First, a little bit of information about me. I am Dr. Ron Barnette, Professor Emeritus, and former head of the Department of Philosophy at Valdosta State University from 1974 to 2001. I retired officially from VSU in 2002, having served in 2001-2002 as Acting Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Among other roles, I currently serve as Executive Secretary for Information and Communication, International Association for Computing and Philosophy (www.iacap.org). Educational philosophy is a keen interest of mine, especially as it relates to dynamic learning enhanced by instructional technology using the World Wide Web, email, and other forms of asynchronous communication. This online forum for learning will be a centerpiece of our course.
Second, you can find here our course syllabus, which explains the outcomes and objectives of our voyage: where we are going and what we are going to be able to do once there!!
Third, since this course will be conducted online, it is vital that each participant has an active email address. A subscription-based class list has been set up for the class...named PHILED...which will serve as our ongoing portal for discussing problems posed by me, and for information shared by class members, through email with your subscribed email address. You will all need to subscribe to the class discussion list. To do this, go to this website and follow instructions for subscribing to PHILED. Note that once subscribed, you will use your own email accounts to participate in this class forum, unlike, for example, threaded discussion through a website...this online class is unlike WebCT or other course management tools in this and in other respects, and is meant to enhance your personal opportunities. It is crucial that all students subscribe to PHILED immediately!
Lastly, please note the above-mentioned site for class assignments, as your required written work is developed and submitted. In brief, you will be engaged in two ongoing course responsiblities: (1) PHILED class discussion (asynchronously, to accomodate busy schedules), and (2) written essays, as attachments submitted to me directly at my email address.
