Tutor-L: Higher education outside the universities
Lawrence M Sanger (lsanger@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
30 Aug 1995 05:20:42 GMT
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The new unmoderated listserver Tutor-L has two purposes:
(1) To act as a common ground where students can announce that they
are looking for expert tutoring, paid or free, in a subject, and
where professors, graduate students, or other experts in particular
fields can announce that they are looking for students in their
fields of expertise.
(2) To act as a forum for discussion of tutorials, tutorial methods,
and the possibility and merits of a voluntary, free network of
individual tutors and students finding each other via the Internet
for education outside the traditional university setting.
To subscribe, send a message containing *only* the word "subscribe"
to:
tutor-l-request@netcom.com
You should receive a welcome message within a few minutes. All are
invited to join.
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Some Notes about Tutor-L
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So far there have been several advertisements offering tutorials, by
graduate students and a professor (the one and only Sidney
Rittenberg), in various branches of philosophy, and in economics.
There have been two advertisements for tutors, one from someone
looking for help with independent study in philosophy, and another
in education.
At present there are about 100 people subscribed to Tutor-L, but
with this announcement it is expected that that number will grow
considerably. It is hoped that Tutor-L will become a lively and
free market for those interested in, or actively seeking, one-on-one
education, especially in the humanities, but outside the traditional
university setting.
Tutor-L is not a college or university. It is simply a listserver,
like any other listserver, with many people interested in offering
or taking tutorials. In the future, it may be possible to
coordinate an excellent individualized education through networks
such as Tutor-L. At present it remains simply a practical tool.
An updated listing of available tutors and students will be posted
weekly.
Many on Tutor-L are very excited about the idea and think that it
has potential to create useful, and possibly revolutionary, new ways
to pursue higher education. It is exciting both from the teacher's
and from the student's point of view. Polite discussion of the very
project of Tutor-L is openly encouraged.
Among the sorts of students who may be particularly interested in
this are: adult and continuing education students who do not care
about whether they get college credit, but want a highly individual-
ized learning situation cheaper than night classes; students in the
humanities who are disillusioned with the way that they are taught
in organized academe; students who are committed to learning more
about a particular area of their discipline, perhaps in preparation
for graduate school; and students currently taking a course in which
they need extra help.
Among the sorts of teachers who may be interested in *offering* a
tutorial are those, especially in the humanities, who wish to earn a
little extra money, who want to learn their own area of expertise a
little better through one-on-one tutoring, or who want to
participate in a network of tutors that might, if developed well,
present students with a sound alternative to costly and often
poor-quality university education.
The author of the present message is presently leading two
tutorials, one about Hume's *Enquiry* and the other in epistemology;
the students are each paying $100 for intensive one-on-one training,
and it is expected that they will learn a great deal indeed about
the subjects that they are studying.
The general idea behind Tutor-L has been endorsed by several
philosophy professors and graduate students, and Tutor-L itself has
drawn the attention of the Internet distance education community.
Widespreading posting of this announcement is encouraged.
Thanks for your time. =======================================
|The sweetest and most inoffensive
Regards, |path of life leads through the avenues
|of science and learning; and whoever
Lawrence M. Sanger, M.A. |can either remove any obstructions in
Department of Philosophy |this way, or open up any new prospect,
The Ohio State University |ought so far to be esteemed a
Columbus, Ohio |benefactor to mankind. -- David Hume,
lsanger@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu *Enquiry*
|