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I am a big fan of social computing and can help you out whenever you need me. Common questions that people ask when they come to the Lab for Social computing website are about the following topics:

If you have a question and can't seem to find an answer by looking through the page, try a quick search. If you still can't find an answer, why don't you just 'Ask Sam' and I will get back to you as soon as possible!

Enjoy your stay!

M.U.P.P.E.T.S. appeared as an example of Multi-Language Software Development in ACM Queue [ February Issue 2004 ]. Andrew Phelps and Dave Parks discussed the advantages and curses of multi-language development in the games industry, and what better way to make a point than by example? Enter the M.U.P.P.E.T.S. engine! Read the full article here in PDF or HTML format [courtesy of ACM Digital Library].

A first look at using MUPPETS in the classrom, the paper “The use of MUPPETS in an introductory java programming course” was published in the proceedings of the 5th conference on Information Technology Education, which is available through the ACM. In the past students used a package called “Robocode”, which is available from IBM. This project involved programming a virtual robot that could “fight” in an arena according to some agreed upon set of rules, which were developed both as part of the Robocode package and discussed and agreed upon in lecture. While the students enjoyed this project, the proliferation of available code on the Internet for the framework led to this project being removed from the course. We have implemented a variant of “RoboCode” in MUPPETS that addresses the code availability issue and provides a more interesting and graphically rich environment for the students.

One of the projects the LSC is involved in is the Multi-User Programming Pedagogy for Enhancing traditional Study (or M.U.P.P.E.T.S.) The M.U.P.P.E.T.S. system is a shared project with the Laboratory for Graphical Simulation, Visualization, and Virtual Worlds, and has recieved funding from the Provost's Learning Initiative Grant program, as well as matching donations from Sun Microsystems. It has been the topic of several papers at the Society for Information Technology Education conferences, an article in ACM Queue on multi-language development, an example of an open source virtual worlds initiative in WIRED news, and will be the subject of a forthcoming presentation at the Xerox Wilson Research Center.

What is M.U.P.P.E.T.S.?

The system will be aimed specifically at engaging upper-division students in the education of lower-division students through their first-year programming core. The development team is building upon existing research and technical developments in the field to design and construct a CVE and supporting infrastructure that allows students to write very simple Java® code similar to, and constructed around the same pedagogical issues as, code written in a more traditional course of first year study. As part of the M.U.P.P.E.T.S. system, however, this code can now control objects in a shared virtual world very much like an online massively-multiplayer game that many prospective students are already familiar with. Upper level students also populate the system in a structure of their own, and this population will be aimed at encouraging and rewarding student engagement and peer knowledge-transmission.

In addition, by building a fully programmable virtual worlds engine, the system is now capable of supporting collaborative work in several disciplines, and connections with molecular visualization, game engine development, and virtual theatre are already being explored.

To find out more, read the associated papers, and get in contact with the development team, please visit The M.U.P.P.E.T.S website.