The Xhyra Graf

Adjunct Professor of Philosophy Broward College – Downtown Campus: Philosophy & Religion Miami Dade College – Virtual College: Philosophy Office Hours: Online by appointment within courses or in my Virtual Office Office Phone:  754.300.TAO1 E-mail: twalters@broward.edu BC Faculty Website: http://www.broward.edu/~twalters Response Policy: Within one business day while college is in session.

Department Contact Information: Willis Holcombe Center Office of the Dean of Academic Affairs Elaine Leslie – Center Manager 111 East Las Olas Boulevard Bldg 33, Room 425 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 Office: (954) 201-7396 Broward College on Twitter Broward College on Facebook

Lecture notes, assignments, study guides & assessments [as well as links to additional references and resources] will be posted within the college e-learning system.

The course will be inaccessible until the first day of classes.

You will be able to login to courses by following the links below:

• Broward College Online course login  
• MDC Virtual College course login 

I’m just a phone call or email-BC | email-MDC away when you have questions.

Let’s have a productive semester.

Previous Courses

Courses this semester: Winter 2013

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY:

Short version:

I believe in what I do.  I choose to teach philosophy because it is important to being a well rounded human.  I teach mostly online courses because it is what I would have wanted as a student and it works.  If an online course is structured properly, you get a complete package where all you have to do is read and follow the instructions according to your schedule.

I also believe for learning, as with everything in life, you get what you give.  You have to work to get what you want and that includes a good grade.  Students just need to contact me [through one of the many avenues I have made available] if they need individual assistance with understanding the material.   I’m more than willing to help.

Long version:

The choice of philosophy as a major area for teaching is a reflection of my desire to contribute to the success and development of post secondary students.  Doing philosophy and by extension taking a philosophy course is, at bottom, about taking dedicated time to investigate individual thinking and conceptual frameworks. A philosophy course becomes an opportunity for comparing, contrasting and possibly revising a personal vision through learning historical and current theories.  It gives me great satisfaction to be able to contribute in this way to the development or improvement of the critical thinking and logical analysis skill set of students.  It is a large part of my teaching philosophy to use internet technology and reference to popular media, such as movies and video games, to augment and enhance the learning experience of the modern student.  Referring to popular media gives the students an opportunity to become more aware of the relationship of philosophy to their everyday lives.  In this way, they interact with philosophical theories in a familiar context as a foundation for more complex philosophical investigation.

I am additionally committed to teaching blended or fully online courses in addition to face to face courses.  Contrary to appearances, the use of technology and the online environment actually facilitates a more individualized approach to teaching and learning. Modern students are familiar with the internet, online communication and do not view these as “distancing” themselves from human interaction but as a way to extend the type of interactions available.  Delivering course materials in this manner allows each student to interact with the learning materials and professor in the way that is most comfortable and efficacious for them.  If technology enhanced courses are structured properly [with set goals, learning outcomes, structured assignments, discussions and assessments] it allows the student the freedom to set the time and pace to be the most effective for their own style of learning. As such, interaction with the instructor is also more individualized and directed in addressing student needs. The student can interact with their instructor as much or as little as they feel is needed.

Increased learning occurs when a larger share of the responsibility of learning is place on the student and the “professor” becomes more of a facilitator to the learning process.  Students are graded according to their individual abilities or efforts because ultimately success in philosophy is measured by increased critical thinking abilities and their own personal growth.

CURRENT PROJECTS

NoumenArt Center for Applied Aesthetics in MOSES

INTERESTS

Educational Applications of Virtual Worlds

Art and Consciousness/Cognitive Science

Transhumanist Ethics