Teaching Brothers Karamazov with the MOO

If you're going to use the MOO to teach Brothers Karamazov, the first thing you need to do is to familiarize yourself with the MOO and with the virtual town of S______. For more information about the MOO, see http://dartmoo.dartmouth.edu:7000 and http://projects.dartmouth.edu/dartmoo/.

With MOO technology we've designed a virtual to environment in which our students can explore more fully the ideas expressed in Brothers Karamazov. The materials we've posted in the virtual town of S_______ are quite extensive and are not designed for students to read exhaustively. Rather, the MOO space is designed to enhance our students' reading experience by asking them to choose an idea that interests them and to explore it by interacting with fictional characters and with each other.

The town of S________ is designed so that each book has one or more corresponding spaces for students to explore. For instance, after reading Book One, students will visit the narrator's house; after reading Book Two, they will visit the Monastery; and so on.

In each location, on the right side of their screen, students will encounter characters to "talk" to and objects to explore. Each character or object presents them with a passage from the novel and raises reading questions for them to consider.

On the left side of the screen is a chat space where students can discuss the questions raised by the characters and objects on the right.

You can instruct your students to explore each location freely, choosing whom they want to talk to or what they want to look at according to their own interests. If you want to be sure that they consider a certain question, you can require them to visit a specific aspect of a location. For example, after reading "The Grand Inquisitor" you might send them to the virtual Inn and instruct them to join the discussion at Table Five. If you have special instructions for your students, you can outline them on your syllabus.

If you have questions about using the MOO in your class, contact Karen Gocsik.

(Note: Access to the MOO is limited to Dartmouth students and faculty. If you are not Dartmouth faculty and would like to use the MOO in your course, please contact us. We may be able to arrange access for your students. However, because we have so many students using the space in winter term, we prefer that you visit in fall or spring.)

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This page written by Karen Gocsik.