The Philosophers' Cocoon

The 2012 Fall semester will begin soon. For me, the first
day of class is Friday, August 31. I think that it would be useful to discuss
what people are doing to prepare for the semester.

So, to start things off, here are some of the things I’ve
been doing:

1. Making sure that my
   Blackboard shells are up and running. Blackboard is an integral part of my
   courses. I use it to communicate with students, post announcements, share
   course materials with students, and moderate out-of-class discussions.
2. Polishing my syllabi. At
   the beginning of a semester, I like to give students an idea of what to expect
   in the course. So, in addition to the standard stuff one usually finds in syllabi,
   I include a course schedule with reading and writing assignments, and I try to
   stick to the schedule as closely as I can.
3. Going over my PowerPoint
   slides. I make sure that all the links, videos, and interactive media are
   working properly. I don’t want to click on a dead link or get a “this video is
   no longer available” message during class.
4. Learning students’ names.
   At my institution, I have access to rosters with photos. Before classes begin, I
   go over my class rosters and I look at the photos to get a head start on
   learning names. This semester I will have approximately 160 students, so I need
   all the help I can get. In addition, I choose an ice breaker for the first day
   of class that will make it easier for me to learn names.

What are you doing to make sure that your semester is off to
a good start?