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ConclusionIn this chapter a list of blended learning design-related questions will be presentedfor course designers to consider when developing their courses. The questionshave arisen from the advice on blended learning course design that is presentedin the literature and from the experiences of the authors in this publication, includingmy own. The questions will be presented under four headings (context; coursedesign; learners, teachers and tutors; and evaluating and developing the blend),with examples drawn from the case studies providing suggested answers orguidance for each.A principled approach to blended learning course designThe Introduction to this book concluded by stressing the importance of getting theblend ‘right’, whilst at the same time acknowledging that ‘determining the right blendisn’t easy or to be taken lightly’ (Hofmann, 2001: 3). Despite these words of warningthe literature provides us with a limited amount of advice on how to blend andsimply suggests that we approach it in a principled way (Neumeier, 2005; Levy andStockwell, 2006; Sharma, 2006; Mayes and de Freitas, 2007) because if we do not ‘acourse … may be seen as an “eclectic” blending together of course components andcan end up as rather a mish-mash’ Sharma and Barrett (2007: 8). Therefore, to ensurethat this does not happen and to achieve a principled approach to design in relationto English Language Teaching (ELT), Sharma and Barrett (2007) suggest that coursedesigners follow four guiding principles (outlined in the Introduction). Also Dudeneyand Hockly (2007) propose a list of questions under five headings (delivery mode;task design and materials; learners; teacher/tutors; assessment and evaluation),which acts as a checklist of key considerations, but does not suggest answers orprovide examples from blends.Although helpful to a degree, when I was redesigning the Bosnia and Herzegovinablend (Chapter 16) I did not find this advice detailed enough to guide me andmoreover I was frustrated by the lack of descriptions of blends in ELT contexts. Itwas rather belatedly in the redesign process that I discovered Neumeier’s (2005)framework of parameters, which originated from the design of a 33-hour jobapplication course in a German university (see Table 1). The aim of this short course(73 per cent of which was taught online) was to teach the students how to apply fora job in English and the course’s primary focus was on writing (CVs and coveringletters) and to a lesser degree speaking (interviews). Neumeier (2005: 176) hopedthis framework could act as the starting point for designing a blended learningenvironment for language teaching and learning, and that it would ‘help coursedesigners and practitioners to move closer to answering the initial question of whichcombination provides the optimal basis for language learning and teaching given theparticular conditions at hand.’Conclusion | 225