Status update
Today is the first day of classes at Elgin Community College, where I’m teaching an online logic course. The following Monday I’ll be starting my own coursework at Loyola University in Chicago (Habermas and Philosophy of Religion/Kierkegaard). So pardon the lack of posting recently–I’m still trying to work out a blogging schedule that supports, rather than distracts, from my scholarly aims.
While I have a moment, though, I can tell you that I’m interested in trying out the new course software that Elgin uses. At University of Missouri - STL and Forest Park Community College, Blackboard was the online hub for instructors and students. It was pretty easy to use, but had its limitations. Elgin uses Desire 2 Learn, which is (on the back end) less intuitive to set up, but provides for greater flexibility in how the course appears to the students.
Also, as a first time logic instructor, I’ll be interested to compare Hurley’s A Concise Introduction to Logic (pictured) with the Barwise and Etchemendy Language Proof and Logic, in terms of symbolic logic. Both texts come with a CD-ROM to help practice sets, but Etchemendy’s text is focused on proofs to a greater degree than my students will be.
Naturally, I won’t be talking about my students online–I am intent on guarding their privacy. However, I may, from time to time, talk about what I’ve learned on the technical and pedagogical side of teaching online.