G.J. Gervedink Nijhuis

The instructor as manager: time and task

We and several other members of our faculty have been pioneers with the use of information and communication technology in education. For many years, we have worked with a variety of technologies to support group projects as learning experiences. In March of 1994, we were involved in one of the first courses to make use of the World Wide Web (WWW) as a tool to facilitate new forms of collaborative learning for our on-campus students. Later on, we extended this to also include off-campus students and combinations of on- and off-campus students. Throughout this process and to the present day, we have been personally aware of the burdens on the instructor in terms of the many and time-consuming management tasks that must be attended to in order for any technology-supported learning to occur. We define management tasks as all activities of the instructor outside of the content-specific aspects of a course. In this overview, we recap some of our own experiences with management tasks related to online learning and give some lessons learned.

Using a web-based course-management system: an evaluation of management tasks and time implications for the instructor

Almost all the instructors at the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology of the University of Twente have been using a web-based course-management system for their courses since 1998. To set up a course, an instructor completes a course environment form with general information such as a course description, a roster and links to external websites; during a course the instructor adds information such as feedback and data relating to assignments, lecture presentations, and reactions to discussions. At the end of an academic year, the information stored in all course environments in the system can be counted and analysed. This report gives an overview of all instructor contributions stored in the facultys web system during the academic year 2000-2001 and it is used as data for an ongoing analysis of tasks that instructors must manage while using a web-based course management system. In addition, the time spent by instructors is also presented. Together, these analyses can help lead a way to more efficient and effective use of web-based course-management systems, and, thus, to more acceptance of their use.

How Can Academics Stay in Control

As universities transform into enterprises, academics are facing new challenges, especially in their teaching. This is because of the demands for student-centred programmes that offer more flexibility, the use of Course Management Systems such as Blackboard, and the expectation that instructors will perform (more) efficiently and effectively. In this research, the focus is on teaching-related activities to support instructors to stay in control, given these increasing pressures. A Personal Performance Model that shows key aspects of academics’ performance relating to teaching tasks was developed. A series of studies relating to gaps between expected and actual performance was carried out using the Human Performance Technology methodology. As an intervention based on these gaps, a Personal Performance Support Tool was developed to support instructors with their time and task management in relation to teaching, as well as to develop an elaborated insight on how to support instructors as they respond to changing expectations for their teaching performance. Key steps to guide universities in implementing such a support tool have been identified as a result of the research.