The Dialogue Continues

Well, MOOs certainly seem to have their advantages. But when it comes to teaching literature, outside of discussing a particular work, MOOs don't seem to offer anything more than a traditional classroom. As interesting as the project Oren had her students do, I just don't see that it applies to a literary discipline. While it might be interesting and fun for students to create a model of The Odyssey, I don't see how that would provide them with the tools and skills of literary analysis.
Actually, you can go beyond brainstorming and general discussion of literary works on a MOO. But it's not easy, and you really have to use your imagination. I struggled with this problem for much of the early part of the semester. What I finally did was to spend some time creating Ichabod, a story-telling robot. Students can write stories on the MOO and experience for themselves some of the issues of literary analysis.


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