The Challenge of Designing Blended Courses: From Structured Design to Creative Faculty Support! | Les beaux défis du design de cours hybrides : du design structuré à l’accompagnement créatif !

Authors

  • Catherine Carré HEC Montreal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21432/T2NP62

Abstract

This case study deals with the implementation of an e-learning program in a business school in Canada. Cabot Business School decided to offer the program in a blended format so as to increase the flexibility of the program for clientele enrolled in the undergraduate certificate program. A pilot was initiated in 2009 starting with four hybrid courses. Now, three years later, 35 courses are being offered in blended mode by lecturers and a handful of professors who, for the most part, had no previous experience teaching online. Given the rapid development of this program, this case deals with how the instructional designer, without the benefit of any additional resources, managed to juggle both the development of the certificate program as well as parallel projects. The issues encountered deal with the extent to which the instructional designer can support faculty who are converting their courses from in-class to online, one of the main design challenges encountered by faculty. This case describes training strategies and implemented solutions provided by the instructional designer as well as the results obtained, faculty perceptions, and food for thought on the possible evolution of the role of the instructional designer.

Author Biography

Catherine Carré, HEC Montreal

After a first career as a consultant in information technology, Catherine studied in creative writing, screenwriting and finally in Instructional Design in which she earned a Master’s degree from the Université de Montreal in 1997. For over ten years, she has worked for consulting firms on diverse learning projects with a variety of clients in the public and private sector. In 2009, she joined the team of the Learning and Teaching Innovation Center of HEC Montreal, a Canadian business school. Specializing as an educational adviser for e-learning, she has contributed to implementing blended learning programs within the university and helping faculty to develop e-learning competencies.

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Published

2015-11-04

Issue

Vol. 41 No. 4 (2015): Special Issue

Section

Online Learning from the Instructional Designer’s Perspective: Canadian and European French-language Case Studies

License

Copyright (c) 2015 Catherine Carré

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an International Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC-BY-NC 4.0) that allows others to share the work for non-commercial purposes, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.