Using Technology in the Higher Ed Classroom

Editor's Notes

• #14:  I created a series of content lectures which introduce each philosopher and his/her key theoretical concepts and arguments. These are animated powerpoint presentations with my voice narration. And they look a little like (Pollan lecture)Course tour videos—these are screen-capture videos where I record my screen while showing students how to perform tasks and navigate the course generally.Technically still a medium of content delivery: The students read primary texts in Environmental philosophy.In every module, I offer video clips by or about the philosophers: for instance, here is a Ted lecture by Michael Pollan.I use documentaries and clips about major environmental issues and eventsAnd Informational websites, like this debate site on animal experimentationAnd, I always try to include funny clips whenever possible—because I believe that learning about philosophy should be serious—but not grave.—so, here I have Jon Stewart and John Hodgman explaining the World Bank in 4 minutes.
• #15: Each module was designed to culminate in Case Study workshops, where students took a particular case of moral dilemma, and applied the theories they had been learning.So, after module one on humans concepts of nature, and our sense of our relationship to nature, students worked through case study workshops on koko the gorilla to explore our ideas about language, thought and consciousness; and one on religion and nature, where they watch a PBS documentary exploring the extent to which religion encourages environmental awareness and action. In Modules four and five, we explore how moral theorists try to determine principles and criteria for marking intrinsic value over instrumental value. If a being or something has intrinsic value—value beyond its usefulness to us—then we are obligated to consider its needs and interests. Therefore this question is a key one in environmental theory. What characteristics mark the difference between a being with intrinsic value (and thus due moral consideration) and a being with instrumental value (and thus can be used by us according to our needs, without owing it itself moral consideration). Is the criteria Reason and Consciousness? Is it Sentience? Is it being an “experiencing subject of a life,” is it a larger matter of “it is part of a larger ecological system, etc” Students apply these theories are they grapple with classic dilemmas in animal rights and eco-system welfare, vegetarianism, experiementation, wilderness management hunting, and so forth. This section also including one of my favorite workshops: a tv episode from 30 Days, where an avid hunter agrees to live with a PETA family for 30 days. I love this episode, because George the hunter is an amazingly thoughtful and open-minded and thoughtful person, and the family that he stays with is too. Their exchanges are theoretically meaningful, deeply respectful, And serve as a model to students of how one can approach exploring issues with those who disagree (even fundamentally). Module Six asks students to apply theories of environmental justice—global justice and domestic—to environmental issues that primarily are concerned with our obligations to our fellow humans: issues of water rights and access to water, the genetic modification of foods, and agribusiness generally, as well as a case study on the moral permissability of civil disobedience – through looking at University of utah student Tim DeChristopher’s act of civil disobedience during an auctioning of Southern Utah lands for drilling rights.
• #16: Each module was designed to culminate in Case Study workshops, where students took a particular case of moral dilemma, and applied the theories they had been learning.So, after module one on humans concepts of nature, and our sense of our relationship to nature, students worked through case study workshops on koko the gorilla to explore our ideas about language, thought and consciousness; and one on religion and nature, where they watch a PBS documentary exploring the extent to which religion encourages environmental awareness and action. In Modules four and five, we explore how moral theorists try to determine principles and criteria for marking intrinsic value over instrumental value. If a being or something has intrinsic value—value beyond its usefulness to us—then we are obligated to consider its needs and interests. Therefore this question is a key one in environmental theory. What characteristics mark the difference between a being with intrinsic value (and thus due moral consideration) and a being with instrumental value (and thus can be used by us according to our needs, without owing it itself moral consideration). Is the criteria Reason and Consciousness? Is it Sentience? Is it being an “experiencing subject of a life,” is it a larger matter of “it is part of a larger ecological system, etc” Students apply these theories are they grapple with classic dilemmas in animal rights and eco-system welfare, vegetarianism, experiementation, wilderness management hunting, and so forth. This section also including one of my favorite workshops: a tv episode from 30 Days, where an avid hunter agrees to live with a PETA family for 30 days. I love this episode, because George the hunter is an amazingly thoughtful and open-minded and thoughtful person, and the family that he stays with is too. Their exchanges are theoretically meaningful, deeply respectful, And serve as a model to students of how one can approach exploring issues with those who disagree (even fundamentally). Module Six asks students to apply theories of environmental justice—global justice and domestic—to environmental issues that primarily are concerned with our obligations to our fellow humans: issues of water rights and access to water, the genetic modification of foods, and agribusiness generally, as well as a case study on the moral permissability of civil disobedience – through looking at University of utah student Tim DeChristopher’s act of civil disobedience during an auctioning of Southern Utah lands for drilling rights.