Get Your Students Hired
Lead by example, and make sure that there isn't any badgering or bullying going on within posts and online forums/chats. I also learned a new acronym: ADDIE = Access, Desing, Develop, Implement, Exectute!
It is important to have proper and clear instructions for your content and modalities. Students should be able to clearly navigate through their assignments/assessments with minimal clarification. If clarification is needed, the instructor should be able to reach out in a timely manner.
Establishing boundaries for myself and my students is essential. Time-blocking is important not just for "work hours" but for non-work hours. Teaching from home can often make you feel as if you "never leave work". Turning off my cell phone, shutting my home office door, etc. allow me to psychologically "leave work". My students have my personal cell phone number (required at my UNiv.) - this often makes them feel as if I am "available 24/7". As such, informing students of communication expectations. Ex: I will respond within 24 hours. I will not accept phone calls after 5 pm. is essential to create a work/life boundary, to provide students a clear expectaiton for response to alleviate their anxiety, etc.
There are a few different models for developing online courses. I was only aware of the first one presented to us.
Learning online teaching skills to be more effective is a resourceful course for me. It explains all the reasons for the experiences I was having when we had to switch to full synchronous teaching online. Also being a student at the same time it was very hard to manage my time for both schedules.
In the liquid society, sometimes you don't know how to distinguish between work and life. Now with working from home, it seems more difficult to set limits. Plan and limits
Student with no technology skills can provide a big challenge for an online instructor. My strategy is to get those students in the classroom with me or on Zoom and provide them the additional support they need at the very beginning of each term/course.
With online classes being accessible 24/7, sometimes my students think that I should be accessible 24/7. Creating a schedule and communicating that clearly to students is essential.
Managing life vs teaching is all about balance. Not only is the online environment difficult for students to manage, it can be difficult for the instructor. Typically, the instructor has to balance work and life while ensuring they are present and available to students. This is a difficult task.
To be a good online instructor you must be able to commuinicate with students in an online manner. You must set boundaries with your time to avoid getting overwhelmed.
I plan to utilize this information to develop a schedule that allows better work life balance.
I learned to make sure I am always planning ahead so that I can be effiecient and effective for my students.