The Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework was created to identify the factors that limit or facilitate students' ability to engage in online and blended learning environments. The ACE framework defines three interconnected dimensions of engagement: affective, behavioral, and cognitive. These dimensions are influenced by facilitators such as the personal and course environments, communities, and learner characteristics. The ACE framework was originally created to operate independently, but subsequent research has adapted it to include multiple environments and communities within a single course.

The original ACE framework grouped support actors into two communities: the personal community of support, which includes family and friends outside of the course; and the course community of support, which includes instructors and other students within the course. However, subsequent research has adapted the framework to include additional communities, such as the school/institutional community of support.

The ACE framework proposes that learner engagement can be increased with support elements such as facilitating communication, developing relationships, and instilling excitement for learning in the personal community; troubleshooting, orienting, organizing, managing, monitoring, and encouraging progress in the course community; and instructing and collaborating in the school/institutional community.

The ACE framework has been applied to various contexts, including online and blended learning environments, and has shown to be effective in identifying factors that limit or facilitate student engagement. The framework has also been used to develop measures of learner engagement and to inform the development of interventions aimed at increasing engagement.

In conclusion, the ACE framework provides a useful tool for understanding and addressing the factors that influence learner engagement in online and blended learning environments. By identifying the dimensions of engagement and the facilitators and barriers to each dimension, educators can better support students' academic success.