How to Design
Effective Blended
Learning
By Julie Marsh
Web site: www.brandon-hall.com
E-mail:
[email protected] 690 W. Fremont Ave., Suite 10
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Tel.: 408.736.2335
Table of Contents
I ntroduction 1
Part 1 — Blended Learning Options 4
Options for Live I nstruction 5
Options for Self-Paced Learning 6
Tools for Building a Learning Community 8
Blended Learning: A Softw are Training Example 8
Part 2 — Determining the Best Blended Learning Mix 10
Target Audience Description 12
Skills/ Content 13
Technical Resources 14
Personnel Resources 15
Time/ Budget Constraints 16
Designing Your Blended Learning Coursew are 17
Part 3 — Blended Learning Case Studies 22
Oracle 23
Bechtel 28
Summary 30
How to Design Effective Blended Learning
I ntroduction
What You Will Find in This Report
If your firm is like most organizations, you may already use a variety of delivery options for
training: traditional classroom, asynchronous online courses, CD-ROM, video, self-study
guides, as well as Web-based bulletin boards and e-mail for follow-up. You may also be
experimenting with various forms of live distance learning: broadcasting seminars via the
Internet or satellite, videoconferencing or teleconferencing. If you use two or more of these
methods in conjunction with each other for training you are already delivering blended
learning.
This How-To Guide is designed to help you optimize the use of blended learning to obtain the
best results for specific audiences, content, available technology and organizational
structures. To accomplish this objective we will cover:
! The learning delivery options currently available.
! The essential variables you need to examine to determine the most effective mix.
! Specific examples and case studies to show you “best practice” uses of blended learning.
! Helpful tips from the trenches to increase successful outcomes and avoid pitfalls.
! Tools to conduct your own analysis to arrive at the solution that will work best for your
training needs.
Blended Learning I s…
Blended learning is one of the leading trends in training today. While it is a fairly new term,
the concept has been around for decades. Essentially, blended learning combines e-Learning
tools (everything from video streaming over the Web to e-mail) with traditional classroom
training to ensure maximum effectiveness. Students can prepare for, consolidate and recall
classroom experiences online, while gaining the benefits of interaction with teachers and
students via an actual or virtual classroom. Student learning and retention rates improve,
without sacrificing the convenience, cost-effectiveness and customization of self-paced Web-
based coursework.
Another way to think of blended learning is taking the best from self-paced, instructor-led,
distance and classroom delivery to achieve flexible, cost-effective training that can reach the
widest audience geographically and in terms of learning styles and levels. Each element
becomes a part of a comprehensive workplace performance solution.
Blended learning options include:
Live instructor-led
! Traditional classroom
! Virtual online classroom
! Live video via satellite or videoconferencing
! Online coaching/ mentoring
Self-paced learning
! Instructor-led classroom via e-mail
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How to Design Effective Blended Learning
! CBT
! Study guides, manuals, texts
! Online resources and databases
Tools for building ongoing learning communities
! Chat
! Instant messaging
! Newsgroups
A Sales Training Example
Your organization has a nationwide salesforce and new products are introduced frequently.
You are moving from a “product” orientation to “solution selling.” The salesforce needs to
improve its knowledge of new product benefits and features as well as how to position these
products together as a business solution.
Classroom Only Approach:
A two-day new products course taught by regional sales managers is delivered in conjunction
with a one-day classroom course on solution selling delivered by third-party vendors.
! Pro: Students enjoy interaction with other salespeople, teacher; they get an opportunity
to role-play and ask specific questions.
! Con: Expensive; not appropriate for beginners or very experienced salespeople; those
who can’t attend don’t receive training.
Self-Paced Online Only Approach:
Self-paced new product training and an off-the-shelf solutions selling course is delivered
online.
! Pro: Cost-effective; can take course at own pace; less disruptive; can “test-out” of
sections or access remedial work.
! Con: Boring; being at desk is distracting; high rate of dropout; lack of role-play makes
learning less valuable; inability to ask specific questions of experts.
Blended Approach
New product training modules on positioning, features and benefits, and solution selling
concepts modules are delivered as self-paced online pre-work. Students send in quizzes and
questions to instructor before class begins via e-mail. Sales managers deliver a one-day class
that focuses on solution selling, including role-playing based on scenarios provided in the
pre-work. When the class is over, a solutions selling bulletin board and chatroom is
established so students can ask questions and share tips. Appointments can be made with
mentors who can provide coaching on specific accounts via teleconference or e-mail.
! Pro: Students get some interaction and direct face-to-face feedback in learning areas
where it is most valuable; the pre-work helps even out the different student levels;
program is more cost-effective and less disruptive than the classroom only approach;
follow-up via bulletin boards, chats and online mentoring reinforces learning.
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How to Design Effective Blended Learning
! Con: Requires design team that is familiar with both online and classroom delivery; must
have appropriate technology and classroom logistics support; must have mechanism to
ensure that students do pre-work.
Why E-Learning I sn’t the Whole Solution
For die hard proponents of e-Learning, the last few years have been somewhat
disappointing. Even with the addition of Webinars and long distance labs via software like
Placeware and Centra, the vast majority of corporate training is still conducted in classrooms
by instructors.
Why is this?
Classroom training is social. Attending classroom training is often considered a perk. You get
out of the office. You get a break in your routine. You get to meet your peers in person and
share war stories. And, you get direct face-to-face feedback from experts.
In addition, most e-Learning is boring, requiring greater discipline on the part of the student.
It’s often hard to concentrate at your desk with frequent interruptions and distractions. And,
it’s hard to make sure a student has actually completed a course. While some organizations
have online tracking systems, many depend on an honor system. The result is lower
attendance and retention rates for most online training.
What Blended Learning Offers
! Social benefits of classroom training focused on learning that gains the most from face-
to-face interaction.
! Individualization benefits of self-paced, online learning for content that requires minimum
interaction.
! Cost savings through minimizing time away from the job and travel/ classroom/ instructor
expenses.
! Improved retention and reinforcement through follow-up mechanisms on the Web.
! Greater flexibility to meet the different learning styles and levels of your audience.
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