liebster Award:

• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.
• Answer the 10 questions from the nominator
• Nominate 10 blogs and create 10 questions for your nominees.

My task now is to answer the 10 questions put to me in the nomination, nominate 10 blogs for this award, and then ask the 10 questions I would like to have my nominees answer if they accept the award.

Toddlers May Learn More From Touch Screens Than Educational TV

I came across this story last month and it seemed appropriate to highlight here. It’s really not that surprising a finding, because watching TV is essential a passive activity and interacting with an electronic touch screen device is active. But for some reason, many of us tend to throw all “screen” related activities in the same mental bucket, so a study like this reminds us that screens can involve very different activities.

Intervention with SMS: What’s Next?

Transcending Parkinson’s in a Virtual World

This video provides a glimpse into what virtual worlds might have to offer through describing the Creations for Parkinson’s project in Second Life, known there as Creations Park. The video touches on a topic I’ve blogged about before, the impact of virtual experience on our physical lives. But just as important, it conveys the sense of freedom that a virtual world can offer someone facing physical challenges or social isolation.

A Magazine is an iPad that Doesn’t Work

This short video illustrates a cute variation of the paradigm confusion that I mentioned in my post Are You Experiencing Paradigm Confusion? For those of you who do workshops or teach on technology or the impact of technology, it would be fun to add it to your content.

Are You Experiencing Paradigm Confusion?

A scene I stumbled upon in a Pennsylvania Information Center, Summer 2013.

I took this photo in a Pennsylvania Information Center this summer. It gave me a chuckle, because it seemed like a great indicator that our relationship to screens is undergoing a change, but that we’re not fully there yet. Touch screens started out as a feature of smartphones, then were incorporated into tablets–now they are starting to be seen as a feature of large screens, at least often enough so that a sign was deemed necessary to stop people from trying to operate the screen through touch.

Families Cope with the Loss of an Online World

I came across an article recently, Coping with the Loss of an Online World, and have been thinking about it since then. I admit to never having heard of this world, but that’s really not surprising, since there are many virtual worlds, probably hundreds (although I couldn’t find a number readily in my Google searching).

What stood out to me in reading this article was that this world, and, no doubt, many others, provided a platform for family members to connect with each other. In a day and age when families are spread out, that’s not a small accomplishment.