Additional Information and Frequently Asked Questions. This is intended to supply additional or explanatory information and answers to frequently asked questions about MOOs and MOOing.Welcome to MOOniversity and the exciting world of MOOs! Welcome, also, to MOOs as worlds of writing! Yes, MOOs are textual worlds that more and more writing classes (and other classes, too) are using to supplement textbook learning with interactive online learning environments. To participate, you write. To write, you think. To think, you learn. It’s simple! Whether you have used MUDs or MOOs before, or have ever heard of them, this book will help you understand what they are about, and help you take advantage of the many powerful features and learning opportunities that MOO technology provides.
So what exactly is a MOO?, you may ask. Well, the word MOO is an acronym that stands for Multi-User Domain Object Oriented (or MUD object oriented). This may not mean much to you at this point, but be assured, it will become clear as you read the book. In short, a MOO is a computer program that allows multiple users to connect via the Internet to a shared textual world of rooms and other objects, and interact with each other and this virtual world in real time. A similar system called Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a multi-user, multi-channel chatting network that also allows people all over the Internet to talk to one another in real time. Unlike IRC, however, the MOO is a living, ever-changing textual environment. You will encounter many interesting and strange texts as you read through the sprawling landscape of text that constitutes the MOO. Not only that, you will encounter other readers with whom you can talk and become friends or colleagues. You’ll be able to write new spaces in the MOOniverse where you can hang out, and where others can visit and enjoy reading what you have written about yourself and your space. If you wish, this book will even introduce you to how to program new and exciting objects in the MOO.
The power of a MOO learning environment is most aptly defined in the word ‘environment.’ Think of a MOO as a classroom, student union, library, café, theater, laboratory, office, studio, and much, much more. Within this dynamic environment you may work individually or collectively with others. As a member of a MOO community, you may send and receive mail, participate in online events, collaborate on writing projects, record peer editing sessions, construct your own room or rooms, consult writing tutors in real-time, design your own web pages, make presentations using graphics, sound, or video clips. The MOO really breaks the boundaries of the traditional class ‘room’ and the typical class period. Not only this, but you will meet people from all over the United States and the world. The notion of community is expanded beyond your classroom, your university, or your country! Writing suddenly takes on new dimensions as you rely on your writing skills to communicate, navigate, and create individually and with others in the MOO. MOOs are especially beneficial for students with learning disabilities, for the hearing-impaired, and in most cases, the visually-impaired (screen reading technologies are rapidly making text-based electronic learning much easier). Even learning a foreign language is possible in a computer-assisted language learning environment like a MOO. Of course, as exciting as this sounds, there are commands to learn, etiquette to follow, and pitfalls to avoid. And that’s why we wrote MOOniversity.
Together, we have used MOOs for educational purposes for a number of years, both in teaching and research, as well as when we collaborate online. One of the main problems that we (and many others) have encountered when taking students to the MOO is the almost total lack of suitable information on how to use MOOs in educational environments. The situation has improved somewhat over the last few years in that there is now quite a bit of information inside MOO communities themselves (such as can be found at Lingua MOO and others). There are also quite a few web sites around that contain information about educational uses of MOO. However, the main problem has been the lack of a good textbook on MOOs and how to use them, a problem that led us to write this book.
The fact that writing is the sole mode of communication among users at a MOO means that MOOs are especially suited for learning ABOUT writing, learning BY writing, learning about others and ourselves by writing, and learning how writing in electronic environments differs from more traditional learning environments. The written word, each distinctly textual unit of meaning, evokes images, relations, connections, and emotions (among other things). Writing is a way of knowing. The MOO combines the power of the written word with the informality of the spoken context to create a rich learning environment that also holds a more important key to your learning: you. In a MOO you are taking part in the construction of a community, just as you do at school in your classrooms, your after class activities, and your social communities. Your writing makes a difference in the MOO. Whether it describes a new room or contributes to a significant discussion in an online symposium, your writing IS who you are (your self-described persona), what you think (your public and private writing), and where you hang out (your own virtual room). We call this unique combination of real time, text, and persona a cyphertext (cyber, hyper, text). But, more about that later!
Although this book is primarily written for undergraduate and graduate students taking writing courses or courses that involve the use of MOOs, it is general enough that students in others fields that want to know more about how to use a MOO will also benefit from reading it. Furthermore, teachers will also find it useful as they venture into MOOspace for the first time, as they prepare their course materials, and as a resource for connecting with other teachers who use educational MOOs. Many educators in many disciplines are prime candidates for integrating educational MOOs into their teaching, and those who do research about online learning environments, as well as those who train faculty will find MOOniversity ideal for their purposes. There are many tips, shortcuts, guided questions, exercises, and visual and textual examples throughout the book. In other words, MOOniversity is a book that anyone interested in educational applications of MOO should read.*
In this book we make frequent mention of the High Wired enCore Educational MOO Database, also referred to as enCore, or High Wired enCore. This is a MOO database that we developed especially for educational use and that is used as the basis for building new educational MOOs. The enCore specific features that we talk about in this book, like the enCore Xpress web-based MOO access system, for example, refer specifically to MOOs that are based on High Wired enCore version 2.0 or newer. To find out if the MOO you are using is an enCore-based MOO, type @about or @version while you are online. These two commands will tell you what version of enCore, if any, the MOO is based on. As you will discover, there are numerous ways to connect to a MOO, and we will take you through the options later. Just keep in mind that your first impressions during your first visit to a MOO will no doubt change rapidly as you learn. And, you will learn rapidly! It is important to understand that a new and radical learning environment will perhaps be disconcerting at first, just as with any new computer program you learn. The positive effects, however, far outweigh any problems you face during the initial stages of orienting yourself in the MOO. Using a good MOO client is so important to a good first impression, not to mention ease-of-use in general. We will give you as much information, explanations, illustrations, and practice as possible. Here is a short snapshot of how MOOniversity unfolds.
In this book we have not attempted to cover every possible command or way that MOOs can possibly be used in educational environments. Since the MOO is a highly sophisticated system with hundreds of commands and ways it can be used, this would in fact be a nearly impossible task to accomplish in a textbook. Instead, we have focused on providing information that will help you get started using MOO technology and especially with respect to how MOOs are used in writing courses. You will find that this book is at the same time a textbook, a MOO tutorial, and a MOO reference manual, and the chapters vary in the way they deal with the subject matter. Thus, some chapters are clearly written in the style of a manual, laying out terms, giving detailed explanations and instructions for connecting, communicating, building, and other advanced features of the MOO. Other chapters focus on becoming part of a MOO community, as well as collaborating, researching, and publishing online. Throughout the book you will find discussion questions and possible assignments to apply what you are learning.
In addition to the nine chapters outlined above, this book also includes three handy appendices.
Throughout this book we have used certain symbols in the margins to alert you to special features and additional information that the book provides. Here are the symbols and the explanations of what they mean.
Additional Information and Frequently Asked Questions. This is intended to supply additional or explanatory information and answers to frequently asked questions about MOOs and MOOing.
Important point or common pitfall. Pay close attention whenever you see this symbol, for we are using it to point out places in the text that contain particularly important information, or that talk about common problems and pitfalls that people often experience.
High Wired enCore specific feature. This symbol means that the particular feature or features we are talking about in the text can usually only be found in MOOs that are based on the High Wired enCore Educational MOO Database (see above). These features, or similar features, may also be installed in MOOs that are not based on enCore, but to find out whether they are, you need to ask the MOO’s administrators.
Exercises and class activities. At the end of each chapter, we have designed a few exercises and topics for class discussion that will help you learn some of the more important things that we have discussed in that chapter. Most of these activities require you to be online and logged on to a MOO.
As we wrote this book we wanted to convey the kind of enjoyment and playfulness that comes from using MOOs. We believe that learning happens well when students are enjoying the learning process and are motivated by it as much as by the results they hope to achieve. Thus, we believe that learning in MOO environments is a new way of learning that enhances the traditional composition classroom experience where we have been taught that learning to write usually takes place.
It is our hope that this book will lead to a wider adoption of MOO technology in schools and universities, so that as many students as possible can have the opportunity to experience for themselves what a wonderful learning experience MOOing can be. Enjoy this book and enjoy your MOOing experiences that lie ahead.
* For more information about composition on the internet, see Allyn and Bacon’s Composition web site at: http://www.abacon.com/compsite/index.html.
ab_webmaster@abacon.com
©2000 Allyn & Bacon
A Pearson Education Company
Legal Notice