MOO
TOOLS
WHAT TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE?
While there are tools, such
as online dictionaries, which are specific to particular MOOs, this
section provides a brief overview of tools which can be found in most MOOs.
The best way to find out how they work and what can be done with them is
to log into a MOO and try them out. Online
help usually provides an overview of the various commands available
for use with a particular tool. If online help does not clarify
the use of the item,
other users
are usually willing to provide explanations.
MOO tools can be divided
into those which can be used for
-
computer mediated communication
[CMC] within MOO
-
collaborative or individual
project work
-
data collection for later use
or reflection
-
presentation
-
socialization
These tools may be synchronous
or asynchronous and may allow for one or two way communication, as shown
in the table below.
Features of some widely-used MOO tools
MOOMAIL
The in-MOO mailing system -
MOOmail,
offers its users facilities similar to email services on Internet servers.
MOOmail is similar to email but available only to users of individual MOO
communities; it is not usually possible to send MOOmail to a recipient
who is not also a user of the MOO from which the message originates, although
some MOOs do allow this service. Like email, MOOmail is an asynchronous
CMC tool which permits users to send, forward or reply to single or multiple
recipients - MOOmail messages can even be automatically forwarded to users’
email accounts.
[Table]
MAILING
LISTS
Most MOOs have in-MOO mailing
lists to allow the MOO community to participate in asynchronous discussion
for a on specific topics such as policy discussion, current events, teachers’
notices, current events and so on. The user may subscribe to
those lists which are available to her/him and then receives any
MOOmail sent to those lists. Similarly, the user can simply address her/his
MOOmail to a particular list, and other subscribers to that list will receive
that message. Any user can set up a list, although it is necessary
to contact the MOO administrators
(wizards) to request permission to make the list active. MOO-based
mailing lists can be used as collaborative tools which, for example, enable
learners to build up and follow logical sequences within a discussion.
[Table]
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS [FAQs]
In-MOO mailing lists can include
threaded discussions or simply reply to specific questions. Lists
of this sort may may be used in the same way as FAQ lists and can
even be dynamically and collaboratively shaped by their subscribers, who
will use the list as the first port of call when they have questions about
some aspect related to the topic of the list.
[Table]
BULLETIN
BOARDS
Within the MOO environment,
it is possible to create an object known as a “note”. This can be written
on by a restricted or unrestricted group of users and can operate as a
Bulletin
Board. Unlike the CMC tools described above, the Bulletin Board
is a one-way communication medium. Specified users may post announcements
to it, while both they and others with appropriate permissions may read
it.
For project work, a Bulletin
Board is a useful tool on which to post general announcements to groups
of learners involved in a project, although it is necessary to ensure that
they are aware that they should check the Bulletin Board regularly for
project updates.
[Table]
BOOKS
Although similar to collaborative
whiteboards, books contain multiple ‘pages’ that can be read or
written on. It is also possible to program or define who has permission
to alter the contents of any book.
This tool has the portability
of white/blackboards (which are, after all, portable)
and can be used in any variety of imaginable ways. Among other activities,
books may be used to keep notes about learning strategies, useful quotations,
references, urls and so on. They may also be employed to present
material and to reflect on the learning experience. Books may also
be used in less ‘academic’ ways, such as compiling user-written Haiku or
recipe collections, or providing salutations to, or personal information
about other users.
[Table]
WHITEBOARDS
AND BLACKBOARDS
The in-MOO note object can be
adapted for use as a brainstorming tool which behaves in the same
manner as a text-based whiteboard or blackboard. The main
difference between the Bulletin Board tool and
the black/whiteboard is that while the former is used to leave
information for others, usually asynchronously, the latter is often employed
by users to share their ideas synchronously. Of course, any text
entered on a white/blackboard remains until it is 'erased', so it is possible
for participants in collaborative brainstorming sessions to track the development
of an idea from conception to completion merely by reading through the
contents of the board.
Although all text entered
into a MOO during a ‘conversation’ continues to be accessible as long as
it is in the buffer, there are two major problems associated with this:
-
text in a MOO scrolls up the
screen with each new text entry. This means that if users want to
consult something from earlier in an exchange, they must scroll back through
subsequent text until they find the required item. This then has
to be cut and pasted so that it can be shared with all participants.
-
once the maximum buffer-size
has been exceeded, earlier contents are deleted from the buffer, and so
it may not be possible to retrieve the required information.
White/blackboard tools provide
users with a permanent, easily-accessible, editable space in which to brainstorm
ideas or to write and edit text individually or in collaboration with others.
[Table]
OHP and OHT
The overhead projector
[OHP] tool allows a presentation format to be adopted. If one player
wishes to present pre-prepared material to others, as in a meeting or tutorial,
for example, s/he can use the OHP to ‘project’ virtual transparencies [OHTs]
to the screen. All users then see the same information at the same
time. In some ways, this is a rather more sophisticated version of
the @paste MOO command which allows the user to copy and paste text-based
information from any other electronic source to users in the same virtual
space, or even in other virtual spaces within the MOO. Unlike @paste,
however, the OHP allows the user to pre-prepare and format material for
public presentations either individually or in collaboration with others.
[Table]
TV/VCR
For processes which require
a step-by-step approach, MOO offers television [TV] and video-recorders
[VCR] objects. It is possible to program a sequence of events which
can be played back, paused, ‘rewound’ and replayed by the user. Many
educational MOOs use TV and VCR objects to present tutorials to beginning
MOO programmers. The user is able to select a tutorial and then ‘play’
it on either a TV or VCR object. The tutorials are synchronous
and interactive – the user performs the actions as the tutorial explains
them – with the user being able to pause and repeat the video tape at will.
The output of the TV/VCR object may be shared by all players present in
the virtual space in which is it showing, thus providing a group learning
experience and allowing users to discuss together sections which they may
not have understood. In this way, learners can take collective responsibility
for their learning if they wish to do so.
[Table]
LOGS AND TAPE
RECORDERS
Using raw Telnet or a MOO
client, it is possible for a player to keep a record or log
of any MOO session in which s/he participates. The logging
function can provide a very useful record of an online session for all
users, from language learners to collaborative writers. Language
learners can use their MOO logs to identify and reflect on any linguistic
errors they may have made, while those who use MOO for professional purposes
can employ logs to record decisions made at meetings and so on. Further,
because the logging function is built into the client, rather than into
the MOO itself, the user does not fill up valuable ‘quota’ or database
space with the log, thus avoiding database bloat, one of the effects against
which MOO administrators are in constant conflict.
While logging does have many
advantages, there are also some serious disadvantages associated with this
function:
Firstly, logs are personal
and include everything a player sees on screen. Private conversations can
be logged secretly, leading to greater or lesser violations of privacy
when published under the title of 'research' later, without the explicit
consent of all participants. In certain circumstances, logging can also
facilitate violations of intellectual property rights.
-
if users share their MOO session
logs, it may be necessary to edit out some of the content which it is not
appropriate for all readers of the log, either because it is irrelevant
to the discussion (system messages, for example) or of a personal or private
nature.
-
the log one user sees is different
from that seen by another user, as shown below.
| What Lesley sees |
What Markus sees |
You say, "Ok... 1. Can you send
to someone (who isn't yourself) outside the MOO with MOOmail?"
You say, "2. Let's just make it
"an object known as" because it could be a vast object, in fact..."
Markus nods.
Markus says, "and even receive the answer"
You say, "Really? How?"
Lesley can't get that to work at all!
Markus says, "This is a feature most owners
don't use (server load disk space and bandwidth wise"
You say, "How? How? How?"
Lesley squeaks in an unlovely fashion
Lesley has made the change, but would
love to know the answer (please?)
Markus is lagging badly. Please
bear with him until he either lags out or returns to the MOO. |
Lesley says, "Ok... 1. Can you send
to someone (who isn't yourself) outside the MOO with MOOmail?"
Lesley says, "2. Let's just make
it "an object known as" because it could be a vast object, in fact..."
Markus nods.
You say, "and even receive the answer"
Lesley says, "Really? How?"
Lesley can't get that to work at all!
You say, "This is a feature most owners
don't use (server load disk space and bandwidth wise"
Lesley says, "How? How? How?"
Lesley squeaks in an unlovely fashion
Lesley has made the change, but would
love to know the answer (please?)
Markus is lagging badly. Please
bear with him until he either lags out or returns to the MOO. |
Different World Views
Secondly, if a user loses
the connection, any exchanges which take place while the user is disconnected
are not recorded. Indeed, in certain instances, the entire MOO log
can be lost as a result of a lost connection. For this reason, if
logging of this sort occurs, it is recommended that more than one participant
log the session. In this way, at least one log is likely to be available
at the end of an online session.
One of the ways in which
it is possible to produce ‘clean logs’, that is logs of MOO sessions which
do not include a record of communications from users outside the group,
or pages (private messages) between members of the group, is to use a ‘tape-recorder’
object. This object will record only what it ‘sees’ on the screen.
Since it is an object, not a player, it does not receive a record of who
logs in or out of the database, and receives no communications extraneous
to the discussion. A tape-recorded log, therefore, does not need
to be edited.
Because the tape-recorder
is part of the MOO environment, it continues to record, even when its owner
is not there, thus solving the problem of logs lost as a result of
broken connections. Unfortunately, the tape-recorder log does
use up database space, and so it is necessary to ‘erase’ the contents regularly.
It is, however, possible in many MOOs to send the ‘tape-recorded’ log directly
to their own email – as opposed to MOOmail – accounts by using a single
command before erasing them from the tape-recorder.
NB: It is considered to
be unethical to make 'secret' recordings of any MOO session, whether by
using the log function or by employing a tape-recorder object. Such
behaviour is a serious breach of MOOtiquette
and, in some MOOs, can result in expulsion from the MOO community and destruction
of the offender's MOO persona by the wizards.
[Table]
CLASSROOMS
AND MEETING ROOMS
For those who take a pedagogically
more traditional point of view, most educational MOOs offer the tailor-made
virtual classroom or meeting room, complete with:
-
discussion areas for small group
meetings
-
an OHP for presenting material
to the entire group
-
a whiteboard or blackboard which
the ‘teacher’ – and others with the appropriate permissions - can write
on.
It is important to note that
the discussion areas in this type of ‘room’ object are programmed so that
the users in the ‘private’ areas cannot communicate with those in the ‘public’
areas by using the usual say command. This is a useful pedagogical
feature, since it means that learners can work in the same virtual room,
undisturbed by others. There are, however, also disadvantages in that unless
all participants in a discussion within a such a room are aware of its
properties, misunderstandings can arise. For example, if a player
in a 'private' area is unaware that her/his contributions can only be seen
by others in the same area, this can lead to frustration and anger that
the wider group appears to be ignoring her/him, while those in the public
area may find the apparent silence of one of their colleagues inexplicable
because they do not realize that s/he is in a private area and thus, any
contribution s/he makes is not visible to the wider group.
It is important to remember,
then, that the features of this type of room should be clearly explained
to all participants in order to avoid demotivating learning experiences.
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BOTS
Bots, short for ‘Robots’
are artificial ‘players’ in that they are programmed objects that can respond
to certain commands given by ‘real’ users. They serve a variety of
purposes within educational MOOs. They may, for example:
-
play games against real players
if other users are not logged into the system
-
provide a socialization tool
- some bots, for example, act as 'waiters', 'bar tenders' or 'disc jockeys'
and respond to certain commands
-
present learning material in
response to specific commands
The function of bot objects
is limited only by the programmer's imagination and programming skills.
It has even been known for real players to have 'conversations' with bots
for some time before realizing that they are conversing with an artificial
player!
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GAMES
Most MOOs contain some sort
of game.
These may be word games like Scrabble or Boggle, card games like Hearts
or Poker, treasure hunts or even virtual darts. Such games fulfill
a variety of functions from socializing players to allowing them to practise
the target language in specific situations.
While the games are played
in real time, they can also be saved and returned to at a later date.
It is even possible for games like virtual chess to be played asynchronously,
with opponents logging in and making a move independently of the other
being online.
[Table]
[Top]
Last updated
30th January 1999
Authors: Lesley
Shield and Markus J.Weininger
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