High Wired. On The Design, Use, And Theory Of Educational M00s

High wired is a collection of essays designed to integrate all aspects of the use and administration of the virtual educational communities known as MOOs (Multiple-user, Object-Oriented environments). MOOs were originally designed as a space for online social interaction. While MOOs bear a resemblance to the "chat rooms" with which many people are familiar, they differ in several important respects: participants con not only communicate in actual time from great distances, but they con also add to this virtual world by building new rooms and other objects. Users can also write programs that alter their particular MOO universe in profound ways. The essays in High Wired are arranged in a practical sequence, beginning with the context and history of MOOs, followed by more technical essays on how to set up and administer a MOO. Subsequent essays discuss applications for the use of MOOs in education and provide theoretical explorations of the nature of MOO communities. High Wired is at once a textbook, a reference book, and a handbook. Teachers, students, and other interested readers will find that it appeals to both practical needs and theoretical concerns.