Mapping Your Course: re(Designing) a Course into Modules for Blended Delivery
Part I
Identifying your course elements can assist you in breaking down your course. Doing so will help to begin the process for
developing your blended course and also creating your face-to-face/online integration plan. Consider a course that you might be
designing or redesigning into a blended format. Identify each of the course objectives, activities, and assessments that you
currently use in your face-to-face (F2F) environment. Use additional sheets as necessary.
Example of a Face-to-Face Module in a Research Methods Course
Module: Identifying a topic for the research proposal and writing a hypothesis and research questions
Objectives
What the Instructor Does
What the Learner Does
Review examples of former students’ past
Read various previous students’ research
 Generate possible
research proposals; provide students with
proposals; investigate professional associations
topic(s) for theses /
various resources related to current issues
of interest and their publications to identify
research project
related to their professions of interest
current issues in their professional fields of
proposals on current
interest; develop a list of 3-5 topic areas to
issues of professional
research for proposal topic
interest

Develop research
questions and
hypotheses around their
research topic
Demonstrate the process undertaken in other
proposals to collect research in a few areas and
develop a new area for investigation, which
builds on previous work; provide examples of
other hypotheses and research questions as
models; provide a rubric to use in evaluating the
connection between hypotheses and research
questions
Read various articles in their area of professional
interest; begin to identify areas unaddressed in
existing research; identify variables to be used in
their hypothesis and establish relationship
between them; formulate hypothesis; draft
questions that will address various facets of
hypothesis
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To begin the process of modularization, consider a course that you might be designing or redesigning into a blended format. Identify
each of the course objectives. Note that objectives are typically granular, action-oriented, and more specific than course goals,
which may be more general in describing what students are meant to accomplish. Take a moment to consider what the instructor
does to support or meet those objectives and what the student is asked to do to meet those objectives.
Module: One – Course level objectives
Objectives
Summarize historical
development of information
processing and the computer,
and describe its impact on
society.
What the Instructor Does
Provide an example of a development in Info
Processing. Have students identify two other
examples (not to be used in research). Provide
resources for further research.
Use accurate terminology to
describe common uses of
technology in society.
Discuss an example in class. Identify resources
for further research.
Identify common hardware
components of computer
systems and describe their
uses.
Identify different types of
software and their uses.
Discuss examples of hardware and how they
benefit students.
Use word processing,
spreadsheet, database, and
presentation software.
Explain use of online lab guide and textbook for
completing lab. Demonstrate use of simulator
(use video) for completing projects, and exams.
Discuss with students what software they have
used and for what purpose. Have discussion
posted on shared forum.
What the Learner Does
Read two or more resources that cover IT from
an historical perspective. Discuss changes with
others online (may be multi modal). Develop a
timeline of changes that had an impact on you
personally (the student).
Read one or more resources. Be prepared to
explain terms during class. Have students post
one way they use technology (must be unique).
Research two or three major hardware
components and their use. Write a one
paragraph summary of those components and
their use.
Students post how they might make use of the
various software products we will be covering.
Student completes a project using the simulator.
Next, select a portion of those objectives to be used in the (re)design process; objectives selected should be enough to form a
module, or 1-3 weeks of content. Modules should be somewhat self-contained units of instruction; a course typically has 4-7
modules. Use additional sheets as necessary.
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Module:
Objectives
Describe common uses of
networks.
What the Instructor Does
What the Learner Does
Use the Internet to
communicate, collaborate,
and retrieve information.
Create programs in a
common programming
language using appropriate
input, output, and processing
statements for that language.
Determine when technology
is useful and select the
appropriate tool(s) and
technology resources to
address a variety of tasks and
problems.
Describe the steps in
planning and implementing
technology solutions.
Identify positive social and
ethical behaviors when using
technology and the
consequences of misuse.
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Part II
In a blended course, an instructor has the ability to diversify the way in which a student interacts with content. For instance, an
instructor may use any of the following methods or tools: lecture, readings, activities, research, writing, projects, discussions,
demonstrations, multimedia, cases, team work, assessments or others. Below is an example of a module or section of the face-toface course example above that has been (re)designed into a blended format. Note that some activities occur online and others
face-to-face.
Example of a Blended Course Module
Module: Develop a hypothesis and research questions
Objectives
Activities
 Write a hypothesis
 Online discussion: briefly discuss the topic area of interest to you, tell us what you have found in
previous research on your topic and what your study might contribute that is new.
 View short 15-minute video lecture describing the process of identifying variables related to your
topic.
 Online assignment: post the variables that you have identified in your topic of interest and
propose what the relationship might be between them (i.e., positive linear, negative linear, no
relationship); instructor will provide feedback and approve variable relationships.
 Write a paragraph or two describing your hypothesis to include the variable relationships.
 Online discussion: post your hypothesis to the discussion board and provide feedback to 2 other
posted hypotheses. In your feedback, clearly state what works and what could be improved in
the posted hypothesis.

Write 5-7 research
questions supporting the
hypothesis



Online assignment: review at least 3 articles from your earlier literature review and identify the
research questions contained in those studies; submit those to the instructor with the articles.
Online assignment: using a mind map tool, identify all the questions that you might need to ask
to prove or disprove your hypothesis and clearly identify the portions or areas of your hypothesis
to which the questions are related.
Online discussion: post your research questions and your hypothesis; using the research question
rubric provided, rate 2 other students’ research questions and hypotheses; use the feedback you
received to make improvements to your research questions and your hypotheses and submit for
grading to the dropbox.
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Blended Course Module
Below, list your objectives for one module in your course and the activities that you might use to support those objectives.
Module:
Objectives
Research how computers
have developed over time.
Activities
Provide an example of a development in Info Processing. Have students identify two other examples
(not to be used in research). Provide resources for further research. Read one or more resources.
Discuss changes with others. Develop a list of changes.
Research how those changes
have impacted society.
Identify major milestones of
information processing.
Discuss an example in class. Identify resources for further information. Read one or more resources.
Discuss impacts with others.
Have a student identify one examples of a major milestone from textbook in class (can’t be reused in
submission). Point out other sources of further information. Read and note two or three major
milestones of information processing. Write a one page summary of those milestones.
Write a brief (1-2 page) review of the development of information processing.
Review of the development
of information processing.
Identify new terms that
originate from technological
developments.
Identify two new terms that originate from technological developments and post to the WIKI.
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Blended Course Module
Module: Identify common hardware components of computer systems and describe their uses.
Objectives
Activities
Identify hardware
Have knowledgeable students identify themselves and place in distinct groups to lead discussion on
components.
hardware components. Individual students must post information on individual components to a
wiki (what it is, where purchase, etc.) Must be a component not discussed earlier. If information not
clear, may clarify. If information wrong, do not criticize, just post a source that conflicts with the
posted information. Students debate information. Ask an expert – students identify top five
technology questions. I record answers from technologist and post online. Quality posts earn points
(up to a maximum).
While discussion in class – have student search Google for more information on the topic to be
displayed for everyone. Could display hardware (particularly older hardware) and have groups figure
out what is what using research in class. Could also use Clicker technology for current hardware.
Identify uses of hardware.
Students create a collage showing various uses of hardware (one input, one output, one processing,
one storage, and one other by choice of student). Challenge students (make it a game) to located
hardware components that others will be unable to identify. Challenge balance of students to
identify those hardware components and how they may be used. Place in a discussion area for all to
share. Each student will be required to post the identification of one challenge component (their
choice but cannot be one that was already correctly identified, so the sooner the better. Points will
be awarded for the correctly identified component posting that is misidentified by four or more
students (the more misidentified posts the higher the points).)
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Part III: Designing the Components of your Module
Using the course module that you mapped out above, begin to define the components of your module. What are the types of
interactions or activities that will make up your modules on a regular basis? Do you have case studies? Readings? Videos? Create the
module structure below, doing so will make it easier to organize and present the course to students.
Module: Develop a hypothesis and research questions
Objective Overview
 Write a hypothesis
 Write 5-7 research questions supporting the hypothesis
Videos

View short 15-minute video lecture describing the process of identifying variables related to
your topic.
Assignments

Online assignment: post the variables that you have identified in your topic of interest and
propose what the relationship might be between them (i.e., positive linear, negative linear,
no relationship); instructor will provide feedback and approve variable relationships.
Write a paragraph or two describing your hypothesis to include the variable relationships.
Online assignment: review at least 3 articles from your earlier literature review and identify
the research questions contained in those studies; submit those to the instructor along with
the articles.
Online assignment: using a mind map tool, identify all the questions that you might need to
ask to prove or disprove your hypothesis and clearly identify the portions or areas of your
hypothesis to which the questions are related.



Discussions


Online discussion: post your hypothesis to the discussion board and provide feedback to 2
other posted hypotheses. In your feedback, clearly state what works and what could be
improved in the posted hypothesis.
Online discussion: post your research questions and your hypothesis; using the research
question rubric provided, rate 2 other students’ research questions and hypotheses; use the
feedback you received to make improvements to your research questions and your
hypotheses
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Module Components
Below list the types of activities that you might plan to use on a regular basis in designing your modules. In doing so, think about
what might help students to organize and understand the course.
Module: Identify different types of software and their uses.
Using clicker technology, display software products and have students identify their use. Goal is
Class assessment (clicker)
to determine if students understand the purpose of the various software products, how they
differ, and their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Keystroke reports
List specific tasks that students generally have difficulty with. Have students in groups identify
the sequence of mouse clicks and keystrokes necessary to complete the task. Goals is to have
students clearly understand how to perform the task covered in a test or project at a later date.
Using help: have students as a group figure out how to perform a task using a software product
that they have not been shown or taught using available tools and logic (reading menus). Goal is
to gain confidence that if they do not know how to perform a task, they can figure it out.
The use of simulators for students to practice their acquired software skills prior to an exam.
Simulations
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Part IV: Putting it All Together
Using the course module that you mapped out above, select objectives for one module and insert them below. Quality Matters
research shows that courses need to be aligned, for instance, activities need to be aligned with the objectives and with each other.
Consider the many ways that you can diversify the delivery of your content: lectures, readings, activities, research, writing, projects,
discussion, demonstrations, multimedia uses, cases or assessments to name a few. Next, think about what area of the Bloom’s
taxonomy1 is targeted in the activities for that objective. Finally, determine the relationship of your objectives to other objectives in
the module and to the course goals or other content in the course. In other words, how well does this content align or support the
rest of the course.
Course Module:
Class
#
Objectives
Online
or
F2F
Activity
Relationship to
objectives; relationship
to other content
3
Identify
hardware
components.
F2F
Student performs Google search while others
bring up various hardware components and
discuss what it is. Show additional resources for
more information.
Direct support of
course competency.
4
Identify
hardware
components.
Online
Have student post collages for various hardware
components (labeled by letter/number) but
without the identification. Then have other
students post identification of those components
and their use. Misidentified components will be
assigned additional points for students who
finally correctly identify the component and its
use.
Direct support of
course competency.
1
Bloom’s
Taxonomy
See Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy in your resource binder or CD.
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Course Module:
Class
#
Objectives
Online
or
F2F
Activity
Relationship to
objectives; relationship
to other content
Bloom’s
Taxonomy
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