I am an online educator. I’ve worked in this capacity since 2006. I have been in this field for almost 20 years. During this time, I have learned some valuable lessons. These lessons have contributed to my continued success and sanity. I list them below. I hope that they may help you if you are new to the world of online teaching. If, like me, you’ve been at it for years, you can always add new ideas to your toolbox.
1. Set Clear Office Hours
Set clear office hours for both students and my family. This helps me stay organized and focused on my work without interruption. My family knows that between 10-5 Monday-Friday, I am at work. I can take a lunch break, but otherwise that’s my work day.
2. Know and Set Your Expectations
know your organization’s expectations early and review them often. I learned this lesson the hard way when one college refused my contract renewal. My performance review noted that I had failed to log in the expected number of days. That information was not in the contract, my departmental paperwork, or in my introductory video from the chair. I didn’t ask, and they didn’t offer the expectations. That was poor communication on both our parts. Now, I always ask, even if it is in the contract.
I tell my students on Day One that, despite our course taking place via computer, I am not a computer. I do my best to return emails within a few hours and always within 24-hours, but my response time is slower on weekends. I let them know that I rarely return graded work in less than 3 days and, more commonly, it takes me 4-5. My courses are writing intensive. I can’t do my job well if I’m only taking 10 minutes to grade a 5-page paper.
3. Be Flexible
I disagree with the myth that online courses are “easier” than in-person courses. Online courses require students to self-motivate, check their progress carefully, and sometimes seek out help when they don’t really want to. I expect all those things from my students, but I also realize that there is a reason some students gravitate toward asynchronous online courses. Modern life is full and busy for modern students, so I make adjustments for personal or family illnesses, unexpected emergencies, and, of course, a global pandemic. Rigidity can only frustrate both the instructor and the students, so I’ve learned to be flexible and offer my students grace. This doesn’t mean that I give in to every request, but I try to be reasonable and consider how I would want someone to treat me in the same situation
4. Stay Organized
I admit that I am still working on this one. Whether you create files based on course titles, content themes, or something that makes sense to you in a logical way, just choose something that you will continue to use throughout your career. Trust me, this is so much better than trying to recreate content from scratch.
Make sure that you understand your organization’s annual calendar. In higher education, the Academic Calendar is almost always available from the homepage. Often you can find it in the “Academics” section.
Lastly, keep your workspace a workspace. It is so easy when working from home to end up with bills, print articles, personal paperwork, kids’ permission slips, and even your pet’s vet reminder on your desk. It can be challenging to insist that your workspace stay YOURS when working from home, but it can make such a difference in your productivity.
5. Remember You Are Human
Give yourself the same kind of grace that you give your students. Allow yourself time away from the screen to relax and enjoy the things that matter most to you, whether that is time with family and friends, taking part in a hobby, even spending a lazy day on the couch with a book or Netflix shows, or seeing one of your favorite bands live. We all deserve downtime.
In conclusion, these five key lessons I’ve learned as an online educator have allowed me to work in online higher education for more than 20 years. I have a nice work-life balance and continue to make a decent living. When people ask how I like online teaching, I tell them it is the best gig ever, but then I keep the secret of getting into it to myself…until later.
