| |
|
Above and beyond, the profundity of my personal
inquiry and academic interests, the choice of
philosophy as a major area for teaching is a
reflection of my desire to contribute to the
success and development of post secondary
students. Doing philosophy and by
extension taking a philosophy course is, at
bottom, about taking dedicated time to
investigate individual thinking and conceptual
frameworks. A philosophy course becomes an
opportunity for comparing, contrasting and
possibly revising a personal vision through
learning historical and current theories. It
gives me great satisfaction to be able to
contribute in this way to the development or
improvement of the critical thinking and logical
analysis skill set of students. It is a
large part of my teaching philosophy to use
internet technology and reference to popular
media, such as movies and video games, to
augment and enhance the learning experience of
the modern student. Referring to popular
media gives the students an opportunity to
become more aware of the relationship of
philosophy to their everyday lives. In
this way, they interact with philosophical
theories in a familiar context as a foundation
for more complex philosophical investigation.
I am additionally committed to teaching blended
or fully online courses in addition to face to
face courses. Contrary to appearances, the
use of technology and the online environment
actually facilitates a more individualized
approach to teaching and learning. Modern
students are familiar with the internet, online
communication and do not view these as
“distancing” themselves from human interaction
but as a way to extend the type of interactions
available. Delivering course materials in
this manner allows each student to interact with
the learning materials and professor in the way
that is most comfortable and efficacious for
them. If technology enhanced courses are
structured properly [with set goals, learning
outcomes, structured assignments, discussions
and assessments] it allows the student the
freedom to set the time and pace to be the most
effective for their own style of learning. As
such, interaction with the instructor is also
more individualized and directed in addressing
student needs. The student can interact with
their instructor as much or as little as they
feel is needed.
Increased learning occurs when a larger share of
the responsibility of learning is place on the
student and the “professor” becomes more of a
facilitator to the learning process. Because of
this, I attempt to foster a relaxed and
nurturing atmosphere within my courses along
with providing the feedback and resources that
match and challenge the individualized pace of
each student. Students are graded
according to their individual abilities or
efforts because ultimately success in philosophy
is measured by increased critical thinking
abilities and their own personal growth. |
| |
|
Pathways to Wellbeing Second Life Interface Demo: Flinders
University-Adelaide, Australia
Flow in the Zone Exhibition: MDC Second Life Display Room One
The Arts
Office Virtual Studios in Second Life
Educational Applications of Second Life |
GENERAL INFORMATION
COURSE INFORMATION
OFFICE
SCHEDULE 
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
CURRENT PROJECTS
INTERESTS 
ONLINE RESOURCES / LINKS