Last night was the first class of the course I’m teaching this semester (GLIS 650 Digital Libraries), and I have to say that I think it went rather well. It’s been about a year since I last taught at SIS, and I have to say that it felt great to be back!

• We spent a good part of the class going over the syllabus in some details. I think it is important from day 1 to be able to visualize the entire semester and understand how everything fits together. Also, as the course doesn’t follow a simple lecture/assignment/exam, there are usually a number of questions and concerns about how things are going to work out, so I try to address those at the beginning as well to alleviate people’s concerns as much as I can.
• We had two group discussions in the course of the evening, the first of which started at around 7:30 PM. Still, there was a good energy in the room and the conversations and ideas seems to flow well. Given that a good part of their learning and coursework will happen in this groups, that’s a positive sign!
• I had forgotten about the extra bonus of teaching in the Bronfman building: it is one of the last/only places on campus where the classrooms still have PCs in them! (The typical classroom has a/v hookups but the instructors need to bring their own laptop.) No more need for me to lug around my Thinkpad X, which is a good thing since I tend to not go back to my office after teaching and instead walk straight home. The classroom is also on the ground floor, so no waiting for elevators or climbing stairs. A+
• As expected, by the time class wrapped up at 8:30 PM I was exhausted. I’ll need to work on strategies to stay well-rested, well-nourished, and in shape! Making sure that I don’t talk for 3 hours straight will also be important.

That’s it for this first update. More to come!