Classic training and coaching become more measurably sustainable and successful when expanded to include an online course. This method is called blended learning – effectively combining in-person and online. In this article, I will show you through screenshots how an online course for blended learning can look in concrete terms!
Blended Learning in the example course “Better Meetings”
In e-learning, participants work very freely and autonomously, benefiting from personal contact in face-to-face training. Blended learning interlinks the advantages of both methods. It sounds terribly abstract, but blended learning is not rocket science!
7 reasons why you should take a closer look at blended learning:
You gain a unique selling proposition
You gain a new source of income
You gain new customer groups
You gain measurability
You gain reusability
You gain flexibility
You gain media diversity
Through my editorial work at blink.it, I have acquired a lot of theoretical knowledge about blended learning. Additionally, through close contact with several trainers and consultants, I have gained good insights on how to successfully implement blended learning in practice. As a blended learning expert at blink.it, I want to continue expanding my knowledge and then pass it on to you!
You probably have also experienced: We learn best when we try things ourselves! That's why a few weeks ago, I set out to create a sample online course for blended learning: As the fictional trainer Annette Meister, I designed a typical concept for blended learning. You can find out how I approached this in the article about the practical blended learning test in 90 minutes.
In this article, I want to concretely show you how I realized the concept for the fictional course “Better Meetings” on the blink.it online platform. This online course is a good example of how trainers and coaches can convert their face-to-face training into blended learning in a short time.
The example “Better Meetings” in the typical Springer model
For blended learning, you fundamentally need at least one in-person event and at least one e-learning component. This results in various models that have proven themselves most in practice. I introduced the three most common models in another blog post.
In my sample course, I opted for the typical “Springer” model: Here, the trainer starts with e-learning impulses for greeting and introducing the topic. Then, several weeks follow during which workshops take place at regular intervals. Between the workshops, participants continue to work based on new e-learning impulses. After the last workshop, the trainer then provides participants with additional impulses on the online platform. At the very end, there is a practical test in the form of an audio quiz.
This blended learning method looks like this in the abstract model form:
In the blended learning model 'Springer', online phases and in-person events alternate.
Online course part 1: The greeting
Let’s get started! At the beginning of blended learning, it can be useful to tune the participants into the topic already before the first personal meeting. At the same time, you can introduce yourself as a person, for example in a short selfie video.
This online kickoff has the effect that your participants at the first meeting:
are at a similar level of content,
have already virtually met you as a trainer, and you seem more familiar to them
This is what the kickoff for blended learning looks like in the sample online course “Better Meetings”:
In my example, the trainer Annette begins with a short video in which she welcomes the participants to her training and introduces herself. Below the video, she invites her participants to introduce themselves as well, asking them to provide their names, fields of work, and childhood job aspirations in the comments.
In a second online impulse (“Blink”), Annette uploads a PDF outlining typical mistakes in meetings. The trainer considers this document suitable as an introductory reading, for which no prior knowledge is required.
This is what this second Blink looks like when you click on it:
Note: In order to keep this article at a readable length, I will only show you the screenshots in the course overview.
Online course part 2: The support for the workshops
Now the accompanying Springer phase begins! Annette personally reminds her participants of the online support during the first workshop. She set up her online support in advance so that it releases three content-related consecutive Blinks directly after the participant has seen the “So it continues” Blink. With this setup, the participant can determine how quickly they progress in the following weeks.
Right after the first workshop: “And this is how it continues...”
The first workshop is over, and the participants have now also gotten to know each other. Weekly additional workshops will now follow, in which Annette wants to conduct practical exercises with her participants. In between, each individual can advance their online education at their own pace.
How exactly that works – the trainer explains in the first Blink after the kickoff event. For this, she uploads another short video of herself and encourages her participants to leave their questions directly under the video as a comment. This way, everyone benefits from it, and Annette encourages discussion.
Content input with increasing difficulty level
As described above, Annette decides in this fictional course to release the content input all at once – as soon as the individual has watched the previous Blink “So it continues.” This supports self-directed learning in the e-learning phase.
A participant can, for example, view all impulses and complete the exercises directly after the first workshop. Or they can tackle one Blink weekly – just as it fits into their personal time frame and level.
Announcement: A guest in the last face-to-face workshop
A week before the last workshop, the online platform automatically releases another Blink: Here, the trainer announces that the setting in which participants can only see this content at a specific time is practical for her for several reasons:
If the planned guest cancels or other changes arise, Annette can quickly change this Blink without her participants noticing the change in plans.
All participants have equal time to prepare for the guest and complete the corresponding task before the last workshop.
The Blink is also a surprise, as the participants received all previous content unlocked at once. This surprise effect increases the anticipation for this special guest.
Online course part 3: Ensuring the transfer
The in-person phase in blended learning is over. However, Annette wants to continue accompanying and supporting her participants in everyday life. Therefore, she adds a few more Blinks to her online course. These build upon the workshops and have a clear focus on the practical applicability of what has been learned.
Right after the last workshop: “And this is how it continues...”
Even in the transfer phase of her blended learning (Chapter 2), the trainer starts with a short video in which she explains how e-learning works even without regular meetings. With this decision, Annette's blended learning appears coherent and logically structured. Her participants know at all times during the training what is coming next and what specific tasks they have.
Exercise for the transfer and an invitation to ask questions
The trainer in the example also wants to be personally present for her participants during the transfer phase. She finished the online course weeks in advance. This gives her the time to collectively address her participants’ questions personally.
Therefore, she invites her participants in a Blink (set up) to read a longer article and send her questions within a specific period of time afterward. After the deadline, Annette reviews the questions and answers them in a short video. This keeps the entire e-learning lively and personal, even though the trainer has already prepared 90% in advance.
Final exam via audio quiz
Eventually, every training comes to an end – even with blended learning. The trainer in the example wants to ensure that her participants have achieved the set goal. To do this, she thinks of a quiz that participants must pass for a successful completion.
Annette uploads an audio file in a Blink, in which she releases sample excerpts from a larger meeting. The participants are to listen to this meeting and then participate in a quiz. In it, Annette tests how well each blended learning participant can apply the content to practice: How does he assess the meeting in the example? What advice does he have for the people from the audio? and so on.
Create your own online course now
You have now seen an example of how to design blended learning. The screenshots and explanations for the online course provide an initial impression of what options you can utilize for your own training or coaching.
One more tip to conclude: You can also find this example in the guidelines for blended learning. There, you will learn what to pay attention to when creating blended learning and how to plan content for your online course step by step.
