Demonstrate Leadership Qualities
The primary goal of the role of the administrator of an online course is to assure smooth course operations & reduce instructor & learner overload. Good administrative practice in online learning:
- provides an unambiguous roadmap through the instruction;
- provides clear objectives, expectations, and policies;
- posts course materials (syllabus, assignments, discussion topics, etc.) in advance so learners can plan ahead;
- conveys changes and updates;
- assures all learners are 'on board' at the beginning of a course;
- communicates quickly (as set within the course expectations) and consistently to allow learners to progress; and
- refers issues to appropriate sources and follows up to assure resolution.
Be clear in outlining expectations and rules for the students. I have taken online courses myself and the ones that had clear goals and time frames were the best. Provide feedback promptly and often or students will become frustrated. Make sure you set aside time to maintain work life balance (I am perhaps the most guilty in this--giving my students more of my time because I feel obligated). Setting goals along the way instead of deadlines just at the end should help streamline grading.
Remember to be flexible with your teaching methods. Use different methods such as YOUTUBE, PPTS, videos, etc to help students learn.
Time management involves being organized by blocking out time for particular events and then being disciplined to stick to the schedule. This is an area that I struggle with.
I let other things interfere and think I need to respond to student questions and emails quickly. In fact, I need to set up boundaries and communicate these to the students. Then, I can use flexible methods to communicate the content.
Time Management is key, and learning how to better balance between online instruction and personal life may help me rejuvenate my desire for teaching.
Organization, time management, and staying focused are key for online learning instructors.
The tips for work/life balance were excellent. This is an area where I have long had issues. I am working on only working during specific hours and hope that will help.
Nancy Tosh
I need to manage time so that I am not spending all my time in front of my computer with online classes. I need to learn not to feel guilty because I am not online every minute.
Time managment is key to being a successful proffesor. User-centered interfaces are ideal when creating an online course. Try to make sure that your students have sufficient social presence.
I learned that professional development can assist in obtaining knowledge to manage workload.
I think setting office hours when you will be available is extremely important for the instructor. I know it is easy to get tied into constantly responding to the students.
This module pointed out that students and instructors both need to work on a healthy work/life balance in order to succeed while not becoming burnt out.
It is important to plan! Plan ahead as much as possible but always be willing to adapt.
Online instructors need the following to be successful: Time management skills, Organization, Discipline, Flexibility, and Setting Boundaries between their personal life and work.
ADDIE intrigued me. Instructionaldesign.org had a longer description of ADDIE, which I found very interesting and potentially useful.
Planing ahead is so very important and make sure you have the proper amount of time to engaged in students. Commuication is always the key while making students feel connected to the online enviromnet. Must be flexible and understand things will happen with techolongy, it's importatnt to understand and work through the issues with grace.
Without proper planning, things can be furstarted
You must plan and have time management skills to be successful.
Increased social presence leads to increased student engagement and retention.
