How much time do I reasonably have to devote to designing the course? Designing a course as fully online, blended or enhanced can be a daunting task for faculty who also have to maintain their regular schedule. It can be considered an investment, because the nature of the model offers an instructor increased flexibility. Planning is one of the most important aspects when developing a fully-online, blended or enhanced course. This is true for several reasons:

• ensuring you have adequate time to devote to learning how to use the online tools available
• designating time for production and revision before the class goes live allows for more time to focus on instruction while the course is in progress
• advanced preparation allows for time to test and to get feedback on your instructional methods
• the opportunity to review and troubleshoot content is especially important when using other forms of media that have the potential for being problematic for students

The figure below represents the tradeoff between time available for teaching and time spent building or maintaining your online course. Experience has shown that your course will run more smoothly when a significant portion has been completed before it starts. It is estimated that it takes about six months to prepare an existing course for the first offering fully-online. This estimate also relates well to blended and enhanced courses. Following a carefully devised plan will save you headaches later in the course and should allow you to put your focus on your students rather than rushing to develop material while trying to meet student demands.

Planning for adequate instruction time: