ADDIE intrigued me. Instructionaldesign.org had a longer description of ADDIE, which I found very interesting and potentially useful.
Online instructors need the following to be successful: Time management skills, Organization, Discipline, Flexibility, and Setting Boundaries between their personal life and work.
It is important to plan! Plan ahead as much as possible but always be willing to adapt.
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.
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.
I learned that professional development can assist in obtaining knowledge to manage workload.
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 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.
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
Organization, time management, and staying focused are key for online learning instructors.
Time Management is key, and learning how to better balance between online instruction and personal life may help me rejuvenate my desire for teaching.
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.
Remember to be flexible with your teaching methods. Use different methods such as YOUTUBE, PPTS, videos, etc to help students learn.
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.
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.
I like the idea of using a course templete to create a consistent environment and course approach that students will become familiar with and with each subsequent course they take that uses the template, it will aid them in knowing how to learn from the course. Smart! :))
Choose the design that meets your students need.
Time management is not just a skill that should be developed for the purpose of being a good on line instructor, it is also a good life skill to have and maintain.
I learned that the delivery model is well when the professor design a good instructional class with the differents elements to guidance and help the students..
The online instructor can become overwhelmed with work. I found it refreshing in this module to hear it is important to distinguish work time from personal time. When teaching online, often from home, this can be a challenge. One must set up time for work and keep it separate from personal time.
