Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs)
by Jeff Cooper - Montag, 3 März 2003, 06:19 

I would like to know if others in this seminar have experience with MUVEs such as Tapped In http://www.tappedin.org or Diversity University http://moo.du.org.

Several things immediately come to mind when considering these environments:

1) Polysynchronous global educational communities. I have built and sustained professional relationships going back eight years (when they were known as MOOs... before that MUDs) in these environments. Currently Pepperdine University and other schools use Tapped In for education seminars.
2) Online real time help is almost always available.
3) Ability to log conversations.
4) Ability to project websites to remote computers.
5) Free for educators to create their own environments, as well as free client to facilitate learning.

I have written several tutorials on this system availabe at http://pages.ivillage.com/edmoo. I would be interested to see if this environment could be used as an adjunct to this seminar to facilitate meetings and classes. I look forward to hearing from others about MUVEs and other learning environments.

Regards,

Jeff Cooper
Education Technology Specialist
College of Education Pacific University

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Dear Jeff,

this is an interesting point you made ! We were reflecting for many years now, of how to improve the pedagogical potentials by implementing new features. Having tools inside for synchronous communication and exchange of information is a benefitial, stimulating the interaction (and the motivation). However, to use that in an international settings with different time zones to respect is very difficult, if it is not for use at a voluntary base.

Let's continue this discussion after you have made further experience with this envirnment and course. Maybe come to some further idea for improving the pedagogial approch what I would consider to be very intersting!

Best wishes,

Fritz
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Dear Fritz,

Thanks for the kind words. You are correct in your comment that coordination of synchronous conversation is difficult because of the time differences. However, that does not mean that it is not impossible for formal meetings to take place. With sufficient advanced notice, I have helped facilitate such global conferencing.

Furthermore, it is much more useful to use the synchronous feature as a way of informally meeting with fellow participants as the seminar progresses. It is one thing to read someone else's profile; it is quite another to "drop in" to the Foyer and have an online conversation. Currently there are six users online, and yet I am the only one in the Foyer!

It would be nice if this system had a method of Instant Messaging other users, or better still, if users would open a second window as a matter of protocol and enter the Foyer for casual collegial conversation to facilitate collaboration. How does that sound to you?

Of course, I view MUVEs as beneficial for the reasons I mentioned in my first post, and I would like to work towards incorporating them into my project, as well as for helping to facilitate this seminar (if I become a moderator).

If anyone would like to discuss this, please feel free to reply to the main message in this thread, or see me in the Foyer!

Regards,

Jeff
---------t - using short-cut keys on the keyboard, drop-down menus, and button bars. Complex sequences are chunked into short, step-by-step lists for easier storage in long-term memory.