Time Saving Tips for Teaching Online

Many faculty have found online teaching very time consuming. Here are a few time saving tips for teaching online from Evelyn Bach.

1. Don't respond to every student on the discussion board. Let students answer each others questions. In fact, responding too quickly may thwart further student discussion.
2. Require that students ask general questions on the discussion board so that you do not have to answer the same question multiple times. If someone asks a general question via email, post it on the discussion board with your response.
3. Set limits. Tell student when you are not available (i.e., weekends, specific evenings, etc.) so they will know what to expect.
4. Consider having assignments due at mid-week, particularly if you want to stay away from the computer over the weekend.
5. Save and reuse postings, announcements, and email notices from one semester to the next as applicable.
6. Have students format files in .rtf to minimize problems related to software conflicts.
7. Require that students name their files with their name and the name of the assignment to allow for more efficient file management and retrieval

References

"20 Time-Saving Tips for Faculty Who Teach Distance Education Courses." Adjunct Advocate. May/June 2005. Web 24 Sept. 2010.

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