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learning and characteristics, and knowing who the people we later spent six monthsor so learning with purely online were really helpful aspects and “humanised” thecourse’. However, as participants themselves have become more experienced andsophisticated in blended learning, they are more critical, as shown in commentssuch as ‘Blended Learning has plenty of potential but I get the feeling that mostcourses utilise very little of the available technology. The entire Blackboard andblended learning environment was nothing more complex than a forum or blog.Not exactly cutting edge.’ Another IDLTM graduate, now following a blended learningmaster’s course, suggested ‘Changing the focus of the F2F two weeks to handson coursework with a variety of tasks would also give notice to the instructors todifferentiate their teaching and make it more engaging for the students’, a viewwhich was not, however, at all widespread and possibly reflects unfavourably onthe teaching style of some trainers (see the comment below by Dziuban, Hatmanand Moskal (2004: 10) on re-learning how to teach). Overall, the consensus wasthat ‘the blended learning model worked well for me …[and]…. I think the onlinetasks were useful and although sometimes they didn’t seem connected to theassignments they were definitely linked to growth as a manager’.The blending of modalities is illustrated in the work on the first module, onorganisational management. During the face-to-face phase, participants discuss,compare and contrast their own LTOs in terms of the key organisational conceptsbeing covered on the module. This work is continued and extended during the onlinephase when they elaborate such analysis as set out in the assignment task, andduring online discussion clarify their understanding of concepts and demonstratetheir use in opening up their organisation to new levels of understanding. In turn,this contributes to the written assignment.Here is an example of a task as part of the work leading up to the assignment inthe Customer Service Management module:Participants are asked to read two documents as preparation for the activityoutlined below. Having posted their descriptions, they then comment on eachother’s accounts and the trainer moderates the discussion and provides asumming up.A good metric for measuring customer satisfaction is one that:1. Yields new insights.2. Is based on user actions (what they have experienced) not just opinions.3. Is actionable (you can do something to improve the service).Having read the two documents and done whatever other follow-up reading youwant to do:1. Describe the survey procedures used in your LTO (you can give actualexamples if you like).2. Comment on their effectiveness in the light of the three points listed above.3. Suggest how the procedures could be improved.Post your comments to Blackboard.Blended learning: The IDLTM experience | 93