Reading an Archived MOO Transcript

Transcripts are handy if you missed a session and want to see what happened, and just as important, if you attended the session reviewing the transcript will give you a chance to notice interesting ideas and connections that you may have missed in the heat of the moment.

After reading the transcripts, you may want to comment on the discussion -- to say something that didn't get said in the MOO session, to clarify (and in some cases to correct) the issues that came up in the session, or to extend and expand on the discussion. You can do that by posting on the list where the issues are discussed (on TechRhet for the TechRhet Thursday MOO) or write directly to the folks who participated in the session.

Some tips on reading transcripts can help. Transcripts are a different kind of writing. Keeping these guidelines in mind will help you navigate the text:

• Transcripts are unpolished writing. What you're reading is first-try typing. You'll likely see spelling errors, miscues, and simple errors -- all things that the authors would change in a polished piece of writing, but that linger in finished MOO texts. Don't be alarmed. Just remember you're reading an unpolished text. The focus of your reading should be on the content -- the ideas -- don't be distracted by the spelling, grammar, and mechanics.
  
  
• Transcripts are multi-threaded. MOO discussions are more like oral discussions than written texts. You won't find tightly focused, one-topic-at-a-time writing. Instead, the discussion switches back and forth, wandering around, sometimes coming back to an issue that seemed finished. It's more like the stream-of-consciousness writing of a person with multiple personalities, all talking at once. In reality, there are dozens of people contributing to the conversation, all speaking about the issues that they care about. Because the MOO captures every word as it is uttered, things aren't organized neatly around themes. Instead, they ebb and flow. You will likely find this flowing stream of text confusing at first.

  Skip over stuff you're not interested in or don't want to read at the moment. Read the transcript in the same way that you might read a work of literature when you're tracing multiple symbols or investigating different techniques. You might read a poem the first time looking for a particular symbols, say the play of "light" and "dark." On another read, you might look at the rhythm, the rhyme, or another symbol. Read a MOO transcript in the same way. Concentrate on what you're looking for at the moment. You can always come back later. Skim and dive for the info you need just to follow the thread you're interested in.

• Transcripts include off-topic (even silly) information. Sometimes in a MOO session, you'll notice people veering off the topic, making a joke. Puns and word play happen frequently on a MOO. The discussion might be about a very clear topic. Someone will make an unfortunate typo, and next thing you know there will be playful banter in response. Puns abound in MOO texts. Again, it's like an oral discussion. What's different, however, is that asides that you might not even notice in a roomful of people chatting face-to-face have the same visual weight in a MOO transcript as the focused discussion about the topic. As you would in a face-to-face discussion, appreciate them for what they are: a brief, harmless aside.
  
  
• Transcripts include extraneous information. The transcript will include everything that happens in the room, so when someone enters or exits the room, you'll see a message. For instance, you might see details such as these:

  Nick tiptoes out.
  Frankie_[Guest] arrives from The Conference Center
  stookey_[Guest] leaves for The Conference Center
  

  Filter it out. The same way that you'd filter out commercials when listening to the radio or watching tv. Just move on to the next piece of information that's about the issues being discussed.

• Transcripts can include some information that is formatted differently. You may see information in the transcript that looks a little different. For example, you might see an excerpt such as this:

  ------------------------Wilder------------------------
  Demetrice Worley:
  "The Feminist Teacher in the Composition Classroom"
  In my writing courses, I constantly critique not only my students and their ways of seeing and understanding the world, but also I critique the "self" I present in my courses: a womanist. My presence in the writing class both challenges the students and enlightens about the power of the written word in defining self and others.
  ------------------------finished------------------------
  

  This text has been pasted in by someone. In this case, Wilder, a moderator and discussion leader at the TeacherFest online conference, has posted an excerpt from the paper written by the presenter, Demetrice Worley.
  
  Nothing has gone wrong in the transcript; you're just seeing information that someone is sharing. People typically paste in information to repeat something that was said earlier in the session or to share a specific text (such as a paragraph from an email message or Web page or a linear paper that the group is discussing).

  Slide projectors are also used frequently in MOOs to present information for the entire group. Here's an example:

  traci shows the slide "1" on the slide projector.
  
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
  
  First, what experience do you have using the Web in classes? What have you taught, and what, generically, have you used the Web for? How does the Web fit into your pedagogical goals?
  
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
  

  Something like an overhead projector of talking points in a face-to-face discussion room, the slide projectors are usually used to post provocative questions or discussion points.

Thanks to Keith Dorwick and Tari Fanderclai for suggestions on these guidelines.