O.R.E.O Online Teacher in Action

How do I manage my time and boost productivity?

“So how do you manage your time and be available for students without feeling like you are permanently ‘on’?” asked Jennifer Tickle (@Jenntickle) on Twitter. 

I did not think I was in any better position to answer this question. We were in our second week of online teaching and it does feel exhausting. Synchronous communication is desperately demanded and everyone wants an answer right away. I have become very responsive as everyone is seeking attention and requests immediate answers. I hit my keyboards so ferociously and two keys came out of my laptop keyboard. Not sure if I should blame Apply’s butterfly keyboard design or my own intense behavior. I began to think about Jennifer’s question over the past few days. One or two synchronous chats are doable, bu when you have multiple synchronous communication going on, plus emailing back and back, it consumes my energy and creates frustrations that I can’t respond in time. It is draining and stressful. Is online teaching going to cause me to burnout? I begin to wonder how teachers might develop emotional competence to build resilience and boost productivity in this long journey of online teaching and learning? Eric Hudson’s (@ejhudson) response, “communication routines and boundaries help: this is when modules are published, this is when our synchronous class are, this is how much time I need to respond to messages, etc.” really resonates with me. In my opinion, to build our resilience and be productive, we can benefit from building a system to manage online teaching and make a deliberate effort to keep a good work-life balance. Creating a system can help us streamline our vision and provide us with clarity and a structure. 

I reflect thoughtfully on what ‘system’ means in this online teaching situation and what actions I can take to keep my sanity while continuing to enjoy what I do as an educator. Therefore, I have created a SYSTEM for myself for teaching online! 

S: Sensemaking

Sensemaking is a term introduced by Karl Weick, which refers to how we structure the unknown so as be able to act in it. (Ancona, 2012) Assessing the situation and identifying the direction of where we are going makes sense to me. A plethora of web tools and resources are shared widely to support online learning. But we must be mindful of how these tools are used to enhance learning. It’s important to remember that Maslow first, then learning, and finally technology. Instead of trying out different websites and tools, it is paramount for us to first think about intentional instruction design principles and then explore how technology can support learning. Thinking holistically, we need to:

• ​Develop an understanding of online child protection and safeguarding policies
• Ensure student data privacy and digital equity
• Remember learning first, technology second
• Create a structure and routine to communicate with students and parents
• Ensure lesson activities align with assessment objectives
• Be aware of dos and don’ts of online teaching

Y: You first

Jennifer Abrams mentioned in her book, Swimming in the Deep End, on airplanes, flight attendants say, “put on your own mask first before helping others”, but in schools, we don’t apply this concept of taking care of ourselves so that we’re able to care for others as often as we need to. To avoid teacher burnout, I think it is really important we take good care of ourselves and spend time with our love ones. Additionally, when dealing with any crisis, it’s important to reflect on our core values and think about what our core values mean to us and how they influence our decision making. I would also like to advocate the importance of engaging ourselves in physical exercises as it is a way to build our mental and physical strength. Here are some of my actions: 

• Being busy doesn’t’ equate to being productive
• Reflect on your core values and align them with your current actions
• Choose one thing that matters to you or brings you joy and make time to get it done
• Build time to connect with your loved ones
• Exercise regularly to build your mental and physical strength  

S: Scheduling

We encourage students to create a daily schedule and monitor their progress. Teachers also need to do the same and create a system to track their productivity.

• Use a calendar to create a realistic schedule
• ​Use time blocking to plan your day
• Set up systems to track your daily progress and to stay motivated and productive
• Consider the use of the Eisenhower Matrix to separate the urgent from he important task

T: Think optimistically

We are living in a very stressful time at the moment. I am grateful that I have a comfortable living condition and my family members are all healthy. It is important to be that “glass half full” person and appreciate what I have.

• Presume positive presuppositions to build growth mindset and avoid assumptions
• Write down 2-3 things you feel grateful for daily
• Practice positive talk
• Check in with teams regularly and develop your PLN, knowing you are not alone in this situation
• Perceive challenges as opportunities

E: Empower students

What a great opportunity that our students can design their own learning schedules and complete tasks at their own pace within the due dates! Instead of focusing on using different technical tools, We can leverage our pedagogy and increase student autonomy by designing deep learning and engaging students to think, collaborate and create through meaningful and purposeful technology integration. If we are solely thinking about the tools and websites, then we are missing the point of learning.

• Be careful of high tech tools that yields to  lower level learning
• Integrate technology to foster deep learning as it’s about learning not technology
• Create an intentional learning experience to promote creative and critical thinking, creation, and collaboration
• Foster student agency by giving students choice and voice in their learning

M: Measure effectiveness

Many teachers are doing their first time online teaching. In a way, many of us are prototyping our online teaching model. In the process of prototyping, teachers, as designers, need to be empathetic of the user experiences, seek feedback for improvement and continue to revise their prototype and test the viability of their ideas.   

• Seek feedback from students and find out what works and what doesn’t work
• Design formative assessment and check student understanding
• Continue to experiment and revise your online teaching​ prototype and test the viability of your ideas

O.R.E.O Online Teacher in Action

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