Co-Secretary
Second Life alias: Polgara Paine
Polgara Paine is the avatar of Dr. Linda Higbee Mandlebaum. She came into SL to learn to teach her university students, who are future teachers, how to accommodate students with special needs in their classrooms. However, she soon realized that she could not require students to come into a virtual world that was not accessible to all. When the Virtual Guidedog project began, she realized that this innovation could allow her to require students to come into SL since everyone would be able to access it.
She has served as a consultant, a beta tester and has given the project a home in Taupo. She has been involved in the field of special education since 1971. She has a BS in Special Education from University of Central Oklahoma, an M.Ed. in Special Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Oklahoma.
She taught students with special needs in the public school system for seven years before moving to the university level. Since 1981, she has been on the faculty at Bowling Green State University where she is an Associate Professor in the School of Intervention Services in the College of Education and Human Development.