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.

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.

Stan Plans Ahead to Predict His Workload

 

Stan, an assistant professor at a four-year institution, teaches three-credit adult education online courses at the graduate level. His academic load involves teaching three courses per semester, conducting research, and participating in service activities. He teaches both face-to-face and online courses during the regular 15- or 16-week semester and teaches online courses during the summer. His courses average an enrollment of about 22 non-traditional learners. His experience with non-traditional learners, who work full-time and have family obligations, requires that he design his online courses with a variety of options. That means planning ahead to meet learners’ needs. For his online courses, he uses design, teaching, and time allocation strategies to balance his workload based on his learner population. Below are Stan’s strategies for balancing his workload.

 

Design	Plans his online courses ahead of time. Puts himself in the role of the learner when designing his online courses. Offers an optional face-to-face course orientation. Organizes course based on units. Uses once a week synchronous chats, group discussions, and individual assignments. Chooses not to include teamwork because his non-traditional learners would have a difficult time coordinating team tasks. Has a folder with new ideas and notes taken during the delivery of the course, which serve as guides for when redesigning the course.
Teaching	Stan’s work tapers off as learners become more independent and his role changes from that of an expert to that of a guide. His time commitment to the course is reduced as the online course progresses. Encourages learner interaction by having them critique each other’s work.
Time-Allocation	Blocks out time in the morning to check his course, responds to emails, and participate in the discussion with learners. Announces that he responds to emails within 24 hours, so that course participants know what to expect.

 

Stan understands that online courses just don’t naturally happen. They require pre-planning, organization, and intentional design. Pre-planning helps him manage his workload so that his workload doesn’t manage him during his course delivery. The course organization assists instructors in determining a framework for their content and activities, thus they know what to expect during each course sequence. Intentional design serves as the means for instructors to maximize the efficiency, effectiveness, and appeal of online teaching to meet and anticipate their learners’ needs.

 

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.

Using the Template for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time

 

As we noted in our previous postings, our “Being There for the Online Learner Model” and “Framework for Creating Presence” (Lehman & Conceição, 2010) were developed to help you understand that presence, which is “perceptual” in nature, 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 a personal experience, and more effectively engage your students.

This week, we’re introducing our “Template for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time,” found in our book, Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success (Conceição & Lehman, 2011). This template helps you look at any type of course from a broad perspective and better manage your tasks and time.

• 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. 

 

Template for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time

 

Course Sequence	Type of Task	Week #	Time Spent
Before the course	Design
During and end of course	Administrative
	Facilitative
	Evaluative

 

Download the Template for Managing Tasks and Prioritizing Time.

 

In addition to the template, our book provides examples of how this template can be used in each of the three instances. It also suggests strategies that instructors can use to maintain their quality of life. Teaching online can be overwhelming if you let it control you. Managing workload and prioritizing time help put you “in control.”

 

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.

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.

Looking at Online Instructor Workload Through Tangible Course Factors

 

The difference between face-to face and online environments has implications for designing online courses and managing instructor workload. It’s essential to understand this difference and then to look at the overall course and identify course tasks.

You can accomplish this by looking at tangible course factors such as:

·      the number of students in the course.

·      the type of course content.

·      the course format.

·      the interactive strategies.

·      the instructor role or roles that you’ll be taking on.

·      the types of technology you’ll select.

·      the support that will need to be provided.

 

By looking at these tangibles, you will be able to determine the time you will spend on each task before, during and at the end of the course. You’ll also be able to plan the entire course experience, prioritize the tasks, and be better able to manage your workload.

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.