Your situation sounds ideal in so many ways — good for your students, good for your research, and good for you! I’m in a field (history) where books and articles are the most valued kinds of scholarship.
My “recalibrations” this term weren’t particularly innovative — just a more mindful allocation of how I spent my time. While I still saw my courses as 24/7 engagements, I carved out some regular hours for research (not as many as I used to, but more than I’d managed in my first semesters of mostly on-line interaction). I also figured out how to work with my student editors in ways that helped us curate the content on a predictable weekly schedule, and gave me more time to read, comment and reflect on what the class was creating (because the student editors managed lots of the technical / formatting details). And honestly, I think I might have felt like everything was quite manageable if we hadn’t had so many technical glitches. Our WordPress platform was incredibly slow and unstable all semester, which just ate….into…..the….hours…..we……all….could…..have….used…..so…..much….more….effectively. It’s maddening to be at the mercy of forces you don’t control, and to see your students suffer as a result. So I’m really looking forward to the final unit of Connected Courses to get some insight on best practices for keeping my courses out of the blogtalk garage in the future!
