Virtual Library WWW VL: Educational Technology

Educational Technology: Educational VR (MUD) sub-page

Information categorized by subjects
Maintained by TECFA. Note: haven't been hunting actively for the last few month, but will do that soon. At least will add entries you send me. Also, need to reorganize everything. Happy scrolling ! (D.S. / Jan 96). Still true in June 97 :=)

Since I will teach my VE course in May, I started cleaning up this mess (April 98). If I have time I will reorganize the whole thing. I really do have trouble with some people who think it's kewl to move around files in their server. Please consider that most MOO indexes only get updated once every 1-3 years or never at all and learn how to do redirections !

Table of Contents


  1. Introduction
  2. Events, What's new
  3. General Index & Information Pages
  4. Educational MUDs List
  5. Publications (some only)
  6. Bibliographies, document indexes & Mailing lists
  7. MOO/MUD Guides, FAQs & Manuals
  8. Teaching IN Cyberspace
  9. Teaching ABOUT Cyberspace
  10. Clients & Servers
  11. 2/3D multi user virtual worlds
  12. MUD Research (general)
  13. Technical MUD Research
  14. Various (really!)
You can search this page, though output is disgusting (since it just spits back elements found between blank lines). Provide a boolean keyword expression or a Perl regular expression as a search pattern.

Introduction (up to Contents)

This page is basically "MUD" oriented because (so far) that is how educational interactive multi-user cyberspaces have been implemented. That might change soon (e.g. see the section on 2/3D multi user virtual worlds).

MUDs used to stand for "Multi-user Dungeons", i.e. multi-user interactive role-playing games on the Internet. Today, the concept "MUD" refers to all primarily text-based Multi-User Dimensions. MUD technology can be used for education in various ways. To connect to a MUD, you can use a telnet client, but better find a specialized Client In education, MOOs (MUD, Object Oriented) are most popular since they have a sophisticated built-in programming language. See also a definition by Pavel Curtis. The absolut best distinction between "MUD" and "MOO" I have seen is in this picture.

MUDs (and specially the MOO variant) can be be characterized by:

Watch out for new systems and increased functionality of 2/3D "Avatar"/Chat worlds and VRML interfaces to real MUDs in the next month.

HOTEvents, What's New ? (up to Contents)

Past Events:

General Index & Information Pages (up to Contents)

It is hard to classify index pages, so don't get angry :)
  1. General MUD Indexes
  2. General MOO Indexes
  3. Technical & Software oriented
  4. Sites worth a visit

Educational MUDs List (up to Contents)

  1. Indexes & other Summary Information:

  2. Educational & Reserach MOOs Note that some are "serious" MUDs with additional themes or "social" MUDs with educational and/or research activites.

    AcademICK
    • WWW Information Page
    • telnet://auden.fac.utexas.edu:7777/
    • Organization: Computer Writing and Research Lab, Dept. of Rhetoric and Composition, U of Texas at Austin
    • Theme: AcademICK consists of a number of themed areas, each of which have an educational purpose, but which are also intended to be entertaining. Examples include an area devoted to cyberpunk, an extensive area devoted to recreating significant portions of various historical eras (including Ancient Greece and Rome) and an area devoted to the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
    • Access: Areas are being worked on by staff members of the CWRL, but students are also encouraged to contribute and have added some interesting places of their own. Currently, AcademICK has an open character creation and building policy. Anyone interested in more info about it should contact Joi Chevalier.
    Athena University
    Bay MOO
    AussieMOO
    • WWW Page
    • telnet://silo.riv.csu.edu.au:7777/
    • Theme:AussieMOO is an open-styled, experimental and research MOO for social interaction, conferencing, computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), lifelong education (beyond just K-Ph.D), experimental psychology and philosophy.
    BioMOO
    CollegeTown
    • WWW Information Page or WWW Information Page
    • telnet://galaxy.bvu.edu:7777/
    • Organization: Buena Vista University.
    • WWW-MOO Interface
    • Theme: "COLLEGETOWN is a text based virtual Academic Community. Its purpose is to serve as a platform for the scholarly pursuits of students and faculty from around the world. COLLEGETOWN is a place for folks to meet, hold classes and seminars, do research, carry out class projects, and exchange ideas. Folks who share our academic vision are most welcome to apply for membership in our community! The COLLEGETOWN server is located on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa."
      For more information on CollegeTown check out the article in the Feb.9 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
    Costello
    • http://www.n-seiryo.ac.jp/TEACHER/cohe n/English_Costello.html
    • t elnet://202.223.235.7:7777/
    • Organization: Niigata Seiryo Wo men's Junior College
    • Theme: Costello is a mud designed to give non-native speakers of English practice and support in using their English , while at the same time providing a traditional and exciting game-playing environment for anyone. Emphasis is placed on non-natives being able to us e 'real English' commands rather than traditional mud commands while aloow ing native speakers to use the traditional command set.
    • Access:Anyone is welcome to pop in, but the mud is still only in its infancy. If anyone is interested in helping (or just wants to discuss the idea) ple ase contact Adrian Cohen.
    Diversity University
    DONUT
    EON
    ExploreNet
    • WWW Page
    • Theme: Explorenet is a multimedia MUD environment for use between schools. It is part of the Virtual Academy Project at the University of Central Florida and the Coalition of Essential Schools at Brown University. See also the Virtual Academy Tools page.
    • See in particular the "Virtual Academy: The Educational Model" paper.
    French MOO
    Frontiers
    Gold Rush MOO
    • Theme: Our mission at 1848 is to construct a model of a Gold-Rush economy set in America in the 1840's, amidst the native Americans who have different values from the gold diggers. The gold diggers must learn to appreciate the rich, American Indian culture. We also want people to educate themselves and each other with one of the first virtual political systems. See here for more information.
    • Access:: Email to: Schuyler Koch skoch@bridges.ee.usm.maine.edu.
    GrassRoots MOO
    • WWW Information page
    • telnet://rdz.stjohns.edu:8888/
    • Theme: GrassRoots is a Virtual World that has emerged from the integration of text-based virtual reality and the World Wide Web to harness the Information and Communication potential of the Internet. GrassRoots is an experimental community that attracted talented people from diverse backgrounds whose focus was on human service and learning. GrassRoots provides a learning environment where K-12 children are creating their neighborhoods and students from four universities are involved in collaborative study and research. The Library of GrassRoots has a foundation of over 260 electronic forums directed to Education, Medicine, and Psychology, and Disability. GrassRoots contains a cultural center that features the works of Wagner, Eliot, and Whitman and museums dedicated to the 12th Century, Jerusalem, and Brooklyn.
    Lingua MOO
    Little Italy
    Meridian
    MiamiMOO
    • WWW Information Page
    • telnet://moo.cas.muohio.edu:7777/
    • Organization: sponsored by Miami University's Classics and Religion departments.
    • Theme:It is open to the public, but is intended for building virtual models of important historical and religious buildings and regions. It is sponsored by Miami University's Classics and Religion departments and is being built (so far) by a motley group of professors, grad students and undergraduates. The MOO is first and foremost an academic tool.
    • WWW-MOO Interface: http://moo.cas.muohio.edu/~moo/
    MundoHispano
    OWL
    • WWW Information Page
    • telnet://auden.fac.utexas.edu:8888/
    • Organization: Dept. of Rhetoric and Composition, U of Texas at Austin
    • Theme: OWL (Online Writing Laboratory) is maintained by members of the Undergraduate Writing Center (Dept. of Rhetoric and Composition). OWL's primary purpose is to allow on-line consultations between UWC staff and UT students concerning student writing skills. It has also become a meeting place for UT faculty and students and faculty from around the country, as well as the site of a weekly Creative Writing Workshop.
    • Access: Anyone interested in more info about it should contact Susan Warshauer of the UWC at swan@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu.
    PennMOO
    schMOOze University
    • telnet://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu:8888/
    • WWW Information Page
    • Theme: schMOOze is a small, friendly college known for its hospitality and the diversity of the student population. It was established in July, 1994 as a place where people studying English as a second or foreign language could practice English while sharing ideas and experiences with other learners and practicers of English. Students have opportunities for one-on-one and group conversations as well as access to language games, an on-line dictionary, USENET feed, and gopher access. Although schMOOze was founded with the ESL/EFL student in mind, it welcomes all people interested in cross-cultural communication.
    SchoolNet MOO
    • WWW page
    • Theme: Canada's SchoolNet runs its own K-12, bilingual (English/French) educational MOO.
    • Access: The MOO itself is at schoolnet.carleton.ca 7777, but does not allow guest connections
    • Example of what they do: "Last May, for example, we held a Q/A session between the Minister of Justice of Canada and students from 7 different schools from accross Canada. (Transcript: here)
    SkooMOO
    Tapped In
    • WWW Information page
    • telnet://tappedin.sri.com:7777
    • WWW-interface
    • Organization: SRI International
    • Theme: The Teacher Professional Development Institute, or TAPPED IN, is a shared teacher professional development (TPD) workplace patterned after a real-world conference center. Teachers with diverse interests, backgrounds, and skills can share experiences, engage in mentoring and collaborative work, or simply meet their colleagues. TPD organizations can maintain their own agendas (e.g.,institutes and workshops), while enabling their teachers to benefit from a range of expertise, ideas, and resources that no one organization could provideby itself. Most of all, TAPPED IN is a professional community of K-12 TPD providers, schools, teachers, and researchers committed to education reform. Although each organization has its own mission, all contribute to the sustenance and growth of the community by committing time and resources and by helping to underwrite the costs of teacher participation and TAPPED IN capabilities and services. Individual teachers contribute to the community by participating in activities, helping others, and volunteering.
    TecfaMOO
    Walden Pond MOO
    Virtual Online University
    • WWW page
    • Theme: Virtual Online University, a member of the GNA consortium, sponsors two educational endeavors encompassing both secondary and post-secondary education: Athena University - a classically-oriented institution of higher learning offering university classes on the internet - and the GENII Lab School. GENII is an internet training resource to K-12, higher education and business professionals. A central mission of GENII is to bring effectiveb and affordable internet training to everyone who needs it.
    • Access: Visit us at athena.edu:8888 or contact us at VOU@Athena.edu
    ZOOMoo
    • WWW page - WWW page
    • Theme: A MOO will offer [...] chances to use a social environment for educational purposes, a chance for teachers and students to learn by engaging in the construction of simulations. And since everything in a MOO is written, the thing plays to MU's commitment to improving student writing. It may also contribute to the university's efforts to support computer and information literacy. See the Virtual place for Writers WWW home page for details on the on-line writery.

  3. Other Educational & Reserach M*s
    New section: All "non-MOO" MUDS (because some people I know got confused by the different sets of commands). Please help me correct my MOO bias.

    MOOSE Crossing
    • WWW Information Page
    • Organization:MIT Media Lab
    • Theme: MOOSE Crossing is a MUD designed to give kids 9-13 a meaningful context for reading, writing, and computer programming. It includes a new programming language (MOOSE) and client interface (MacMOOSE) designed to make it easier for kids to learn to program.
      My ideal setting is an after school program. Use from home is fine too. Folks older than 13 need to apply to become rangers.
    MicroMUSE
    VCR MUSH
    WriteMUX
    • WWW page
    • telnet://writemux.visi.com:6250
    • Theme: WriteMUX is an evolved version of WriteMUSH, which operated as an online classroom/educational environment since early 1993. Our mission is to provide a friendly and useful VR resource for educators and writers. We are open for classes, writing groups, and similar activities.
    Miami Christian University

Other interesting MUDs (up to Contents)

  1. Professional Communities
    PMC MOO - WWW Page (includes a telnet/tinyfuge button, good idea!)
    Theme: Postmodern Culture. This page includes pointers to the issues of "Postmodern Culture: An Electronic Journal of Interdisciplinary Criticism" and other PMC stuff.
    telnet://hero.village.virginia.edu:7777/.
    See also: WWW Page of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, The University of Virginia. (includes a telnet button for the IATH-specific MOO).
    Media MOO
    telnet://purple-crayon.media.mit.edu:8888/"
    Theme:Meeting Place for Media Researchers, one of the "ancient MOOs".
    See also:
    Some of the educational MOOs above: (BioMOO, TecfaMOO, ...)
  2. Various
    e_moo
    telnet://tecfa.unige.ch:4242/
    e_moo's WWW layer entry page contains project information.
    Theme: MOO R&D
    MOOtiny
    telnet://128.243.31.4:8888/
    WWW Interface
    The MOOtiny server and DB <enhanced versions of the stock Lambda versions> has been released publically. You may get them at two places now, for a good htpertext description, see WOOM1.0
    Theme: "Social" and MOO research (see e.g. "Living Documents" Paper
    MOOsaico
    telnet://moo.di.uminho.pt:7777/
    Special Features: A True Multi-lingual MOO !
    The ChibaMOO/WOO - WWW Page. (WWW pages and telnet buttons for the Sprawl, World and WaxWeb MOOs)
    Special features:Integrates the WWW and the MOO.
    Lambda MOO
    telnet://lambda.parc.xerox.com:8888/"
    Theme: Moo-Fun, cultural
    Special Features: The largest (I think) and the best known, got some exposure in the Media.
    Jay's House MOO (JHM) - WWW-Page
    Theme:An ongoing project to investigate text-based VR.
    Special Features: Hang-out for some very good Moo programmers
    PtMOOt (dead now)
    Theme: ActLab's Quote "It attempts to reproduce the 'real world' by disallowing any sort of communication or action unless it has a real-life counterpart. It also has an interesting economic system established. To excite things a bit, there's some good ol' fashion conspiracy wacko and Lovecraftian elements to spice things up a bit." See this Gopher page for more information.
    dead Telnet connection

Publications (up to Contents)

(Sorry this section is quite outdated)

Bibliographies & Document Indexes, mailing lists (up to Contents)

PLEASE (applies to all on-line information): People should sign their pages and even more so their on-line articles!
  1. Bibliographies: Also, browse through general MUD/MOO/VR/or whatever indexes below. Furthermore, check out the various resources on CMC, collaboration etc., e.g. CMC Studies Center or Gesellschaftliche Aspekte computervermittelter Kommunikation and (Has many pointers to CMC Research and a large library of electronic texts on CMC.)
  2. On-Line Publication Indexes on MU*ing
  3. Mailing Lists (and Archives)

MUD/MOO Guides, FAQs & Manuals (up to Contents)

  1. Beginners help
  2. Newbie MOO owners
  3. MOO Programming Tutorials
  4. Programmers Manuals
  5. FAQs

Teaching IN Cyberspace (up to Contents)

This section needs to be further developed .... in the mean time teachers should go and visit and ask around. Most educational text-based VR seems to use MOOs. Among the wider spread MUD architectures MOOs are probably best suited because of the pretty powerful MOO programming language.
  1. MOO Tools for on-line classes & tutorial rooms:
  2. Papers & home pages about classes held in MUD/MOO space
  3. Educational MUD/MOO environments:
  4. "How to" information Note that there are tons of publications on "electronic classroom", ask your library or start with "classic" Readers. See for instance the reviews for the following books: Berge and Collins, Computer Mediated Communication and the Online Classroom (1995) and Harasim (ed), Global Networks: Computers And International Communication

    Not much about MUD/MOOs seems to available in published form. In any case most documents (I have seen) are somewhat minimalistic.

  5. Virtual communities of teachers using the MU* technology
  6. Virtual communities of teachers MEETING in Cyberspace
  7. "Real Life" Courses:

Teaching ABOUT Cyberspace (up to Contents)

  1. Here are pointers to some course: Most have a general social science orientation, but nevertheless good reading for education people!
  2. More needed here ....

Clients & Servers (up to Contents)

  1. MUD/MOO Clients
  2. MUD/MOO/VE Servers: See the various MOO/MUD Guides, FAQs & Manuals and surf through other indexes.

    Here are a few MOO related pointers to MOO databases (note that you also need to install a server):

    Moo Servers (see also the MOO FAQ)

2/3D multi user virtual worlds (up to Contents)

THIS SECTION BADLY NEEDS UPDATING / sometimes soon - DKS Nov 96 A number of 2/3D virtual worlds have come into existence lately. Some are extensions to VRML, some really proprietary. Judging from the time it takes to look at their www pages, those things will be popular enough.

This section is not very complete. It's a real pain updating commercial links every few month.

  1. Indexes
  2. Proprietry Formats
  3. VRML based Please have a look at my VRML pointers page.
  4. VRML/MOO extensions: In order to integrate VRML & MOO there are probably several solutions. Addresses again the lack of the "MOO to Client protocol" problem we have with our html and "smart" client interfaces. Benefits for educational MOOs might be increased attractiveness (not so important) and use of VRML data structures that profit from 3D (chemistry, cooperative castle design, teaching sculpture on-line....).

    ... got to hunt down pointers ! .. again, help me please.

  5. Java/MUD based
  6. Other stuff:

MUD Research (up to Contents)

Except for pointers to virtual research communities, this section mainly contains (or rather will contain) things that you can visit someMUD, i.e. creative uses of MUD topology, communication and artifacts, experimental setups, etc. See the section "Bibliographies & document indexes & Mailing lists" for pointers to publications on various research topics.

>>>Please help me with this new section (2/96)

  1. Virtual research communities
  2. Collaboration
  3. Living Hypermedia

Technical MUD Research (up to Contents)

  1. Technical MOO related
  2. Agents Agents in Cyberspace have various educational potential. For general information on all sorts of agents, see for the moment the section 'Ken's Turing Bot' in our Technical MOO Manuel (sorry no direct link to the section, because the manuel is a dynamic document).
  3. WWW-MOO Interfaces
  4. New languages

Various (up to Contents)

  1. There might be more stuff in my exported bookmarks. E.g. some good pointers on Cyberspace and VR.
  2. Conferences, Announcements, etc.
  3. Need multimedia? Go for ascii art !
  4. MUDs and VR ... hmmm needs updating
  5. WWW Chats: Note: There are *many* more of 'em now, but don't have time to look them up.

Tecfa Home Page - Daniel K.Schneider