MariMUSE
========

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TOOL
-------------------------

MariMUSE is a learning community which gathers via Multi-
User Simulated Environnment (MUSE) sofware. This software 
resides on the internet, so it is populated by learners 
(teachers and students) from around the world. Below is a 
brief description of the MUSE (multi-user simulated 
environment) taken from a manual written by Edward L 
Wallace, ('Falryx' @ dartmouth.edu).

	MUSE takes place in an alternate, virtual reality, 
where you are 'transported' via your computer into a world 
of text, where vision and imagination commingle to cover the 
jobs that normally five senses do. In MUSE you are connected 
to a 'server' (the MUSE) which has a database full of 
objects, people, places, etc. Your time in this virtual 
reality is among this database using your imagination and 
creativity as the primary tools to understand and enjoy what 
MUSE offers.

	Characters are the virtual reality extension of you, 
the player. It is the characters of the MUSE who are able to 
manipulate the environment and intetact with one another. 
MUSE supports a multi- player/character setting where many 
computer users can connect simultaneously to the server and 
partake of the virtual reality together.

	Rooms are 'places' within the virtual reality, 
relating to actual physical locations. Rooms are very 
similar to the ones within your home, with four walls and a 
ceiling, but can also be used to represent the 'outdoors'. 
In this sense 'rooms' are a very broad category of objects 
meaning any place on the MUSE which relates to an actual 
'physical' location where your character can go. Exits are 
objects which link rooms to one another. In your home, your 
exits are doors, stairways, or perhaps even windows. 
Similarly, in a virtual reality you can have exits which 
link one room to another, and this exits can represent 
everything from a large hole, to a door, to a catapult which 
launches you through the sky to land at your new location.

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF TOOL
--------------------------

MariMUSE is highly collaborative, and is a good place for 
groups of students to work on collaborative projects. The 
environment is rich in the ability to create objects and 
simulations. Key elements include the richness of learners 
of all ages and abilities in a highly social, interactive 
environment. Currently more information links are being 
developed to support the content needed for specific groups 
of students.

WHO WOULD USE THIS TOOL?
------------------------

Faculty and students wishing to learn in a collaborative 
environment find MariMUSE an exciting and dynamic experience

CONTACT PERSONS
---------------

Jim Walters, PC               285-7445
Billie Hughes, PC             285-7428 
Greg Swan, MCC                461-7294