I just turned in my final project today and can’t convey the feeling of relief. The assignment was to write a module for the course we intend to teach. I spent twelve hours on it, which seemed excessive; but now that I think about it, I used to spend that much time writing complex and difficult articles. In those days I was able to sit (at the typewriter) for long stretches of time without turning into a pretzel knot. (I was in my thirties then. LONG time ago.)

Like all previous assignments, when I first looked at it, I thought I will never be able to do this. Like all previous assignments, however, I did it. It helped a lot that several of my classmates posted their final projects immediately, so I could see what it was supposed to look like when done correctly. In addition to doing our own projects, we were expected to read and comment on several others. At first, they seemed uniformly fabulous, but as I read I became more discerning. Some were more fabulous than others. A couple were extremely well written. I told one of my classmates that if I were his editor, I would be out of a job.

I was surprised to discover that I am not the only one who will be teaching my first online course. There are others who are just as apprehensive as I am. No matter how good professionals may be at what we do routinely, we tend to experience a crisis of confidence when it comes to something we have never done. I am in very good company on that score.

I have received one critique so far. The first comment was “Awesome!” I’ll take that kind of feedback any time. The module I planned was on how to write a book proposal, which is difficult enough to explain in person. Trying to describe the process online proved to be even more challenging. This isn’t the kind of situation where I can meet someone for coffee and talk through that person’s confusion or concern. On the other hand, we can plan synchronous (real time) discussions on the phone, gotomeeting.com, or Skype, which is beginning to feel like a very good idea.

Besides planning the module, we were asked to describe the technical requirements for our course, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. I was pretty understated about both, but a classmate pointed out that one of the strengths of my course was my own experience teaching it f2f (face-to-face). He suggested I include that. This same person was quite forthcoming about his lack of experience teaching online and his struggles with technology. I thought that was quite courageous and something I might also add.

I will actually get to submit my final project twice—once early enough to get some feedback and again as the “final final” to be graded. That provides a great opportunity to make improvements before I write, “Please grade this one” in the subject line of my post. One of the things we will be graded on is grammar and punctuation. Taking no chances, I sent my draft to my trusted editor, my sister, Judy. You may recall that she edited my memoir, Words To Live By. How lucky can one be to be related to a top-notch editor? Believe me, with me as a client, she will never be out of a job!