Instructional design practices for blended learning

In recent years, with the advances of the Internet and e-learning technologies, a blended mode of learning, which effectively combines the traditional face-to-face learning and e-learning, has evolved. Yet, this blended learning mode is not widely adopted in higher education. One major reason is that teachers are not familiar with the practices of designing courses under the blended learning environment. This paper investigates the instructional design practices for blended learning. Key steps in the instructional design process are proposed. The whole process begins with writing the course overview and re-designing the lesson plan. Following a blended learning course template, the face-to-face learning elements and e-learning elements are specified. Lesson materials and resources are then developed as learning objects to be launched onto a learning management system. Continuous review is required.