The evolving TecfaMOO Book Part I: Concepts Daniel K. Schneider 1 Terrence M. Drozdowski, 2 Gustavo Glusman 3 Richard Godard 4 K.Block 5 Jenifer Tennison6 7 May 19, 1995 1TECFA, School of Psychology and Educational Sciences University of Geneva, 2Arizona State University, Phoenix (aka xymox). 3Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, 4Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 5Computer Consultant, Los Angeles 7Psychology Department, University of Nottingham 1 VERY Rough and quite empty Draft - better wait until end of May 95. Parts of it has been presented at the MOO Workshop1 at FLISH 95. At this stage, actual writing is ``the crime'' of D.S. and has not yet been approved or modifyed by the co-authors. Sorry for spelling and grammar ! The TECFAMOO is a text-based virtual reality2. It is a Virtual Space for Educational Technology, Education, Research and Life at TECFA, School of Psychology and Education, University of Geneva, Switzerland. In this ``evolving book'' we state the initial mission of this MOO as related to our research3 in computer mediated communication4, to its use as communication tool for our diploma in educational technology5 and to student projects in the STAF-146 course. The main purpose of ``book'' is to look at a certain number of ``interesting'' topics. Note that this ``book'' is not meant to be a finished product, but rather a collection of thoughts, observations that can be reused in the future as a resource. Note that screen dumps from various MOO may have changed. They are here to illustrate principles. This book can bee seen as complement to TECFA's WWW page on educational MUDs7. ________________________________________________________________ 1http://tecfa.unige.ch/edu-comp/flish95/workshop.html 2http://tecfa.unige.ch/edu-comp/WWW-VL/eduVR-page.html 3http://tecfa.unige.ch/tecfa/tecfa-research/CMC/CMC-overview.html 4http://www.rpi.edu/Internet/Guides/decemj/icmc/top.html 5http://tecfa.unige.ch/tecfa/tecfa-teaching/teaching-overview.html#postgrad 6http://tecfa.unige.ch/tecfa/tecfa-teaching/staf14/staf14-overview.html 7http://tecfa.unige.ch/edu-comp/WWW-VL/eduVR-page.html 2 Contents 1 Introduction 9 1.1 The birth of TECFAMOO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 9 1.2 A List of ``Questions'' : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 9 1.3 This is *not* an article! : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 10 2 On Building a MOO 11 2.1 First Time Users and/or Beginners : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 11 2.1.1 The Welcome Screen : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 11 2.1.2 The Welcome Area : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 13 2.1.3 Work in progress : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 16 2.2 Communication and Navigation on the MOO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 17 2.3 Topology and Navigation : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 17 2.3.1 Building on CollegeTown : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 17 2.3.2 Building Rules on TECFAMOO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 18 3 MOOs for Research Work 21 3.1 Virtual Meeting Spaces : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 21 3.1.1 A look at other MOOs : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 21 3.1.2 Meeting Spaces at TECFAMOO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 23 4 MOOs for Education 25 4.1 Virtual Classrooms : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 25 4.1.1 Education Tools at Diversity University : : : : : : : : : : : : : 25 4.1.2 Ken's generic classroom : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 27 4.1.3 Please don't disturb! : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 28 4.1.4 So what is new ? : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 30 4.2 MOO Learning Environments : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 31 4.2.1 The Ohlone Village : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 31 4.2.2 The Ticinese Village : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 34 4.2.3 Social-Psychological Experimentation : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 35 4.2.4 The MOO as Learning Environment: The case of EON : : : : : : 35 4.3 Private Immersion in the MOO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 37 5 Social Issues 39 5.1 On ruling a MUD : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 39 5.2 Manners : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 40 5.2.1 Examples from social MOOs : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 40 5.2.2 Examples from educational and research MOOs : : : : : : : : : : 41 5.3 Social Identities on MUDs : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 46 5.3.1 Should "serious" MOOs allow anonymity ? : : : : : : : : : : : : : 46 5.4 wizards : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 48 5.4.1 A story from the MOO Cows : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 48 3 4 CONTENTS List of Figures 2.1 The Welcome screen of CollegeTown : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 14 5 6 LIST OF FIGURES List of Tables 7 8 LIST OF TABLES Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 The birth of TECFAMOO The TECFAMOO project has been started as a small informal project in the fall of 1994. Currently we have been using MOO technology as CMC tool for our own teaching and research. Since April 1st 1995 our MOO has become the main technical vector in an effort to create a virtual space for European researchers and practitioners in Educational Technology. This project is supported partly by the European VMDL (``Virtual Mobility and Distance Learning'' project. MOO technology also plays a major role in three European 4th framework bids (LEARN-NETT, European University Network for Trainers, VORTEX, Distributed European Research Laboratories EUCOSITY, An European Collaborative Tele-University) Since April 24 (!) the TECFAMOO has an experimental World-Wide Web interface allowing to take increased benefits from both technologies. This latest development will increase our commitment to MOO technology TECFAMOO is largely an international project. Its main contributors are the authors of this report. 1.2 A List of ``Questions'' Creation of TECFAMOO has been started in fall 1994 without precise purpose. It seemed to us that MOO technology had a promise for several purposes and and it seemed appropriate to have a MOO handy that could be used whenever needed. Since TECFA's mission is research and education in Educational Technology such an ``exploratory stance'' could easily justify the investment needed. What could we use our MOO for ? o The MOO as internal communication tool. See for instance [EVARD, 1993 ]. o Support for international exchange Research and Development: A project (see 3.1.2) on using TECFAMOO for various research groups in Education Technology has started in April 95. -- Virtual Cafes, i.e. place where people from various fields can meet in an informal way. -- Collaborative work o Education -- Tutorial support for semi-distance class-room teaching: This item is of interest for our diploma in educational technology. 9 10 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION -- Tutorial support for distance teaching -- Environments for ``Just-in-Time-Open Learning'', e.g. resource centers. -- Educational Environments (Learning by doing) o The MOO as information tool -- A Spatial Integrator for Information Retrieval and Exchange: This becomes a very ``hot'' topic for ``webbed'' MOOs. See for instance one of Dieberger's1 articles (e.g. [DIEBERGER et TROMP, 1993 ], [DIEBERGER, 1994a ] and [DIEBERGER, 1994b ]) for a general discussion of ``spatial'' hyper media. -- ``Exhibition of activities'', related to the previous item this means that organizations can build virtual information centers on the MOO. o Interesting other issues o Dynamics of interactions in a virtual space o Social and Political issues in virtual worlds [... more to come] 1.3 This is *not* an article! As stated in the abstract, this report is not meant to be an ``article'' but rather a collection of thoughts, observations that can be reused in the future. Note that screen dumps from various MOO may have changed and postings to various MOO mailing lists may have disappeared. They are here to illustrate principles. We took the liberty to quote in length descriptions, postings and so forth found in various public MOOs. We feel that those quotes illustrate the richness of text-based virtual realities and they constitute an an important source for discussing or building up ``serious'' MOOs. Readers, please note that some of those quotes do not come from ``polished'' articles and they have to be interpreted as contributions to on-going discussions. Quotations allow to find the original. Excerpts from mailing lists use the following syntax: @ (article number, date). ________________________________________________________________ 1http://www.gatech.edu/lcc/idt/Faculty/andreas_dieberger/A.Dieberger.home.html Chapter 2 On Building a MOO 2.1 First Time Users and/or Beginners Several places and features are important for first time users: 1. The ``Welcome Screen'' which is displayed before connecting with a character to the MOO 2. The ``Welcome Area'' where people land when they connect (unless they built a ``home''. 3. Tools for assistance and visitor centers around the welcome area 4. General information tools such as mailing lists, maps and so on 5. ``Tour buses'' or equivalent that give people a guided tour to interesting places 6. Tutorials and guidelines for using the MOO and building rooms and objects This section is based partly on an assignment in the STAF-141 class. We gave a short introduction to our students on how to navigate in the MOO world and then asked them to visit a few MOOs and evaluate it among a few criteria, among which ``how beginners are handled''. 2.1.1 The Welcome Screen The welcome screen should give some information on the purpose of the MOO and tell people (including guests) how to connect (or how to obtain a character). Most MOOs have a set of standard commands enabled like ``who'' displaying who is on the MOO. Let's look a few of those screens: ------------------------------------------------------- CollegeTown 4/95 _______________________________________________ / " _ EDUCATION FOR SERVICE _ __________________________________________________ _ __ / " _ _ _ _ ___ _ / " __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ / "_ ______ _ __ _ _ __ WELCOME _ _ _ _ PLEASE REMEMBER: ________________________________________________________________ 1http://tecfa.unige.ch/tecfa/tecfa-teaching/staf14/staf14-overview.html 11 12 CHAPTER 2. ON BUILDING A MOO _ __ _ _ TO _ _PLAQUE_ _ _ _ _ COLLEGETOWN _ ________ _ THIS IS AN ACADEMIC _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ENVIRONMENT *NOT* A ____________ ____________ << GAME >> COLLEGETOWN is a text based virtual ACADEMIC community running on a NeXT computer at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, IA. Users who appreciate our educational mission are welcome to participate in COLLEGETOWN events. connect name password PLEASE TYPE connect guest 'HELP MANNERS'. @quit --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- DU 4/95 WELCOME TO DIVERSITY UNIVERSITY (East Campus) Running version 1.7.8p4 of the LambdaMOO server Address: MOO.DU.ORG (192.101.98.5) 8888 Diversity University MOO campuses are Internet locations for serious experimentation in network-based, interactive teaching, learning and social services. Those wishing to further this community development are welcome! The DU administration would like to thank the many volunteers contributing time and effort to further this vision. We would also like to thank the Internet Multicasting Service, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), and the Annenberg/CPB Project for their support in this venture. Supporters of this project are not responsible for the content of any material which may be found on this system. connect guest _ to have a look around @who _ to see who is online @quit _ to exit Diversity University --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ BioMOO 4/95 "%HHH!*%nx. HM "4HHH: :HHHH" .xH*""tx. .xH*""tx. MMM `MMM `" MMMM: MXMMX MMM #MM. MMM #MM. MMM MM" +nn .n*%x. M`MMM M XMMX MMM MMM, MMM MMM, MMM!**MX. MM MM 4Mh M ?MMM X" XMMX 'MMM MMMX 'MMM MMMX MMM MMM: MM MM 'MM M ?MMMd" XMMX 'MMM MMM' 'MMM MMM' MMM MMMf MM MM 'MM M MMMf XMMX `MMk :MM# `MMk :MM# ..MMMk..HM*" .MM. `MX..M* .:M.. MM .MMMM. "Mh...xM"' "Mh...xM"' ...the virtual meeting place for biologists. Type: 2.1. FIRST TIME USERS AND/OR BEGINNERS 13 'purpose' to read a statement on BioMOO's purpose 'connect (userid) (password)' to connect, for example: connect Elmer stu888ph 'guest (name) (any-password)' to connect as a named guest, 'connect Guest' to connect as an anonymous guest, 'create' for information on how to get your own userid, 'who' just to see who's logged in right now, '@quit' to disconnect, either now or later. Multimedia interface (WWW): http://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il:8888 For human help please email to Gustavo@bioinformatics.weizmann.ac.il. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1.2 The Welcome Area We could observe several models for the welcome area: 1. Most educational MOOs have people land in area which gives access to a lot of information. Sometimes (as in Collegetown shown in figure 2.1) this area is also a central room of the MOO. 2. Culture and leisure MOOs more often tend to let people arrive in a ``closet'' or other room devoid of interest. A visitors is center is sometimes adjacent sometimes not and it has to be found. 3. Others like Diversity University MOO and more so EON have a ``stage'' approach. Let's now have a closer look a Diversity University MOO (DUM). DUM is interesting because of its size and solutions found there may be of general interest. At DUM one lands first in a general welcome room which has been rather designed to keep certain behavior or people from this MOO. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DU 4/95 ***** DIVERSITY UNIVERSITY IS NOT A GAME ***** It is a place where many people from various backgrounds come to do work and interact in a mature and responsible environment, and as a visitor you are expected to behave in an appropriate manner. Swearing, offensive language, obscenity, harassment, and rudeness will not be tolerated here. If you must do that, do it somewhere else. If you're not sure if something is ok or not, ASK FIRST. If someone asks you to stop doing something they find objectionable, STOP. For a more complete list of what behavior is and is not considered appropriate here, type 'help manners' once connected. NOTE: You can and will be booted off the system and barred further access to this MOO if you cannot behave responsibly. Under some circumstances your actions on this system can be logged or monitored as well. Your connection site is being displayed in your description; anyone can see where you are connected from. If you do not wish to agree to these conditions, type @quit to leave the MOO. 14 CHAPTER 2. ON BUILDING A MOO ------------------------------------------------------ CollegeTown 4/95 The Forum You are standing on the Granite floor of a large Hall. North __________ ____________ ___________________________ Quad _____ Seminar_______ Newbie _ _ Ken's _ _ _ _ Room _ NH Hall _ _ Office K N ____ ____ ___ _____ __________ SR _ Guest _ WEST __ G Lounge _ QUAD__ W ------ __________ _________ << THE FORUM >> Pool _ PaulB's_ _ KBVC _ ------ P Office _ _ Radio KB __________ __________ / _ _ TV _ CL Coffee _ _ Studio TV UW S - up - / Lounge _ ________________/-/_________ _________stairs__________________ Underground SOUTH Walkway QUAD You see a newspaper, Reflecting Pool, CollegeTown Flag, Clock, Map of Collegetown, Buzzword Generator, Public Bulletin Board, INTERESTS DIRECTORY, BANNER@ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 2.1: The Welcome screen of CollegeTown 2.1. FIRST TIME USERS AND/OR BEGINNERS 15 [Press return to continue or type '@quit' to disconnect] Orientation Room Welcome to Diversity University! This is the Orientation room and is deliberately quiet to allow new users to read the helps. This room is in the Student Union so when you are ready to explore, just leave by the exit to the hall or read the help on @rooms. ATTENTION Teachers! - Please do not bring your students onto DU as guests. Please ask a wizard about our VSPO system for bringing on groups. help newbie - Basic help for those new to this help theme - Describes the purpose of Diversity Univ. map - Displays a map of Diversity Univ. You are currently located in the sw corner of the Student Union To see this room description again, type: look Exits include: [out] to Learning Hall (3-4) You see Application Folder, DU manners (look manners), MOOTutorials, A map of Diversity University, and Social and other MOOs List (read sml) here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next, people land in a room where they are given a chance to look at basic MOO commands and are also pointed to further information. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DU 4/95 Learning Hall (3-4) This is one segment of the hall leading off the Main Foyer of the Student Union. To reach the Student Union, travel east. Type: tutorial to enter a walk-through tutorial of MOO basic commands. Type: @go edu then southeast to get to more tutorials and helps in the MOOteach learning center. Exits include: [east] to Learning Hall (1-2), [south] to Orientation Room, [tutorial] to An Introduction You see MOOing Services Board (Type --> Look board) (3 notes) here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next people can enter a corridor ... ------------------------------------------------------------------- DU 4/95 Learning Hall (1-2) A long, quiet hallway. A door leads east back to the main entry. This hall leads to rooms that will teach basics about many things, such as how to navigate and use a MOO as well as how to study better. Feel free to explore the rooms. Exits include: [east] to Student Union Center, [west] to Learning Hall (3-4), [south] to study aids (public) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 CHAPTER 2. ON BUILDING A MOO ... which leads to the Student Union Center which contains all the information a regular user of this MOO is interested in. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DU 4/95 Student Union Center -------------------- You are standing in the Student Union of Diversity University. There is an old red couch in the corner, usually occupied by sleeping students. Several halls lead from the room, and large glass doors on the southern wall lead outside. Warning: Anything said in this room is subject to being logged for research purposes. Research is vital to the continued survival of DU so we hope you will understand. Exits include: [west] to Learning Hall (1-2), [south] to LSU Street (200 block), [east] to Underground corridor (SU <-> Admin), [north] to Entertainment Hall, [northeast] to Student Union Elevator, [northwest] to Universities Room, [Up] to Help Desk SPrince (asleep), JackieC (asleep), RayJ (asleep), Jason_J (Always keeping one eye open!), and Kaspar (idling) are standing here. You see Transporter Booth, DU Places of Interest (poi), Test Survey, DU Directory, EVENTS (8 notes), Yellow Pages!, Aquarium, and Diversity Survey here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diversity University is currently the biggest Educational MOO and several information and navigation tools had to be created. Of particular interests are: o DU Places of interest (poi): An index of major educational activities allowing to jump to the location in question. o The yellow pages: A directory of people, places and things 2.1.3 Work in progress When we sent out our students to look at MOOs in December 1994 after a 2 hour MOO training session most students found that handling of beginners and more so of first time users was insufficient. Despite having pointed out ``Diversity University'' as the primary educational MOO, our students were somewhat ``afraid'' of it. Since then, a lot of improvement could be observed on this MOO (see: section 2.1.2). Collegetown (among the MOOs studied) overally got the best marks, also for its general ergonomics. Since some of out students were psychology students EON's stage model (see section 4.2.4) was found to be interesting. However, it was noted that EON needs a lot of involvement and one student who tried to learn something about Unix by looking at an ``aircraft carrier'' complained about feeling really lost. [more to come] 2.2. COMMUNICATION AND NAVIGATION ON THE MOO 17 2.2 Communication and Navigation on the MOO 2.3 Topology and Navigation ``Topology'' is very important issue since the MOO has a spatial orientation and since ``places'' in real life always have certain ``uses''. By defining a global topology rooster and building rules in a MOO one addresses several related questions: 1. User Interface issues 2. Navigational Issues (how do we want people to move) 3. ``Urban planning'' issues: What activities where 4. ``Social and political Issues'': What can be built? 5. ..... Among educational MOOs one can find several kinds of topologies. The ``Campus'' Model The best known example is the Diversity University MOO. It is modeled after a typical American Campus. Another example is the Bio MOO. The ``Chamber'' Model Certain activities are confined to areas. At EON for example, those areas are reachable by a train and access is controlled. The ``City or World'' Model This is the model adopted by TECFAMOO . There are reserved areas for academic work (both teaching and research) but the MOO is also designed to be a social space. We fully agree with this quote from College Town: [...] Recognizing that a great deal of real research and learning goes on 'outside the classroom' we are augmenting the classrooms with a realistic nurturant community. Creative thinking may find its freeest play while walking on a beach and a small seminar may become much more meaningful if hosted at a colleague's home in the woods... A combined Campus and City Model 2.3.1 Building on CollegeTown Among all educational MOOs, College Town probably comes closest to TECFAMOO . There are differences, e.g. building rules at TECFA are (and will probably remain) less strict (e.g. geography can spread out of Geneva, and even known space and time) and we do not plan make available our MOO to very young kids. Here are CollegeTown's building rules as of March 27 1995: ----------------------------------------------------------------- CT 4/95 >look building 1) All rooms and objects must comply with our overall theme. We are a small college town situated in the scenic countryside. Our mission is to provide a platform for academic research and learning. Recognizing 18 CHAPTER 2. ON BUILDING A MOO that a great deal of real research and learning goes on 'outside the classroom' we are augmenting the classrooms with a realistic nurturant community. Creative thinking may find its freeest play while walking on a beach and a small seminar may become much more meaningful if hosted at a colleague's home in the woods... 2) All rooms must be connected. (Ask any wiz for assistance.) Every exit should be listed/shown. Hidden exits are discouraged. 'Leave', 'oleave', and 'oarrive' messages should be set on each exit. 3) Room descriptions should be a combination of text/graphics not to exceed 20 lines. Rationale: The average screen holds 24 lines of text. One line is used for the name of the room and at least 3 lines should be reserved for listing contents and occupants. 4) The spatial integrity of the moo *must* be respected. If your house is in the Primeval Forest you cannot logically have an exit to the Western Shore . Fantastical teleport type exits are discouraged. 5) Generally one room is sufficient for a house. Use 'out' to leave your house. Housing Sites are listed in the HOUSING INFO bulletin. 6) Please remember that this MOO serves children as well as adults. Do not build anything you would not want your own child to encounter. Rooms have a special toggle that you can set to keep kids out if there is any question. 7) Because of our realistic environment we encourage REAL NAMES, common nicknames, or real name variants. We are not a phantasy moo. 8) The building of weapons is expressly forbidden. 9) Additional quota may be requested for building rooms and objects in the public interest, subject to wiz/council review. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3.2 Building Rules on TECFAMOO There are a few basic rules for building in the TECFAMOO which builders should follow: 1. The topology of Geneva has to be vaguely respected. 2. Certain types of activities should be restricted to certain areas. The major focus of this MOO is exchange in educational technology, education and research. However other activities are welcome too. 3. All major education and research activities should take place in the virtual "Geneva Basin" (see the next page). They will be connected with a room (currently the "underground corridor") or a similar ``direct access'' artifact. 4. Strange stuff can be added, but preferrably "outside" of Geneva. An airport, a trainstation and such will be provided. Education and Research Activities in the TECFAMOO are centered around a few areas. Currently, there are several sites planned for such activities: o People form the U of Geneva (including TECFA) should use the locations of their real buildings (although they may be enhanced). o All teaching on MOO using/building/programming etc. should go to the MOOseum area. 2.3. TOPOLOGY AND NAVIGATION 19 o Educational Technology, i.e. our domain", is in and behind TECFA. see the EduTech exit in the underground corridor o The Forest Campus. Meet Dave_E for more information! o Space for an International Virtual University is provided at IVC (in Archamps, a place over the border in France). You can build as you like (maybe we should fix a few rules for that place). o Other stuff can be negotiated of course. 20 CHAPTER 2. ON BUILDING A MOO Chapter 3 MOOs for Research Work 3.1 Virtual Meeting Spaces The concept of ``Virtual Meeting Space'' covers several possible setups for synchronous communication among communities: o ``Virtual Cafes'' are places where people can hang out and meet in very informal ways in a similar fashion as in corridors of a conference or in the cafeteria of a university. Since on most ``serious MUDS'' people have descriptions of their research interests which can be accessed either by ``looking'' at a person or by using a command like ``whois xxx'', ``finger xxx'' contacts of persons sharing the similar interest are even easier than in real life. o ``Virtual Lobbies'' or similar ``rooms'' can be used to display information about an organization. A good example is ``GNA Central'' (#4156) at Diversity University MOO. o A similar function is fulfilled by ``Resource Centers''. A good example is the Ed-Tech Resource Center (#15169) on Diversity University MOO. o ``Meetings Rooms'' fulfill the same function as real ones, i.e. provide space for regular meetings. Such rooms can be structured by adding ``tables'' (a device for group discussion), white-boards, projection devices and such. o ``Offices'' can be used for meeting persons in a private space, ``idle quietly'', or for providing more information about a person. An office also adds an anthropological touch by providing a ``home'' where characters can connect to and ``sleep''. 3.1.1 A look at other MOOs MOOs as virtual meeting spaces for professional communities are becoming increasingly popular. Well known examples are the MediaMOO1 (Media Researchers), AstroMOO2 (Astronomers), BioMOO3 (Biologists) and PMCMOO4 (Post Modern Culture). Let's have a look at the purpose of MediaMOO (obtained by typing ``help purpose''): ________________________________________________________________ 1telnet://purple-crayon.media.mit.edu:8888/ 2telnet://brando.ipac.caltech.edu:8888/ 3http://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il:8000/ 4http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/pmc/pmc-moo.html 21 22 CHAPTER 3. MOOS FOR RESEARCH WORK -------------------------------------------------------------- Media MOO 4/95 >help purpose MediaMOO is a professional community for media researchers. It is a place to come meet colleagues in media studies and related fields and brainstorm, to hold colloquia and conferences, to explore the serious side of this new medium. Unlike other MUDs, characters on MediaMOO are identified. You can find out who anyone is with the @whois command (except for a few early members who are still anonymous) so that you can contact them to continue professional discussions. To become a member of MediaMOO you must be doing media research. We are more interested in knowing about what you are doing than what you are interested in. Most college and pre-college students who apply are not really doing media research. If you're looking for a place to hang out with interesting people, LambdaMOO is at lambda.parc.xerox.com 8888. In fact, if you read the USENET newsgroup rec.games.mud.announce, you'll find a list of hundreds of MUDs and MOOs, almost all of which have no requirements for membership. A note to teachers: Unfortunately, we must discourage you from bringing classes of students here. Although these experiments are interesting, this is not the appropriate place. MediaMOO would become a very different place if it were filled with, for example, hundreds of freshman composition students. Welcome! Sincerely, Amy Bruckman September 1993 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message written in 1993 clearly tries to emphasize distinction between a place dedicated to one specific task (being a place for a community) and multi-purpose MOOs such as TECFAMOO . BioMOO shows a similar statement, but is also used for educational purposes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Bio MOO 4 /95 >help purpose ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BioMOO is a virtual meeting place for biologists, connected to the Globe-wide Network Academy. The main physical part of the BioMOO is located at the Bioinformatics Unit of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. BioMOO is a professional community of Biology researchers. It is a 3.1. VIRTUAL MEETING SPACES 23 place to come meet colleagues in Biology studies and related fields and brainstorm, to hold colloquia and conferences, to explore the serious side of this new medium. All characters on BioMOO are identified. You can find out who anyone is by using the @whois command, so that you can contact them to continue professional discussions. BioMOO is continuously growing and changing. Your ideas for new additions and modifications are welcome. Please contact Gustavo by email to Gustavo@bioinformatics.weizmann.ac.il If you're looking for a place to hang out with interesting people, LambdaMOO is at lambda.parc.xerox.com 8888. In fact, if you read the USENET newsgroup rec.games.mud.announce, you'll find a list of hundreds of MUDs and MOOs, almost all of which have no requirements for membership. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1.2 Meeting Spaces at TECFAMOO One of the motivations for creating TECFAMOO has been the creation of a virtual space for researchers and practitioners in Educational Technology. This project is supported partly by the VMDL (``Virtual Mobility and Distance Learning'' project. [More to come: Sandrine Tognotti5 will work on this] We plan to let organizations such as GNA build campuses. ________________________________________________________________ 5http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Etognotti/ 24 CHAPTER 3. MOOS FOR RESEARCH WORK Chapter 4 MOOs for Education 4.1 Virtual Classrooms Virtual Classrooms are probably the theme best developed in the Educational MOO community. Based on earlier work at Lambda-MOO and other almost mythical MOOs, a certain number of people like Ken Schweller1 or DaveM [] have developed very interesting artifacts for teaching and tutoring in the MOO. Most of those objects can be found on DU 4.1.1 but many have also found their way into other MOOs. Also, consult the *MOOteach mailing list on DU. At TECFAMOO we made enthusiastic use of the Tutorial Room and a Generic Classroom which are put up on display in our MOOseum. A very useful tool not just in virtual class- and tutoring rooms are the www-slates (by shkoo@eon) which allow accessing www pages from within the MOO. Those slates can be ``pretuned'' (or book-marked) to a set of pages, so that teachers can put on display somewhat preconfigured www-boxes in certain areas of the MOO. Note that virtual classrooms and similar artifacts are not *the* only way to use a MOO. After all they just replicate more or less traditional teaching via distance. See section 4.2 for a start on other directions. 4.1.1 Education Tools at Diversity University Donald, in his Education MOOs and Tools2 article quotes a number educational artifacts available at DU: 5) Education Tools: Generic objects at Diversity University -------------------------------------------------------- Some notable Educational Tools at Diversity University including ported ones, known affiliations do not imply development sites. NOTE: These lists are not complete but attempt to be accurate. * Larry and Joe@JaysHouseMOO (Grump and JoeFeedback) - 'MOOGopher'(Copyright (c)1992, 1993, Larry Masinter and Erik Ostrom) was implemented at JaysHouseMOO and is a useful tool found in most MOOs. * Ken or cdr (@Collegetown, @media, @DU) - Media set 'TV', 'VCR', 'Camera', and 'Tape' showing text has an 'Editing room' to transform raw 'Tapes' into a polished product. ________________________________________________________________ 1http://othmar.bvc.edu/faculty/schweller.html 2http://tecfa.unige.ch/edu-comp/DUJVRE/vol1/no1/education_MOOs.text 25 26 CHAPTER 4. MOOS FOR EDUCATION - 'Lecture note' lines can be prepared ahead of time. - 'Slide shows' can display 15 lines of text at once. - 'Classrooms' include 'blackboards', 'seats' and other features. - Other Education objects include the 'Theatre complex', a 'conversational robot' and introductory MOO Programming tapes. * Michele (@JaysHouseMOO) - Walk through '@Tutorial program' from JaysHouseMOO is very easy to use, even for a beginner. * Gustavo (@BioMOO, @GNAlab, @DU, etc.) - 'Generic Recording device' records activity in a room. - 'InterMOO feature object' allows communications across MOOs. - 'GNA forum' is a virtual conference room that straddles BayMOO, BioMOO, CollegeTown, Diversity University, EON, Global Village, GNAlab, MediaMOO, TecfaMOO and VOU in five different countries. - 'InterMOOwalk' moves characters from GNAlab to BioMOO or back. - BioMOO/WWW interface developers include Eric Mercer, Paul Hansen, Jaime Prilusky, and Gustavo Glusman. * Jeanne with programming by Richelieu(@DU) - 'VSPO', the visiting student character class allows teachers to control class and handle some administrative work as well. * Mogue - 'simulation rooms' like 'Agincourt' show 100 year war. Experience history from the perspective of various period characters. * DaveM - 'notice board' is an all purpose tool created to save 'quota'. It finds use as a bulletin board, a note book, a variable slide projector, and a tutorial and, now has its own mailing list even. - 'Tutorial room' also saves quota and is easy to use. Hypertext versions are in development. * Doppler - 'slide show' stores presentations in a variable length format. * Richelieu - 'Generic chaptered Book' (@copyright Richelieu) has chapters. * Shkoo@EON (@BioMOO, nils@DU) - 'WWW slate' is a World Wide Web text based browser. Shkoo first implemented the WWW slate at EON, where the server is. PLEASE! : To 'port' the MOO programming code of any MOO object to another MOO, please contact and obtain permission of the original author. This is a courtesy that also helps the author to distribute upgrades. 4.1. VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS 27 4.1.2 Ken's generic classroom Todays (April 95) probably best tested, liked and known classroom has been built by Ken Schweller3. Upon creation of a classroom a short tutorial and help is available: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >@tutorial * * * * * * Using the GENERIC CLASSROOM : A Brief Tutorial * * * * * * * The Generic Classroom was created to give teachers greater flexibility, creativity and control in conducting MOO classes. Here are the basics of classroom use. You may type 'help here' at any time for a brief summary of the room commands. DESIGNING THE CLASSROOM: You may create your own desks, tables, shelves, bulletin boards, walls or whatever using the @addfurniture command. Let's suppose you wished to add a Lab Table to the room. After typing '@addfurniture Lab Table' you would be asked to describe the table and indicate whether it is 'sit-able' or not. While most furniture is 'sit-table' some things like walls and bulletin boards are clearly not. Students can 'sit Lab Table', 'put on Lab Table', 'get ', or 'look Lab Table'. Objects on the Lab Table will only be seen by persons sitting there or persons who look at the table. Walls, shelves, and bulletin boards are obvious places to 'put' things like calendars, lab equipment, or notes. To remove furniture type '@rmfurniture '. Note that each room has a built in blackboard and a clock. Just 'look blackboard' or 'look clock'. You can write on the blackboard by typing 'writeb hello class!'. SETTING UP A CLASS ROSTER: To set up an 'Intro to Theater' class type '@mkclass Intro to Theater'. This creates a class roster for registering your students. If you would like Ken to be able to teach a different class in your room you must '@authorize Ken'. This enables Ken to use the @mkclass and other commands to create his own class. You can now register your students. Type '@setup Intro' to activate Intro to Theater as the 'current' class and then type 'register Bill', 'register Mary', and so on. Students registered in the 'current' class can enter the classroom even when the door is closed. To allow only authorized persons to make furniture, register students or setup classes just type '@restrictions on'. You may type '@status' at any time to see which class is 'current', who is registered or authorized, and whether restrictions are in place. MODERATING THE CLASS: One of the main advantages of using the Generic Classroom is to moderate extraneous talking and emoting. Have the students 'sit Lab Table' or wherever. While they are seated they can only be heard by others sitting with them. This enables students to talk with each other or carry on small group discussions without disturbing others. Students who wish to be heard throughout the room need only 'speakup ', or 'stand' to be heard. Emoting can be limited to tablemates only or made visible to the entire room through the use of '@stifle on/off'. It is a good idea to type 'door close' and '@sign on' when you begin a class so folks not registered in the 'current' class cannot drop in uninvited. The @sign command informs others that your class is '(in session)' when they do ________________________________________________________________ 3http://othmar.bvc.edu/faculty/schweller.html 28 CHAPTER 4. MOOS FOR EDUCATION an @who listing. MISC: There are numerous additional commands that can be used in the Generic Classroom. Type 'help here' for examples of their use. AN INVITATION: The Generic Classroom was designed to incorporate the ideas and wishes of many MOO teachers. It will continue to evolve as we all make new teaching discoveries. We invite *you* to participate in the development of this experimental teaching technology by bringing forward your critiques and suggestions. They are most welcome! -ken/cdr >help here Seminar Room (#184): ---- How To Use This Room To create new tables, desks, shelves, bulletin boards etc. use the '@addfurniture' command. You can 'look', 'sit', or 'put' things on most objects you create. While sitting you are heard only by others sitting with you. If you 'stand' or 'speakup' everyone can hear you. 'Look' at objects to see what's on them. GENERAL look blackboard sit Big Desk @status writeb Hi There! stand put map on Bulletin eraseb 4 speakup I think that.. get map to Ken Hi there! look clock look Big Desk SPECIAL cleanb - erase entire blackboard register/unregister Ken - add/rm Ken from *current* class @addfurn/@rmfurn Desk - add/remove a piece of describable furniture door open/closed - restrict entry to persons in *current* class @mkclass/@rmclass Math - add 'Math' to list of classes taught here @setup Math - makes 'Math' the *current* class @stifle on/off - disable seated persons emoting to everyone @sign on/off - show 'this.session_msg' at @who command @authorize/@unauth Ken - add/rm Ken from list of authorized users @restrictions on/off - restrict Special verbs to authorized users @tutorial - view a short tutorial on using classroom @fix - correct seating mixups if they occur --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ken's generic classroom has been developed in tight interaction with teachers on DU and other MOOs. 4.1.3 Please don't disturb! A major problem on giving classes on the MOO is to insure that other users on a MOO don't disturb. xFirst of all users of a ``serious'' MOO (as well as on other MOOs can be trained to respect certain rules, i.e. to knock before entering a ``closed'' room. Furthermore, certain types of rooms such as the ``Generic Classroom'' can be closed by the authorized instructor or he can expel people if needed. Also, as Marcus Speh (posting on *General@DU) noticed: ``As a first step 4.1. VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS 29 towards a better 'indoor policy', people should check their own 'arrive msg' and '______________join_msg' properties, some of which are excessive.'' MOO Teachers need to be trained both in using educational artifacts and MOO netiquette. Tari Fanderclai (University of Louisville) has been recruited on DU to help organize the business of coming up with policies for teachers and their classes who use DU, and a program for orienting and preparing those teachers. See the *MOOteaching list and Zak' MOOteach Learning Center (@go #1578) both on DU for further details. Tari Fanderclai in *MOOteach@DU(5, Dec 16 94) listed some things needed in order to avoid problems with MOO classes: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [...] ``---Require that teachers be familiar with MOOetiquette and basic MOOcommands, plus whatever more advanced MOOoperations they might require their students to use. ---Require that teachers provide their students with documents on MOOmanners and the MOOcommands they need (they should have a way to print these, esp. the commands; new users usually work better with printed info); perhaps also an easy way to get the MOO programming manual--e.g., a copy on-line locally or FTP instructs for getting it. Requirements like the above can't really be enforced, but can be made known as responsibilities teachers are assumed to take on. ---If we decide to have special teacher commands and/or special classrooms, teachers could be required to complete a tutorial in ZAK's MOOteach center that teaches use of those. ---One way to make sure that teachers have a thought-out plan (in my experience, students sent onto M*s without directions/something to accomplish are generally disruptive and not only to their own class) would be to ask that they submit a short description of what their students will be asked to do in their first couple of visits. While we can't exactly judge a lesson plan, asking to see that one exists should be sufficient.'' [...] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After discussion the following statement was published by Tari Fanderclai on the same list (*MOOteach@DU 23, Jan 14 94): --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **************************************** DU welcomes classes of all kinds, and does its best to accommodate a wide variety of teachers' methods and philosophies. It is assumed that a teacher who wishes to bring classes to DU will spend time getting to know the social, political, and technical environment here her/himself before leading students in. Teachers who bring classes to DU have these responsibilities: ---To familiarize their students with the etiquette of DU and to make sure the students understand that they are responsible to behave appropriately or suffer the consequences outlined 30 CHAPTER 4. MOOS FOR EDUCATION by the wizards. ---To teach their students the "MOOoperations" the students will need to use for their class, and to provide those students who want it information beyond what the class is actually using. For example, even if the students are not being asked to build or program, they should know how to use the help screens and where to get the programmers manual and all the other help sources available. ---To check news and other information sources frequently so that they are aware of new DU procedures, events, and other important information. ---To comply with policies and procedures set by the wizards, and to see that their students do also. Where a student becomes a problem to the DU community, the student's teacher is expected to cooperate with the wizards in their decisions about the problem. We also hope that each teacher who uses DU will make a contribution to the DU community as a whole. For example, they could bring useful ideas to teachers' meetings; volunteer for projects; agree to be an Official Helpful Person; build or program an object that becomes a permanent part of DU, etc. We believe that it is important that each teacher becomes a part of the DU community. ***************************************************** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1.4 So what is new ? Educational activities on MOOs can be broadly distinguished among those who: o try to replicate traditional class-room setups o tend to use the MOO for new ways of teaching and learning (and therefore get away from the ``class-room'' metaphor However, one can ask the question how virtual classrooms are different from real ones and how they could exploit extra-potential from the MOOs. This latter question is very important since virtual ``MOO'' classrooms clearly have disadvantages. Now several advantages of the virtual class room could be cited, like the following ones: (1) Virtual Classrooms in a MOO allow for ``layered communication'' over different channels. This allows for instance students to discuss among themselves without disturbing the class or to isolate tutor-one student interactions which are not of general interest. More sophisticated classrooms can be furnished with ``tables'' suited for group-work (a setup that can be found often in real primary school). (2) Provided that a good Mud client is available to the student, class-room teaching (an specially lecturing) looses some of its not always desired linearity. At anytime a student can scroll back and (provided he can split the screen) still monitor what is going on. (3) Along the same lines, a virtual class-room has a ``memory''. Teachers do not have to repeat things as frequently and at the same time things said before can be pasted back into the discussion. 4.2. MOO LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 31 (4) Students may have better access to ``external sources'' such as other tutors, on-line books and so during a class. Of course there is a limit to all that. It is well known that human processing power is very limited for structured cognitive tasks. We can do only a small amount of things at the same time. So MOO teachers whish to exploit those and other extra-functionalities they will have to take into account those limits and ``slow down'', but make sure that students don't get bored or involved into other activities at the same time. In any case, in most situations it is probably best to avoid using the MOO for lecturing (that can be done by providing a text over the WWW) and use those classrooms for more interactive tutoring instead. Interested readers may want to look at those transcripts from a MOO-programming lesson: [retrieve the thing from colin] 4.2 MOO Learning Environments Moos can be used to implement various sorts of interactive learning environments, not just sophisticated text-based virtual classrooms. [FANDERCLAI, 1995 ] for instance makes this point very clear: ``I am hopeful, therefore, that the near future holds more of these changes. MUDs are places for self-directed learning, learning that blends work and play, that often looks chaotic but that is uniquely effective. A MUD is not an environment that can be controlled; to use MUDs effectively, educators must replace control with structure.'' In the TECFAMOO , several persons started building more ``theme oriented'' places like the ``Ticinese'' 4.2.2 village and the Social-Psychological Experiments 4.2.3 within a setup for an on-line class. Several examples of interactive exhibits can be found at Diversity MOO. A few of them are related to anthropology (see for instance The Physical Anthropology Hall (5-6) #10375). An other nice example is the interactive simulation of Agincourt battle (#3300). It allows users to navigate a historical area and to interact with objects and artificial people. Also interesting is the Rain Forest (#8134) located off the Biology Hall. The Ohlone Village at BayMOO (see section 4.2.1) hanging off the ``Past Revisited Room'' also leading to to ``Gold Rush San Francisco'', ``Hippie Haight'', and ``City Lights'', this simulation teaches the culture and some of the words of the Ohlone Tribe that was located in the Bay area. Interactive exhibits are one direction to go. More interesting are structures activities where students have to do something, cooperatively. First of all, one could consider every MOO as an environment which teaches about itself. Some do it better than others. One good example is EON 4.2.4 who acts as a holistic environment to learn ``MOOing'' and ``MOO programming''. Hopefully, MOOs will grow into more than self-centered constructivism. 4.2.1 The Ohlone Village The Ohlone village (visited on 5/95) is another interesting example of a historical simulation (Type 'go ohlone village' on BayMOO to get there). ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bay MOO 5/95 >village 32 CHAPTER 4. MOOS FOR EDUCATION Ohlone Village A village of 12 reed dwellings at the tip of the San Francisco peninsula. In the center of the village, two women are scooping acorns from their tule reed baskets. A group of young men hesitate before entering into the sweathouse to be instructed by the tribal shaman. Type ENTER to learn the lessons of Coyote, Eagle, Hummingbird and Gismen. Obvious exits: NOONO to Ohlone Language Pit House, PAST to The Past Revisited, and ENTER to Sweathouse --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Ohlone visage is designed both as a puzzle and an exhibit. To enter certain rooms, objects have to be found and carried by ``understanding'' and typing words of the Ohlone language. A specially designed ``translation room'' does word to word translation of some short English sentences. Look at the next transcript for an illustation of this principle. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bay MOO 5/95 >ENTER Sweathouse The intense heat and thick redwood smoke make the interior of the sweathouse almost unbearable. Through the haze you can make out bows, arrows, clubs and knives stacked against the earthen walls. In one corner, two hunters are conversing in Ramaytush, the local Ohlone dialect. One boasts that, in preparation for the coming hunt, he has neither touched nor nor looked directly at his wife for three days. His friend confirms that, for his part, he has eaten no meat or salt for the same period. The the far corner of the room, her eyes closed, sits the ancient shaman. She clutches her medicine pouch in one hand and a cooking basket in the other. The other occupants of the sweathouse keep a respectful distance from her. You see an opening that leads to the Coyote's den. Type COYOTE to get there. Obvious exits: VILLAGE to Ohlone Village You see Sharkeen here. >activate sharkeen Kaspar activates Sharkeen. Sharkeen exclaims, "Aue!" Sharkeen says, "[to Kaspar] cahnah roote ratichma maato roote xiwej Ohlone muwekma." [......] >noono 4.2. MOO LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 33 Ohlone Language Pit House A place to turn English words into Ohlone, and Ohlone into English. The vocabulary is derived from several of the local Ohlone dialects. Obvious exits: VILLAGE to Ohlone Village and WORD to -Word St. North- >"cahnah roote ratichma maato roote xiwej Ohlone muwekma You say, "I be woman who be shaman Ohlone people" >@go sweathouse [....] >coyote You must possess the Coyote's Tooth before you can enter his den. Ask the shaman Sharkeen about Coyote, and she will tell you the room that holds the Coyote's tooth. >"majan You say, "majan" >"coyote You say, "coyote" Sharkeen says, "[to Kaspar] To enter the Coyote's Den you must possess the Coyote Tooth! Seek his tooth in room Kapapan iwesse kapapaniwesh utcahin. Go to the Ohlone Language Pit House if you need to translate my words." [....] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- By looking at objects and manipulating them, more things about the ohlone culture can be found out as the following transcript shows: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bay MOO 5/95 [....] >coyote The smoke around you dissipates as you are transported from the Sweathouse to the domain of Coyote. Coyote's Den Water covers the earth as far as the eyes can see -- except for the distant peak of Mount Diabolo. From your perch atop Mount Tamalpais, you look down the mountainside toward the encroaching ocean. You see a furtive movement within a manzanita bush. Slowly, cautiously, a bedraggled coyote emerges. It eyes you briefly, then begins to slink away. Obvious exits: EAGLE to Aerie You see Coyote here. _ / " _-' _/_ "-''- _ / __-' - _ " / " / "o. _o " _ "; ', 34 CHAPTER 4. MOOS FOR EDUCATION "_ __" ''-_ ".// / '-____' / _' _-' _________ __ /" ________ "_ ___ " ____ ___.__. _____/ __ ____)/ ______ "______ " ____ ____ / " "/ / _ < _ _/ _ " __"/ __ " / ___/ _ _ "_/ __ " / " " "___( <_> )___ ( <_> ) _ " ___/ "___ " _ ` " ___/_ _ " "______ /"____// _____"____/____ "___ >____ > /_______ /"___ >____ / "/ "/ "/ "/ "/ "/ "/ >l coyote A sharp and shifty beast. Type STORY1 COYOTE to hear a tale about him, and type INVOKE COYOTE to hear what he has to say. >INVOKE COYOTE Kaspar, in search of the Ohlone way of wisdom, invokes the Coyote spirit! So you've come to me for advice? My friend, you couldn't have done better. Brother Eagle and Sister hummingbird have their own ideas about life, of course. But my wisdom is seasoned by generations of living on the ground, as you do. Life with dirt underfoot is treacherous, seeker, as you well know already. Not strength nor love will get you your heart's desire. But cunning will. So heed me. +------------------------------+ _Coyote fixes you with a stare._ +------------------------------+ [more cut....] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Animals found in the ``rooms'' will tell stories illustrating the culture. They are displayed in ``VCR mode'', e.g. displayed paragaph by paragraph including breaks so that people can read them at a usual pace. Alltogether the Ohlone village offers shows a nice example of what can be done with MOO technology. The simulation is probably not polished enough for real use (on 5/95). For example, entering the ``coyote lesson'' was not really ergonomic: Reading the message ``Ask the shaman Sharkeen about Coyote, and she will tell you the room that holds the Coyote's tooth...'' in the sweathouse does not really tell the user that he has to type ``say coyote'' in order to cross the exit to ``Coyote's den''. 4.2.2 The Ticinese Village Utilization de differents services Internet pour une simulation historique4 by Eric Sciolli5 ________________________________________________________________ 4http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Esciolli/staf14/villaggio-ticinese/welcome.moo.html 5http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Esciolli/ 4.2. MOO LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 35 4.2.3 Social-Psychological Experimentation Within the framework of ``Teaching the Religion and Methodology of C.G. Jung'', Patrick Jermann6 uses a psycho-social setup7 to improve learning. 4.2.4 The MOO as Learning Environment: The case of EON This section is largely based on course-assignment work of two TECFA STAF students: Virtual Education Environment:the case of EON8 by Eric Berthoud9 and Analyse d'une activite epdagogique dans un MOO10 by Patrick Jermann11 TECFA has a special relation to EON in several ways. When D.S.12 decided to introduce MOO-technology in our unit he became interested in EONs constructivist approach towards virtual educational environments and its progressive ``chamber system''. Furthermore, TECFA was very lucky to able to recruit xymox13 as its first ``wizard''. 14 The goals of the EON Virtual Educational Environment15 can be found by typing 'help goals' in the EON MOO16 : --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >help goals 1. Create an environment where students can learn and receive college credit through self paced study. Such an environment: a. Is social, supporting collaborative learning (e.g., synchronous communication) b. Teaches learners how to use it without requiring separate "manuals" or "instructions" external to the environment. c. Allows learners to prepare and share cognitive maps of what they've learned. d. Is not a closed system. That is, provides collaborative access to all Internet resources within the environment itself. e. Is as schema-friendly as possible. That is, the methods of interaction seem familiar to the learner. f. Supports a variety of interface technology: vt100 (e.g., lynx), gui (e.g., mosaic) and potentially interface virtual reality g. Allows for extension of the environment. That is, learners may democratically add to and modify Internet resources. h. Makes learning fun. ________________________________________________________________ 6http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Ejermann/ 7http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Ejermann/staf14/projet-14-main.html#loge 8http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Eberthoud/staf14/eon_overview.html 9http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Eberthoud/ 10http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Ejermann/moo_01.html 11http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Ejermann/ 12http://tecfa.unige.ch/tecfa-people/schneider.html 13http://mcmuse.mc.maricopa.edu/%7Exymox/ 14He spontaneously agreed participating in an informal international exploratory project. This spontaneous enthusiasm for cooperation is also characteristic of many other persons in the ``MOO'' space. Without his initial help, our project maybe would never have ``gotten of the ground'' in the first place. 15gopher://mcmuse.mc.maricopa.edu/11/courseinfo 16telnet://mcmuse.mc.maricopa.edu:8888 36 CHAPTER 4. MOOS FOR EDUCATION For information on the theoretical basis (constructivism) for Eon, type: help theory --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This clearly indicates a tendency also observed in some educational technology to move away from producing ``teaching systems'' towards producing ``learning environments'' centered on exploration and ``active doing''. Learning by Immersion at EON Most ``Immersion-based'' learning at EON is related to the MOO itself (learning how ``to MOO'') and to MOO programming. The new player, called learner in EON (this goes with the ideology of EON: everybody connected on EON is a learner), is placed in a tutorial environment (Chamber 1). The first virtual room the learner is entering in is a metal cube. (Answer will come to know whether in the conception of EON, that room was so designed in order to figurate the box of knowledge, see: 2001 Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick). The learner has to find his way, moving, looking at signs and notes and interpreting them correctly in order to find oneself in the "Science Compounds" of EON. Wise, the learner will move to "Information Center" and gain some information: an index of basic commands (newbie help) as well as the set of goals of EON. Information is also provided on the fact that there is a hierarchy among EON's learners. Learners carry badges: red is for guests, yellow is for registered learners, green is for programmers. In order to receive a "official character" on EON, the player must register. If a learner can obtain this character, it is assumed that the learner knows "the rudimentary commands for moving around" EON, as stated in a description of chamber one17 Once an official character, the learner wishes to know more about EON. Passing through to chamber 2 is allowed. That is where the learner will find parts of a city with streets, buildings and so on. Here the learner will learn more ways to move about and to communicate. Opportunity will be given to meet other learners, to find the "Green Badge Distribution Cubicle" and to be made a programmer. An example of this ceremony is available here18 Many other rooms are built in Chamber two. Let me mention a hotel, where a room can be made available, shops, bars, etc. But the most important site of chamber two is evidently the Convention Centre . There, the learner finds a room where the "Unix people" meet, usually, most of the wizards spend some of their time on EON there.

Just next door is the Internet room allowing for tutorial, grading and Internet connections. Adjacent are located the Internet Exploratorium -leading to a room meant to allow connection to the WEB and Gopher- as well as The Reporting Room. ________________________________________________________________ 17http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Eberthoud/eon_chamber1.html 18http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Eberthoud/eon_gbcer.html 4.3. PRIVATE IMMERSION IN THE MOO 37 A learner going into the Reporting Room will be expected to use it to report of the experiences gained using Internet and to ask for grading on the report. This room has mainly been built as a check point for the Internet classes of Greg Swan. Linked to the Convention Center Corridor, the InterVVE Communication room offers a mean to see who is connected to EON via others VEE like BayMOO, DU, TECFAMOO , etc. [...] Once entitled to a green badge, a learner may venture to others parts of the world (EON's). (Quotations from Virtual Education Environment:the case of EON19 by Eric Berthoud20 4.3 Private Immersion in the MOO Most regular MOO users are strongly involved with those virtual worlds. Education can take benefit from that phenomenon. As states [ACKERMANN, 1994 , p. 13], ``interactivity is a key to learning'' and ``An increasing number of software designers, cognitive scientists and educators have come to the view that experience is actively constructed and reconstructed through direct interaction with the world, and that, indeed, knowledge is experience''. The fact that users can create their identities and/or habitats and share them with others augments this ``heads-in'' effect. In a very broad sense MUDs are ``Virtual Realities'' because they form a habitat or micro-world in which many users can play-out some imagined scenario onto a tangible and responsive support (see [ACKERMANN, 1994 , p. 13] again). ________________________________________________________________ 19http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Eberthoud/staf14/eon_overview.html 20http://tecfa.unige.ch/%7Eberthoud/ 38 CHAPTER 4. MOOS FOR EDUCATION Chapter 5 Social Issues 5.1 On ruling a MUD Many forms of ``government'' can be observed. Roughly there are several levels on which users can participate in various ways: 1. The ``theme level'' or ``purpose level'' of the MOO. 2. The infrastructure level o o The ``topology level'' defining what can be built and where o The ``communications'' and ``transportation level'' defining how people can interact and move 3. The social level: What manners are encouraged or/and allowed On most MOOs there are several social classes and institutions fulfilling different functions: At the technical level we can distinguish: 1. The archwizard (or owner) 2. The wizards (or janitors) 3. The programmers 4. The builders 5. The players (or basic users) 6. The guests On most MOOs different kinds of democratic rights are given to those classes since they have different technical ``powers''. The most powerful figures are the wizards. On some MOOs they have almost godly powers, on others they rather have system (and accessorily police) duties like any system administrator on large systems. In addition, most do a lot of programming too. [better stuff to come] 39 40 CHAPTER 5. SOCIAL ISSUES 5.2 Manners Virtually every MOO tries to impose a minimal set of manners to its users. First of all respect of the theme is important, not just in research and education MOOs as the following quote from BayMOO shows: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >go theme You step through the opening into the module named Theme of BayMOO. Intro to BayMOO [Theme of BayMOO: Theme : Overview] There are two major themes that make BayMOO unique among the all-text virtual realities on the NET: 1) The Humanities of the San Francisco Bay Area and 2) The Meanings of Water. These are available to all who want to explore their uses, and the janitors of BayMOO urge you to use them. But those who feel called to other frontiers are also welcome to help build BayMOO. BayMOO has a one-word code of ethics: RESPECT As long as characters respect each others' feelings, BayMOO is a wide-open textual terrain for the imagination. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The theme (and encouragement to respect it) is often shown in the Welcome Screen (see section 2.1.1). A lot of MOOs also provide a 'help manners' command or equivalent. By looking at several MOOs (see: 5.2.1 and 5.2.2) one can kind find several major topics: 1. Politeness 2. Use of resources 3. Respect for property Basically manners look at lot like manners expected in a real society. As in the real world different manners apply for different contexts. 5.2.1 Examples from social MOOs Manners at Bay MOO: ----------------------------------------------------- BayMOO May 5/95 >go manners You step through the opening into the module named Manners. Intro to BayMOO [Manners: Manners] *** A Guide to Manners *** Welcome to BAYMOO. As a member of this community or as a guest, we invite you to join with us in supporting the following social interaction guidelines: 1. RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE. Citizens here are of all ages and come from many different parts of the world. Please do not offend others with your language or actions. 5.2. MANNERS 41 2. DON'T WALK OFF WITH OBJECTS THAT DON'T BELONG TO YOU. BayMOO is based on trust. Put things back where you found them. 3. DON'T SPOOF. Don't make it appear that other persons are saying or doing something they aren't. 4. ONLY TELEPORT YOUR OWN THINGS. 5. DON'T SPY. 6. ALWAYS BE POLITE. It is always polite to to ask permission before entering someone else's home. 7. NO WEAPONS. This is an cooperative environment. 8. NO HARASSMENT. [ ook; uit ] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manners at College Town: Interestingly College Town (A Educational MOO) has very similar rules: --------------------------------------------------------- CollegeTown 5/95 >help manners *** A Guide to Manners *** Welcome to COLLEGETOWN. As a member of this community or as a guest we invite you to join with us in supporting the following social interaction guidelines: 1. RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE. Citizens here are of all ages and range from first grade students to college professors. They come from many different parts of the world. Please do not offend others with your language or actions. It is polite to ask permission before visiting someone else's home. 2. DON'T WALK OFF WITH OBJECTS THAT DON'T BELONG TO YOU. CollegeTown is based on trust. Put things back where you found them. 3. DON'T SPOOF. Don't make it appear that other persons are saying or doing something they aren't. 4. ONLY TELEPORT YOUR OWN THINGS. 5. DON'T SPY. 6. DON'T SPAM. Don't annoy others by overloading the screen. 7. NO WEAPONS. This is an academic environment. 8. NO HARASSMENT. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.2.2 Examples from educational and research MOOs Some educational and research MOOs such as Diversity University are more precise. It can be asked whether such long messages (especially on a small tty screen) are really read. But then basic manners also are addressed in some ways on the welcome screen. ---------------------------------------------------------------- DU May 4 /95 42 CHAPTER 5. SOCIAL ISSUES >help manners Expected Behavior and Manners for Diversity University MOO ========================================================== This document describes the guidelines and expectations for acceptable behavior on Diversity University MOO, as well as some general suggestions for how to interact with others on the MOO. Users are expected to behave in a reasonable and responsible manner at all times, as laid out by this document, and failure to do so can result in disciplininary action by the wizards of the MOO. General security issues and matters which involve the functional integrity of the MOO, access to unauthorized abilities or areas, or real-world legal concerns are not covered in this document. For information on these policies, please see 'help terms'. Social Interaction ------------------ The MOO is not a game. It is a real social environment with people of all ages, from all walks of life, from all over the globe. Citizens of Diversity University are expected to act accordingly. This means the following: 1. Harassment of other users will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, spamming (filling their screen with unwanted text), teleporting them or their objects without their permission, repeated paging or following them after they have expressed a desire to be left alone, broadcasting messages to everyone on the MOO, or actions done with the specific intent of causing another person annoyance or discomfort. 2. While freedom of speech is an important part of Diversity University, obscene language, violence, unwanted sexual acts, or other blatantly offensive behavior will also not be tolerated. 3. Spoofing (displaying text that is not obviously attributed to your character) to deceive others or avoid responsibility for one's actions is traceable and is not allowed. Moreover, programming or making available verbs designed specifically to display text without attribution or misattributed text is also not allowed. 4. Spying on others is expressly prohibited. All objects which relay messages heard in a room to another person or location must clearly state that they do so. Silent teleportation is also a form of spying, as is any mechanism intended to intercept messages not intended for you through unanticipated loopholes (this last is also a security issue, see 'help terms'). 5. Common courtesy is expected from all users toward others on the MOO. In addition to the above points, this means paging others before joining them in a non-public space (a private room, a classroom, etc), asking before taking or using objects that do not belong to you, 5.2. MANNERS 43 leaving objects where you find them, and all of the other courtesies you would follow when visiting someone else's house or place of business. Users should also attempt to respect other people's sensibilities. Inhabitants of Diversity University come from a wide range of cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds which should be acknowledged and respected. Not everyone has the same feelings of acceptable speech and behavior, and consideration of others' feelings is an essential part of reasonable behavior on Diversity University. Diversity University is also a family environment with participants of all ages, and actions and statements made in this environment should reflect this. Public use of language or actions which are not suitable for children will not be tolerated on this system. Should you have problems with another user who is not following these requirements, please report their actions to a wizard or other designated authority. If none are immediately available, some commands for temporary sanctuary are available. For more information see help on @gag, @refuse, and @eject. For tips on contacting wizards and other busy people, see 'help wizards'. Polite Use of MOO Resources --------------------------- Be considerate when designing verbs and objects to perform tasks on the MOO. MOO resources are shared amongst all the inhabitants, and badly designed systems can affect the performance of the entire MOO. Do not design code or create systems that consume inordinate amounts of processing time or resources without consultation with the wizards first, and always design code in such a way as to be as efficient and server-friendly as possible. Help keep database size down. Use verbs such as @copy only when absolutely necessary. Do not copy nifty verbs someone else has made to yourself so you can use them. Ask them or a wizard to put the verb on a feature object instead. Use @rmm to remove personal mail messages once you are done with them, and keep cross-posting (sending the same mail messages to multiple recipients) to a minimum. When copying or modifying other people's code, be sure to ask permission first, and comply with any requests they have regarding the use of their code. Simply because something is readable does not give you the right to use or copy it, and use of another person's code against their wishes is both illegal and not allowed on this MOO. Another limited resource of the MOO is player names. Player names and aliases, unlike the names and aliases of other types of objects, are required to be unique. This means that if you have taken a certain name as your name or one of your aliases, nobody else can have a character with that name. For this reason, please keep the number of your aliases, particularly common ones, to a minimum. Users should 44 CHAPTER 5. SOCIAL ISSUES only have aliases that relate directly to their character's name, and possibly one (reasonable) nickname. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- Media MOO 5/95 >help manners The MOO, like other MUDs, is a social community; it is populated by real people that you interact with via network connections. Like other communities of human beings, the members of this one have evolved certain guidelines for the behavior of the participants. This article lays out what the wizards believe to be the general consensus concerning these `rules of courteous behavior,' or `manners,' on the MOO. Many of the rules that follow are by no means `obvious' or even related to similar rules in the real world. The MOO is not the real world; it has its own special properties that require new kinds of rules. These rules have been worked out through our experiences with the MOO; they reflect what we've learned about what make the MOO an enjoyable place. >> Be polite. Avoid being rude. << The MOO is worth participating in because it is a pleasant place for people to be. When people are rude or nasty to one another, it stops being so pleasant. >> Turn the other cheek. << If someone is nasty to you, please either ignore it or tell a janitor about it if you must. Please *don't* try to take revenge on the person; this just escalates the level of rudeness and makes the MOO a less pleasant place for everyone involved. >> Respect other players' sensibilities. << The participants on the MOO come from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. Your ideas about what constitutes offensive speech or descriptions are likely to differ from those of other players. Please keep the text that players can casually run across as free of potentially-offensive material as you can. If you want to build objects or areas that are likely to offend some segment of the community, please give sufficient warning to the casual explorer so that they can choose to avoid those objects or areas. >> Don't spoof. << Spoofing is loosely defined as `causing misleading output to be printed to other players.' For example, it would be spoofing for anyone but Munchkin to print out a message like `Munchkin sticks out his tongue at Potrzebie.' This makes it look like Munchkin is unhappy with Potrzebie even though that may not be the case at all. Please be aware that, while it is easy to write MOO programs that spoof, it is also easy to detect such spoofing and correctly trace it to its source. See `help spoofing' for more details. >> Don't shout. << It is easy to write a MOO command that prints a message to every connected player in the MOO. Please don't. It is generally annoying to receive such messages; such shouting should be reserved for really important uses, like wizards telling everyone that the server is about to be shut down. 5.2. MANNERS 45 Non-wizards never have a good enough reason to shout. Use `page' instead. >> Only teleport your own things. << By default, most objects (including other players) allow themselves to be moved freely from place to place within the MOO. This fact makes it easier to build useful objects like exits and magic rings that move things as a part of their normal role in the virtual reality. Unfortunately, it also makes it easy to move other players from place to place without their permission, or to move objects in and out of other players' possession. Please don't do this; it's annoying (at the least) to the poor victim and can only cause bad feelings. EXCEPTION: Room owners should feel free to eject unwanted objects/players from their own rooms or to divert unwanted objects/players trying to enter their rooms. >> Don't teleport silently. << It is easy to write MOO commands that move you instantly from place to place. In writing such programs, please remember to print a message to all players both in the place you're moving from and in the place you're moving to. It is disconcerting and otherwise unpleasant for someone to suddenly say something in a room without there ever having been a notice that that person had arrived. Similarly, it is annoying to discover that you've been talking for some time to a person who has left the room without a sound. >> Don't hog the server. << The server is carefully shared among all of the connected players so that everyone gets a chance to execute their commands. This sharing is, by necessity, somewhat approximate however; while players cannot completely shut out others, they can significantly degrade the server's overall performance. The most annoying way to do this is to run MOO programs that loop forever (or for a long time) using `fork (0)' or `suspend(0)' occasionally to keep from running out of ticks. If you are writing a program that will run for a long time, please make it wait at least five seconds between iterations. That is, if your task will run continuously, use `fork (n)' or `suspend(n)' where `n' is at least five. >> Don't waste object numbers. << Some people, in a quest to own objects with what they consider `interesting' object numbers (e.g., #17000, #18000, etc.) have written MOO programs that simply loop, creating and recycling objects until the `good' numbers come up. Please don't do this; it artificially inflates all object numbers and increases the disk space used by the server unnecessarily. >> Don't Crack << It should go without saying: attempting to break into the system to obtain more quota, power, other player's site information, etc. is *very* rude. See 'help cracking' for more on this topic. ============================== The wizards are always interested in hearing players' feedback on these rules of behavior. The rules were developed by the consensus of players and can be expected to evolve that way, too. 46 CHAPTER 5. SOCIAL ISSUES --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.3 Social Identities on MUDs 5.3.1 Should "serious" MOOs allow anonymity ? At TECFAMOO we probably will take the option of making available a persons e-mail address. This insures in the owners opinion accountability of users acts and more importantly it reduces the amount of monitoring needed. A different stance can be taken as shown by a message posted by Richelieu on *MOOteach@DU (21 and 24, Jan 14 94): --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To tell the truth, I don't really like the idea of a student player class at all (except maybe for young students), and I really don't like the idea that teachers should have absolute control over what their students can and can't do here. This place isn't just a teaching environment, it should be a learning environment too, and the more you restrict what a student can do, the less likely they are to want to learn what you're trying to teach them, and the less able they are to learn anything else. This is a brave new world, and I find it really distressing that people seem to be falling back into RL preconceptions and ideas about control. Having lived in MOOs for a long time now, I've found that even the more unruly people can usually be dealt with in much more effectively if not simply grouped into one big category of "troublemakers" and locked in shackles. And I also don't believe the point of Diversity University should not be to allow a captive audience for someone because they can't control their students in RL. Now, I do believe that some things are good ideas. There should be the ability for a teacher to make their classroom page-proof, and prevent similar disruptive influences from outside, and to be able to identify anyone they are responsible for (this does not necessarily mean all their students. By responsibility I mean primarily all characters with a group RL email account, since registered email addresses are the primary form of responsibility enforceable by the wizards). It must also, of course, be possible for a teacher to ensure that they're dealing with who they think they're dealing with when it comes to grades and such. Beyond this, I am strongly in favor of anonymity for anyone who desires it (please keep in mind that the wizards always have access to the information, and if there are problems, they are the ones who should be handling it anyway, so irresponsibility is not an issue here). The ability to be anonymous often results in people who are more likely to try new things, voice their opinions, ask questions, and generally experiment, particularly in the areas of social interaction, ideological preconceptions, psychological issues, and other things that they wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable dealing with in a RL environment, and I don't think that we should be so limited in our goals as to ignore this as a valuable potential part of 5.3. SOCIAL IDENTITIES ON MUDS 47 D.U.s environment. I speak from experience in this respect, not only regarding others I have known but regarding myself as well. Moreover, lack of anonymity has a significant effect on how people perceive this virtual space that they're in. If user information is available, people inevitably use it, and this place simply becomes a bunch of people with masks on, not real at all. With anonymity comes a much more real social structure and a feeling that one is part of something that isn't simply a game or a computer program somewhere, but a real society, which often leads to a very real sense of belonging (often, in the case of people who are normally troublemakers, for people who otherwise don't feel that they belong very much of anywhere), and a feeling of social responsibility to _their_ society. While it is inevitably true that we will get our share of troublemakers and problem people, this will, for the most part, be unaffected by whether people are anonymous or not, and the treatment of real problem people will not be significantly improved by lack of anonymity anyway. I strongly believe that the ability of the individual to choose can not only significantly improve the academic atmosphere, but can lead to a better understanding of this new environment, and a much more mature attitude towards the MOO and the people in it. [...] [...] my point comes down to this: I have been in places that have complete anonymity and places that have very little. I have found almost exclusively that the places with anonymity are more interesting, have more discussion on a wider range of issues, and have a wider range of people and experiences available. It is my belief that this is the type of place that Diversity University should be, and it is my belief that a lack of anonymity is an unnecessary measure that would only serve to hinder this. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In some cases anonymity has clear advantages. Like ceejay notes on *MOOteach@DU (27, Jan 14 94) there are cases where anonymity is necessary or an advantage: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [...] an example might be a group of students for a class on human sexuality. in an ideal society i should be able to walk into this class and say that i am bisexual without having to worry about the other students. however, i have been in classes where i was told that bisexuals were untrustworthy. i could not reveal my sexuality in this class without having my opinions of everything else colored by it. another argument for anonymity would be so that another student is not prejudiced by what obvious characteristics make up who i am. for example 48 CHAPTER 5. SOCIAL ISSUES on a mud i can play a male or female character, or a character with no gender that corresponds to genders in real life. like it or not, there is a great deal of stereotyping by gender in life. my field experience instructor appears to believe that females decide to stop liking math in junior high because they (the students) don't think it will make them appear feminine enough. in my women's studies class, it was believed that men could not discuss the topic because they just couldn't understand. [...] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.4 wizards [under construction] Wizards are the organizational backbone of a MOO, as it is shown also in the discussion in section 5.1. We would like to address several questions here: o The Wizard culture o Owners and Wizards o Programming vs. Ruling vs. Administrating 5.4.1 A story from the MOO Cows In May 95 a kid posted the following message to the MOO-Cows mailing list: Hi my name is Bryan Snyder and i would like to apply to be a wizard on any MOO that is in need.Please write back at bjs1os@wizard.stark.k12.oh.us. I'm an experienced at programming $features and $things. Thanks, Bryan Snyder This question led to an interesting exchange on this list revealing a lot on the ``wizard culture''. Appearently the kid who posted the message is a ``real'' 7th grader, very enthousiastic about computers and MOOing, but quite unaware of what it takes to be a ``real wizard''. In the first place he mostly got friendly, but ironic remarks. Taking them badly he reposted short and socially inappropriate messages also badly lacking grammar. This lead to increasingly nasty messages by others but also to some who thought one should give the kid a break and more who reiterated friendly advice on how to become a ``real wizard''. Anyhow the interesting thing was not the evolution of this particular exchange, but some of detailed remarks he got back from real wizards showing their understanding of their role and the of the path(es) leading to wizard function. In the following section we refer to this material as ``Brian's request to be a wiz''. Bibliography [ACKERMANN, 1994] ACKERMANN, E. (1994). Direct and Mediated Experience: Their Role in Learning. In LEWIS, R. et MENDELSOHN, P., (eds.), Lessons from Learning. North-Holland, Amsterdam. [DIEBERGER, 1994a] DIEBERGER, A. (1994a). On Navigation in Textual Virtual Environments and Hypertext. PhD thesis, Vienna Universtiy of Technology. [DIEBERGER, 1994b] DIEBERGER, A. (1994b). Spacial environments to organize and navigate information and to communicate about this organization. In Position Paper for the Workshop at the European Conference on Hypermedia Technology, Edinburgh. HTTP: http://www.gatech.edu/lcc/idt/Faculty/andreas_dieberger/A.Dieberger.home.html. [DIEBERGER et TROMP, 1993] DIEBERGER, A. et TROMP, J. (1993). The Information City project - a virtual reality user interface for navigation in information systems. In Proc. fo the Symposium Virtual Reality, Vienna. HTTP: http://www.gatech.edu/lcc/idt/Faculty/andreas_dieberger/A.Dieberger.home.html. [EVARD, 1993] EVARD, R. (1993). Collaborative Networked Communication: MUDs as Systems Tools. In LISA, Monterey, CA. [FANDERCLAI, 1995] FANDERCLAI, T. L. (1995). MUDs in Education: New Environments, New Pedagoguies. CMC Magazine, 2(1). HTTP: http://www.rpi.edu/%7Edecemj/cmc/mag/1995/jan/fanderclai.html. 49