Created by Dorine S. Houston
Institute for Global Communication
Target learners/grade level
ESL, advanced beginner adults
Objectives
immediate: use reading skills to understand a virtual environment
long-term: use a MOO environment independently to enhance reading,
communication, and keyboarding skills, and become
comfortable using the computer for pleasure in order to
use it effectively for work and studies.
Over the course of a semester, the students will become relatively comfortable at the keyboard and probably improve their typing speed in because they want to keep up with conversations with other learners. They will lose their fear of computers and of the Internet. They will become more fluent in expressing themselves in casual conversation. The teacher will probably find that their fluency increases at an unexpectedly rapid rate, at the levels of both vocabulary and syntax.
Materials Teacher permanent character status with room for
student character to set as home.
Handout describing SchMOOze University and basic
navigation and communication commands
Worksheet for each student to record character name,
description, and @gender.
Worksheets for students to record events while at
SchMOOze.
1 computer for each 2 students, with Internet
connectivity and telnet capability.
Internet Activity
Visit SchMOOze University
http://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu:8888 or telnet to schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu 8888
Procedures
Day 1
* Go over handout describing MOO environment and commands
* Have each learner decide on a name and description to use at
SchMOOze
Day 2
* Log on to SchMOOze University with predetermined names/descs
* Go to classroom to review commands
* Find a regular character (a person whose name is not followed by "::guest") and learn at least three things about that person (home country, native language, what the person does, how long the person has been MOOing, hobbies and interests, etc.). Tell that person at least three things about yourself, if the person seems interested.
* Ask the person if s/he is willing to take you to visit a place of interest at SchMOOze and help you learn how to use it. Get somebody who will take you to the Game Room, Cafeteria, own room, Bar, Library, POD Garden, or another site the person likes.
Day 3
* Present a report in class (done for homework) about your experiences at SchMOOze University. Describe the person you met and the place you visited.
*Log on and play the Scavenger Hunt (language learning activity)
Day 4
* Log on to SchMOOze and revisit the place you enjoyed the previous time. Try to find the same person you talked with the first time, and also try to meet a new person. Choose a second point of interest to explore at SchMOOze and prepare to report on your experiences.
* Notice how regular MOOers use such acronyms as BTW, LOL, and ROTFL, smileys, and amusing 'verbs' such as the welcome carpet, ways of laughing, smiling, and hugging, the high five and 'duck', and anything else that gets your attention. Ask people to explain them to you.
Day 5
* Report on your experiences in class.
* Log on and play the Grammar Maze.
Day 6
* Log on and look for toys such as dogs, horses, and tamagotchis and see how their owners use them. Look for objects with verb attachments to enable you to 'drink lemonade', 'eat sandwich', 'pet dog', 'ride horse', 'plant flower', or the like. Prepare a report on your findings for your classmates.
* Request a permanent character and set your description, gender, and password. Set your home in the room your teacher has established for that purpose.
Ongoing
* Log on at least twice a week and keep a journal of your experiences to show to your teacher upon request.
Evaluation
The teacher moves about the room observing learner activities and helping as needed. The teacher is also logged on and paying attention to feedback about the learners from regular MOOers.
Evaluate post activity reports for completeness. Observe any discomfort learners express with the activities and find out how to alleviate them.
Review journals at least once every 3 weeks.
Observe new vocabulary and structures used by students which were not learned in class; ask is they were learned from interacting at the MOO. Keep a journal recording items learned there by students. Have learners keep a list of new lexical items learned during interactions and give individual tests at least twice from the lists in the journals. Request reports on grammatical structures the individuals have exercised in the process of communicating, offer 'drill and kill' to those who express interest, and give an individualized exam to each learner covering the points in the individual's journal.
Midterm and final evaluation activities: Have participants talk about their new friends and experiences, and discuss what they think they have learned by being there regularly.
Have a final conference with each learner, making it a point to emphasize the extra learning that occurred painlessly while MOOing. Ask the learner to self-evaluate improvement in keyboarding speed and explain why that is a valuable skill for further study or work.