The changing role of an instructional designer in the implementation of blended learning at an Australian university

This chapter presents a case study that reflects on the changing approach of an instructional designer at an Australian university. The designer moved from one-to-one interactions with subject matter experts in the design of traditional print-based distance learning courses to adopting a pedagogical framework that guides the use of technology in hybrid course design and encourages the subject matter experts to design their courses in a way that emphasises what Wenger (2005) has called the 'horizontalisation' of learning. The subject experts were encouraged to experience some of the benefits of a community of practice (CoP) approach for themselves. The study contrasts the traditional approach to design with the framework used here, in which social constructivist principles of learning were offered to the subject matter experts in a way that was immediately engaging and usable for them. The chapter presents the subject experts' evaluation of the effectiveness of the approach described