The first summer session at Fayetteville opened this morning. My Stat course opened last night, but my Biopsychology (Physiological Psychology) course was not activated until a few minutes ago. Everything for this semester seemed to be going very well until today. My books for the semester arrived last week and I was able to register in a decently timely manner for the courses (before the juniors were opened). A few days ago the instructor changed from being Dr. Van to being “Tba Tba”. I thought nothing of it, assuming it was interim between Dr. Van and another instructor in the course. When I woke up this morning, the course was still listed the same, but did not appear on Blackboard. I e-mailed the department secretary and was informed very promptly that the instructor is new and that he will be joining the course once he finishes his Blackboard training. A few moments ago the course appeared on Blackboard, but it appeared as having “No Instructors”. The course content is very obviously Dr. Van’s Fall 2008 version of the same course. All of the discussion boards and everything are still present. I trust that the department will get the new instructor, Dr. Steven M. Platek (sounds Klingon) up to speed by the end of the week.
Additional concerns for the semester include the fact that the statistics course in synchronous. Five times this semester I will have to be online to take an exam with my class at 7pm. Also, there is a software package that we must use this semester. It is called SPSS. It is a statistical software. I have access to the software through Citrix at FSU, but I feel about that like I would feel about checking out a textbook from the library, although the software can be almost $200. I can get a copy for 13 months that is very limited (but will work for the course) for $99, or I can spend a little more and get the full package, with no restrictions on the time of the license for $199. I haven’t decided which of the methods I want to use yet (Citrix [free], Rental [$99], or Own [$199]). I do not trust the FSU network for being available when I want to do my labs, so I will likely try to own the software or have it here in some method, even if I have to use a trial or something.
Other than these minor issues, the semester is off to a great start.