Time Management for Facilitators
Joseph Cavanaugh's research has found that teaching a course online consumes more facilitator time than teaching the identical course face-to-face (2005). The types and number of interactions with participants, the preparation required, and the extent of feedback given all contribute to the addtional time needed to effectively teach online.
To avoid being overwhelmed, have a plan.
The first few times you teach online you will be tweaking your plan until it works for you. Some things to consider as you work through your plan (or tweak the one we've provided):
- Be sure to check each place a participant might have contacted you with a question each time you log in (Questions, Facilitator Forum, Messages, Email).
- Be sure to check submitted assignments regularly and keep up-to-date with grading.
- Be flexible enough to change your plan based on the personality of your participants.
Your plan might be to check messages first, however; some participants are notorious for posting the same question in multiple places in the course, hoping that you'll find it and respond faster that way. While we attempt to train these students to use the questions forum, it can be easier to change your plan and start with questions rather than messages, avoiding answering a query once privately and then repeating it for the whole class in the forum.
Always have a back-up plan (or two).
Teaching your first online course seems to guarantee that Murphy's Law will strike...and most likely it will strike your computer! Be sure you have at least one (preferably two) options to turn to if you computer keels over or your internet connection evaporates. This is not a mandate to go buy that laptop you've been considering, but rather an encouragement to think through the issue before it's a crisis and you head to the computer store in a panic with your credit card leading the way.
Before your first class begins, contact a few of your neighbors, friends, or colleagues and ask if they'd be willing to be your backup computer source. In other words, if your computer keels over at some point during your class, you'll have already gotten the OK to call and borrow their computer for a few minutes (or hours) to check in on your class and let someone in your organization know what's up. A friend with a laptop could make it possible for you to snag the computer and head to the local coffee shop with a free internet connection. Other backup options include public libraries, community centers, or even local business stores (our local FedEx/Kinkos allows computer use for a small fee).
Be sure to print out the contact list with phone numbers and email addresses for your online support team. Having everyone's email saved on your computer won't help when the power is out or the internet connection is gone.