Blended and Hybrid Learning Design in Higher Education

Explore blended and hybrid learning with the University of Nottingham

COVID-19 has had a transformative impact on higher education. Blended and hybrid models of learning are now the norm, and not an anomaly.

On this five-week course from the University of Nottingham, you’ll explore a range of perspectives on blended and hybrid learning. You’ll examine key paradigm shifts in pedagogical thinking, and consider their implications for your own teaching practice. You’ll learn from leading thinkers like Stephen Downes, Diana Laurillard, Neil Selwyn, and Norman Vaughan.

Discover theoretical and philosophical frameworks for learning design

How you design courses depends on the conditions and resources available to you. Theories of time, space, and technology have much to contribute to debates around education.

You’ll start by reviewing a wide variety of theories and philosophies, discussing their implications for blended and hybrid learning. You’ll cover key concepts like flipped learning, asynchronous teaching, and connectivism in pedagogy.

Get practical tips on how to design effective blended and hybrid learning content

Once you’ve mastered the theory, you can begin to apply it in practice. In Weeks 3 and 4 of the course, you’ll receive practical guidance to use in your own teaching.

You’ll discover a range of platforms, apps, and tools, and develop strategies for designing accessible and engaging course content.

Understand the legislative and institutional context of blended and hybrid learning

No course can be designed without considering regulatory frameworks within higher education. In the final week of the course, you’ll explore the wider institutional and legislative context of blended and hybrid learning.

You’ll finish the course capable of designing courses that meet the demands of the post-COVID-19 era.

This course is aimed at anyone interested or involved in designing blended or hybrid courses. It will be particularly valuable to university managers, academic staff, researchers, learning designers, learning technologists, and students of any subject.

This course is aimed at anyone interested or involved in designing blended or hybrid courses. It will be particularly valuable to university managers, academic staff, researchers, learning designers, learning technologists, and students of any subject.

• Investigate the field of blended and hybrid learning design in the Higher Education context
• Improve your understanding of blended/hybrid learning and explore some of the new directions it has taken in the context of the pandemic
• Develop your awareness of practices effective for learning
• Develop practical design skills that you can use in your own blended/hybrid teaching practice
• Demonstrate deeper understanding of issues such as accessibility, usability and the aesthetic dimension of blended and hybrid learning design
• Discuss some of the wider contexts shaping digitally-enhanced teaching and learning in universities today
• Explore the sources of support that can be drawn upon, both within HE institutions and more widely, to help you in this area of teaching and learning