Building and delivering an effective blended course is about far more than simply dividing the weekly class meetings in half (or thirds) and placing some online. Careful consideration must be given to the instructional design of the course so that each modality is leveraged for maximum effectiveness.
When blended courses are unsuccessful, it is typically the result of a technology misalignment with:
- faculty requirements
- student expectations
- learning objectives and activities
Without careful course planning and design, the blended format could offer the worst aspects of both the live and online modalities instead of offering the best. Should you conduct discussions in class or online? Should quizzes be given in a face-to-face proctored environment or online? What about group work? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to these questions. The answers will depend upon many factors, including the course, the faculty member, and the specific learning objectives.
