Important Things to Consider
Before You Take
Mediated or Online sections of PHIL 160

1. Can you handle a little technology?

All our assignments, discussions, and quizzes take place online using WebCT. So, you will need to be sure you have (or can arrange) reliable internet access; you may need to optimize your browser to run WebCT (WebCT has instructions for this); you need to be able to save your essays in a format I can read (*.doc, *.rtf, *.txt, or *.pdf); and you need to be able to open JPEGs and PDFs.

In addition, if you take the "mediated" version of the course, you will need to view our weekly lectures. If you don't get Comcast Cable in our broadcast area (San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell, Cupertino), you will either have to come to campus to view the lectures (in the Instructional Resource Center) or view the streaming video (which will require a program like RealPlayer and some more browser optimization).

If you take the "online" version of the course, you will need to be able to view animations and video clips (using a program like RealPlayer).

Most of this "optimization" is a matter of getting things set up right; there are instructions for doing this and people you can contact to help you. You don't need to be a complete technophile to take this course. But if you absolutely hate technology, you're probably better off taking a "live" version of this course.

2. Can you make the regular commitment to be "in" our virtual classroom?

Unlike a "live" class, the online and mediated classes don't have a fixed block of time when you need to show up. However, you do need to show up regularly to be a part of the class. You need to log in regularly to be a part of the online discussions of the reading. You need to participate in the group tasks with your online group (which may include people keeping schedules very different from yours). You need to take quizzes and write short essays. You cannot put off the required course work until the very end of the term!

If you have trouble imposing structure on your own time, you may be better off taking a "live" course that will tell you when to be in class.

3. Can you work well with others?

A significant part of this course is engaging with your classmates, whether in discussions of the readings and of questions that arise from them, or in working with a small group of your classmates to tackle a group task. You will be helping each other think about issues, critically examine positions, collect your intuitions, and work out the larger implications of the questions we discuss. For this to work, you need to contribute you own thoughts, ideas, and questions, read the contributions of others, and respond to those in a critical yet constructive way.

Of course, this takes time! (See #2.) You can't really participate in a discussion or a group task if you leave it until the very last minute. Also, part of what you will need to contribute is forward momentum -- in other words, you'll need to be prepared to step up from time to time to get things started.

If you are unwilling or unable to engage with your classmates, and to be a part of building successful group dynamics in the online discussions and group tasks, you will have a very hard time in the online version of this course. A "live" version may be more appropriate for you. (I should warn you, though, that participation and small group interaction are frequently demanded of students in the "live" section, too, as part of the "active learning" required in all courses that fulfill G.E. Area R.)

4. Can you be a careful reader and thinker?

The structure of this class puts the reading, discussion, and writing for a particular module in this course before the lecture or online learning objects on that material. The point, of course, is to encourage you to read more carefully and critically, and to get you working together in the discussions (see #3) to figure out what's going on before you hear/read/experience my take on things. (This is often what it's like to learn things in "the real world"!)

If you can't shoulder the burden of trying to figure out the reading before you hear the professor's "official" view, you will hate this course. But then, you will probably dislike the "live" version of the course even more! In the online version, after all, you don't have to figure out the readings all by yourself; you have your classmates to help you!

5. Have you fulfilled the prerequisites?

As an upper division General Education course, this course requires that you have completed the core G.E. requirements and that you have passed the Writing Skills Test (WST). You cannot take this course unless these requirements have been completed. (This is true of the "live" course as well.) Come back when you've taken care of them -- we'll still be here!

 

If you have any further questions about whether the online or mediated version of PHIL 160 is right for you, don't hesistate to contact Prof. Janet D. Stemwedel (408-924-4521 or jstemwed@email.sjsu.edu).