2021 VWBPE Thinkerer Award Goes to Wisdomseeker (Lissena Resident)

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

Last weeked was the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference. There were a number of talks and other events, including a few discussions by the Lindens. Near the end they gave out their Thinkerer Award. This was at the closing ceremony in which a number of people such as Pooky Amsterdam, Lorraine Mockford, Elli Pinion, iSkye Silverweb, Olivetree Lighthouse, Beth Ghostraven, Heike Philp, Serena Offcourse, and others were given thanks (and the Newser was also thanked as well for it's coverage). 

Then came the award, which is given to "for outstanding contribution in the promotion of learning, community, and educational practices, and who exemplifies the spirit of cooperative development within immersive environments." And this year, it went to Wisdomseeker aka Lissena Resident (Lynne Berrett in real life). 

Elli Pinion described the reasons, "Lynne began her educational career with an MA in English and doctoral fellowships in the Humanities. She was an English instructor at universities in New York and Michigan. She joined Manhattanville College in the New York City area as Director of the H.E.O.P. College Skills Center for at-risk students and held many other positions there for almost 30 years. Concurrently, she established a private psychotherapy practice for adults and couples after getting an MSW in Clinical Social Work at New York University.

"In semi-retirement Lynne trained as a coach with MentorCoach, a program based in positive psychology. She was on the leadership  team of the Alliance for Positive Psychology there for almost 10 years. 

"She says that her experiences as a caregiver, with her husband, first for her mother and again for her brother in law and his wife, led her to search out new ways to help others.  Because both women had developed dementia, she began to study brain health in depth to learn how to delay and even prevent the onset of dementia.

"Lynne first encountered Second Life at a Positive Aging Conference and was immediately attracted to the imaginative power of Virtual Worlds.  She recognized the potential for learning through virtual experiences (turning theory into action) -- learning that could transfer to a person’s life beyond SL.

"In 2013 she founded the Whole Brain Health Group in Second Life.  She established Inspiration Island, which now has 4 full levels of activities, as official home of Whole Brain Health. It is a 'public' region where over 40 volunteers, members of the island Collective, are given free parcels to create self-guided activities and offer hosted programs. Everything is designed to help visitors learn by doing.

"Over the years she has presented her work in Second Life at many conferences around the country. When she presented at the National Center for Creative Aging Conference in Washington D.C., Joyce Bettencourt (Rhiannon Chatnoir in SL) came along to stream Second Life into the event so they could be joined live by Thinkerer Selby and members of the Collective.

"Lynne is active in many virtual worlds educational and nonprofit groups such as Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable, VWBPE, AvaCon, OSCC conferences, and she was a founding board member of Nonprofit Commons. She also developed a course for SL entitled ‘New Frontiers in Brain Training,’ which uses activities on Inspiration Island to guide students to design personalized action plans for well-being.

"Her latest accomplishment is building Virtual Learning Village, a grid in OpenSim specifically made for lifelong learning and professional development. She and her group of volunteers have created a beautiful environment with many innovative tools for teaching and learning.

"To find out more about Lynne’s work, she has multiple websites:
https://agelessmindproject.org
https://virtualinspirationisland.org
https://virtual-learning-village.org
https://www.facebook.com/VirtualInspirationIsland

"It is for all these reasons, and more, that the VWBPE Organizational Committee proudly confirms Lynne Berrett, our Wisdomseeker, as the VWBPE 2021 Thinkerer Award recipient."

After much applause, Wisdomseeker went forward from her place on the stage to speak, "I want you all to know you have saved my marriage. My husband is watching this and has promised never to ask me again what I am doing in Second Life." She paused as a few chuckled, then resumed, "I am so honored to accept the 2021 Thinkerer Award -- not just for myself but also on behalf of the Whole Brain Health Team and the Inspiration Island Collective. I could not have done any of this work without their dedication and expertise and imagination over many years. There are so many people to thank! 

"First of all, the award winners who came before me. Every one of you has contributed to the success of our learning projects in Second Life and OpenSim through your example, advice, encouragement, and concrete help. I plan to thank people privately, so I won’t subject you all to a long list of names tonight. But of course the members of the Inspiration Island Collective are at the top of the list. Every year since 2014 we have taken a group photo of the Collective. Most of the original members are still with us—which is a source of great joy to me. Each year we have added new members to the photo. You can see the latest one in the Lotus – which is a miniature Inspiration Island – at our Exhibit here at VWBPE. It was made with loving care by Katsii Tennen (Catseye), Fran, and Tooyaa.

"If you attended our presentation this morning, you can guess whom I DO want to thank publicly. From the very beginning, Thuja Hynes (Tooyaa) and Francisco Koolhoven (Fran) have been essential partners in producing the rich experiences Whole Brain Health offers. Our long, fruitful collaboration has been absolutely central to WBH’s development and my own growth as a virtual worlds educator -- and as a leader. Their creativity, technical skill, and willingness to try anything I come up with have repeatedly made the impossible possible for us. 

 "I also want to shout out to Maximillian Merlin, my chief creative and technical partner in a newer venture, Virtual Learning Village. After creating our drone security system and a lot for Inspiration Island, Max brought his Buildwerk team of volunteers to OpenSim, where we have built a beautiful grid for adult learning of all kinds. 

"Our Whole Brain Health logo is a manifesto for all this work: it’s a simple circle with the three words INTERACT  INSPIRE  INNOVATE embracing the central word, CHANGE.  The more we can INTERACT and INSPIRE each other through our collaborations, the more we can truly INNOVATE – creating new forms of learning in virtual worlds and beyond, for people of all ages... because well-being is directly related to flexibility – the ability to CHANGE. 

"As one of my role models, Seth Godin, just wrote on his blog: “The world is going to change and resilience is our best response. 'Resilience is a commitment to design, an attitude and a system that works even when things don’t turn out the way we planned. Especially then.   … Flexibility, community, and a sense of possibility can go a long way. That doesn’t make it easier, but it’s our best path forward.”

"So my last thank you tonight goes to the VISION of Best Practices in Education that is illustrated year after year in this conference. And most of all, thank you VWBPE, this year, for illuminating the value of lifelong learning for adults in virtual worlds with this award. "

The award itself, which resembled the classic statue "The Thinker," when presented was very large, almost twice her height. Someone joked "The real test is if Liss can carry the trophy 20 meters." Another commented, "That award is going to take a heck of an anti-grav trolley to be taken away."

Following Wisdomseeker's speech, people started to head out to the last official event, the farewell party. She and several others would engage in a group hug, then depart.

Past recipients include Renne Brock / Zinnia Zauber, Barbara Truman / Delightful Doowangle, Valerie Hill / Valibrarian, Cynthia Calogne / Lyr Lobo, Andrew Wheelock / Spiff Whitfield, Alice Kreuger / Gentle Heron, and Selby Evans.

Bixyl Shuftan

Wisdomseeker and Whole Brain Health

By Bixyl Shuftan

When it comes to keeping one's mind healthy, the people to go to are Whole Brain Health at Inspiration Island. I recently interviewed the head of the group,  Wisdomseeker (Lissena Resident). We met in a skybox with a few pannels and chairs over the sim. "We hold our staff meetings here," Wisdomseeker explained.

"World Brain Health really began in 2013.," she told me, "I came into Second Life fascinated by the imaginative aspect of it, but not really sure what I would do here. Then I met Gentle heron of Virtual Ability Island. She encouraged me to do a presentation on brain health for her spring 2013 conference. I did that, and also set up what is called a brain Health Fair in real-life. In real-life, it takes place in a gym and allows seniors to try out many of the activities that promote brain health. I brought it into Second Life. That is my background and training, holistic evidence-based approach to brain health and well being. So everything here comes from that beginning."

I asked about the sim's name, Inspiration Island. Wisdomseeker pointed out, "The name comes from our logo." She pointed it out in the nearby wall: Inspire, Interact, Innovate - Change. "These are the things we focus on--educating through fun and thought provoking activities." I asked about the activities. She answered, "The idea is that people can learn what they can do to have greater well being, and we give them ways to actually try out those things. We work from five pillars of well being, activities that encourage self care--good diet, sleep, exercise and stress reduction, encourage social interaction that iis positive, encourage cognitive challenge, encourage creative self expression of all kinds, and help people develop a sense of purpose. Those five based on the research. So if you look around, you can find parcels that focus on them."

"We have for example a Multiple Intelligences Experience parcel to explore your greatest kinds of abilities--have you seen it?" I answered that I had noticed it from a distance. Wisdomseeker continued, "We hold our jazz concerts Wednesdays on the music stage there. Music is one kind of intelligence. My husband is a musician (smile). We have a number of music programs. (The) 50s sock hop for instance hosted by Curei on her Floating Gallery here. The map on the welcome board--which is all over the sim--is a good way to see what we offer. A great 'Relationships in SL and Beyond' program led by Pet Karu, who is a professional counselor. We have about 30 people who create programs and activities here, island members. Darth Vondran teaches chess here as a brain game. ... We take a group photo every year. It keeps getting bigger."

"I am on the board of Nonprofit Commons here in SL, and this region is part of Rockcliffe University Estate. I have a staff that is made up of gems. Thuja Hynes is Associate Director here. Francisco Koolhoven is Media Director. His is a scripter, made the Welcome Board behind us. And Katsii Tennen is our Music Organizaer. So the four of us work closely and others participate through their programs, like Osangar and her amazing brain! I never in a million years thought I would be doing this, it just sort of grew (smile)."

Wisdomseeker went on, "We are the virtual arm of a real-life nonprofit called 'Ageless Mind Project.' ... You see, I strongly believe that virtual lives enrich our other lives. AMP has the goal of educating the public about lifestyle choices that improve brain health and well being. In real life my husband and I give workshops, often using music as brain food as the theme. Music can contribute a lot to well being, a lot of research on this. One thing we are doing now is setting up a series of challenges/quests on the sim, a structured way for people to explore. So many tell us we have so much here, they don't know where to start. We will give people badges for completing challenges. Our staff is working on that now."

Wisdomseeker mentioned one could find their calendar of events at https://virtualinspirationisland.org/calwbh/ . She went on to say they try to have events every day, "we keep adding new ones--we also try to collaborate with other groups. For instance we are hosting a tea ceremony presented by another group, a special event next week. ... One thing, everyone who comes here and likes it, tells me. We are a friendly bunch.  People feel safe here. They like the feel of the place."

I asked her, "One question coming to mind, would someone in their 40s approach brain health a little differently than someone in their 20s? What if the person was in their 60s?" Wisdomseeker answered, "One way to look at it is this:  everything you do from the time you are born to protect your brain is important - at any age what we teach here is valuable - no matter how early or late you start - having this knowledge and practicing it is the key. The underlying concepts are universal. I say this as someone who turned 80 this year. I got into this because we took care of close family members who developed dementia. Once I realized there are things people can do to have a better chance - look at the football players, for instance, I wanted people to know about it. Now if they would just requie helmets on scooters."

Another question of mine to Wisdomseeker was, "Would you say on the whole, brain health is being taken more seriously?" She answered, "Very much so now. I keep up with the research so I can see how much more there is. Especially now that we know more about the brain itself, about neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, how what you do can change your brain for the better, grow new neurons, improve memory, lots of good stuff. It's worth learning about and developing good habits around it. Second Life is important in one great way. I believe it has the power to reduce loneliness. Loneliness is connected to depression and is generally bad for brain and well being. That's why having positive relationships here is so important too, something we focus on."

I asked if they were planning anything this year that stands out. Wisdomseeker answered, "Our major focus is on giving visitors a clearer pathway to well being through our sim - so when they come here they will know more easily where to explore, according to their needs and interests. Many of our members also are planning new activities here. We are very open to having new people join us both as visitors and members, and to suggest additions and improvements."

Wisdomseeker and I parted ways. But I would return later to look around the island. And there was a lot to see, both on the ground and higher up. There are a number of places one can go to read information. But there are also games areas, such as the 3D Maze at (224/51/22) and those at Games Park at (203/55/701). One can get a list of locations here.

https://virtualinspirationisland.org/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/151/234/39



Addition: Whole Brain Health made this video in 2016 of the activities on Inspiration Island.

Bixyl Shuftan