--- title: "Blended Learning: is it just about choice?" description: Blended learning is about more than just a choice of delivery mediums. It should take account of content frequency-of-use, complexity and longevity. image: https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Blended%20Learning%20Decisions-1.jpg --- **** [![pacific-blue-logo-white](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/White%20transparent.png?width=520&height=105&name=White%20transparent.png) ![Pacific Blue Logo](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Corporate%20blue%20transparent.png?width=520&height=105&name=Corporate%20blue%20transparent.png) ](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk) [![LET'S TALK](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/31306/0bee0e88-7dab-4481-aa27-3e0ea6439460.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/31306/0bee0e88-7dab-4481-aa27-3e0ea6439460) [**](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/blended-learning-is-it-just-about-choice#tmpmodule_1568761248550301) ** #### Evaluating Training Effectivenes [![mega-menu-graphic](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/f5zha8dh6586r0z/mega-menu-graphic.jpg "mega-menu-graphic")](https://marketplace.hubspot.com/products/design-with-speed/clean-premium-pack) #### Learning Re-Framed In-House Programme #### Articulate Storyline #### Storyline In-House Programmes #### Storyline Scheduled Public Courses #### Course Bookings ![Complete ID Brochure Image - CLEAN](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Complete%20ID%20Brochure%20Image%20-%20CLEAN.png "Complete ID Brochure Image - CLEAN") #### E-Learning Design & Development Services [![Happy in front of laptops](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Happy%20in%20front%20of%20laptops.jpg "Happy in front of laptops")](https://marketplace.hubspot.com/products/design-with-speed/clean-premium-pack) #### Other Design & Development Services ![placeholder_200x200](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/content/email-template-images/placeholder_200x200.png "placeholder_200x200") #### More ![Customers](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Customers.jpg "Customers") ###### 2 min read # [Blended Learning: is it just about choice?](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/blended-learning-is-it-just-about-choice) By [Pacific Blue](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/author/pacific-blue) on Thu, Oct 6,2022 ###### Topics: [Instructional Design](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/topic/instructional-design) [Blended learning](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/topic/blended-learning) ![Man thinking about blended learning](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Blended%20Learning%20Decisions-1.jpg) A current societal obsession is the need for choice. More choice, we are told,  is automatically better. Sometimes true but not necessarily always.  In the case of blended learning this is sometimes distilled into a focus on simply providing a variety of delivery mediums. This focus is often driven by the belief that because some learners learn better through different mediums, the same piece of content or learning must, therefore, be available in all possible mediums.  A noble approach. But one that will keep you duplicating content for ever and a day. And which usually  ends up being an unsustainable burden. An unfortunate one, too.  Because there's a whole body of research which has established that, broadly speaking, as long as the learning is instructionally sound, the delivery medium makes little difference to the overall learning outcome. This research was carried out before people were really taking account of any accessibility needs, so that is one factor that could definitely change the overall picture. But in most cases, the ability to choose from a menu of delivery mediums will probably not make that much difference to the learning outcome. Better to be thinking about providing a well-thought through programme of learning that gets results. A programme that looks at what needs to be taught and identifies the most pragmatic medium for delivery for  a particular part of that programme. For example, core elements of a given piece of learning might benefit from classroom delivery, but beyond that other delivery channels might be better. For a refresher session, a virtual classroom or webinar-style session might be the perfect delivery medium. For complex skills where only a subset of the total  is used each time, short, highly-focused videos available at the point of need might be a suitable option. Working all this out isn’t necessarily easy, which is why we have developed our *Frequency, Complexity and Shelf-Life Matrix* to help take some of the guesswork out of these decisions. The key point. It is learning needs, aligned with the complexity, frequency and longevity of content that should guide the blend of delivery channels you choose.   If you are grappling with instructional design for a particular delivery medium or creating an effective blend, take a look at our [in-house and publicly scheduled instructional design training](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/instructional-design-training-programme). - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) #### Written by [Pacific Blue](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/author/pacific-blue) ###### [** Previous Post](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/articulate-storyline-training-use-freeform-interactions-to-reimagine-the-predictable) [![Blog_image_-_computer_users_sharing_800_x_800.jpg](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Blog_image_-_computer_users_sharing_800_x_800.jpg) ](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/articulate-storyline-training-use-freeform-interactions-to-reimagine-the-predictable) ###### [Articulate Storyline Training: Use Freeform Interactions to Reimagine the Predictable](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/articulate-storyline-training-use-freeform-interactions-to-reimagine-the-predictable) ###### [Next Post **](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/animation-in-e-learning-is-it-worth-it) [![Animator working on an e-learning project](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Animation%20in%20e-learning%20blog%20post.jpg) ](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/animation-in-e-learning-is-it-worth-it) ###### [Animation in e-learning: is it worth it?](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/animation-in-e-learning-is-it-worth-it) ##### Impact and Instructional Design - Guides Impact and Instructional Design - Guides ##### Learning Re-Framed Programmes Learning Re-Framed Programmes ##### Storyline Training - Courses Storyline Training - Courses ##### E-Learning Design - Guides and Toolkits E-Learning Design - Guides and Toolkits [![White transparent-2](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/White%20transparent-2.png?width=150&height=30&name=White%20transparent-2.png "White transparent-2")](https://www.pacificblue.co.uk) Copyright © 2026 Pacific Blue Solutions Ltd ** ![](https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/viewthroughconversion/1071354352/?value=0&guid=ON&script=0) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Pacific Blue", "url" : "https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/author/pacific-blue" }, "dateModified" : "2025-04-14T10:46:37.006Z", "datePublished" : "2022-10-06T11:30:00.000Z", "headline" : "Blended Learning: is it just about choice?", "image" : [ "https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hubfs/Blended%20Learning%20Decisions-1.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/learning-academy-blog/blended-learning-is-it-just-about-choice", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.pacificblue.co.uk/hs-fs/images/communicating-information-22.png" }, "name" : "Pacific Blue Solutions" } } ```