Ellen Uses a Variety of LMS for Teaching Multiple Online Courses

 

Ellen teaches online courses for more than one institution. Her primary responsibility as an instructor is for a community college, where she teaches online courses in health care at the undergraduate level. In her primary instructor position at the community college, her duties are determined by union rules. Her workload includes teaching an average of 17 credit hours per semester. If she teaches a three-credit online course, she gets a 5.8% load attached to the online course. For example, a three-credit course would be the equivalent of 20% load plus the added percentage for online courses. Each course must carry a minimum enrollment of 16 and a maximum of 24 participants. As part of her load, she coordinates fieldwork with 20 learners, which accounts for 5% of her workload. In addition, she is required to participate in service activities. For those, she is a member of three college committees that meet sporadically each year. 

 

Ellen also teaches online courses as an ad hoc instructor for two other institutions. These ad hoc positions focus primarily on teaching. One drawback of teaching at different institutions is you never know if the institutions will use the same learning management system (LMS). In Ellen’s case, each institution uses a different LMS, which becomes a challenge. As a veteran online instructor, she can manage her workload with minimum support strategies; however, she uses design, teaching, and time allocation strategies to function efficiently and effectively as an online instructor.

 

Design	·      Plans ahead to manage workload. ·      Determines all course activities and assignments including when they should be released in the LMS. ·      Spends about 12 hours on each course design, but once the courses are designed, her tasks become a matter of administrative, facilitative, and evaluative functions.
Teaching	·      Uses quizzes, group discussions, and projects. ·      Returns emails within 24 to 48 hours. ·      Teaches from home because she is not interrupted and dedicates long periods of time to different courses.
Time-Allocation	·      Blocks out small chunks of time, early in the morning and during evening hours, except on the days she teaches on campus. ·      Sets up online office hours to avoid a 45-minute trip to campus and other transportation issues such as road construction and parking.

 

One of Ellen’s major challenges when teaching for a variety of institutions is to keep up with the different LMS. She discovered that planning ahead of time for her online courses, prioritizing course activities, and setting up the release dates of course features helped her better manage her workload. This approach is also a time saver because the instructor is relieved from having to be constantly monitoring the different features of the various learning management systems during the delivery of the online courses. For example, when teaching multiple courses, it is difficult to remember the specific units and their activities for each course. By having them pre-set, the instructor’s time is freed up to participate in group discussions, provide learner feedback, and respond to participants’ concerns.

 

Reference

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

Bruno Balances His Workload by Teaching Online During Short Semesters

Bruno is a full professor at a four-year institution teaching courses in the discipline of sociology at the undergraduate level. His three-credit 100-level online courses are offered during the winter break (for three weeks) and summer semester (for six weeks). Course enrollment varies from 25 to 35 participants. He teaches his online courses during these time periods to focus specifically on his teaching and research. During these times, he does not have any service responsibilities and is able to spend set hours for the course and research activities. He uses design, support, teaching, and time-allocation strategies to balance his workload.

Design	The first time he designed his online course, he spent about 40 hours preparing the materials. Once the online course was designed, his time to prepare the course for each offering was considerably reduced.
Support	Seeks one-on-one instructional design support from the teaching and learning center at his institution. Obtains content ideas and course materials from external resources, such as a local center related to the course topics, short videos from YouTube, and the historical society photos.
Teaching	Uses a variety of teaching strategies for his online course that include: PowerPoint lectures, short videos, group discussions, quizzes, papers, interviews, and the learning management system drop box for learner personal feedback. The difference between the two online course offerings is the amount of content employed in the course. For the shorter session, he removes some of the readings.
Time-Allocation	Uses automated grading on quizzes and group grading instead of individual grading. Provides grading online all the time versus intense grading done for face-to-face courses. Spends 20 hours per week for his online course and allocates 10 to 15 hours for his research activities.

 

For instructors whose responsibilities involve teaching, research, and service, teaching online during shorter semesters in contrast to long semesters can be an effective strategy for balancing workload. Service activities such as committee meetings, conference participation, and institutional projects, can be time-consuming and side-track instructors from teaching and research. Online teaching and research activities require focus, discipline, committed blocks of time, and anticipation of course responsibilities. By choosing to teach online during short semesters, instructors can dedicate focused time to their research, collecting fieldwork data from anywhere.

 

Reference

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

Kay Blocks Out Time for Her Online Courses

 

Kay is a Clinical Assistant Professor at a four-year institution on a 12-month contract. She teaches 3 to 4-credit undergraduate courses in the discipline of health care. Her courses are offered during the regular 15- or 16-week semester and during the 12-week summer semester. Her online course enrollment varies from 20 participants during the regular semester to 12 participants during the summer semester. Her responsibilities focus on teaching, administration, and service. Kay’s teaching workload involves 12 units per semester: 7 to 10 credits of teaching, one credit for service, 1 to 3 credits for administration, and 0.5 credit for e-learning for the department. She teaches two online courses during the summer semester. As part of her administrative duties, she coordinates a program within her discipline. Her face-to-face courses are hands-on and interactive. When moving her courses to the online environment, Kay had to rethink her workload by incorporating design, support, teaching, and time allocation strategies.

 

Design	Focuses on how to distribute course activities to balance her workload among all courses in each semester. Spends 10 to 12 hours preparing the online courses before the course starts. Designs throughout the course duration and spends four hours per week designing the course during the semester.
Support	Seeks course innovation by attending conferences and involving learners in sharing resources. Uses one-on-one support from the teaching and learning center at her institution, peer support, and institutional support through the help desk.
Teaching	Uses group discussions, games, and creative activities as her teaching strategies. Develops a detailed syllabus about course expectations. Communicates to learners her guidelines for responding to their emails (within 48 hours) and communicates her level of participation during the course delivery. First checks the discussion forum and emails and then moves on to other aspects of the online course.
Time-Allocation	Is disciplined with her schedule for the online courses. Mondays and Wednesdays, she blocks out time from 9:00 AM to noon for online courses by closing her office door and letting other colleagues know that she is teaching at that time. Reserves time in her calendar for teaching online.  Checks her courses every day as a cross out mental check list for the day. Allows some flexibility in case personal issues arise. When a personal issue occurs, she rearranges her schedule.

 

Kay’s workload focuses primarily on teaching and service. Thus, blocking out time for the online courses is critical for helping her manage her workload. Kay closes her office door during these times to avoid distractions and dedicates exclusive time for her learners. In doing this, she shows colleagues that she is allocating specific time for her online courses during regular work hours. Kay is very disciplined with implementing her closed-door approach and checking her online courses every day as a way to mentally cross off her daily tasks.

 

Reference

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

Beatrice Uses Individual Feedback as a Workload Management Strategy

 

Beatrice, an associate professor at a four-year institution, teaches three-credit psychology online courses at the undergraduate level. Her academic load includes teaching two courses per semester (one course is supervision), conducting research (70% of her time), and participating in service activities. She teaches online during the regular semester for 14 weeks and during the summer semester for four weeks. Her course enrollment during the regular semester varies from 40 to 100 and during the summer semester from 20 to 40. Her online courses are content-based, and her activities are based on the course textbook. Her focus for workload management is on quality individual feedback on assignments. For her courses, she uses design, support, teaching, and time allocation strategies to balance her workload based on class enrollment. Below are Beatrice’s strategies for balancing her workload.

 

Design	Organizes the course based on the textbook chapters. Employs the PowerPoint files and quiz bank that come with textbook. Works one to two weeks prior to the beginning of the course to revise her online course.
Support	Receives institutional training to prepare for online teaching. Has a teaching assistant (TA) when course enrollment is high. TA helps her manage online courses by participating in the discussions and providing most of the learner feedback.
Teaching	Uses orientation activities to reduce learners’ questions about the course structure, assignments, and other concerns during the course. When there is a large enrollment, she divides the learners into discussion groups. In the discussion forum, learners have to post a 300 to 400-word message with their results and then post a 200 to 300-word message in response to someone else’s posting. Uses a quiz bank from the textbook. Provides an opportunity for learner feedback comments through a quiz dispute box. Creates instructor presence by rapidly responding to students’ emails and through course announcements and reminders.
Time-Allocation	With high enrollment, she focuses on individual feedback rather than on course design or group discussions. Takes two days to grade assignments (five hours each day per assignment) for a class of 40 learners. Checks the LMS constantly throughout the week, including weekends. Tells learners when she is not available. Uses a Word document template with examples of comments for learner feedback on the individual assignment.

 

By using pre-designed content and selecting a key design aspect of the online course, as Beatrice does with feedback, instructors can better manage their workload when they have a course with high enrollment. Beatrice provides quick responses by email. This can be a challenge for instructors whose learners perceive that they are available 24/7. The solution is to use teaching strategies that create boundaries and communicate these boundaries to the learners. Another teaching strategy in this situation is to draft a response to the learner while it is still fresh in your mind but hold back sending the response right away. This avoids learners’ perception that you will always answer their emails immediately.

 

Reference

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

Lauri Used Co-Teaching to Balance Her Workload

 

Lauri, an associate professor at a four-year institution, teaches three-credit online linguistics courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her course load is the equivalent of 2.5 courses per semester. Her courses are taught during the regular 15- or 16-week semester with an enrollment of 10 to 25 participants. She co-teaches her online courses with a colleague. In addition to teaching, she also has administrative duties as a coordinator of a certificate program. Lauri dedicates one day a week to her research. To balance her research and service responsibilities, she is not involved with teaching during the summer semester. She uses design, support, teaching, and time-allocation strategies to balance her workload. Below are Lauri’s strategies for balancing her workload.

 

Design	Co-designs with another instructor. Reduces required readings. Provides clear guidelines for discussions. Divides learners into groups.
Support	Obtains technical support through the help desk during preparation stages. Uses orientation activities as part of learner support at the beginning of the course. Shares stories of other learners on their online course experiences in previous courses.
Teaching	Sets specific guidelines for each instructor’s role. Gives rapid response to learners via email.
Time-Allocation	Has a light instructor presence during the week by answering general questions in the discussion area. Has a heavier instructor presence at the end of the week when they wrap up the discussion. Have learners summarize and lead discussions. Sets up blocks of time during the week (3 to 4 days per week). Tells her learners that she is not available on weekends.

 

 

In Lauri’s case, co-teaching seems to have worked as part of her design strategy for the type of online course she teaches. Setting up clear guidelines for co-teaching is essential for an efficient and effective online course delivery. This strategy may not work for everyone, but it is an option. It is important to check the institutions’ policies and procedures regarding co-teaching. Keep in mind that the best strategies are the ones that fit with your teaching and lifestyle.

 

For Lauri, focusing on the course during the week and avoiding weekend teaching, worked well for her to distinguish between her work and personal life. Balancing between light and heavy instructor presence during the week was an efficient way to manage the teaching workload. Selecting one day a week to work on her research prevented distractions from other responsibilities and kept her organized with her research responsibilities. Leaving the summer semester for service and research helped her balance other academic responsibilities.

 

Reference

 

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

Instructors’ Stories about Balancing Workload

 

For the next few weeks, we will share instructors’ stories about balancing their workload when teaching online based on the approaches they used. These stories are the result of 14 interviews with online instructors in higher education. More detailed instructors’ stories can be found in our book, Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success, published in 2011.

 

The 14 stories we selected represent a variety of disciplines (education, health care, linguistics, sociology, science, and early childhood), positions held (tenure-track instructor, teaching academic staff, learning designers, consultants, etc.), course duration (semester, 3-6 weeks, etc.), level of instruction (graduate or undergraduate), and instructor experience. We use pseudonyms to identify the instructors in our stories and maintain confidentiality. The aim is to focus on the strategies that most concern instructors who teach online. In some cases, these strategies overlap. It is our hope that you will be able to identify with some of these stories, learn from them, and apply them to your own practice.  

 

Stay tuned!

 

References

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

Looking at Online Instructor Workload from Course Task Categories

 

It’s helpful to divide the tasks into categories. Though not all-inclusive, we’ve identified four task categories: design, administrative, facilitative, and evaluative.

 

Design Tasks

Design Tasks occur mainly before the course begins and are determined by the type of course that is being taught - a new course, a converted course, or a revised course. These tasks also indicate your role or roles and clarify your workload, which depends on the type and focus of the content, the course format, interactive strategies, technology use, and the support provided.

Administrative Tasks

Administrative Tasks involve those non-content course areas of communication, management, and support. Workload in this category is determined by the number of students enrolled, their experience, and the technology used. Administrative tasks start before the course begins with the orientation activities for learners. During the course, these tasks involve continuing communication (for example, twitter), managing assignments, and providing technical support.

Facilitative Tasks

Facilitative Tasks require instructor and learner engagement. Here, workload is determined by the depth of engagement during the delivery of course. To help manage workload in this category, you can limit the number of learner posts, set strict discussion guidelines, use group work to share class leadership with learners, and avoid group work when there is high enrollment or when learners have time constraints. You might also choose to hold synchronous chats when course content requires demonstration, language skills, or participation with guest speakers.

 

Evaluative Tasks

Evaluative Tasks include individual and group/team assessment and involve formative feedback on learner experience. To manage evaluation, first determine appropriate approaches, then consider enrollment, course strategies, the technology used, and the time of evaluation. You might also want to use a grading grid and create a file with feedback comments to help save. Other options are group rather than individual grading, peer grading, prompt feedback to save time, and assigning virtual team projects.

Once a starting point for course design has been determined, you should select a framework for designing the course. A suggested framework is our "Framework for Designing Online Courses with a Sense of Presence."

 

References

 

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

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.

Managing Online Instructor Workload Using the Determinants of Presence

Once a starting point for course design has been determined, you should select a framework for designing the course. Our suggested framework is the “Framework for Creating Online Presence” (Lehman & Conceição, 2010).

 

Revisiting the Framework for Creating a Sense of Presence

Looking at our Framework, you see the “Being There for the Online Learner Model” on the left. The Model and Framework can help you become aware of and understand what is necessary to make presence happen online and help manage your workload (Lehman & Conceição, 2011). 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 and determine the strategies used. 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.

Determinants of Presence

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

            Content is the first determinant and can be process-based, content-based, or a mix of the two. In process-based courses, workload is more intense in the beginning, diminishes as learners become more independent and diminishes as learners work collaboratively in teams. In content-based courses, there is a steady flow of discussion on topics throughout and workload can vary based on the depth of the discussions. In a mix of both approaches, there is a need to balance workload between the two.

            Format is the second determinant and can be either self-paced, group-based, or a mix of both. In self-paced courses learners’ background and needs dictate instructor workload. In group-based courses, group structure and learner interaction and working with others in the group affects workload. In a mix of both formats, by interspersing periods of high and low intensity, the instructor can control and manage workload.

            Strategies is another determinant. In instructor-led strategies, workload is contingent on intensity and the management of tasks. When strategies are logistical/Instructional, workload varies depending on preplanning and instructor role(s). If they are cooperative/collaborative, workload can be high in the beginning of course and then diminish as learners become more independent. Group grading and periodic feedback are other strategies that can greatly reduce workload.

            Instructor Role is a fourth determinant. Before the course begins, planning can reduce workload as the course continues and then comes to an end. Instructor roles vary depending on whether the courses are self-paced or group-based. In self-paced courses, learners work independently, and the instructor plays the roles of tutor, mentor, and support personnel. In group-based courses, the instructor engages in course activities as facilitator, catalyst, observer, and supporter. The choice of role(s) affects workload. Always, advance planning is suggested.

            Technology is another determinant that has a definite impact on workload. Technologies can be either asynchronous, synchronous, or a blend of both. Asynchronous technologies provide flexibility with place, time, and pace, but also give the instructor and learner the feeling of always being connected. With these technologies it is important to define boundaries to eliminate the 24/7 feeling. Synchronous technologies that are used in real time, require preplanning, but once the event is completed it is over. A blend of both is a method we often use for specific design purposes and for added interest and variety.

            Support is the final determinant in our Framework. Support can be either instructional or technical and can include a well-designed orientation that will reduce future questions and provide one-on-one time with learners. Support can also be included in the form of “help forums” to allow learners to help each other and minimize instructor involvement for technical problem. Another suggestion is timely instructor feedback on assignments which can help learners become more independent and self-motivated.

By using the Framework in this way you can better manage workload for your online course.

References

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

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.

Instructor Strategies to Balance Workload

 

Being an online instructor gives you more flexibility in terms of where and when you can work, but it can also be a trap, unless you allocate your time strategically and balance your work and personal life. Organization, discipline, and flexibility are essential.

Organization provides structure and helps with pre-planning and course delivery. Blocking out specific time for course design and delivery prior to the course can help you predict how many hours you would spend on your online course. This can also give you more time to concentrate on actual teaching during course delivery. For some instructors, this can mean being able to balance workload more efficiently between co-instructors and cohort groups. In addition, pre-course organization can help you allocate time for non-course administrative, research, and service responsibilities. 

Discipline can help you adhere to your schedule and maintain a set routine during the term of their course and can be a time-saver. Blocking out specific time during the day or weekend for learner responses and sticking to it can reduce workload. To avoid letting work take over your personal life, learn to set boundaries. Setting aside time for personal obligations is an important aspect of maintaining quality of life. Using the following strategies can help you maintain a work-life balance:

• Work from home, in a family environment, to gain freedom

• Avoid working on the online course on weekends

• Maintain a separate physical location for teaching online to allow for mental separation between work and personal life.

• Avoid responding to emails on weekends. If you have the need to write your response, do so, but wait to send it during regular work hours to prevent learner expectation that you are constantly available.  

• Distinguish between work and personal life when teaching online exclusively from home

• Manage learner expectations through explicit communication about email response and assignment feedback

Flexibility is important in the area of personal matters. For a period of time you may have to rearrange your schedule to accommodate personal issues. This is okay. You must find a way to manage workload and prioritize your time to find balance and success in your personal and work life. Below is a Table of Strategies for Balancing Workload.

Table of Strategies for Balancing Workload

Design	Support	Teaching	Allocate Time
Pre-plan course	One on one	Administrative	Be Organized
Know responsibilities	Institutional	Facilitative	Be disciplined
Prioritize activities	Peer	Evaluative	Set boundaries
Anticipate needs	External	Be flexible	Reflect on/revise

          

References

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