<s>
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
MOO	B-Application
dedicated	O
specifically	O
for	O
education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
other	O
MUDs	B-Application
,	O
it	O
was	O
an	O
online	O
realm	O
that	O
allowed	O
people	O
to	O
interact	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
by	O
connecting	O
to	O
a	O
central	O
server	O
,	O
assuming	O
a	O
virtual	O
identity	O
within	O
that	O
realm	O
,	O
"	O
teleporting	O
"	O
(	O
in	O
other	O
words	O
,	O
transporting	O
your	O
character	O
)	O
or	O
"	O
walking	O
"	O
to	O
virtual	O
rooms	O
,	O
and	O
holding	O
text-based	O
conversations	O
with	O
others	O
who	O
had	O
entered	O
the	O
same	O
virtual	O
room	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MOO	B-Application
server	O
kept	O
track	O
of	O
which	O
characters	O
were	O
in	O
each	O
virtual	O
"	O
room	O
,	O
"	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
comments	O
of	O
each	O
character	O
would	O
be	O
sent	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
computers	O
of	O
every	O
other	O
person	O
whose	O
character	O
was	O
"	O
in	O
"	O
the	O
same	O
virtual	O
"	O
room.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
What	O
distinguished	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
from	O
other	O
MOOs	B-Application
was	O
its	O
central	O
structuring	O
metaphor	O
as	O
a	O
virtual	O
university	O
campus	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
pioneering	O
use	O
for	O
actual	O
online	O
classes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
was	O
created	O
in	O
summer	O
1993	O
by	O
its	O
founder	O
(	O
and	O
original	O
"	O
arch-wizard	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
Jeanne	O
McWhorter	O
,	O
then	O
a	O
sociology	O
graduate	O
student	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Houston	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Josh	O
Quittner	O
continues	O
,	O
"	O
McWhorter	O
figured	O
that	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
would	O
be	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
attract	O
educators	O
and	O
students	O
to	O
computing	O
as	O
a	O
communications	O
medium.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
hosted	O
on	O
a	O
server	O
at	O
Embry-Riddle	O
Aeronautical	O
University	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
moved	O
to	O
two	O
other	O
server	O
environments	O
during	O
its	O
life	O
,	O
since	O
it	O
often	O
struggled	O
for	O
financial	O
support	O
and	O
institutional	O
backing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
did	O
not	O
charge	O
any	O
hosting	O
fees	O
to	O
faculty	O
members	O
and	O
other	O
educators	O
who	O
brought	O
classes	O
onto	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
text-based	O
interface	O
required	O
minimal	O
computing	O
resources	O
for	O
people	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
,	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
espoused	O
an	O
egalitarian	O
mission	O
,	O
which	O
they	O
articulated	O
on	O
their	O
website	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
The	O
mission	O
of	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
is	O
to	O
develop	O
,	O
support	O
and	O
maintain	O
creative	O
and	O
innovative	O
environments	O
and	O
tools	O
for	O
teaching	O
,	O
learning	O
and	O
research	O
through	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
other	O
distributed	O
computing	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
guide	O
and	O
educate	O
people	O
in	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
these	O
and	O
other	O
tools	O
,	O
to	O
foster	O
collaboration	O
in	O
a	O
synergistic	O
climate	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
explore	O
and	O
utilize	O
applications	O
of	O
emerging	O
technology	O
to	O
these	O
ends	O
in	O
a	O
manner	O
friendly	O
to	O
people	O
who	O
are	O
disabled	O
,	O
geographically	O
isolated	O
or	O
technologically	O
limited	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
MOOs	B-Application
are	O
virtual	O
spaces	O
—	O
basically	O
computer	O
objects	O
in	O
a	O
database	O
—	O
they	O
are	O
usually	O
organized	O
around	O
a	O
central	O
spatial	O
metaphor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
that	O
metaphor	O
was	O
a	O
physical	O
university	O
campus	O
,	O
with	O
buildings	O
that	O
represented	O
the	O
subject	O
fields	O
of	O
the	O
participants	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
buildings	O
that	O
you	O
might	O
find	O
on	O
a	O
typical	O
university	O
campus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
master	O
's	O
thesis	O
on	O
"	O
Design	O
in	O
Virtual	O
Environments	O
Using	O
Architectural	O
Metaphor	O
,	O
"	O
Dace	O
A	O
.	O
Campbell	O
used	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
's	O
campus	O
as	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
virtual	O
architecture	O
;	O
one	O
can	O
see	O
DU	O
's	O
"	O
campus	O
"	O
structure	O
as	O
Figure	O
1.3	O
in	O
that	O
thesis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guests	O
who	O
connected	O
to	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
landed	O
in	O
a	O
"	O
room	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Student	O
Union	O
,	O
"	O
in	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
orientation	O
space	O
,	O
while	O
registered	O
characters	O
would	O
land	O
in	O
whatever	O
"	O
room	O
"	O
was	O
their	O
virtual	O
home	O
in	O
that	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
creating	O
"	O
rooms	O
,	O
"	O
therefore	O
,	O
people	O
who	O
had	O
building	O
rights	O
on	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
were	O
encouraged	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
appropriate	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
command	O
(	O
@dig	O
)	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
create	O
not	O
a	O
free-floating	O
,	O
unconnected	O
room	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
room	O
that	O
was	O
joined	O
to	O
another	O
room	O
(	O
or	O
hallway	O
)	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
appropriate	O
virtual	O
building	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
"	O
walk	O
"	O
around	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
overarching	O
structure	O
was	O
metaphorical	O
,	O
characters	O
and	O
guests	O
on	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
had	O
the	O
"	O
magical	O
"	O
ability	O
to	O
"	O
teleport	O
"	O
(	O
or	O
jump	O
)	O
from	O
a	O
room	O
in	O
one	O
virtual	O
building	O
to	O
another	O
room	O
"	O
somewhere	O
else	O
"	O
by	O
using	O
commands	O
such	O
as	O
@go	O
(	O
to	O
go	O
to	O
a	O
room	O
by	O
its	O
object	O
number	O
or	O
name	O
)	O
and	O
@join	O
(	O
to	O
join	O
another	O
character	O
in	O
a	O
room	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Programmers	O
on	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
could	O
create	O
"	O
virtual	O
objects	O
"	O
that	O
had	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
move	O
characters	O
from	O
room	O
to	O
room	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
virtual	O
cars	O
,	O
a	O
magical	O
tour	O
globe	O
that	O
provided	O
a	O
guided	O
tour	O
of	O
English-related	O
rooms	O
in	O
the	O
environment	O
(	O
programmed	O
by	O
one	O
of	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
's	O
"	O
wizards	O
,	O
"	O
Ulf	O
Kastner	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
Points	O
of	O
Interest	O
Board	O
that	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
portal	O
to	O
every	O
site	O
listed	O
on	O
the	O
board	O
,	O
among	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
features	O
have	O
been	O
incorporated	O
into	O
newer	O
,	O
three-dimensional	O
versions	O
of	O
Multi-User	B-Application
Virtual	I-Application
Environments	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Second	B-Application
Life	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Josh	O
Quittner	O
's	O
March	O
1994	O
article	O
about	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
described	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
uses	O
of	O
DU	O
as	O
a	O
space	O
to	O
hold	O
actual	O
university	O
classes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
spring	O
1994	O
,	O
Leslie	O
Harris	O
(	O
then	O
an	O
assistant	O
professor	O
at	O
Susquehanna	O
University	O
)	O
and	O
Cynthia	O
Wambeam	O
(	O
working	O
as	O
a	O
composition	O
instructor	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Wyoming	O
)	O
paired	O
their	O
English	O
composition	O
classes	O
and	O
held	O
inter-class	O
discussions	O
of	O
shared	O
readings	O
in	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
environment	O
was	O
text-based	O
,	O
it	O
offered	O
students	O
practice	O
in	O
articulating	O
ideas	O
in	O
writing	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
reinforced	O
in	O
an	O
inter-class	O
LISTSERV	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
created	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
world	I-Application
by	O
describing	O
its	O
environment	O
,	O
it	O
provided	O
an	O
excellent	O
space	O
for	O
reenactments	O
of	O
literary	O
texts	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
visitors	O
can	O
be	O
"	O
immersed	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
of	O
the	O
novel	O
or	O
fictional	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Students	O
recreated	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
circles	O
of	O
Hell	O
within	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
,	O
populated	O
with	O
virtual	O
robots	O
that	O
could	O
interact	O
with	O
one	O
another	O
and	O
with	O
visitors	O
to	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
similar	O
projects	O
on	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
were	O
an	O
interactive	O
version	O
of	O
The	O
Waste	O
Land	O
by	O
T	O
.	O
S	O
.	O
Eliot	O
,	O
with	O
rooms	O
in	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
world	O
reflecting	O
sections	O
of	O
Eliot	O
's	O
poem	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
"	O
MOO	B-Application
Bedford	O
"	O
created	O
by	O
R	O
.	O
J	O
.	O
LaRoe	O
that	O
allowed	O
visitors	O
to	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
to	O
explore	O
the	O
world	O
of	O
Moby-Dick	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
English-related	O
educational	O
projects	O
existed	O
on	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Educators	O
in	O
other	O
fields	O
brought	O
students	O
to	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
,	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
close	O
fit	O
between	O
Constructivist	O
teaching	O
methods	O
and	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Professor	O
Tom	O
Danford	O
of	O
West	O
Virginia	O
Northern	O
Community	O
College	O
taught	O
a	O
microbiology	O
course	O
in	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
you	O
visit	O
a	O
room	O
in	O
a	O
MOO	B-Application
,	O
you	O
see	O
its	O
description	O
as	O
you	O
enter	O
and	O
you	O
can	O
create	O
virtual	O
objects	O
in	O
a	O
room	O
that	O
themselves	O
can	O
be	O
described	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
team	O
run	O
by	O
Marcus	O
Speh	O
ran	O
a	O
course	O
on	O
"	O
Object-oriented	B-Language
programming	I-Language
using	O
C++	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
notable	O
project	O
on	O
DU	O
was	O
the	O
Librarians	O
 '	O
Online	O
Support	O
Team	O
(	O
LOST	O
)	O
,	O
led	O
by	O
Isabel	O
Danforth	O
,	O
which	O
held	O
professional	O
development	O
workshops	O
within	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
environment	O
for	O
librarians	O
who	O
were	O
trying	O
to	O
understand	O
the	O
growing	O
significance	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
to	O
librarianship	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
announcement	O
for	O
one	O
of	O
those	O
workshops	O
,	O
Danforth	O
explained	O
the	O
purpose	O
of	O
the	O
group	O
and	O
the	O
significance	O
of	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
as	O
a	O
platform	O
for	O
such	O
collaborations	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
group	O
is	O
currently	O
based	O
at	O
the	O
virtual	O
campus	O
of	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
,	O
a	O
cyberspace	O
location	O
that	O
offers	O
both	O
real-time	O
and	O
delayed	O
interaction	O
via	O
computer	O
and	O
currently	O
supports	O
over	O
4,000	O
educators	O
and	O
students	O
world-wide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LOST	O
epitomized	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
's	O
ability	O
to	O
foster	O
collaboration	O
among	O
educators	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
McWhorter	O
's	O
original	O
purposes	O
in	O
creating	O
the	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
initiatives	O
included	O
an	O
online	O
biology	O
conference	O
held	O
simultaneously	O
on	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
MOO	B-Application
and	O
BioMOO	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
bilingual	O
recreation	O
of	O
El	O
Paso	O
and	O
Ciudad	O
Juárez	O
within	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
environment	O
,	O
demonstrating	O
the	O
usefulness	O
of	O
the	O
environment	O
for	O
foreign	O
language	O
education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Realizing	O
the	O
special	O
importance	O
of	O
the	O
immersive	O
experience	O
of	O
visiting	O
a	O
MOO	B-Application
,	O
foreign-language	O
educators	O
created	O
other	O
MOO	B-Application
spaces	O
entirely	O
in	O
those	O
target	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
faculty	O
members	O
at	O
universities	O
were	O
holding	O
class	O
sessions	O
on	O
DU	O
MOO	B-Application
,	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
wizards	O
developed	O
objects	O
that	O
provided	O
some	O
typical	O
classroom	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
faculty	O
members	O
on	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
could	O
use	O
a	O
"	O
Generic	O
Slide	O
Projector	O
"	O
to	O
"	O
project	O
"	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
text	O
"	O
slides	O
"	O
to	O
everyone	O
in	O
the	O
room	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
faculty	O
members	O
to	O
give	O
"	O
pre-recorded	O
"	O
instructions	O
to	O
students	O
,	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
type	O
those	O
instructions	O
on	O
the	O
spot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
similar	O
tools	O
have	O
now	O
been	O
incorporated	O
into	O
learning	B-Application
management	I-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
Multi-User	B-Application
Virtual	I-Application
Environments	I-Application
,	O
and	O
other	O
programs	O
for	O
online	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
,	O
some	O
of	O
those	O
tools	O
were	O
subject	O
to	O
the	O
criticisms	O
leveled	O
by	O
Tari	O
Fanderclai	O
,	O
who	O
asserted	O
that	O
faculty	O
using	O
new	O
pedagogical	O
environments	O
like	O
a	O
MOO	B-Application
should	O
adapt	O
their	O
teaching	O
techniques	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
special	O
possibilities	O
of	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
,	O
rather	O
than	O
trying	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
MOO	B-Application
more	O
like	O
a	O
traditional	O
classroom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
online	O
teaching	O
tools	O
did	O
help	O
faculty	O
members	O
conduct	O
their	O
classes	O
in	O
the	O
decentralized	O
and	O
potentially	O
chaotic	O
MOO	B-Application
world	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
reveal	O
as	O
well	O
the	O
power	O
and	O
flexibility	O
of	O
the	O
object-oriented	B-Language
programming	I-Language
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Faculty	O
members	O
did	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
possess	O
programming	O
skills	O
to	O
create	O
objects	O
in	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
world	O
that	O
performed	O
significant	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Faculty	O
pioneers	O
using	O
the	O
MOO	B-Application
could	O
create	O
lists	O
of	O
MOO	B-Application
help	O
sheets	O
—	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
MOO	B-Application
Help	O
and	O
Policy	O
Texts	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Composition	O
in	O
Cyberspace	O
Project	O
—	O
making	O
it	O
easier	O
for	O
other	O
faculty	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
cooperative	O
spirit	O
of	O
users	O
helping	O
one	O
another	O
out	O
—	O
the	O
recognition	O
that	O
"	O
everyone	O
was	O
once	O
a	O
newbie	O
[	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
user	O
of	O
the	O
technology ]	O
"	O
—	O
informed	O
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
MOO	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
shared	O
,	O
collaborative	O
,	O
highly	O
social	O
environment	O
made	O
it	O
an	O
early	O
example	O
(	O
along	O
with	O
other	O
MOOs	B-Application
)	O
of	O
a	O
Social	O
network	O
service	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
network	O
effect	O
that	O
resembled	O
later	O
Web	O
2.0	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Diversity	B-Application
University	I-Application
shut	O
down	O
in	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
