Category: teaching

In 1993, while I was working at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and exploring the educational potentials of the, then emerging, Internet, I ran across an intriguing and inspiring summer project being conducted at Maricopa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona.

With the local school district, they invited a diverse group of students who would be entering fourth, fifth or sixth grades (all at-risk of failure) into a MUD  or Multi-User Domain.  Essentially, a MUD is a text-based virtual environment.  Think SecondLife  where the environment is read about, instead of seen graphically.

This particular MUD was empty, flat asphalt.  These students, some of whom you couldn’t get to write their names in a classroom, were challenged to create a virtual city in the MUD, by learning a simple programming language and describing its buildings, parks and their own virtual homes, in all their richness, with words.

You can read what Howard Rheingold had to say about the project here.

At the end of the project, I invited a number of the organizers and volunteers to a virtual office I was maintaining at MIT’s MediaMOO, where my avatar was known as Peiohpah.  There I interviewed the team about their experience. I had acquired a virtual video camera, which recorded the exchanges.

Here is a portion of that interview played back on Pei’s TV.

[on Pei's TV]      ***********************************
[on Pei's TV]      **   C a m p   M a r i M U S E   **
[on Pei's TV]      **  An Interview with the staff  **
[on Pei's TV]      **      of the first virtual     **
[on Pei's TV]      **         Computer Camp         **
[on Pei's TV]      ***********************************
[on Pei's TV]
[on Pei's TV]      . . . the camera pans left to right over
                 Pei's Studio
 
[on Pei's TV]  A cozy corner with two comfortable sofas
               arranged for conversation in front of a large
               picture of a schoolhouse. Curiously, the
               walls of the schoolhouse appear to be
               transparent. There is a copy of Tuesday's
               *New York Times* on an end table.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila smiles at the camera
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "I'm here with a few friends today
               to talk about a project that they have been
               involved in this summer, Camp MariMUSE.  I
               call them friends although I have never met
               them face-to-face, and don't even know the
               sounds of their voices.  Yet I have
               profoundly enjoyed their companionship by
               interacting not only with their words, but
               with their imaginations, and -- most
               importantly to this interview -- with their
               innovation."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei turns to the rest of the group.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Hi, Pei"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon  looks toward Pei, pleased to be
               here.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Why don't we start with my guests
               introducing them selves."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody waves to TV land
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K giggles
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila says, ""I am Lila on the MariMuse, a
               volunteer for the project.  I am a student
               at Phoenix college, a returning student"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "I am Billie Hughes aka Avalon
               on MariMUSE.  I worked with the team that
               first brought Muse to Phoenix College."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei senses that another member of the
               MariMUSE team is looking for them and
               disappears suddenly for parts unknown.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila waits for Pei to return
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "I am Miss-K on the Muse, and
               Susan Oram in RL (Real life) -- the school
               librarian at Longview Elementary School. "
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei has arrived.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad materializes out of thin air.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Hi Wlad!"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody says, "I am Rod Brashear, Woody on
               Marimuse.  I am a student at Arizona State
               Universtiy-West and also work for the
               Arizona Department of Education.  I
               volunteered to be involved with the Longview
               project."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila waves to Wlad, and thinks she has seen
               him before ;)"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Hi, Wlad"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Wlad, would you introduce
               yourself?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "Hi, and I am Jim Walters.  I
               work at Pheonix College and am intensely
               interested in this medium."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Is that everyone?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila thinks that is all for the moment,
               Platoon will join us later"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "Thanks"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon turns toward Pei,anticipating a
               question."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei reads from his clipboard, then faces
               Avalon.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Avalon, would you begin by
               explaining how Camp MariMUSE came to be?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "Wlad and I were in the library
               one day when the Dean walked in.  We were
               excited about what Muse was doing for our
               college students.  She suggested we do a
               summer camp for kids."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "We jumped at the chance and
               the rest is history."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "Avalon had heard a rumor that
               Joanne, the principal at Longview, might be
               supportive of a technology linked proposal.
               So we set out to meet with her."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody says, "wlad and Av planted a seed and
               didn't realize how big the tree would be.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila says, "...and still growing!"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "it's rather like falling into
               the rabbit's hole with Alice."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei grins with understanding
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila laughs at the rabbit hole analogy
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "So it began as an environment for
               college student?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "We did try to start with the
               basis that it could accommodate learners of
               all ages."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "But college students were the
               group we began with because that was the
               group we had access to."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "We tried it first with our own
               students, but always dreamed of a huge one
               room school for learners of all ages."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "The dream is starting to come
               true, isn't it?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila nods agreement
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "We took some risks in bringing
               in some of our own students, then to try to
               offer a class entirely in this environment."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei turns to Miss-K.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Miss-K,  Could you describe some
               of the landmarks of MariMUSE that your
               campers saw when they first entered the
               MUSE?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody notices sweat on the brow of Miss-k.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila hands Miss-K a tissue
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K smiles sickly!
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei reaches over and touches Miss-K's hand!
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Well, we went to Lady
               Starlight's castle first. "
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei's eyes widen with excitement.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "We also visited some of the
               places the first group of campers had
               created.  Also, Some of the campers spent
               quite a lot of time in an amusement park."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "A couple of the volunteers had
               created a space station that was the initial
               home of all the Longview campers."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Tell me about the students who
               participated in Camp MariMUSE?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody says, "Do you want a feel for what
               they were like in RL, when they entered the
               room?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, “Yes!"

[on Pei's TV]  Avalon sits back listening to those who were
               with the children the most to talk.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Well, it was quite a mixed
               group of children.  Our school is very
               multi-ethnic and those groups were
               represented at the camp."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon looks at Miss-K remembering just how
               diverse the group really was.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila remembers being surprised at the young
               ages.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "The kids were all going into
               the fourth, fifth or sixth grade.”

[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "The children who attended were
               children who were definitely at-risk for
               failure in school either because of their
               back grounds or skills.  They were chosen by
               the teachers at Longview on the basis of who
               we thought might benefit the most. "
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "The first day of camp was an
               exciting day.  Students had heard exciting
               rumors and were very eager, with a bit of
               confusion and trepidation, to come to a
               college and work with the MUSE."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Platoon materializes out of thin air.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Platoon says, "HI Pei, sorry I interrupted"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Platoon, my man! gime five!"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Platoon ^5's Pei
 
[on Pei's TV]  Platoon sits back and listens
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody says, "The first couple of days the
               children were very quite and shy.  After the
               comfort level was attained the kids were
               conversing in the muse and RL with real
               excitement and interest"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "They seemed very young, and shy
               and seemed to be wondering why they were
               here, but then they got started began having
               fun."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K nods.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "How did the students first
               approach the text-based virtual environment?
               What was their early reaction?”

[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "On the first day, I heard
               whispers of, "This is dumb."  By the end of
               the first session, all the campers agreed it
               was about the coolest thing they had ever
               done.”

[on Pei's TV]  Lila recalls the excitement of the children
               when they left for the bus, how anxious they
               were to come back the second day."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila recalls how quickly the children became
               conscious of correct spelling"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "I had worried that the ones who
               couldn't keyboard might become discouraged
               and quit, but they just hung in and their
               skills kept improving."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Even this morning some kids
               were asking about getting back on the system
               so they wouldn't lose their keyboarding
               skills."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Those of you who were volunteers,
               how did you assist the campers and what sort
               of impact did this experience have on you
               personally?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Platoon says, "My best the very best
               experience I had was when I started paging
               some of the campers and ask them if they
               need help...and they responded where are
               you...and i said that I am kinda far away
               from you...they couldn't imagine that "
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lady Starlight materializes out of thin air.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Platoon says, "I thought that was so cool to
               have to convince them that I am about 20
               miles away from them”

[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "She was having difficulty with
               him being in the same virtual room with
               her."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila says, "To build on Platoon's comments,
               one child initially refused to believe a
               volunteer was really in California."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei smiles
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lady Starlight says, "And another looked for
               a volunteer in the disk drive."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad ecalls one student looking in the disk
               drive slot trying to see Angus."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei laughs and laughs and laughs
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila laughs at the remembrance
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "What, exactly,
               did the MariMUSE campers do on a daily
               basis?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody pulls out his muse curriculum daily
               guide.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "every day the students were
               asked to complete a journal entry.  They
               also wrote at least one article per week for
               the newsletter.  They were also responsible
               for doing some creating in the MUSE."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad recalls some of the homework and how
               serious the students were about getting
               together their descriptions and setting
               their character names.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Azure_Guest says, "What amazed me was that
               they were so unwilling to leave for break."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody adds that they felt three hours was
               too short of a day on the muse.
  
[on Pei's TV]  Lila says, "Do you remember how Ginji would
               go home, make her sister help her research
               so the cave could be exactly what she
               wanted?
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "At the end of the first week,
               the students were wanting to come in over
               the weekend..”
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lady Starlight says, "They were all very
               proud of their work."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Ginji wears her Phoenix
               College t-shirt often."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "Above all, we learned that
               this medium was exciting to students, it
               captivated them despite its text-base.  And,
               they could handle the coding.  They were
               reading and writing for 3 hours a day,
               thinking and problem solving, and loving
               it."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody says, "It taped the intrinsic
               motivation of all the persons connected to
               the program.  Students Teachers, and
               volunteers."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei nods.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Have the kids come back to school
               yet?  If so, what are they saying about the
               MUSE now?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Everyday I am asked, WHEN can
               I come back on line?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "The children are eager to get
               back on-line and are stating that they have
               projects to work on, and they really want to
               check their mail."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "I called all the MUSE kids
               into the library this morning and they were
               all talking at once.  They did not want to
               leave to go back to class."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "We believe we are just seeing
               the tip of the iceberg.  We believe we are
               on the wave of the future.  This medium is a
               window to a new way of learning."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon looks at Miss-K remembering the child
               who said, “You don't think I am stupid, do
               you?”
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "The kids are so proud of the
               NY Times article.  They all want copies of
               it."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "How did the parents react to Camp
               MariMUSE?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "We had an enormous turn out on
               the parent day.  We were amazed.  The
               parents are especially proud of their
               children.  I think it raises their self-
               esteem too."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila says, "Many parents had to take off
               work, with no pay, to attend any function to
               which they were invited.  Such as
               graduation"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "Some even rode over on the
               school bus to be here."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody says, "When the parents first met with
               us, PC volunteers and Wlad, There was a very
               small turn out.  After the camp was over
               there was almost 100 percent parent
               participation."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila says, "Running Wind's parents went to
               great lengths to attend graduation, they
               VERY proud of him and his accomplishments."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "And parents who had never heard
               their children talk about what they were
               doing at school were getting rave reviews
               and daily updates on the camp activities."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "We invited the superintendent
               who was amazed at the children's creativity
               and the amount of writing they did.  We also
               invited state representatives who felt the
               excitement.  And we had parents who knew
               their kids were really excited about and
               successful with learning."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "On graduation day, it really
               felt like one big family celebration."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad laughs remembering how he helped
               Running wind entertain two of his
               younger relatives.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "Remember, this was only a 3
               week camp.  All of this happened in 3 short
               weeks."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila shakes her head, and says, "Hard to
               believe we did all that in 3 weeks."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei 's heart is full!
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody throws time out the door.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Were there any real surprises?"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "It seemed like a magical
               time."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lady Starlight nods.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Lila says, "I was very impressed with the
               increase in global awareness."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "I was blown away by the
               research that the students initiated!"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "One of the other teachers
               committed this week about how important it
               was for these kids to see the volunteers
               from the college working at their jobs,
               volunteering, and going to class.  It
               helped them see they could go to college
               too."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "It was a time of being
               completely accepted."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon grins at Miss-K.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Platoon  says, "it was a time of beeing
               equal"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K says, "Actually, I still get misty
               eyed about it. "
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon hands an embroidered hankie to Miss-K.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K giggles
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "What plans do you have for the
               future of MariMUSE?”

[on Pei's TV]  Avalon has been assigned to work on grant
               writing and assessment so we can continue
               and can learn as we proceed into the future.
               This is a major commitment from the college
               to a very important project.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Woody boogies about the future.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Wlad says, "By the 15th of September, we
               should have 12 terminals installed at
               Longview for the students to use.  There
               will be a 9600 baud modem line to the
               college.  We know that the equipment will
               work with that speed.  We want something
               that will work right away, so that we can
               get the kids back on-line."
  
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K squeals in delight
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei applauds
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K will never get anything done once
               those terminals are in!
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei rolls in the floor laughing
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon grins and grins and grins with
               excitement about the future.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K wrings her hands thinking of so much
               to do and so little time.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Avalon says, "We have very strong support
               from the Longview, Phoenix College and the
               district offices to continue and build on
               this."
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei looks at his watch and turns back to the
               camera.
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Viewers...I am speechless!"
 
[on Pei's TV]  Miss-K smiles
 
[on Pei's TV]  Pei says, "Except to say that I am deeply
               moved by these people and what they have
               accomplished this summer.  It is impossible
               to know all the consequences of how they and
               the experiences they have provided have
               touched the lives of a handful of children
               this summer.  Or how the technologies and
               techniques they are pioneering will effect
               lives in the future.  But my bet is that it’s
               enormous.”

[on Pei's TV]  From MediaMOO, this is Peiohpah saying "good
               night!"

In re-reading this interview I was struck by four ideas.

1. The campers were engage in self-directed learning, because they were doing something with what they were learning. 
2. Their enthusiasm had nothing to do with slick graphics and booming sound effects. It was text. 
3. The campers were working hard, though they might not have called it work. Students who are engaged in this type of learning experience often call it, “Hard play.” 
4. There seems to be a direct relationship between learner-engagement and parent-engagement. 
5. Young Learners need to see adults model meaningful learning.