Saturday, July 26, 2008

Wheelies up for an award!

Second Life nightclub up for an award | News | TechRadar UK

http://research.richcollaboration.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/wheelies_sim.jpg
It may have been destroyed by cyber-vandals when it was first opened in 2006, but Wheelies, the virtual nightclub for people with disabilities, has been put up for a UK Catalyst award.

The virtual club's creator Simon Stevens, from Coventry, has been put in a short-list for the People's Choice Award that celebrates community on the web. Other entrants include: The Wiki Project, My Neighbourhoods, and Boom! Boom!.

Congratulations to Simon, Linda, and everyone else who has worked on Wheelies!



1 comment:

Linda Higbee Mandlebaum said...

Thank you for your recognition. A small community is building around Wheelies on the Water with lots of things to do and people to see. We have regular entertainment with live DJs and with the best dance collection in Second Life including dances for tinies, two dances scripted especially for people in wheelchairs, and a large collection of dances for standing dancers. As the name implies, Wheelies is actually on the water in Taupo Region where you can swim with our dolphins or relax around the fire pit. We are striving to make the region completely accessible to any avatar or user with special needs, so we have an escort script for members with low vision who are not familiar with the region. We use both text chat and voice chat simultaneously when needed. There is a central plaza with toys and games, including a giant chess set. There is a pool house with three accessible hot tubs and an art gallery to display the works of Wheelies' members. There is a wheelchair store and spaces for several other shops for vendors who share the Accessible Builds' philosophy. (Accessible Builds is the owner of the Taupo Region where Wheelies has a home free of charge.) There are one-room apartments with common rooms and a couple of larger houses. Soon there will be an educational building for a variety of activities. We work hard to encourage community involvement as demonstrated by the two-story workshop building built by a member of Wheelies and the landscaping done by another. The region is still developing, so members' suggestions and help are encouraged and applied. Members' suggestions led to the development of the art gallery, changes in texture or color to help make the environment more visually accessible. Come visit Wheelies at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Taupo/171/38/23.

Polgara Paine/Linda Higbee Mandlebaum