New Virtual Learning Environment for Philosophy Students
Anthony Beavers, professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Evansville in Indiana, says the Internet is revolutionizing the way professors in the humanities teach their students. And he's on the cutting edge of the trend.
Beavers--creator of the Exploring Ancient World Cultures Web site, The Early Church On-Line Encyclopedia and limited-area search engines Argos and Hippias--has developed a new site called "the 4th Tetralogy." The site provides English translations of Plato's Republic, the Phaedrus, the Symposium and the Phaedo. The 4th Tetralogy features an unusual interactive element that enables students to perform on-line research. The address of the site is: http://plato.evansville.edu
Opinions abound throughout the pages on the site, due to a new software program called Asynchronous Dialogical Commentary. ADS is a robot that enables individuals to comment on things they have read, then have them linked to a particular site. Readers can comment on the previous opinion and have their own comments linked as well. Students can also compare different translations of the same text by placing them side by side on their computer screens. In that way, Beavers says, "students can do some textual work, even if it's on a simple level, that only professionals were doing before."
He adds: "There's no more necessity in coordinating agreement...you just do your thing and I'll do mine and all of it is cross-linked through several search engines." Hyperlinks take readers to the same passages in two other editions of Plato's work, an alternative English translation and the original Greek text. While Beavers says he does not believe that sites such as these will replace classroom instruction, he does see technology changing the way in which the humanities are taught. "I don't believe in distance education for non-technical fields," he says. "You need that [classroom] discussion...but you need to change your focus from sitting down and grading to dialogue and the content of the class."
Beavers is using his latest creation in his philosophy class of 20 students this semester. All have been so enthusiastic, according to Beavers, that he feared they may be burned out before the final weeks of the class. "I had to go in and recommend that they not work so hard. Right now they are infatuated with [the site] and they're asking questions. It's refreshing to see that it works."
Beavers explains that he has stepped down from his professorial role in the class and has joined the students in the exploratory nature of the Internet, becoming a companion learner with them. Students are not graded on external assignments; they are evaluated by their participation in class, by their attendance and scores on quizzes, and by their writing on the Internet site. "The net result is that they've been very enthusiastic," Beavers notes. According to Beavers, classroom interaction is at an all-time high. "The students are attentive in the classroom in a way that I've not seen before." He says half the class is assigned to write commentaries and the other half writes a response on the site.
"We are facilitating the creative thought process. I like to call it real-world writing. [Students] are now writing to be read. And they have admitted they write differently than if they were just writing for me." He says he has also benefitted from using the approach in class. "My research and my teaching become the same activity."
Anthony Beavers can be reached by telephone at the University of Evansville, 812-479-2682, by e-mail at [email protected]. More information can be obtained by contacting Marsha Jackson in university relations, 812-479-2562, or by e-mail: [email protected].
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