A Cyber-University

[mhoraine]

Gotta love the OU !
Io ho finito il mio corso italiano...

Ecco !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9TVYCffHEE

[mhoraine]

and available from October 2011, the new philo course A222 ( replacing A211 )

http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/news/a222.shtml

[John]

and available from October 2011, the new philo course A222 ( replacing A211 )

I did A211 last year

[mhoraine]

Hi John

I did A211 in 2008 - and only kept at it because of a fantastic tutor in Edinburgh and some growly encouragement from a Bear of Great Distinction.

Last year, I almost died doing AA308 Philo of Mind - and swore to put philo behind me forever and ever....

All the best in your studies

M.

[John]

Hi M,

Thanks for the encouragement. I decided not to do AA308 because the real focus of my degree is the Politics and Economics elements but I did thoroughly enjoy A211. Philosophy of mind wasn't my favourite part though so even when I was getting carried away thinking that maybe I should promote philosophy and relegate politics in the degree one look at AA308 sorted me out

My tutorials were in Glasgow and the tutor was also excellent.

Are you almost finished or are you an eternal student

[mhoraine]

Are you almost finished or are you an eternal student ?

Playing it by lug the noo....
Next year, a wee bit o' la musica and some gentle reading leading to Enlightenment

Believe it or not, even after the hints and tips on A211, I'm still working on the best way to take notes when reading
with a view to remembering and writing summat sensible...

[Arising_uk]

...Believe it or not, even after the hints and tips on A211, I'm still working on the best way to take notes when reading
with a view to remembering and writing summat sensible...

Tony Buzans MindMaps appear to be the best I've seen so far.

[mhoraine]

Mindmaps I've looked at - never really tried properly...
Kinda didn't 'get it'
or got it but it didn't 'take' !...

Do you need a certain type of mind for mindmaps ?

I would love to hear of how mindmaps are used to take notes when reading and then writing philosophy.
Any examples ?
Take a book, any book -.... Kierkegaard's ' Either/or ' ?

[mhoraine]

Cyber seek and find

This sounds good to me :

http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/courses/notes.htm

[John]

I'm pretty lazy with my note taking technique and it would no doubt meet with the disapproval of my tutors.

When I started with the OU is used to read...reread and highlight...re-reread and make notes...but I soon discovered that it just wasn't practical for the time I had available.

Now my method consists of reading the texts and highlighting as I go along. Rereading the relevant sections and scribbling for TMAs (essays or assignments for the non OU students amongst you ). Thoroughly rereading the sections I'm studying for exams, using my highlights as pointers, and making precise notes. It's served me well so far.

[mhoraine]

John, thanks for sharing that.

I am really fascinated by the Suberian method and reasons for note-taking. Particularly notes as a part of continual philo enquiry :

1. Open to Revision
2. As Producer and Product of Philo mastery.
3. Keeping a Philo Journal as an outlet for thoughts; practice in articulation and analysis ; a way to raise your consciousness about issues you may meet again.

Also.
Here : http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/courses/ ... ticipation

There is more weight given to active Participation and Discussion than in the OU where it is not compulsory to attend tutorials or join in the group forum exercises/discussions.
'...Philosophy is transacted through conversation...' and ' Discussion is group enquiry not merely group talk'.

It is a bit like language learning - fine to read and understand the words but being able to speak it, that's another ball game. That bit I need to work on !

[mhoraine]

Apologies for going off at a tangent re Note-taking in philosophy, but it does kinda illustrate the value of cyber-universities or web sourcing...And it is part of the philosophical process...innit ? I have a bee in my bonnet right now - I read and read and read, go 'Aha' on numerous occasions and then it fizzles.....and I can't access the ideas when I need to !

I have always been disinclined to highlight text - it's messy, might be highlighting irrelevant points etc....
However, from Peter Suber, on the subject of Highlighting :

' ...Many people try to help themselves read well by underlining or highlighting important passages. This technique can be useful, but only if you can remember why you have marked those passages. Make sure you distinguish between passages which are especially interesting to you, and those which are important to the author...

Marking passages works best when integrated within a system of note-taking. As you read, try writing down important ideas, topics, and themes in a notebook, and underneath each of them list the page numbers of marked passages. In addition, you may keep track of recurring themes by cross-referencing the text with page numbers in the margins. Once you have done this, you will have a convenient index to the text, one that tells you why you marked certain passages '

This makes sense to me. I need some method to my madness...

M.

[John]

I certainly wouldn't claim that my method is ideal. In fact I know that's I've developed a method that requires the least "proper" note-taking so that I can get through the material quicker (i.e., keep up with the timetable). I got a distinction on A211 using the method though so it seems to work for me

[mhoraine]

Congrats, John, great grade

[mhoraine]

Today I Yaled-Open.

From this link:
http://oyc.yale.edu/music/listening-to- ... s-sessions

I clicked on lecture number 17 ( Mozart and his Operas *) - only 50 minutes. An entertaining mix - including Philosophy !! thoughts on Art as Religion; Is your brain in tune ? and Don Giovanni's dog.

You can simply read the transcript, listen to audio file, or have fun watching the prof complete with sword !

* Mozart and the nature of his life and work... Professor Wright begins by discussing the basic ways in which classical music differs from Baroque music. He then launches an exploration of Mozart's life and compositional process, making use of Mozart's letters and compositional sketches to illustrate his points. The lecture culminates with a performance of select scenes from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, featuring guest singer Professor Richard Lalli.