The Virtual Ability community endorses active learning. To support learning, a varied set of presentations are offered within Second Life® in the accessible cabanas and auditorium on Virtual Ability Island as well as in several other venues. Some presentations are lectures with question-and-answer sessions, some are discussion groups or panels, and some are classes or short activity sessions. Most are one-time events, although some are ongoing.

iSkye Silverweb is the community scheduler for VAI. She is Deaf and enjoys mentoring new residents as well as encouraging those with disabilities to discover, develop and, most of all, share their knowledge and skills, thus enabling themselves and others to be exposed to new experiences and information.

Virtual Ability sponsors at least one community activity each day within Second Life. Our calendar of events includes lectures, classes, and discussions, as well as entertainment, including themed events, art gallery openings, and dance parties.

Virtual Ability community members present at numerous conferences, both in virtual worlds and in the geographic world. We’ve presented at venues such as the Community Convention in Boston, the Second Life Birthday celebration, ISTE (International Society of Technology Educators), and Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education. Virtual Ability was featured at the Health Information Technology Scholars program at the University of Colorado, College of Nursing.

Virtual Ability community members also present to classes on topics ranging from Universal Design, to assistive technology, to health-related communication in virtual worlds, to artists with disabilities. Our community members participate in focus groups for student nurses and other university classes, where the students question us about many aspects of life for persons with disabilities.

Some Virtual Ability community members have published professional papers, and there’s an awesome video about our AVESS project on YouTube. To find out more about these presentations and publications, please see our Links page.

VAI’s presenters intend to educate others about disability issues, while putting a human face on those issues.