A Toolkit to Support the Design of Blended Learning Courses

Academics' exposure to online learning solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic has positively changed their perception of online learning. Educational institutions have also realized the untapped potentials of blended learning. Therefore, it is almost certain that blended learning will become the new normal for course delivery in higher education in the Post-COVID-19 era. However, the existence of two modes of delivery, i.e., face-to-face and online, in addition to the large number of components that can be integrated into blended courses, raises two design challenges: (i) deciding the most appropriate proportion of online components to be integrated into a blended course; and (ii) selecting the most appropriate delivery methods to help students achieve the course outcomes. The majority of academics lack the institutional support and the tools to help them face these design challenges. To address this gap, this study presents a toolkit that can assist academics in designing successful blended learning courses. The toolkit was built based on knowledge extracted from experts in course design and online learning via two Delphi studies. It was evaluated in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, and quality of outcomes. The evaluation results show that in addition to providing an appropriate design, the toolkit can foster a better understanding of the different criteria that should be considered when designing a blended course.