For Immediate Release, August 28, 2009:  New Podcast featuring an interview with Jena Ball (Jenaia Morane) and AIDS.gov about the work being done on Karuana.  Listen here:

http://aids.gov/podcast/stories_second_life/stories_second_life_podcast_play.html

For Immediate Release, June 1, 2009:  The first in an ongoing series of "Healing Quests" will be held at Karuna, the Second Life sim devoted to preserving the stories of those dealing with HIV/AIDS starting June 4 and running until the end of the month.
 

HOW IT WORKS

When: The Quest will begin on Thursday, June 4th. and continue throughout the month of June.  On Thursday of each week, participants can visit either Storybook or Karuna, view a video related to HIV/AIDS testing (important because info in the video relates to the Quest) and receive instructions and  a new clue.

Where: The Quest will take participants to a variety of sims to collect and use information in their stories and/or poems.

What: Entries can be either narratives, poems, or a combination of both, but they must contain all the elements required in the clues.

Results: When participants have completed all four sections of the Quest, they can submit them to the submission Express Mail boxes on either island to be considered for one of three prizes.

Awards: Entries will also be displayed on Karuna along the Path of Healing and in Storybook Island's Poetry Gallery and Garden.

Prizes:
$3,000 Lindens for First
$2,000 Lindens for Second
$1,000 Lindends for Third

For more information, contact Jenaia Morane inworld or at Jenaia@karunahiv.com

Alliance Library System is pleased to announce and to welcome new leaders on Karuna, the National Library of Medicine contract for AIDS outreach and information in Second Life.  Jena Ball (Jenaia Morane in sl) has been named Project Coordinator and Robin Ashford (Robin Mochi in sl) has been named Consumer Health Librarian.
 
Jena Ball is a writer, editor, and educator with an avid interest in how virtual reality is shaping how we see and interact with one another.  The founder of The Nature of Writing (www.thenatureofwriting) - a firm specializing in creating custom content for educational purposes (textbooks, online classes, Web sites) - she has penned everything from marketing collateral and syndicated columns to features for national publications.  With more than 25 years teaching experience,  she has worked with ESL students in Japan, junior and senior high school, junior college, and adult ed students. Jena's most recent projects include:

a) Creating customized writing courses for academically challenged teens in Colorado
b) Founding the Viirtual Worlds Story Project (www.tvwsp.com) and with it Storybook Island
c) Overseeing the Garden of Experience at Karuna, the HIV/AIDS sim in Second Life
d) Hosting and running Story and Poetry Quests in Second Life
e) Blogging about the ongoing  adventures of her intrepid little avatar in Days of Our Second Lives: www.daysofoursecondlives.com.
 
For more information about Jena and her work, please visit:
 
1. Storybook Island (home of The Virtual Worlds Story Project)
2. The Virtual Worlds Story Project: www.tvwsp.com
3. Karuna: http://www.karunasl.info/Information/
4.  BLOG: Days of Our Second Lives:  www.daysofoursecondlives.com
5. The Nature of Writing: www.thenatureofwriting.com 
 
Robin Ashford, MSLIS, Reference & Distance Services Librarian, George Fox University (GFU), Portland, Oregon. Robin works primarily with graduate and doctoral students at the Portland Center Library of GFU. Her undergraduate major was in organizational management. She earned her library and information science degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her library experience includes reference service, library instruction, collection management, and administration. Robin volunteered on the Second Life (SL) reference desk of Information Island International for approximately one year and has developed a skydeck for her university community which includes her library office and resources. She connects, shares and collaborates with librarians/educators in SL from around the globe. She recently taught her first credit-bearing course in SL as an adjunct instructor for her university's School of Education. A strong interest in emerging technologies has led Robin to experiment and participate in multi-user virtual worlds, video production and screencasts, social media, augmented reality, spimes and more. Robin Mochi is her avatar's name in Second Life and other virtual worlds. She blogs at http://librarianbydesign.blogspot.com/ and can be found on twitter at http://twitter.com/rashford
 
For more information, please contact Lori Bell at lbell927@gmail.com

Lori Bell
Director of Innovation
Alliance Library System
600 High Point Lane
East Peoria, IL 61611
(309)694-9200 ext. 2128
lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com