Online Communities and Virtual Worlds for Patient and Caregiver Self-Help Groups
"Online Communities and Virtual Worlds for Patient and Caregiver
Self-Help Groups"
by John Lester aka Pathfinder Linden
Online communities offer a unique opportunity for patients and caregivers to share experiences and emotional support with people across the world. John Lester will discuss his experiences with Braintalk Communitie (www.braintalk.org), which offers hundreds of forums and chatrooms for self-help support groups focused on a wide range of neurological disorders. Started in 1993, Braintalk continues to explore new models of online communities and support. John will describe the growth and evolution of Braintalk as well as his work using the 3-d virtual world of Second Life (www.secondlife.com) to create new online communities supporting people dealing with Asperger's Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Stroke Survivors. He will also summarize how different groups of patients and caregivers can use vastly different communication modalities to help them deal with
unique conditions.
Bio:
John Lester joined Linden Lab (the creators of Second Life) in 2005, bringing experience in online community development as well as a background in the fields of healthcare and education. Previously he was the Information Technology Director in the Neurology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he pioneered the use of the web in 1993 to create online communities for supporting patients dealing with neurological disorders. He also held an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School, where he created online collaborative environments for professors and students to advance the case-based teaching method in medical education. John created and continues to manage BrainTalk Communities, a non-profit organization who's mission is to provide online environments for patient and caregiver self-help groups focused on neurological disorders.
Link to Elluminate webcast here [1hour 15 mins] (please make sure you give ample time (2 mins) for the talk to download). Dont worry if you see the Elluminate client pop up without any visible activity for the first 2 mins. Please visit www.elluminate.com/support for help on how to make sure your machine is ready to access recorded Elluminate sessions.
Download IRH_Presentation_John_Lester.ppt (approx 12 MB).
What can I say about your writing but “wow” – you really know your subject and put your points across well. I can’t wait for your next post. I’ve found a guy who is good to read too will pass the details on when I find them.
Posted by: manifest money | February 05, 2008 at 06:29 PM
Online communities are great, especially for folks who have anxiety disorders like I used to. O.o Back in the day, online contact was sometimes the only contact I got with other people. I've never tried Braintalk, but I think what they're doing is wonderful and so helpful to people who are hurting and don't know where else to turn.
Namaste,
Lina
automaticlifechanges.com
Posted by: Alina Phoenix | May 06, 2008 at 05:48 PM