I have been teaching online 9+ years. While many things have improved, reducing the amount of time necessary has not! Emails are constant and I try to respond to all students within 24 hours with detailed comprehensive responses to reduce the number of "secondary" emails. I use templates to grade every assignment but personalize them to each assignment. The worse the assignment performance (i.e. grade) the longer the commentary. Grading can take a long time with 30+ students in the class. I have PowerPoint slides for each of the classes I teach and make changes as necessary when texts or assignments are updated. As always, squeaky wheels make the most noise and tend to provide the least amount of return. All that said, I still enjoy the environment and appreciate the value that an online education can bring to those who are willing to do the quality work required!
Steven,
You are so right. Online instructors shouldn't be 24/7 instructors. We have to carve out our own time and make sure students understand when we are available and how they can contact us. Thanks!
I’ve been teaching online for a good number of years now, and the most important thing I have found was to have downtime – specific time each day for time for me, exercise, music, even a nap, nothing to do with work…Then I also have time called flak time, this is time where I can use in case I do not get specific tasks done on time. I keep an Excel spreadsheet with my day laid out for all my work, including the down and flak times. After a while, it seems to get me on cruise control and I normally get things done in time and I usually wind up with some extra time during the week.
Daniel ,
Keep juggling! ;-) We all have to multitask and do our best to keep it up to help our students, yet maintain our balance in work and life. Thanks!
I enjoy the challenge of juggling diverse, complex tasks simultaneously. That does not mean I am a nimble juggler all the time but prioritizing the workload and fine tuning the outcomes such as updated video files, cases, etc. helps keep online instruction more in equilibrium for me. Also, a common practice nowadays for administrators is to weed out the email dross with great dispatch and get to "what counts" e.g. student / instructor queries, etc. I also recently launched my own business and staying focused on specific goals and resources translates well with online instruction. Thanks.
Dan Campagna
Jane and Stephanie,
Sounds like you are both working hard to make sure students feel like they are getting some personalized information/feedback from you. Make sure you provide the student with adequate turn around time on grades (24-48 hours is fine) and don't be overcome with their immediate need and stay up all night. Set the grading pattern and stick with it. It will help you in the long run.
Donald,
Ah - good story. Keep managing your time and not wasting motion. ;-) It's a good plan. Thanks for sharing.
I manage my time by attempting to be as efficient and effective as possible. When I was a young man, I once arrogantly said to my father that he did not move that fast. He agreed, but then he stated that there was no wasted motion. At the time, I did not realize how arrogant I was, but my father's response has stayed with me all these years. I believe that I manage my time by not having any wasted motion.
Donald L. Buresh
Hi Stephanie,
Your approach to grading sounds exactly like mine. Even with our shortcuts, it still takes time -- often a lot of time! I think the time is well spent, however. For other aspects of my classroom, I do not have to take so much time. Emails can take a couple of hours, especially on Mondays. Adding to Discussion assignments is generally enjoyable, so the time spent does not seem so taxing. For me, grading is really teaching.
I frequently consider how I could take less time grading, but no matter what I try, I like to personalize the messages I send and this takes time. Much of our interaction with students is going to be gradebook comments. This is where we can overcome some of the limitations of online teaching,increasing our in-person contact, generating pride in work, and even assisting with technology, mechanics of writing or critical thinking.
The one thing that really helps, is doing some grading each day.
I am terrible about getting starting with grading and often put it off, or get a really slow start. This leads to stress and aggravation, especially when the quality of the work is poor. I often have to stay up until the classroom closes at 3 am on the day grades are due. Students harass me via email if their grades are not posted in a timely manner, and I hate that more than staying up all night!
The late night impacts the rest of my week as I am too tired to think for a day or two after.
On those weeks when I start as soon as the unit ends, and do the grading in chunks some each day, it seems much less tedious and taxing.
Stephanie,
It depends on what type of assignments you are grading. When I grade writing, I typically grade for one thing at a time. For example, I'll grade for format only or I'll grade for content only or spelling only. You may have to see the document more than once, but the grading goes more quickly. Also, any tests/quizzes you can automate through the LMS for automatic grading is a time saver. I also use peer-evaluation. The students are assigned a peer to grade their work using the rubric and then they can edit the information before they submit it to me. The result is me getting a better assignment/project which is faster to grade. Hope this is helpful.
Stephanie,
Sounds like you have learned a lot in the past year. Keep up the good work. Grading is always an issue. Keep plugging away at it.
I truly struggle in how long it takes me to grade. Both I and my spouse think I should be able to grade in less time, but I do not know how. I have the time set aside on 2 different nights for grading - 1 for discussion boards and 1 for individual projects. This time is dedicated so distractions are not the issue. I have grading comment templates, so based on how they answer each question, I can copy in the appropriate grading comments for that question. I built these the first time I taught each class, then add to it as needed. It still takes time to read the student's paper and apply the comments. If the paper is not organized as expected then it takes longer. If there are Turnitin matches then it will take significantly longer to weed through that then expain in the comments. I have a spreadsheet to enter the grade for each question so it totals it for me. I have a word document that I paste the comments into as I go. Then when I post grades in the LMS I can just copy/paste the comments. I really don't know how to grade any faster. This level of detail is expected from the university and I get graded on it. I even am required to recommend the textbook pages in the comments when they lose points on a question. So that is in my template also. I understand why as this gives the students detailed feedback, which is a good thing. It just takes time to grade that way. I am open to suggestions for where I should go for help. Thank you.
I have only been teaching online for 1 year. I work full time in my industry during the day and then am an adjunct for an online university at night/weekends. Time and life management with teaching has been a real challenge. I have learned "the hard way", unfortunately. However, I have learned from my mistakes and it is much better now with 1 exception - grading. I have learned to not check email multiple times a day. I no longer even look at email on my phone during the day. I only check email once a day, in the evening at home on a pc where it is easier and faster. I set the expectation with my students that this is what I do. Same for the discussion board. This has helped. For my programming class, students need a lot of help. In the beginning I would accept setting up times with them on all days. It was completely overwhelming and I had no personal life time. I learned to limit this to 2 specific days a week and clearly communicate this up front. In certain situations I'll still do more, but it is limited. My biggest issue is time for grading. I'll post more on this in separate posting.
Robert,
It's good that you keep the open communication with students know when you're in town and when you are not. I do the same when I go to conference. Thanks for sharing.
I've been teaching online since 2005. Each course and each year I find new methods for improving my effectiveness and efficiency....thanks to others' suggestions of innovative methods and university training programs.
I check and respond to emails several times a day, post in the early evening, research assignment resources when possible during the day, keep an e notebook that is invaluable to keeping track of lecture items, and grade every Monday and Tuesday morning. I announce this grading schedule to the students to mediate their anxiety of not receiving a grade within an hour of their submission.
I believe my time is managed well. The exception is when traveling. This is announced to the students so they know that my schedule for them may be different but no less attentive to their needs.
Heather,
Life has become more about priority management instead of time management. Keep trying and keep up the good work.
It is nearly impossible. It is a pipe dream. As I type this, my five year old needs help in the bathroom, my contractor is calling because he needs money today, a delivery was sent here by accident, and none of this is happening because I do not organize my time or set boundaries. It happens because this is life.
Molly,
It's all good. If you have a system figured out that works for you - it's awesome. It takes awhile to get "in the groove" and feel like you're doing what you need to be doing. Good job.
I have taught online now for seven years, and it is sad to say, but finally in the past two years, I have a system down that helps me manage my time wisely.
Every Sunday afternoon, I write out a list of all tasks that need to be done at the three different online schools I teach for. I have a column for each school and a detailed list stating what days I will complete each task. This list sits on my kitchen counter and is looked at often throughout the day. Once something is complete it is crossed off the list and onto the next!
I also have found it very useful to have all distractions set aside when I work. This doesn't always get to happen with a 3 and 5 year old in the house, but if I can sneak away for even a half hour with the office door shut, it makes a big difference.
With my two kids and also working at a local college part-time, I have to really plan out my week. My goal each week is to have everything completed successfully and also have time for my family!
Yvette,
Yes, you do have some strategies working for you. I hope you learned a few more in this course. Thanks for your input.
