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Chat with students Bridgett from Jamaica, Felix from Brazil, and Moral from China, and teachers Maggi, Michael, and Vance

May 7, 2000

This chat was unusual because there were people in the voice chat without microphones, so the text chat there was used more than usual, and therefore you can follow the conversation fairly well in the voice chat text-chat log.  The chat was also unusual in that we reached a decision.  We decided to find a way to give every Webhead a t-shirt.  Also, Vance worked with Felix to help him use the concordancer in Hong Kong to solve a problem given him by an overzealous English teacher. (See the ICQ chat for more on that.)

 

Jump to: The Palace chat, the Voice Chat, or the ICQ chat

 

Chat in the Palace

 

  Connecting to efi.virtualscholar.com:9998

  Connected via TCP

  *** Welcome to The Virtual School House Vance again!

  Vance again:      @64,64 !It's Vance again

  Vance again:      Hi

  Maggi:            hi

  Vance again:      Hi, I'm just checking out hearme.  Have you got that running as well?

  Maggi:            can do in a gig=ff

  Vance again:      a giga ff?  What happened to my facial material.  You aren't wizzing again, are you?

  Maggi:            nope

  Maggi:            you did somethi g

  Vance again:      nevermind

  Vance again:      I sent you an ICQ message ...

  Maggi:             sent you one

  Vance again:      Can you get me a beer while you're at it?

  Maggi:            it will have to be virtual for you

  Maggi:            you're at work

  Vance again:      Yeah, but I'm in after hours time now.

  Vance again:      I've been working since 7.  I got "off" an hour ago.

  Maggi:            oh

  Maggi:            so how do you like me in 3 places at onece?

  Vance again:      Well, I'm in 4, including homestead.  Looks like Choi isn't coming.

  Maggi:            I could go to homestead too but that might be an overdose

  Vance again:      Yeah, anyway I've got that on one of my distant computers.  I might fall out of my chair.

  Maggi:            tsk tsk...at least you have padding to fall on...:-)

  Vance again:      This is what my conferences are like except with the added dimensions of multiple participants and having to explain to people what I'm doing and why ... whew

  Maggi:            sounds like something up my alley

  Vance again:      be glad when the present spate is done!

  Maggi:            I can imagine

  Maggi:            relax for now

  Vance again:      Hi Moral.  Maggi and I are in all the chat places.  How are you today?

  Maggi:            Hi Morzl

  Vance again:      Morzl?

  Maggi:            oops

  Moral:            @64,64 !It's Moral

  Maggi:            Hi again Moral

  Moral:            Hi everyone.

  Maggi:            change of keyboards Vance

  Vance again:      Hi Moral, hi Mzggi

  Maggi:            the a is close to the z...on the other one it is where the y is

  Vance again:      Thzt's ok, I understznd.

  Maggi:            funny Vance...:-)

  Vance again:      Moral, you said in your email you talked to Jo in the Palace, who was using my name.  I wonder who that was.

  Maggi:            your alter ego maybe?

  Moral:            i don't know who he was.

  Maggi:            maybe a she even?

  Moral:            he just told me he was for your city and also an english teacher.

  Maggi:            Well...thzat's good enough

  Vance again:      In my city?  Maybe it was someone at the conference at the computer I was using.

  Maggi:            how's the weather where you are Moral?

  Maggi:            Summer came early here...

  Moral:            the weather is fine. it's about 25 and no clouds.

  Vance again:      Came early here too.  It's in the 30's here I think.

  Maggi:            30 here

  Moral:            where are the rest of webheads? in the readme chatroom?

  Maggi:            no

  Vance again:      No, these days they are coming late.

  Vance again:      It's ok, usually we just stay and meet with them.

  Maggi:            enjoying life more

  Vance again:      Did you just set your clocks forward or back?

  Moral:            Maggi, how did install readme?

  Maggi:            we went forward

  Maggi:            just got the newest Netscape

  Moral:            does readme need some other software?

  Maggi:            no

  Vance again:      hearme?

  Vance again:      what's readme?

  Moral:            sorry readme.

  Moral:            the voice chatroom on michael's homepages.

  Maggi:            you just have to click on the high risk and accept

  Moral:             

  Vance again:      That's HearMe ... are you trying to work it?  Maggi and I are both there.

  Moral:            i can't make it with voice. but let me try again.

  Vance again:      If you can connect then you can hear us and you can type n the text chat.

  Moral:            I only can use the text chat on HearMe.

  Vance again:      That's ok.  Michael is there now and we're talking to him.

  Maggi:            you can follow with text Moral..

  Moral:            i am trying.

  Vance again:      We're waiting and we can also chat here.

  Maggi:            I'll talk to you here Moral

  Vance again:      Are you having any problem with the ... ah, there you are

  Vance again:      So you made it.  Great!

  Vance again:      Hi Moral, you got back

  Vance again:      Hi Moral.  Are you losing your connection?

  Moral:            my connection is not stable vance.

  Maggi:            Moral can you here them...?

  Vance again:      Hi.  Maggie, is Moral still here?

  Maggi:            no

 

 

Jump to: The Palace chat, the Voice Chat, or the ICQ chat

 

Here’s the text chat portion of the voice chat.  Keep in mind that as participants are writing, others are speaking as well …

And people are also going back and forth between the Palace and the voice chat!

 

Status: Connected

Vance at MLI has joined

Status: Disconnected

Status: Connected

Vance has joined

Maggi has joined

Vance: who me?

Maggi: ok

Maggi: gottcha now

Maggi: you didn't say which text chat...

Vance: Yeah, it's confusing.

Maggi: nice color

Maggi: not confusine tome

Vance: Have you got a really ugly and obtrusive banner ad with the palace btw?

Maggi: no

Maggi: I have an older version on the laptop

Vance: I've got an awful one. Keep that one.

Maggi: well...I downloaded the new software but seem to have difficulties registering

Vance: So, where are all our little darlings?  All this preparation for them

Maggi: maybe they have the same glorious weather as here

Vance: The new palace?  Do you have your number, like X1X!-QD5R-GH5UH

Vance: Mine is in that pattern

Maggi: I icq'd dave to ask but they have given me new ones

Vance: Why don't you just re-register?  Actually for our purposes, guest will do, but you might not be a wiz!  HA

Maggi: looks fancy

Maggi: oh yeah...I have a few codes up my sleeves

Vance: go around it/

Vance: ?

Maggi: I have connections to Rtoger remember.

Vance: alright!

Maggi: anyway...the other stillo works

Maggi: have to get used to a German keyboard again

Vance: I wonder if Roger can do something about this banner ad

Maggi: he probably could

Maggi: but then again it may support the whole thing

Vance: It comes right across the top part of the palace screen, interferes with controls

Vance: It leaps back into place if you try and move it

Maggi: seems new members are not asked to pay for membership as before

Vance: It's the most obnoxious I've ever seen, stays on top too

Maggi: I don#t get that on my laptop or other computer

Vance: The prohosting banner campaign was a blow to some friends of mine

Vance: The banner appears in each frame

Vance: I've got a friend who had 4 frames on his pages

Vance: each one now has a banner, a mess

Maggi: I will have to play with it later...but I wasn't able to get the taskbar to open other Palaces yet.

Vance: For me to open a palace I have to move that banner ad aside and then get one before it bounces back

Maggi: hmmm...something to write Rog3r about

Maggi: Active Worlds put me off...

Vance: really?  Why?

Vance: Michael and Maggie and I had a nice tour.  Maggie has to study today btw

Maggi: I went to the Red Planet and came across a bunch of kids shooting each other up.

Vance: Naw, you gotta stay away from those places

Vance: The idea is to build a place like at our happy home in the Palace

Vance: It would have coordinates that only we would know about

Maggi: yeh, but it shows what is happening and it isn't pretty

Vance: no dropins

Vance: what were they doing?

Maggi: Moral is there

Maggi: they were shooting each other

Vance: Yeah, he'll probably come to the Palace

Maggi: ok

Maggi: but the whole thing is disgusting

Vance: Well, like what exactly was disgusting?

Vance: Shooting each other up, you mean drugs?  Or guns?

Maggi: read in the IHT that the 2nd in command in the NRA says he is qa bosum buddy of Bush

Maggi: guns

Vance: figgers

Vance: What, gore?

Vance: Worse than tv?

Maggi: Bush will need to backtred but he can't distance himself from this one.

Vance: sounds like he gone shot hisself in the foot har har har

Maggi: Then I had some Christians on icq who hunt...

Vance: Whaddu they hunt?  Romans?

Maggi: when I said that it shouold be a fair fight and maybe go back to bow and arrow the wife said he always missed.

Maggi: I said good for the deer

Maggi: but she likes deer meat

Michael has joined

Michael: lol

Lan Dao Yi has joined

Maggi: Hi

Michael: Is that you Moral?

Lan Dao Yi: Hi. it's me.

Michael: Nice to see you here!

Maggi: can you here us?

Maggi: hear

Lan Dao Yi: nice to see you michael

Lan Dao Yi: i can't hear.

Michael: (thanks for the correction Maggi!)

Vance: Oh, too bad.

Michael: OK. then we can text chat with you.

Vance: Can you open your volume control?

Maggi: sure thing

Lan Dao Yi: does it need realplayer?

Vance: no

Lan Dao Yi: it's not the problem of the volume.

Lan Dao Yi: i think.

Maggi: the guys are talking about boring stuff anyway

Vance: Can you hear other sounds from your computer?

Lan Dao Yi: I think so Vance.

Vance: Do you want to test it?

Lan Dao Yi: yes, how?

Vance: Can you open anything with sound?

Michael: Go ahead Maggi - tell the joke!

Vance: tremble tremble

Michael: YES!!!!!!!

Lan Dao Yi: I got this message: Hi Vance.. I am doing a search on/about Possessive Case... My English College Teacher wants an academic report about it.. Any ideas where I can find it in an "academic basis"? (I think Felix has sent this message to the wrong person at this point - Vance)

Lan Dao Yi: my sound system works fine.

Lan Dao Yi: i reload this page.

Lan Dao Yi has left

Lan Dao Yi has joined

Maggi: Hi...

Vance: Hi have you got sound?

Lan Dao Yi: Hi! it doesn't work still.

Michael: It must be a firewall problem.

Maggi: well at least you still have text

Lan Dao Yi: I think so but i'll keep trying.

Vance: It's ok.  Felix is thinking to join us.  He doesn't have speakers either.

Vance: Do you get any error messages?

Lan Dao Yi: Ok, we can have text chat here.

Lan Dao Yi: No, I didn't .

Maggi: why not?

Lan Dao Yi: i heard voxphone is very good.

Vance: Yeah, also Bridgett is around too.

Felix has joined

Vance: voxphone?

Vance: Hi Felix.

Maggi: Hi Felix

Vance: It's Felix.  He's a bit dingy.

Lan Dao Yi: yes, a voice chat software.

Michael: Evening/good day Felix.

Lan Dao Yi: Hi, Felix!

Felix: Thanks all

Michael: So you have no sound today Felix?

Felix: I am dumped with reports to be done... snif snif

Vance: Michael can't reach the Palace, so this is a good meeting place today.

Michael: School reports?

Felix: right MC.... I brought my puter home to try to finish my reports.

Felix: yep mc

Vance: And he has a question for all us English teachers

Michael: I remember those days of report writing.....

Vance: brb (nature)

Felix: But the problem is that I can't find anything

Bridgett has joined

Vance: Hi Bridget

Maggi: Hi Brigett

Lan Dao Yi: Hi Bridgett.

Vance: Hi Bridgett, can you hear us?

Michael: What can't you find Felix?

Felix: so, does anyone here know where I can find The Genitive Case in an academic basis?

Michael: This is similar to what Moral needs!!!

Maggi: what for?

Lan Dao Yi has left

Moral has joined

Felix: My English Teacher wants it But in an academic basis...

Vance: What do you mean, in an academic basis?

Felix: I mean the complex rules....

Felix: THe ones found in a grammar for native spearkers.

Felix: speakers

Maggi: oh for pity's sake why?

Maggi: most native speakers don't follow those rules

Vance: Let's see, what is Genetive case?

Felix: Because I am studying to get a graduation in English and Portuguese Maggi

Maggi: with the s Vance

Vance: You mean s possessive?

Maggi: yep

Vance: So we need possessive in an academic basis?

Felix: so?

Vance: Used in an academic context you mean?

Maggi: well there isn't much to know

Felix: I know Maggi... But a college assignment is a college assignment

Maggi: This is Tom's car

Maggi: thqat's genetive

Moral: what is possessive? grammar?

Felix: right Vance

Maggi: yes, that ikky stuff Moral

Felix: Jesus's ways.....

Michael: Possessive and genitive are names for the same thing.

Vance: OK, I have an idea.  Visit the concordance site in Hong Kong

Maggi: so what do you want?  the rules?

Vance: choose an academic corpus

Felix: Right Vance

Vance: and search it for 's

Felix: Where Vance?

Michael: That's a good idea - but it won't provide explanations.

Felix: The Genitive case is the same as the possessive case Maggi

Vance: Does he need an explanation?

Felix: yes.. I need the explanations

Michael: Well if they have to report on it then it would help... yes i thought so.

Bridgett: HELLO

Maggi: the rules you mean?

Felix: The teacher wants a fragment for a text and then the rule about it

Maggi: it is pretty straightforward.

Michael: So do you two - Felix and Moral - both have to do the same assignment?

Vance: Is this a case of teachers copying from each other?

Maggi: if a word ends in s then the 'comes after

Felix: I don't think so Vance.. We live so far away

Vance: Just joking Felix

Maggi: Tess' car

Felix: This is the basic rule Maggi

Maggi: spo what are looking for Felx?

Moral has left

Moral has joined

Felix: If I had a good library here I am sure I would find it

Maggi: Moral is popping in and out...:-)

Moral has left

Maggi: I have a book Felix...tell me just what you need

Moral has joined

Felix: ...........

Moral: what asignment Michael?

Felix has left

Michael: Maybe I'm confused. I thought you had to do an assignment too. I think earlier Vance said you were doing it but it's obviously Felix.

Vance: So, Felix, did we solve your problem or do you still have it?

Michael: http://www.chariot.net.au/~michaelc/

Moral: Felix left.

Vance: That's a url where Michael has some of his music

Vance: You can hear MC play guitar at that site.

Michael: Moral - would you buy a Webheads t-shirt?

Vance: We're talking about how we can make a Webheads t-shirt

Michael: We're asking Bridgett if she'd make us all a webheads t-shirt!

Michael: Snap!

Maggi: Michael is so good at ignoring superfluous nonsense....

Vance: Hi Moral.  Are you getting anything out of this?

Maggi: a no-nonsense man

Michael: lol

Moral: Michael, are you selling T-shirts now/

Moral: ?

Maggi: They are discussin it Moral...

Moral: I was checking settings.

Michael: No Moral - but we're talking to Bridgett about making a t-shirt for us. Do you like that idea?

Maggi: Bridgett can maqke them in Jamaca

Moral has left

Moral has joined

Michael: No Bridgett - you could design the logo?

Michael: Or OK - a writing assignbment!

Vance: Moral, we've just decided to make a logo for webheads

Michael: Moral - do you know what a logo is?

Vance: We want to (1) design a logo

Moral: yes I know. the picture on T-shirts.

Vance: (2) get Bridgett to design a tshirt with the logo

Michael: That's it!

Vance: (3) figure out some way to sell them at conferences

Moral: maybe maggi shoud make them. :)

Vance: ((4) give them to webhead students

Vance: What do you think, Moral?

Moral: a great idea.

Maggi: why do you say that Moral?  I am curious

Moral: women are good at it. i think.

Michael: And what would you put in a webheads logo Moral?

Moral: i have no idea about it, Michael.

Maggi: because we are more creative Moral?

Michael: No ideas Moral?

Maggi: Give the guy a break...he said he had no idea

Michael: Maybe there'd be a computer somwhere? Or a web?

Maggi: how tacky

Vance: A beanie with a propeller

Michael: lol.....no!

Moral: yes, you are artical.

Maggi: igit

Michael: (Maggi means idiot - she's being rude to me!)

Maggi: Moral is right

Vance: What was that Moral?

Maggi: no I'm not

Maggi: that is the equivalent of puke

Maggi: igit I mean

Bridgett has left

Moral: i can't catch up with you sometimes.

Maggi: we jump around with ideas Moral...

Vance: Also, we're not writing down everything we say.

Moral: Oh, i know now.

Maggi: can you hear anything Moral?

Moral: nothing i hear maggi.

Vance: But the main thing is we decided to make a tshirt

Vance: And we decided to ask webheads to help design a logo

Moral: but we are in different corners of the world.

Moral: people don't what is that.

Moral: don't know

Vance: Now we're talking about Active Worlds

Maggi: well...what would you like to see on the shirt Moral...

Moral: Webheads.

Vance: Some teachers think it is a place where there's violence and bad content

Moral: in some good-looking fonts.

Maggi: like Moral?

Moral: :-)

Moral: Ok, i'll leave for a while to check my setting on hearme webpages.

Vance: ok

Michael: OK Moral - see you soon

Maggi: nice to see you Moral...

Vance: see you again soon

Maggi: that isn' t what I meant

Moral has left

Michael: lol

Vance: cyber dust?

Michael: Ciao!

Michael has left

Lan Dao Yi has joined

Vance: Hi Moral. 

Vance: Maggie has gone to get a beer.

Vance: I'm talking to Felix in ICQ about his problem with the genetive case in academic writing

Vance: And you?

Maggi: Hi Moral

Lan Dao Yi: Hi everyone.

Lan Dao Yi: How about the T-shirts?

Lan Dao Yi: Did you decide to make?

Vance: Yeah, that was interesting

Maggi: I think they did

Vance: Bridgett makes clothes for tourists in Jamaica

Vance: So I think the t-shirt was her idea

Maggi: Bridgett will work up a desin in the next few daqys

Vance: But first we have to have a logo. 

Vance: We decided to ask webheads what should be in the logo

Maggi: I'm going to close the Palace now Vance, ok.

Lan Dao Yi: Sounds interesting!

Vance: That was a loud pop (when she closed the Palace)

Lan Dao Yi has left

Moral has joined

Vance: So the next writing assignment will be to ask everyone to write what they want in the logo

Maggi: sorry

Vance: From that, we'll try to get Bridgett to design one, or maybe she'll have made it by then.

Maggi: she is investing time and money in this...

Maggi: we should find a way to make it worth her while

Moral: Well... I've got to leave now. I'll check my Hearme setting.

Moral: See you Maggi and Vance!

Maggi: ok...have a nice evening Moral...:-)

Vance: OK the next step will be to produce and ship the tshirst and get them to webheads

Vance: for free we hope

Vance: because we'll sell them to teachers

Vance: taht's what we decided.

Vance: OK, Moral, nice talking to you.

Maggi: see you soon...for another interesting discuswion...>:-)

Maggi: discussion

Moral has left

 

 

 

Jump to: The Palace chat, the Voice Chat, or the ICQ chat

 

Felix and Vance in ICQ

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   4:42 PM  Hi Vance.. I am doing a search on/about                                  Possessive Case... My English College Teacher wants an academic report about it.. Any ideas where I can find it in an "academic basis"?

 

Vance      5/7/00   4:49 PM  Hi Felix.  Come to the voice chat and we'll talk about it.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   4:49 PM  I brought my computer home and I didnt bring my speakers along

 

Vance      5/7/00   4:51 PM  Well, Moral is there, and he doesn't have sound either, so you can text chat with us.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   4:51 PM  ok.... I am in my way

 

Vance      5/7/00   4:52 PM  on your way

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   4:53 PM  hehehe small things make the big difference

 

Vance      5/7/00   4:53 PM  In that case yes, because In my way means something else.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   4:55 PM  what does it mean?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:00 PM  On my way means I'm coming. In my way means, get out of my way, you're in my way.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:00 PM  awwwwwwwww

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:01 PM  Is that what you wanted to know?

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:02 PM  yep

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:20 PM  Vance, where can I find a Corpus?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:22 PM  I'll get you the url

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:22 PM  thanks

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:25 PM  http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk/scripts/concordance/WWConcappE.htm Here's the site.  On the site, you select a corpus.  That means a body of text to do the search in.  If we go to the site together, I can help you.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:26 PM  I am ON my way to the site. hehe

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:27 PM  it's open now.. and?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:27 PM  I'm there now

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:28 PM  i have lot of options and i am completely lost

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:31 PM  ok, change search string to "contains"

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:31 PM  then?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:33 PM  in the box right of contains put 's

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:34 PM  done and now?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:35 PM  select corpus, let's choose Language and teaching

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:36 PM  ok...... and?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:37 PM  let's sort left.  That way the same words will line up together

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:37 PM  and?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:39 PM  OK, we've got search string contains 's in the corpus Language & teaching, sort left ok, that's is, Search for concordances

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:43 PM  it opens a lots of sentences... and now?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:43 PM  Did you get it?  829 occurances of genetive uses in academic context.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:45 PM  yep.. But my question is.... Can't I get a whole parapraph... Because there, we can find only a sentence for each concordance.. I would like to put a parapraph of a text in which contains for example....... Jesus's...... (The rule that says about Greek names) and then I would write the rule and explanation about it.. Can't I do that? how?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:52 PM  Felix, sitting here talking to Maggie.  She's SO distracting.  Anyway, the thing about concordances is you have ALL THESE EXAMPLES of what you are trying to explain.  You have data to back whatever explanation you come up with. I am a teacher who does not explain to students.  I point students to examples and I say, there they are, what do you make of that. But if you like, we can look at a few more closely together.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:54 PM  i would like vance

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:55 PM 

61   ed,  Hermione Lee examines the book's lasting popularity, and Sophia  Cha

62   lain at the war.) Part of the  book's pleasure is that it's about girls w

63   ot amused by the manner of his book's publication, however,  and spent th

64   ct. I think the reason for the book's resonance is  that it presents girl

                                 

These examples.  Some people say that we shouldn't say object's in academic writing. We should say the quality of the object

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:56 PM  popularity of the book for example.  But here we have 4 examples of object's quality. That's interesting (to me) - it means what we say is the rule is not always followed. Therefore it's not necessarily a rule.  But from all this data you could make a few rules if you wanted.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:57 PM  you got the point but for example.. in line

61... I would like the whole paragraph  and then I would put in bold the possessive case.... got it? is that possible?

 

Vance      5/7/00   5:58 PM  It would be possible with other concordance programs but not with this web based one.  But why do you need the whole paragraph?  Therelevant part is: Hermione Lee examines the book's lasting popularity

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   5:59 PM  the teacher wants it... But I found out that if you click on the 's in blue it will give you part of the parapraph... try it

 

Vance      5/7/00   6:00 PM  GREAT!  The student discovers and teaches the teacher.  That's what I teach for!

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   6:01 PM  Thanks a lot for your help Vance... That's what efiwebhead is all about...

 

Vance      5/7/00   6:02 PM  That's it.  Thanks for saying that.  It will appear on the webpage somewhere, some time.

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   6:02 PM  Last question for today.. Do you know where I can find  sayings,, quotes or something like that. I want to put some of them in the top of an exam for my students...

 

Sr. N      5/7/00   6:02 PM  :O))

 

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Last updated: May 15, 2000