my first day...(for those who care)

[Shaun Tucker]

Oh my god what an adventure it was today. Yesterday i posted on this forum because i was freaking out and feeling completely unprepared for my first day of teaching a college level web design course. So I did an extensive amount of work yesterday to prepare and ended up feeling very confident about the material and teaching (and by they way, big thanks to those who posted tips on the thread i created yesterday - and an extra special THANKs!!! to "eltee" who actually emailed me and made me feel tonnnnns better).



So I go in this morning and I'm ready to start the 8am class with approx. 25 students in it when the instructor who passed on all the course content to me walks in with a bewildered look on his face. He says "Uh ohhh...I think somethings messed up here. I taught these students the material I gave you LAST SEMESTER." Long story short, they already had done the course I was about to teach this morning..Apparently there had been a mix up at the registrar and I got scheduled to teach an ADVANCED course which doesn't have the content developed yet!!! - mind boggling, especially when they assured me that no new instructor is ever thrown into the ring with a course that hasn't already been fully developed. So my class is actually one being taught by a more advanced teacher. They won't change our classes around and now I'm being thrown to the lions with no whip or stool..



One good thing that i found as i was going from student to student for introductions was that they felt so overwhelmed by Flash animation that they felt like they didnt retain any knowledge from last semester. I suppose I will tailor the course towards their needs (and mine).



Again, thanks to such a great community for your support and interest.



st

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Reminds me of a small speech I had prepared for a three-star General a few years back. I had to give that briefing to about anyone important in my chain of command prior to giving it to the General. When the General finally came, he interrupted me about 20 seconds into it, and then just started asking questions about the system we were showing him. It was a relief for me, since I thought the speech was crap anyway after all the revisions from everyone. I answered all his questions and he left very happily impressed.



Just wing it the first day or two until you get the syllabus created and the lessons developed. Being put in that situation allows you to make some mistakes without severe retribution, but if you pull it off, you will be a hero.

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Wow, that is odd. Even my daughter, 9th grader, is in advanced Flash in her high school. Their web program is top notch.



Sorry, you had to go through all of that. Must of been really frustrating.

 

[Woppy V]

haha i just was taught how to post a link on this website! flash in the 9th grade? whoa! whatever happened to Oregon Trail to learn how to use a computer?

 

[Todd Z]

WOW........ :wacko::wacko:



Todd Z

 

[Kim Griffiths]

Always remember, they don't know what your going to say and if it isn't quite right they are not going to know that either....you hope anyway! :wub:

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

I agree with Todd Z :wacko::blink: But, it does look like things will work out for you. Best of luck with the course.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

That's why in the IT business I never sweat "being prepared" too much. It seems that everything changes at the last minute anyway, so it's better to be able to think on your feet then to be over-prepared.



TJR

 

[Robert Stanton]

LOL... Nice one, Woppy. Oregon Trail.



This sounds familiar to the courses I just took last semeseter at a Jr. college. I'm taking Graphic Arts classes, and was expecting two different teachers for both classes. I ended up with a brand new teacher in both (the same one), who was told the day before that he wasn't teaching the Flash classes he thought he was (his strengths), but a creativity and a typography class instead. Incredible. Sounds like you're a bit more adaptable than my instructor was, though.... I kind of feel like it was a wasted semester.



It doesn't make sense to me that you wouldn't just have switched up with the experienced professor and taught the beginner class anyway. Good luck, and try to have fun with it.

 

[Paul H]

Strange...but good luck anyway.

Paul H

 

[Shaun Tucker]

bahb,



I was expecting it to be a smooth switch with the other instructor as well..but the head of the program decided that he didn't want to go through all that trouble i guess..:wacko:

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

whoa! whatever happened to Oregon Trail to learn how to use a computer?

Hell, my 3 year old can already navigate the home PC to find her games. Oregon Trail is so last decade.... today they are doing "Blues Clues to Advanced Differential Equations", "Dora the Explorer of the Human Psychie", "Jack's Big Music Show discuss Advanced Composition " and "Little Einstiens Examine the Precepts and Effects of Relativity, with music by Mozart" by age 4.



Guess my attempts to have my daughter's first words be the first laws of Newtonian Physics are a bit underwhealming for her....

 

[Thomas Rogers]

R Shek,



Funny.



But Oregan Trail was more "decade before last..."



First time I saw it was early 80s.



TJR