Template for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time

 

  

Our “Being There for the Online Learner Model” and “Framework for Creating Presence” were developed to help you understand that presence is “perceptual” in nature and is an important part of designing and delivering an online course. With this in mind, you are better able to bring the human aspect into your online course, make it personal experiences, and more effectively engage your learners.

 

Our “Template for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time” in our book, Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success (Conceição & Lehman, 2011) helps you look at your course from a broad perspective and is a valuable template to use when planning your course design and delivery. It can serve as a guide for managing and balancing workload when creating your new online course, converting a face-to-face course to the online environment, or revising a course already taught online.

For new courses, the template can help you estimate the tasks you may do and the time you may spend during the design and delivery of the course. For converting courses, the template can assist you in rethinking how you can teach your course in the new environment. For existing online courses, the template can help you revisit your tasks and your time spent to become more efficient and effective when teaching the same course again. Our book, Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Balance and Success (Conceição & Lehman, 2011) also provides examples on how this template can be used in each of the three instances.

Next week we’ll follow up with "Strategies for Balancing Online Instructor Workload."

References

Lehman, R. M. & Conceição, S. C. O. (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Conceição, S. C. O, Lehman, R. M. (2011). Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Using the Framework for Creating Online Presence to Manage Workload

 

Looking at the Framework for Creating Online Presence you see the Being There for the Online Learner model on the left. The model and framework help you become aware of and understand what is necessary to make presence happen online. The arrow running from the model to the instructor represents the instructor’s awareness of how presence occurs online. The arrow from the instructor to the determinants of presence represents the path the instructor takes to design the course with a sense of presence. The determinants of presence are the components of the design process that guide the instructor’s creation of presence in the online environment. The arrows from the determinants of presence to the model and from the model to the determinants of presence show the continuous action involved in using and revisiting the components of the framework.

Let’s look at the determinants of presence more closely:

• the type of content is determined by the course discipline; the focus of content is either process-based or content-based or a mix of both
• the format may be self-paced, group-based, or a mix of both formats
• strategies engage learners with the instructor, the content, and each other and can be instructor-led, logistical and instructional, cooperative, and/or collaborative
• instructor roles are varied, depending on what needs to be accomplished and can include the role of instructional designer, lecturer, tutor, mentor, supporter, facilitator, catalyst, observer, and/or evaluator. In all cases, the instructor is also a learner, interacting with course participants and engaging in course activities
• the type of technology used in the online course can be asynchronous (time delay), synchronous (same time), or a blend of both (asynchronous and synchronous technologies offer different experiences and are used for specific reasons)
• support is critical in the online environment. Learners need both instructional and technical support to function well. Support from the instructor provides psychological and emotional assistance; technical support helps learners overcome deficiencies in writing or lack of understanding about technology.

Next week, our: “Template for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time.”

References

Lehman, R. M. & Conceição, S. C. O. (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Conceição, S. C. O, Lehman, R. M. (2011). Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Creating Online Perceptual Presence

One question that is commonly asked by online instructors is "how can I create presence when I'm actually separated from my learners?" We believe that creating presence is based on creating a "perception" of presence. Online presence isn't actual but rather perceptual. To help better visualize perceptual presence we have created "The Being There for the Online Learner Model" (Lehman & Conceição, 2010) that we then embed in a design framework. First, let’s look at the model. 

 

Think of the model as a cylinder containing three cylinders. We’re going to build the cylinder from the core to the outside.

 

1. Starting with the core cylinder – the learner and the learner’s perceptual process (the Who) which includes the dynamic interplay of thought, emotion, and behavior. The dark line at the edge of the cylinder represents the interface of the learner’s inner world with the concrete world.

2. The second cylinder corresponds to the types of learner experiences (the What) that learners are involved with:

a.  objective – psychological and physical (students have reported to us that there are times when they actually felt that the technology disappeared and that we were all in the same room);

b.  subjective – personal and psychological (communicating on Skype and during electronic office hours).

c.  social (working in groups or teams or using social networks).

d.  environmental (having easy access through technology and being able to add to or change the distance learning environment); or a combination of more than one of these.

3.  The third cylinder illustrates the modes of presence (the How) that can be created for the learner –

a.  realism (matching activities to activities that will be used in the learner's physical world).

b.  involvement (involving learners in the wide variety of discussions and activities that can be created online).

c.  immersion (using immersive software and activities like Second Life).

d.  suspension of disbelief (suspending our belief concerning the implausibility of a book, movie, so on). Note the blurred line between the two types of experience and modes of presence - these two cylinders blend into each other and occur in combination with each other.)

4.  The outer cylinder, (the Where) again rimmed by a darker line, is the physical world as the learner connects to the online environment. 

 

The Being There for the Online Learner Model is an integral part of our "Framework for Creating a Sense of Presence." We'll focus on the framework in our next week's posting.

 

Reference

Lehman, R. M. & Conceição, S. C. O. (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Strategies for Finding Balance and Success – TIME-ALLOCATION

In our book, Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success (Conceição & Lehman, 2011), we suggest four strategies that are based on four major themes that emerged from an instructor/learner study we conducted: 

 

1.    design strategies

2.    support strategies

3.    teaching strategies

4.    time-allocation strategies

 

These strategies can guide and help online instructors determine how to manage their workload and prioritize their time so that they can find balance and success in their work and personal life. This week we’re looking at the fourth strategy – TIME-ALLOCATION.

4. TIME-ALLOCATION – Although teaching online can give instructors more flexibility in terms of where and when they can work, it can also be a snare, unless instructors allocate their time strategically. Often, online instructors think that they must be “always there” for their learners. This extreme behavior can take over instructors’ work responsibilities and their personal lives. This is a common struggle that instructors experience. Through time-allocation, they can gain control over their time, rather than having time control them. 

Design, support, teaching, and time-allocation strategies are valuable to use if you, as an instructor, are looking for balance and success in online teaching. 

 

References

 

Conceição, S. C., & Lehman, R. M. (2011). Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success. Jossey-Bass.