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| Wharf Ratz: Joplin Fundraiser |
Ok, let's continue... With so much happening in real life, I missed the weekly networking event at Wharf Ratz hosted by Preferred Family Healthcare (PFH) in Second Life. The community gathering is always a lot of fun, relaxing and a great place to network! I am truly amazed at how the in-world team has developed PFH's virtual-based substance abuse counseling program. I might add… It is a very successful and funded program. That simple fact is very encouraging. Kudos to PFH and other innovative organizations that are working, collaborating and connecting in Second Life and OpenSim. So it is always good to gather with friends to share information, successes, ideas, and of course the dance floor. This is a social networking event.
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| Science Friday in Second Life |
Learning about existing virtual-based programs and projects definitely enriches my virtual world experience. It is my hope that more organizations will see the benefits of using virtual world with the raising travel expenses, multiple office locations, and the desire for global partnerships. Virtually, there is so much to see... so much to learn… and so many people to meet.
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| STD/STI Lab at CherNetiva |
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| R2V/V2R Workshops |
Although I promised to keep you updated on my virtual world activities on a more regular basis in 2012, real life (RL) may bring brief pauses in my writings. This past week was a perfect example of such a pause. So much has been happening in real life; my writer and RL person (Sally Cherry) did not have an opportunity to record my activities until now. Believe it or not, she monitors two calendars… the “Real Life” calendar for events that she can physically attend and the “virtual living” calendar for events that she can only attend via my in-world presence. With events and activities in real life and virtual worlds, life does get quite busy but never boring.
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| SF Online TechSoup Meetup |
The Real Life calendar included... meetup networking, "Real to Virtual; Virtual to Real” Workshops planning, Dtech networking, Greater Baltimore HIV Health Services Planning Council meeting, and networking… Yes, Sally enjoys meeting people and networking. Go figure, I am the one who was nicknamed “The Networking Diva”. Speaking of me, let’s see what my calendar looks like… Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable (VWER) meeting, building, Nonprofits in Second Life (NPSL) meetings, Common Ground networking events, Hypergrid Adventurers' Club (HGAC), Hypergrid landmarks, and preparing for R2V/V2R workshop. It has been an exciting venture for this little avatar. The upcoming “Capacity Building through Virtual Worlds” workshop allows me to help people learn about virtual worlds through through mixed reality discussions and in-world travel.
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| VWBPE 2012 is coming! |
Woot, woot! The workshop participants and I will be attending the Virtual World - Best Practices in Education 5th Annual Conference (VWBPE 2012) hosted by the education community of Second Life, OpenSim, and other virtual worlds. The conference has been designed to promote the best and brightest from the Virtual World's education community. It is my understanding that over 2000 individuals (attendees and speakers) from ninety-one (91) countries and territories attended last year at VWBPE 2011
. So excited...
VWBPE 2012 will be a highlight for all of us.
Virtually yours,
SarVana
Happy New Year to my virtual and real life friends
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| SarVana relaxing in Second Life |
Greetings, First I must clarify a couple of things... I am an avatar with two last names, "Haalan" and "Cherry". While in Second Life, I travel as SarVana Haalan and in OpenSim (JokaydiaGRID, OSGrid, etc) I travel as Sarvana Cherry. Sometimes you will find Haalan in JokaydiaGRID doing quality control duty as "Inspector 12" or working on other projects. Regardless of my landing site, my virtual-based friends and colleagues just called me SarVana or "Sar". Second point of clarification... the real life writer, Sally Cherry relies on Sarvana Cherry and myself (SarVana Haalan) to help her explore and work virtually. In return, we rely on Sally to verbalize our words and "push the buttons" for a rewarding virtual experience (and project). You must believe me when I say that this little avatar SarVana Haalan virtually known as "The Networking Diva" has her own personality.
Many apologies for my writing absence in 2011 but virtual explorations and real life can really keep an avatar busy. No problem, we will bring you up to date. You are invited to freely browse my Flickr photo album where you will find many photos taken over the past years. News flash.. I will sharing more information and photos about my Second Life and OpenSim explorations and projects this year. So much is happening in the virtual world communities and I am just too thrilled Not to write about it. So be sure to bookmark this blog, SarVana's Virtual Journal and teleport with us into the amazing world of virtual research, education, business, health, and much more.
If you are a virtual resident, feel free to IM SarVana in-world or follow SarVana on Twitter. If you are not a virtual resident already, you can get started in Second Life here, and in OpenSim here.
Virtual Traveler's Notes:
When you teleport into SecondLife or OpenSim, please feel free to join us at:
That's it for now. So, have a nice day and we hope to see you in-world.
SarVana Haalan
