Sandy Manages Workload When Current Information Drives Content

Sandy is an academic staff for an international organization within a four-year higher education institution. Her primary position within this organization involves administrative work; however, she is responsible for teaching one four-credit undergraduate online course. Sandy’s online course has an average enrollment of 20 participants and is offered during the regular academic semester from 8 to 16 weeks in duration. The course content focuses on current global issues. This means that her course must be updated each time she teaches it. Sandy uses design, support, teaching, and time allocation strategies to manage her workload.

 

Design	Bases the design of her course on the textbook and the most current new. The textbook provides a framework for identifying global issues, which she then enriches with more current events occurring in the world at the time of the course delivery. Invites speakers on a podcast and links to other podcasts and news events. Uses discussion forums, team projects, and a mandatory orientation. Does advanced planning and organization because of timely content. The first time she designed the online course, she started planning two months ahead. However, once she designed the first online course, she followed a model for the next offerings. Using the model, she was able to reduce her time for course design and have the course ready to be released for the learners two weeks before the beginning of the semester. Advanced organization is essential when coordinating course speakers who are identified based on expertise in current issues. These speakers may participate either synchronously or asynchronously. For synchronous participation of invited guests, Sandy has to schedule time and equipment in advance. For asynchronous speaker participation, she has to pre-record and post the guest lecture in the learning management system before the course begins.
Support	Uses the textbook, guest speakers, podcasts, and web links as external support. The textbook as a dynamic resource tool, a springboard to identify and search for new content information. Incorporates podcasts from the Internet and web links related to global issues. Models her online teaching on other colleagues who have used effective strategies such as understanding learner expectations and creating rubrics to grade assignments.
Teaching	Uses one-way content presentation of global issues in her course. Participates in interactive activities with learners as content expert, observer, and facilitator. Uses a team project as a teaching strategy to bring content together at the end of her online course. Makes the orientation a mandatory activity because she believes that in this way learners will be more comfortable online and feel a sense of community.
Time-Allocation	Teaches one online course at a time along with her administrative responsibilities. Streamlines her time allocation for the design stage of her online course by pre-planning and organizing her course materials, reusing existing resources, and using a dynamic textbook. Spends 15 to 20 hours each week updating the current news for the online course, checking on the discussion forum, and grading learner assignments. Blocks out specific time for grading on Monday morning and periodically checks the discussion board to avoid intense work at one time. Limits the number of discussion board postings per week to reduce her workload. Checks the course on weekends, but this is not accomplished at a regularly scheduled time.

 

Managing the workload when the course content must be kept current can be challenging. Sandy discovered efficient strategies to reduce workload before the beginning of the course. She plans and organizes course materials based on external resources and prioritizes her time. Planning helps Sandy focus on the teaching rather than the design during the course delivery. Using external resources as a support strategy can enhance learner experience, reduce instructor workload during course delivery, and provide flexibility when reusing the resources in future courses. During the online course, prioritizing time and setting boundaries can be a time saver for instructors whose teaching is one piece of their work responsibility.

 

Reference

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

Natalie Manages Her Tasks in Chunks When Designing for Multiple Courses

Natalie is an ad hoc instructor at a four-year institution. She also works as a graduate assistant for a public university and a consultant for a private university. These jobs are part-time while she is working on her doctoral studies. She teaches a three-credit undergraduate-level course with an enrollment of 26 participants during a six-week summer semester. Natalie considers herself a multi-tasker because she works in three different positions, carrying out similar tasks, in different capacities. For her, dealing with all these responsibilities, tasks of each position must have its own space. Workload management for her is not just for the course she teaches; it is also for her personal life. Natalie uses design, teaching, and time allocation strategies to manage her workload.

 

Design	Designs her course for each position in its own online space, time, and physical location. Designs the entire course in the LMS in advance because it includes incorporating voiceover, video, authored video resources, and scripts. This requires sophisticated technology, intensive blocks of time, and focused attention. Completes tasks in small chunks.
Teaching	Uses a scavenger hunt activity to orient learners to the online environment, group discussions to engage learners in conversations about the topic, and team projects in which learners share their work. Uses essays as an assessment tool and provides individual feedback on learner writing. During the semester, she provides quick responses to learners based on her expectations.
Time-Allocation	Accomplishes her work from task to task. Schedules specific time for her online course work. Completes her most important tasks, like grading, when she is most alert such as late mornings or early evenings. Provides feedback in the beginning of the week (on Monday evenings) for about three hours. Creates a schedule for her learners for when to post responses to the discussion. Spends an average of 10 hours a week on the online course. Checks her online course at least once in the morning and twice in the evening. Has virtual office hours for learners to meet with her for questions or concerns about the online course.

             

For online instructors, who work in different positions doing similar tasks, like Natalie does, managing the workload can be complicated. Because instructors in this situation must distinguish between the various tasks, they need to allocate specific online space, time, and physical location to adequately accomplish these tasks. In an era when the Internet is ever-present from job to job and during our personal life schedule, setting boundaries and holding to them, is the solution.

 

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.

Chuck Manages His Time Rather Than Time Managing Him

Chuck, a teaching academic staff at a four-year institution, teaches early childhood online courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. His teaching workload varies from semester to semester and his course duration lasts from 10, 12, to 16 weeks. Course enrollment varies from 25 to 28 participants. On a given semester, including summer, he teaches two face-to-face courses and one online course. As part of his workload assignment, he is also the program manager. For Chuck, a Type-A personality, teaching online is a 24/7 commitment. It is difficult for him to disconnect; however, he has developed strategies to manage his time. He uses design, support, teaching, and time-allocation strategies to manage his workload. Below are Chuck’s strategies for balancing her workload.

 

Design	Online courses repeat from year to year, so he spends time during the prior semester to prepare for the subsequent offering.
Support	Uses a course orientation with detailed information about the online course as an introduction to the online environment and creation of a context for learner comfort. Uses the help desk for learner support when technical problems arise.
Teaching	Uses group discussions, audio-narrated PowerPoints, audio announcements, and project presentations to accomplish that.
Time-Allocation	Dedicates 20 hours a week to teaching his online courses. Blocks out time daily to check the online course, usually, he does this in the early morning or evening. Checks on the course a little bit every day, rather than in large chunks of time. Manages learner expectations by telling them through explicit communication when he will respond. Has a flurry of learner activity at the beginning of the week and a slower pace toward the end of the week.

 

Managing his time rather than time managing him can be a challenge for online instructors, mainly for Chuck who enjoys being connected 24/7. But this can be a trap. To resolve this challenge, it is important to identify time allocation strategies that can help instructors better manage their time. Over time, Chuck developed strategies that met his needs and created a course that built community.

 

What can you do to avoid being constantly connected with your course? How can you share course responsibility with your learners? How can you allocate your time more efficiently?

Chuck sets up blocks of time to be connected to his online course, uses the community-building approach to involve course participants in learning from and assisting each other, and has a good sense of the pace of his online course.

 

Reference

 

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