Francis Wong PERSONAL DETAILS Full name: Wong wai-kei, Francis Age: 36 Current occupation: Senior Quantity Surveyor Where you live: Hong Kong Your program: Pathways programme (introduction to philosophy), diploma in philosophy Start date: Oct 2006 1. CHOOSING PATHWAYS How did you find out about us? was it by accident? were you searching for a philosophy course? I found it out in internet, one day at home and input"distance learning philosophy" at google.com and your web site appeared. What alternatives were you considering at the time? no alternatives to be considered at that time and we have not much choice studying philosophy by distance learning mode. What considerations were uppermost in your mind when you decided to apply to Pathways? backup by well qualified academic staff and I think this is the central value of the course. How do you feel about that decision now? excellent 2. STUDY MATERIALS Did you take any of the six Pathways written programs? which one(s)? introduction to philosophy How did you find the Pathways study materials? were they too easy, too difficult or just about right? just right for me and some of the parts are difficult. It's really need sometime to get through and understand (i.e.dialogue) How do the Pathways materials rate in comparison with text books that you have seen or studied? I think the Pathways materials let the beginner more easy to start their study in philosophy and break down the wall existed between the student and the subject itself.While the textbook at the boonstore going too deeply at some topics. Do you feel that you made the right choice of program, or given the chance would you like to try a different Pathway? why? Yes, I do. I will try a different one if I have time. However, I would like to have"mark" on my assignment so that I can know my performance in the class. If I do it well, I keep it on. If I do it bad, I can find out why and fix the problem. So that I can improve myself to continuous the study in this subject. 3. PATHWAYS WEB SITE How useful have you found the information provided on the Pathways web pages? extensive and useful enough. a reasonable database with a lot of essays in it. How might the content or layout of the Pathways pages be improved? I think the website is in a good shape right now. In your view, does the Pathways web site convey an accurate impression of what it is like to study with Pathways? Yes. 4. INTERACTION WITH YOUR MENTOR Who is/ was your Pathways mentor? Geoffrey Klempner Are you generally happy with the interaction and feedback that you have have received from your mentor? yes How well, in your view, does the current system of providing mentor interaction work? how would you like to see it improved? it's work very well in the distance learning mode, even better than my MSc course which I taking from a UK University. The mentor from Pathway will writing an essay with around 900 words to express their view on student's every works, from different aspects and in sometime disagree with student's view with concrete argument. This allow the student review mentor's comment from time to time and think how to improve themself. Most importantly, Pathway's mentor always welcome their student to send them the question to ask, their view to discuss and this create an atmosphere to discuss the matter and the student know that they will get a reply if only they wrote some lines on the paper, no matter what it is. How does the tuition you received compare with other philosophy courses you have taken, whether online or face-to-face? I just only take pathway course so far, so no way to compare with other. However, as I said above, this is much better than a MSC course (also in distance mode) in which I paid a lot of money for that!! 5. INTERACTION WITH OTHER STUDENTS Have you ever participated in the Pathways online conferences? No If you did participate, how would you rate the quality of the philosophical discussion? If you did not participate, what kind of conference provision would tempt you to join the conference? online discussion which like the msn. Would you like to see further opportunities provided for Pathways students to engage in dialogue? do you have any ideas? Yes, and why not. Dialogue in msn under the guidance from a tutor is a good idea. 6. IMPACT OF STUDYING WITH PATHWAYS What effect, if any, has studying Philosophy with Pathways had on your life? Yes, it solve some of my questions which I had since I am a child and I think the impact will continuous if I can carry it on. Have you been motivated to continue studying Philosophy after you complete your course? Yes, very sure Have you taken another Philosophy course? or do you plan to? Diploma in philosophy What other benefits or consequences have you noticed from studying Philosophy with Pathways? the consequences could be 1. Think more clearly 2. Think deeply than before, no matter at work or problem solving and I think more will come if I continuous my study. 7. FUTURE PROJECTS Do you have any thoughts about future projects which we might undertake? may be more online discussion at first, such as the discussion forum. Some students have expressed an interest in a conference where Pathways students could meet face-to-face. How do you feel about that idea? This is a very good idea so that I can meet my classmate. Would you be prepared to travel to Sheffield to attend a Pathways conference? It depends on what kind of conference and I work in Macau right now. Currently, there are two free Pathways e-journals, Philosophy Pathways and Philosophy for Business. What are your thoughts about a third journal dedicated to publishing the best examples of course work by Pathways students? this is a good idea how the other student perform their work. 8. CONTRIBUTING TO PATHWAYS Do you have any thoughts about possible articles for Philosophy Pathways or Philosophy for Business? Or have you already written a piece that you could send us? Not at this moment, but I think I have some ideas of this. It may talking about how the western philosophy affect the western counties (ie Europe and North America) Have you have successfully completed the ISFP Associate or Fellowship Awards, or the first year of the University of London Diploma or BA in Philosophy? If so, would you like to join the panel of Ask a Philosopher? I am in my first year of Diploma but I don't think I am ready for this. If you have successfully completed a BA degree in Philosophy, would you like to become a Pathways mentor? If I did, why not. 9. GENERAL ASSESSMENT In the most general terms, how would you rate your experience with Pathways: Strongly positive? More positive than negative? About equal? More negative than positive? Strongly negative? between the Strongly positive and more positive than negative How would you summarize the reasons for your assessment? I would like to put my comment in between the Strongly positive and more positive than negative. The pathways course should have some room for improvement but in consider the limited resources. I think Pathway already outperformanced 10. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE YOUR COMMENTS Are you prepared to allow us to reproduce any of your comments above, under your name, on the Pathways web site? Or, is there something in particular you would be prepared to say for publication? This is ok for me. **END OF QUESTIONNAIRE** Email info@philosophypathways.com if you would like to comment on this page.