About Stilwell

Welcome to Stilwell, a multi-media Virtual Community, which will tells the story of the Stilwell  community, in the fictional city of  Brigstow, and brings to life the people who live there, their experiences and interactions.

Stilwell was developed by Dr Mike Walsh, at the University of Cumbria, drawing on his experience a nurse manager in an inner city Accident and Emergency department and his scholarship using narrative pedagogy to embed and improve learning.

Stilwell  has been extensively used within the University of Cumbria, with partner and client organisations, to provide a unique educational experience, both in taught classes and to support  distance learning.  Student feedback has been very positive and is used for continuous improvement of the content, characters and topics.

Using a range of professionally produced media (including video, audio,  etc)  the stories of the people who live in Stilwell are portrayed in a  dynamic environment which allows students  to apply theoretical knowledge to real-life problems and issues. The characters and story-lines  aim to bring health and social care practice to life.  With  a strong community theme, they have been carefully crafted to challenge assumptions and stereotypes, promote inter-professional learning and actively engage learners  in understanding and applying their learning to  topical and challenging issues.

Stilwell is firmly based in the real world, all the locations are real, only the names are fictional.

Stilwell development has received financial support from the  Energy Coast Campus Programme, North West Strategic Health Authority,  Alcohol Research UK, whose help is gratefully acknowledged.