Time to rethink time-management

It has become glaringly obvious that I may be a tidsoptimist. I always believe I have more time than I actually do, or, I greatly underestimate the time it takes for me to get what I need to do done…

At the start of this module, I believed that I would be able to slot this two week seminar quite neatly into my almost full to bursting timetable with ease. However, this was not the case. I have come away from this seminar with a new respect for tutors managing online modules. I was naïve to the amount of work required to make a seminar run smoothly, monitor engagement and produce thought provoking discussion questions even with such a great team around me (thank you Team_STEAM).

McNaught (2003) acknowledges the workload of tutors and recognises that tutors need to be granted the time for staffdevelopment to be effective e-tutors and Palloff and Pratt (2013) agree. The discussions on this topic by the latter really hit home with me. I do feel like a marking and lecture writing machine endeavouring to stay afloat at the moment what with 23+ hours/week teaching plus tutorials (pastoral and otherwise), meetings and my Senior Warden role and now the SBOSE seminar this past fortnight. That said, I have got a lot out of the seminar. I will be running online modules in a few years time and I have an inkling of just how much preparation I will need to do prior to the modules beginning. I have also recognised that staff development is needed on the theme of managing blended and online courses in my institution should online courses be more commonplace. I think my new role on the Teaching and Learning group will come in handy here…

So for now, to get through this week until the Easter break I shall be finding time to write my to-do lists and as a lovely but forgetful blue fish once said “just keep swimming…”!

Now more than ever I wish that the wonderful worlg of Harry Potter and Timeturners existed, but I will have to keep wishing for an extra day between Saturday and Sunday!

McNaught, C. (2003). Supporting the global e-teacher. International Journal of Training and Development. Vol. 7 (4) pp. 287-302.

Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (2013) Lessons from the Virtual Classroom San Francisco: Jossey-Bass