Your Time Management

Many have thought “instructors report that online courses take more time than traditional courses to teach” (Gabriel & Kaufield, 2008). However, more recent research has shown “In addition, teaching online is more time consuming than teaching face-to-face, but this is only the case for the first time and perhaps the second time teaching the course.  After the second time, teaching a course online or face-to-face is relatively the same in terms of time” (Freeman, 2015). In order to maintain your schedule and fulfill your other responsibilities, you’ll want to set a plan for managing your time.

Instructors approach this differently. Find the time management system that works best for you, and communicate this to the students in the beginning of the course. Then stick to it.

Grading Turnaround Time

As you plan set assignment due dates in your syllabus, consider your grading turnaround time. Here are some items to consider:

• Find out if your department has a policy on returning feedback to students within a specific time period, such as 48 hours from when the assignment was submitted.
• If assignments require revision before the students submit a final version, allot time between your return of the feedback and their submission.
• Consider when you are able to devote time to writing and communicating quality feedback. For example, if a new unit starts each Monday and students’ work is typically due Sunday at 11:59pm, you will likely be grading their work Monday and Tuesday; do those days work best for you given your other obligations? Ensure you plan time in your schedule to fit in giving student feedback.
• The majority of student questions tend to come in within three hours of the assignment due time. If an assignment is due at 11:59pm, you may not wish to be answering questions until that time; in that case, announce you will be taking questions until a specific time, such as 7pm. Or consider having assignments due at another time such as 5pm or noon. Regardless, it’s recommended you use the same time for all assignments for consistency, which should help students plan their routine.