The Heart murmur Teleport takes you, or in this case Maggy E, Jennifer M and Carl C, to the Cardiac Auscultation Simulation. The Simulation is housed in a building that contains a foyer area and 3 examining room containing 6 patient sims. The island that contains the sim also has quite a few different areas ranging from a cannabis station? to some type of temple relating to the symbol of second life. We assumed that you attend functions here after the cannabis station. And since we assume you are all shaking your head knowingly, you’re wrong; we did not partake of the evil smelly smokey stuff. We hid in the trees and watched as several avatars did a face plant. (Jennifer and Maggy wanted to though).
Back to the real objective of the trip the sims are kind of interesting if you are wearing headphone or have good speakers. If not you really can’t hear much and it is really wasted. What you do is go up to the sim and zoom in, place your cursor over one of the one of the colored areas over the sims heart and right press. The sounds appear (if sounds can appear, but sounds sounds like sounds kind of stupid. We didn’t smoke anything. Promise) to be actual recordings from patients with the conditions. The conditions include aortic stenosis, ventral septal defect and patent ductus arteriosis. These three are identified and you can auscultate the hearts from 3 or 4 different positions; apex, aorta, ventricle and so on. There are also 2 patients that you can auscultate and ID the condition, healthy of otherwise.
All in all a pretty cool place but a bit hard to use. The quarters are pretty small and can be kind of hard to maneuver in. You need to be in the right position to get a good look at the patients, who by the way have all suffered run ins with steam roller, flat would be an appropriate description. We never got confirmation as to whether or not we guessed right (like there is any question about that. Hah or is that LOL we couldn’t decide). Some of the sounds are hard to get to work in some spots. Also, when you come in you have to take the badge or nothing works and figuring that out could be a bit trying.
Since we know your all in a rush to find it the cannabis thing, it is down the hill from the auscultation building. Look for the familiar leaf shape and a crowd of avatars or would that be avastonars.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Heart Murmur Teleport
Center for Mental Health
The Center for Mental Health is an innovative way to access mental health services and information in this new age.
The Center is run by a Dr. Kerley who offers individual cyberthereapy. What is cybertherapy you ask? Cyberthereapy is the use of technology to provide mental health services. We thought this was an intriquing idea. Many people who need mental health services can face many barriers to assistance and can not get the treatments they need in the real world. SL gives them a virtual opportunity similar to our online learning enviroment that eliminates many of those barriers. Some questions we had included the ability of a patient to really know if they are working with a liscensed practioner, (anyone can hang a virtual sign), and what legal ethical problems might cybertherapy present (HIPPA, pt. doctor confidentiality, ect)
Overall we found the Center to be a peaceful thoughtful plaace that could provide some amazing access for people who need cybertherapy. On the Field Trip was Alice Dodge, Robn Retig, Jung Na Young and Marcus Bouma
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Survivors of TBI Support Group
The purpose of the location is for survivors of TBIs or friends and families of TBIs can get together and communicate. The island also provides games to help stimulate the brain, such as memorization and strategic exercises. Jaime Giampapa, Rochelle Casavant, Sunyoung Kim(sunny), crystal seto
There are also parts of the island that give a visitor the opportunity to donate to help the TBI. So, not only is this a location for learning, but it is also a location for socialization.
When we first arrived, we thought the environment was very inviting and beautiful. There was a waterfall and great landscaping. We really liked the “brain games” that we could play and also the dance club. We were wondering where everyone was so that we could have a dance party, but we were the only ones there! There was also a group that visitors could join that will send notifications of dances and other updates.
Since we were the only ones on the island, we thought that they could promote their group, so they can get their word out. This is the only improvement we identified.
Center for Mental Health
Our goal is to remove barriers to learning how to cope with stress and sadness and to promote a healthy outlook on life.
Dr. Kerley offers individual cybertherapy as part of his RL private practice. Cybertherapy is the use of computer technology to provide mental health services which are qualitatively different than those provided in traditional in-person therapeutic experiences. Dr. Kerley offers individual cybertherapy as part of his RL private practice. Cybertherapy is the use of computer technology to provide mental health services which are qualitatively different than those provided in traditional in-person therapeutic experiences. We liked the welcome ball and the extensive library of information. The atmosphere was warm and inviting.We would modify the discussion board as it was out of service. Our group incluced Stephen Ball, Allison McEachron, Jennifer Jones, & Samantha Crandall. Leave the following text intact.
Virtual Hallucinations
We decided to go and tour the virtual hallucinations site. It shows several things that happen to someone when they have schizophrenia, like words popping out of text, the TV talking to you, posters or written text changing letters and hearing different voices. Our group was Gary Darley, Sonnie Jones, Jessica Ballard and Kalia Norcott.
We decided to go and tour the virtual hallucinations site. It shows several things that happen to someone when they have schizophrenia, like words popping out of text, the TV talking to you, posters or written text changing letters and hearing different voices. We liked the poster that changed from "partnership for recovery" to "partner-shit face-recovery", which is where we took the picture. If you have the volume up during the tour of the site you can actually hear voices that tell you to kill yourself, as if you were a patient. Another case study in the tour showed how a man saw himself die in the mirror every day. We liked the way the site allowed you to see what the patient would experience from their point of view. The site was very good, but it would be a nice addition to explain what is happening on an organic level and what the treatments are for schizophrenia. Our group was Gary Darley, Sonnie Jones, Jessica Ballard and Kalia Norcott.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Field Trip to CDC
Here is our blog of our virtual field trip to the CDC. It was Meg Goodfellow, Rachael Warren, Travis Cox, and me, Molly London.
On February 19th, we met in Second Life at the Centers of Disease Control. While we were there, we looked around and saw a multitude of posters expressing ways that the CDC affects the public. We saw bulletins with information on MMWR (Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report), a publication and it informed the visitor of what it entails. There was also a section for global health with various pictures, and there were some bulletins on promotion of vaccines and booster shots. Included in posters were pictures of people of various ages and ethnicities, participating in a plethora of activities; some receiving care and some promoting wellness. There was a section about preparedness showing HAZMAT teams, firefighters, hand washing and mask-wearing, etc.
We saw the introduction page with Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H, CDC Director, with the mission statement of the CDC. Finally, there was a box that said you could teleport to the second floor, however, it was a big tease because it was a platform that looked about 10X10 feet, but nothing else. I recommend checking it out, there was a decent amount to check out.
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Maternity: Wish Upon a Star
Joseph, Holly, and Tove took a field trip to Maternity: Wish Upon a Star
Joclaim Blackburn, Delores Lockjaw, and Lulula Laville. The purpose of this trip was to visit the maternity clinic and see what the place was all about. We liked the interactive nature of the site. This place was just like Build a Bear at the mall, but you could build your own baby to your own liking. There was areas were you could buy furniture and other baby products. There was also a hospital on the second floor where you could deliver your baby. However, this area was difficult to navigate into and seemed to lack interactive activities, and that is what we did not like.
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