I quickly realized that in the MOO, the student-teacher relationship is different. My voice had lost some of its authority, but the voices of my students had gained an authority of their own. What I perceive to be the most important advantage of involving composition students in the MOO environment is that they will be immersed in an environment where writing is the primary activity. If nothing else, they will write, write, and write some more. There is always a collective groan from my classes when I give a new writing assignment and announce the that the length of the papers will be a monumental three to four double-spaced pages.
Writing becomes conversation, fluent and charged with emotion.
Yet the presence of a transcript of this spoken writing means that what has transpired can be edited, transformed into more conventional writing. Using a MOO will not turn out great writers as if by magic. But it will change the dynamic of your classroom and allow for the empowerment of your students. It will transform the nature of the collaboration between your students. And using a MOO will provide opportunities for students to engage in sustained, interactive dialogues in which they gain practice in expressing their ideas in written form.