Taking the

1
Taking the Time to Teach Online
Faculty Issues

• Claudine SchWeber, Ph.D.
• Associate Vice President
• Office of Distance Education Lifelong Learning
• University of Maryland University College

Presented at ALN Conference College Park,
Maryland October 1999
2
Why Time Issue Is Important

• Faculty concerns
• Impact on faculty interaction with students
• Financial implications

3
Time Study Overview

• How long does it take (hours per week)
• to teach online?
• What are the activities involved?
• (i.e., Lectures, providing online
  resources,
• conferencing, designing and grading
• exams, individual communications, etc.)
• Comparison with in-person classes

4
GSMTDE via Computer Mediated Program

• Online courses began spring 1996 (1)
• Fall 1999 50 of all courses are online (N67)
  
• Use web conferencing systemWebTycho
• Primarily text-based, at present (some audio)
• 9 Online Masters degrees (http//umuc.edu/prog/gs
  mt/gsmthome.html)

5
GSMT

• Fall 1999 data
• Online enrollments 2, 374 ( of total 44.5)
• Online Courses 67 ( of total 50)

6
The Time Study

• Fall 97, Spring 98, Fall 98
• Online N 60 (67)
• Face-to-Face N 88 (56)

7
Time Study 97-98
Variables Impacting Time

• Lectures
• Finding additional resources
• On-line conferencing/class meeting
• Group work
• Individual contact with students
• Phone calls
• Exam preparation
• Exam grading
• Use of other delivery mechanisms
• Pre-course development time (per semester)

Continued
8
Time Study 97-98

• Other Variables
• Class Size
• Frequency re teaching this course
• Frequency re teaching on-line course

9
Time Study 97-98
Time Spent Teaching Online and Face-to-Face
Face-to-Face (N88) 17 per week 3 1.5 5 4


Category Overall Time Online Conferencing/FTF
Class Meeting (meeting time, group work) Student
Contact (individual contact, office hours,
telephone calls, email contact, personal
meeting) Lecture Work (preparation, additional
resources) Exam Activity (preparation and
grading)
Web(N60) 18 per week
3 4 5 4
10
Time Study 97-98
Pre-Course Development Time for One Course
Per Semester
Web
Face-to-Face
Course Development 40 15

11
Time Study By Discipline
Computer Systems Hours Per Week
Web Face-to-Face Overall 9
18.5 Student Contact 6 2 Lectures
6 6 Exams 3
3.5
Masters of Science in Management Hours per Week

Web Face-to-Face Overall 21.5
16.5 Student Contact 4
1.5 Lectures 4 4 Exams
4.5 4
12
Time Study 97-98

• Individual contact time with students greater for
  web classes
• Lecture/resources same for web classes
• Exam preparation and grading the same

13
Time Study 97-98
Patterns We See Patterns To Watch

• Pre-course development time significantly
  greater for web courses
• Web courses smaller than in-person
• Faculty experience re web teaching less than
  for in-person classes
• Overall time somewhat more for web classes

14
Faculty Concerns and Issues

• Managing Web Class re student contact time,
  while keeping interaction
• Course preparation much more for web courses
  will this increase/change with repetition?
• What kinds of support will be available for web
  classes IT, course design, extra funding,
  release time?
• What differences are there among different
  disciplines/programs (such as Management and
  Computer Science). What are the implications
  re teaching and learning?