Strategies for Finding Balance and Success – DESIGN

 

The first workload strategy is DESIGN. Instructors use the following design strategies to manage workload:

• pre-planning to make sure that everything is ready prior to the beginning of the course for their learners 
• anticipating all course responsibilities and plotting them on a grid or timeline to see the "big picture" 
• prioritizing course activities to easily see which ones need more time and which less 
• anticipating learners’ needs so that needs are met before they become concerns 
• reflecting on and revising courses already taught so that the courses are up-to-date and relevant.

 

The more instructors can pre-plan and visualize the "big picture" the less they will have to be concerned with time-consuming issues during the actual course delivery. 

 

Next week, we'll look at: 2. SUPPORT STRATEGIES.

References

 

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

 

Strategies for Finding Balance and Success

 

In our book, Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success (Conceição & Lehman, 2011), we discuss four strategies 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

 

The focus of these strategies is to help instructors determine how they can manage their workload and prioritize their time to find balance and success in their work and personal life.

Once an instructor becomes experienced with online teaching, managing time should become a natural part of workload. The workload strategies we discuss can help by serving as guidelines for practice. In the next weeks, we will focus on the four strategies. Stay tuned!

 

References

 

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

Using a Template to Preplan for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time

 

By using a template to manage workload for online instruction you can preplan your design and delivery responsibilities and tasks.

First, you'll need to become familiar with the online course design components that will help to make the virtual seem "real" for your students. Because these components are tangible they can be converted into tasks and time.

Our "Template for Managing Tasks and PrioritizingTime," contained in our book Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success can serve as a guide for workload and time spent when creating your online course of any kind:

1.    a new course

2.    conversion of a face-to-face course to online course

3.    revision of a course you've already taught online

The template will guide you in identifying and laying out each course sequence, the type of tasks within each sequence, the period during the course when each sequence takes place, and the estimated time spent on each task. 

For new online courses, the template can help you estimate tasks and time spent during the course design and delivery.

For a converted course, the template can help with the process of rethinking how to teach the course in the new environment.

For existing online courses, the template can help you revisit tasks and time spent and become more efficient when teaching the same course again. We hope you enjoy using the template!

References

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

Types of Course Tasks and Using a Design Framework

 

Becoming aware of the tasks that instructors need to accomplish when teaching online is the critical first step in designing an online course. In doing this, instructors can better plan, prioritize, and manage their course workload. The course tasks that we’ve identified in our book, Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success can be grouped into four types:

1.    Design

2.    Administrative

3.    Facilitative

4.    Evaluative

Once the tasks are identified, we suggest you use an instructional design process for a systematic approach. Using this process, you will be able to take into consideration the multi-faceted components of your course and create a blueprint for the teaching and learning experience.

The next step is to select a model or framework for developing your course. The framework we’ve developed, “Framework for Designing Online Courses With a Sense of Presence,” can assist you in identifying the multiple components of your online course, planning and designing prior to course delivery, managing the instructional process to ensure the desired learning outcomes, and integrating a “sense of presence.” When you've completed this, we suggest using a template to help you manage your tasks and prioritize your time. 

References

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

Instructors’ Stories Reveal Strategies

 

Through instructors’ stories we found concrete examples of strategies for balancing workload that can fit a wide variety of settings and apply to many different contexts. You can find them in our book Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success.

You may identify with some of these stories, but many will be new to you. While some of the instructors in our examples are prioritizing their time in an efficient way, others are still discovering new ways to effectively manage their workload.

Next week, we’ll look at how to determine the types of course tasks for online teaching and how they can be accomplished within a design framework. For your online course, designing requires planning, intention, and design and an understanding of the online environment. By looking at workload from a design perspective, instructors can better manage and prioritize their time.

References

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