As more and more philosophy instructors need to move classes online due to COVID-19, many of us are looking for help with teaching virtually. Mary Beth Willard (Weber State University) has shared some great general tips for quickly switching your course to an online format.
It also makes sense to use resources that are already out there. I just assigned two podcasts from the History of Philosophy without any gaps to my History of Ancient Philosophy class, as the best way to introduce them to Aristotle, whom we are considering next. You should also check out (and add to) this spreadsheet (created by Liz Jackson (ANU) and Tyron Goldschmidt (Rochester) ) that shares videos and resources for a wide range of philosophical topics and courses: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_T7Cnv9c6VHc3YWUvUaVfkApUjojlU5XyCe61A_bB4g/edit?usp=sharing.
It includes a number of videos on ancient philosophy, including a full course by Monte Ransome Johnson. I have also posted the Powerpoint slides I used for my recent classes on Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and will keep sharing slides as well as videos, for those who want to record their own discussion.
One Comment
Evan Strevell
Hi Caleb,
With more or less two months to go, I was wondering whether it might be worthwhile to attempt some kind of call for the sharing of best practices specifically for teaching ancient philosophy online and / or in a hybrid format. It would be especially beneficial if veterans of teaching ancient philosophy online could share how they set up individual modules, the SLO’s for those modules, and tools for assessment of those SLOs. Prior to last semester’s panicked switch, I had never taught online. This Fall I have an ancient survey. I am hoping to be able to teach it in person or hybridly as much as possible, but I would very much like to see how others have done things in the online format.
Thank you so much,
Evan