Teacher Tips

1. Access to the online version of the Aeneid. It can be found at: http://kamoo.dragonangel.net/~marie/kamoowbpg/aeneas1.htm Also download the Start Here document.

    Per the reading "guru", Kate Kinsella, it helps student reading fluency if they have a proficient reader read aloud as the students read with their eyes. To facilitate this, teachers could show the chapters of the Aeneid on a large screen projector (with a computer hooked up to the video projector and connected to the above website), and the teacher could read the Aeneid aloud to the students as the students read from the screen. It is easy to see if students are off task because they will not be looking at the screen. If a large screen projection is not available, teachers can print off the chapters for the students to read. Links to chapter downloads are available at http://kamoo.dragonangel.net/~marie/kamoowbpg/index. If a lab is available, students could read it from online.

2. To experience the online virtual world environment, teachers need access to computers that connect to the Internet (at least one for every two students). Send an email to  mesontag@hotmail.com  to schedule the  Aeneid Rome KaMOO's availability.  Only one teacher can access it at a time. However, two classes can be on per gaming session. One class logs on with the characters' names, the other class logs on with the characters' names and then the number 2 after the name; for example, Venus2.

3. When ready to explore, the teacher should go to the virtual world at http://kamoo.dragonangel.net and log on as Jupiter. The teacher's password is sonnet. Practice looking at your possessions, opening containers, removing items, etc. Print out the Student Directions (Word document) so you have a copy of the KaMOO commands at your fingertips. Other characters log in with their character name and with the password of student.

4. Contact Marie Sontag when you are finished with the gaming session. The "coins" must all be reset to their original locations before another group can play. If they are not reset before you start your session, let Marie Sontag know and she will reset them. For example, Venus should not have anything in her possession at the beginning of the game except a sash. If she has any coins, they must be returned to their correct locations.

5. You may want to have a "practice" session with your students, showing them the KaMOO on a large projection screen. This will help familiarize them with the environment before they actually play.

6. When the gaming begins, the teacher logs on as Jupiter. Some situations call for players to contact you. For example, Juno and Mercury can discuss online ideas they may have for preventing Aeneas from getting to Italy. If they both pcontact you with these ideas, you will award them with a power coin for each of them. (Type look me on the KaMOO, and you will see a list of items in your possession.) Juno and Apollo can also contact you with their ideas of how to help Aeneas get to Italy. Move around in the various locations to view ongoing student conversations. Remind students not to take more than ONE coin per location. If they have more than one coin from the same place at the end of the game, they will not win! Also remind students that Dragonangel maintains logs of all student interactions on the KaMOO.  Any inappropriate actions will be noted, and the teacher will be asked to remove the student¹s character.  Dragonangel can also remotely "toad" (terminate) players.

7.  If students are in a lab setting, place name cards with the students' virtual world name on top of their computers. Print off the Name Plates.doc, cut out the character's names, and paste them on construction paper. Seat the Trojans all in one area, the gods and goddesses in another area, and the rest of the class in a different area. You could even put signs on the wall such as one for Mt. Olympus, Latium (Italy), and Trojans and Allies to help orient students to the virtual world environment.

8. For added fun, you can view a video clip of a live gaming interaction.  In this clip, the teacher dressed up in a pilot's uniform. When students entered the computer lab two students inside the lab acted as a steward and stewardess, giving the incoming students snacks as though they were taking an airplane flight. The teacher told them she was flying them back in time to the period when the Aeneid took place.