
I don't officially start teaching until Septmber 6, but it seems that I am already off and starting. I started getting emails from some of my students asking me for copies of the syllabus. This is the one part of teaching online that I really like. If I were teaching the class in person, they would just wait to receive it during the first class. When you teach online, they start emailing you a month in advance even though I am not officially working yet.
Usually, the early requests are not a major problems. Since I am always teaching the same class, getting the syllabus ready just means updating the previous one with new dates and readings, but no major work. This semester I am teaching a different class for the first time. It basically provides an overview of all the services that a public library offers and how it is managed. My usual class, just focuses on the youth services section of a public library. As a result of it being new, I am pretty much building and planning the course's syllabus complete from scratch. That takes a bit more time.
Since it is not done, I have had to email the students back to tell them that I am still working on the syllabus.
I am not sure if this is a class that will end up becoming mine on a regular basis. It would be nice if it was. I was offered the class because the instructor who normally teaches it has gone on sabbatical. She is also the library school's new director, which means she is having to cut down on the number of courses she is teaching because of her administrative responsibilities. So, I will have to wait and see.
I am looking forward to teaching again, though.