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.
- The campers were engage in self-directed learning, because they were doing something with what they were learning.
- Their enthusiasm had nothing to do with slick graphics and booming sound effects. It was text.
- 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.”
- There seems to be a direct relationship between learner-engagement and parent-engagement.
- Young Learners need to see adults model meaningful learning.