Instruction

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Planning and Designing Instruction

No matter how much experience a student has using digital tools, it’s important to create learning experiences that keep them focused on the learning objectives. That is, a learner’s time is best spent building knowledge and skills rather than spending time logging into multiple sites for assignments and searching for materials and messages. A planned and streamlined approach to both communication and delivering instructional content can support this goal. 

In a blended, hybrid, or HyFlex learning scenario, think about how your strategies for streamlined communication and content delivery can complement in-class instruction. In distance education, think about how learners access and stay connected to instruction. Your streamlined communication and content delivery strategy acts as a front door, which, when opened, leads learners to the meaningful interactions and learning experiences you’ve designed for them.

Planning Communication

Establishing consistent, sustainable guidelines for communication is critical for supporting learner persistence. Reflect on how you will communicate with learners online. There are several options, and your choice of communication methods should take into account what resources you have through your program, what devices and applications learners use, and what it takes to build digital resilience. Here are some examples.

Mobile Messaging Tools

Using a mobile messaging tool like WhatsApp, Remind, or TalkingPoints makes outreach convenient and helps teachers send frequent nudges. Some tools automatically translate texts between sender and recipient. Others can be used as learning tools, in addition to messaging, as illustrated in these examples of how in-person instruction can be facilitated on WhatsApp.

Email

Using email in your class can help learners build essential digital skills and develop digital resilience. Being able to create an email account, understand netiquette, and attach files are foundational skills that learners might need as caregivers, workers, and digital citizens. When learners regularly use email to support educational goals, they gain confidence and agility in online communication—key aspects of digital resilience. 

Some learners may already have email accounts but be unable to use them for single sign-on (logging into multiple linked sites with one log-in) due to forgotten passwords. If resetting these passwords isn’t an option, you may need to help them set up a new email account specifically for class use and guide them in storing login information securely. While this process can be time-consuming, supporting learners in using email and managing their digital credentials lays a foundation for success both in and beyond the classroom.

Learning Management System Messaging

Many learning management systems (LMS), such as Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, and Google Classroom, include robust built-in messaging features that centralize course-related communication. Teachers can use these features to send announcements, individual messages, or group communications directly within the platform where learners access their course content. This streamlines communication, directly links messages to the learning environment, and helps learners become familiar with platform-specific communication tools, enhancing their digital resilience within the structured learning space. 

Regular use of group discussion boards can also introduce and improve learners’ digital collaboration skills. Similar to email, using an LMS for communication requires digital resilience, particularly with account and password management. Instructors should be ready to assist learners in creating and using LMS accounts and gradually sequence skill-building activities to increase their proficiency with the tool. For a broader overview of an LMS as a comprehensive learning platform, including its content delivery and management features, see the “Use a learning management system (LMS)” section below.

Choosing the Right Modality

Chapter One introduced and defined various instructional modalities that incorporate digital technologies. In this section, we highlight those that offer the greatest flexibility for learners, and we provide resources and strategies to support their effective implementation.

Remote Live Instruction

Remote live instruction using video conferencing tools like Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams supports persistence by offering flexibility in attendance. Adult learners have responsibilities that compete with the time it might take to travel to and attend in-person instruction. For example, they may not have access to transportation or have inflexible work schedules that do not leave time for a commute even if they do have transportation. In the past few years, many states have established the resources, training, and policies needed for teachers to succeed teaching remotely (Belzer et al., 2022). 

Many teachers have found that much of their good teaching practice used when teaching in-person learners could also be used in remote instruction. Adelson-Goldstein (2021) developed a resource, Ways to Transfer In-Person Activities and High Leverage Practices to Remote Instruction, which provides examples of in-person teaching strategies, ideas for digital substitution, and how learners experience this on a phone. For example, if a teacher generally helps differentiate instruction by using stations in the classroom, they could use breakout rooms in Zoom.  

World Education developed a tool that can be used by teachers and their supervisors to provide a supportive review of remote live instruction. It provides structure for observation and reflective conversations to strengthen teachers’ capacity for remote instruction. The tool is available in a Google doc or fillable PDF. You can learn more in our blog, Remote Instruction Observation Tool, or by watching the October 2021 webinar recording.

HyFlex Instruction

Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) has been in practice in higher education for several years (Beatty, 2019) and is an innovative instructional modality becoming more common in adult education, due to the shift to more remote instruction. In this modality, learners can choose to participate in instruction in three ways: regular in-class instruction, synchronous (i.e., remote live) instruction, or asynchronous online activities as illustrated in the Figure 1.

Figure 1. The different modes of HyFlex instruction (Rosen et al., 2022)

This flexibility allows learners to participate in a manner that best fits their needs (e.g., schedules, responsibilities, and access to technology). As Rosen et al. (2022) emphasize in The Guide for Design and Implementation of Hybrid–Flexible (HyFlex) Models in Adult Education (HyFlex Guide), this approach demands careful planning and attention to instructional equity across all three modes.  

 HyFlex teaching requires educators to design and deliver instruction that supports all three modes simultaneously. In practice, this means teaching in-person and remote live learners at the same time while also offering equivalent asynchronous materials that students who cannot attend might access later. Instructional alignment is key; all students, regardless of how they attend, should work toward the same learning objectives and outcomes. Here’s an example from the HyFlex Guide that describes a think–pair–share activity.

Beatty (2019) advises teachers to begin by designing for online asynchronous learners to ensure that accessing lesson content online does not result in an inferior learning experience. This kind of intentional design makes meaningful participation possible for all learners. 

Program-level planning is also essential. Teachers implementing HyFlex must be flexible and resilient, have strong digital literacy, be comfortable experimenting with new ways of teaching, and have adequate access to technology and support using them. Rosen, Simpson, and Vanek (2022) outline considerations such as the need to identify suitable technology, support teacher professional development, ensure learner access to devices and internet, and recruit and orient learners to HyFlex. Additional examples of HyFlex teaching with adult learners can be found in the teaching section of the HyFlex Guide and the HyFlex in Adult Education video series.

“Meeting the needs of learners in two separate locations, online and in person, simultaneously requires a teacher who can be flexible while working through lesson plans. Some teachers shared that their lesson plan times ended up being different than what they expected because of needing to provide two sets of directions, troubleshoot technology, and answer learner questions. The teachers’ willingness to recognize when the lesson plan might need to be adapted while teaching because of these factors is important.” (Rosen et al., 2022, Section 3 Teaching in a HyFlex Class, Providing Instruction subsection)

Blended Learning

The Clayton Christensen Institute, which conducted some of the earliest research on the modality, defines blended learning as:

a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace; at least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home [or, for our purposes remote live participation]; and the modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience (Blended Learning Universe, 2024, Basics page).

For an instructional model to be considered blended, a teacher must employ online tools, in-class activities, and instruction as part of a collective whole, where learner work in each setting impacts what a teacher does in the other (Murphy et al., 2017).

Blended Learning Models

This integrated learning experience takes shape in a range of models. Descriptions of a few introduced by the Christensen Institute follow.

Rotation models. Students rotate through different activities on a fixed schedule, with at least one activity delivered online and perhaps done outside of the classroom. This could include flipped instruction, where instructional content is accessed online asynchronously before class and synchronous class time is used for its application and student collaboration. 

Flex model. Students use different learning resources fluidly, as needed. Most resources are online, and teachers provide instruction as needed to supplement online work. 

A la carte model. Students take a course online with an online teacher and other courses in-person to give maximum flexibility in student schedules. In adult education programs in the United States, this is sometimes called dual enrollment or hybrid learning (Murphy et al., 2017). 

Enriched virtual model. This is what many adult education programs consider supported distance learning, where a student completes most work online and outside of school, and periodically checks in for face-to-face instruction with a teacher. 

Rosen and Vanek (2020) provide descriptions of blended learning models in adult education practice in The What, Why, Who, and How of Blended Learning for Adult Basic Skills Learners. The guide is informed by interviews of adult educators across the United States and offers cases of blended learning implementation in diverse adult education settings. These examples illustrate why the different models are used to meet particular programmatic goals and how they are implemented, making this important reading for any adult education practitioner hoping to start using a blended learning model.

Benefits of Blended Learning

In Arizona, adult learners participating in blended learning in 2015 had 6% higher level gains than those in traditional in-person classes (Vaneket al., 2018). Why has this approach proven effective for adult learners? 

Blended learning offers several benefits. It extends the amount of time spent learning, giving learners more opportunities to engage in learning and allowing for flexibility for those with competing schedules or acceleration for those with more time. It affords differentiation and personalization. While synchronous time might be used to build community and a sense of belonging, asynchronous time can be used for learners to do work that is tailored to their level and goals. It offers more guidance and support; learners benefit from ongoing teacher support as they navigate new learning habits and digital skills, even if the synchronous component occurs remotely. Finally, it offers opportunities for peer-to-peer interaction. Both in-class and online collaborative activities using digital tools foster socially constructed knowledge and develop learner autonomy, which is crucial for persistence and motivation (Furnborough, 2012).

Leveraging Mobile

Not all adult learners have access to home computers and the internet to support independent learning in a HyFlex or blended model. However, a recent Pew Research Center (2024) study shows that the number of Americans using smartphones to access the internet at home is growing. Ninety-seven percent of adults in the United States have a mobile device, and all but 10% are smartphones. Additionally, the demographics of adults who are smartphone-dependent, meaning they can only access the internet on their smartphone, are people of color and/or are living in households that earn less than $30,000 per year (Pew Research Center, 2024). This aligns with the demographics of learners typically enrolled in adult education programs. 

A goal of implementing distance or blended learning into adult education programming is to extend the time and space where teaching and learning can occur. In this regard, mobile devices can make a big difference. Cell-Ed is an example of content developed specifically for use on standard cell phones. Their course catalog offers a range of content that could be used either in stand-alone distance classes or as a complement to classes in English language learning, literacy, citizenship, or Spanish literacy. USA Learns is available as an app providing a full curriculum for English language learners, along with features like the vocabulary builder.  

Many major online curriculum developers are working toward becoming more mobile-friendly, however you cannot assume that all websites and online resources developed for educational purposes will work on a tablet or smartphone. The same is true for platforms designed to organize and share content; be sure to search for an LMS or Course Management System (CMS) that was either developed for deployment on mobile, has an accompanying mobile app (e.g., Moodle LMS and Moodle App), or is at least mobile-compatible (e.g., Schoology). Check with your state’s distance education leadership to see if they support access to an LMS. 

In addition to finding appropriate educational mobile resources and platforms, you can use everyday apps to support the facilitation of mobile learning. WhatsApp, a mobile messaging app, works on Wi-Fi, so it can be accessed in a public place on a student’s mobile device. Teachers can create groups to coordinate cohort learning and send media-rich messages, including images, video, and audio. Sharing reading content as PDFs is another approach; the free mobile application Adobe Acrobat Reader includes a new readability feature called Liquid Mode, which  makes it easier for students to read downloaded PDFs offline. This strategy was field tested by World Education with free issues of the adult education periodical, The Change Agent. The study showed that students benefited from being able to access their reading assignments anywhere and any time after they had downloaded them in their classrooms (Vanek et al, 2023). Ultimately, to take advantage of the technology literally in the palm of a learner’s hand, it takes careful planning to leverage the strengths of the device and compatible resources. It may take some time and experimentation to develop an awareness of where and how to do this.

Delivering Content

Whether you are teaching in a blended, hybrid, HyFlex, or distance model, a “digital homeroom” can help you and your learners stay organized. Consider your current distance or digital instruction: Is there one place learners can access all support documents, instructional resources, and assigned activities? A digital homeroom – whether it is an LMS, eLearning platform, or website – can help learners stay on track and ease access challenges. Here are some options.

Figure 2. Google Doc Hyperdoc Digital Homeroom

Build a Website or “Hyperdoc” as a Digital Homeroom

Weebly and Google Sites are free popular website-building tools that teachers might use to create a digital homeroom. It’s also possible to accomplish this using a simple slide or doc. A Minnesota instructor used Google Docs to create a “hyperdoc,” or a hyperlinked document, which she downloaded as a PDF and shared with learners as a virtual classroom space (see Figure 2). Each object in the hyperdoc is a link to an online resource. Download and try it by clicking on the images in the PDF.

Of course, learners aren’t the only beneficiaries of this intentional design. Teachers interviewed in the study described in New Models for Distance Classes in Adult Education (Johnston et al., 2015) suggested that they were more likely to provide differentiated instruction to meet the individual learning needs of their students when they had a website. Once a teacher has found and evaluated a resource, they can post it in a central location rather than keep track of bookmarked web pages and emails to students. Streamlining technology use means teachers can also develop confidence and fluency with the tools, developing their own digital resilience.

Use a Learning Management System (LMS)

An LMS is a more complex version of a teacher or program-created digital homeroom. LMS platforms vary in their features, but the most robust LMSs enable teachers to create and organize lessons, create assignments, send messages and announcements, and monitor learner progress. Learners have the benefit of having a single portal through which they can access nearly everything related to their enrollment and progress. They also get to flex their digital resilience, building confidence to move forward in their next phases of learning and navigating an LMS.

LMS adoption happens at different tiers. Some states implement their use statewide, with K-12 and postsecondary systems using the same system. Sometimes, they’re used at an organizational or regional level. In some cases, individual teachers take advantage of the simple, free versions of Google Classroom, Canvas, or Edmodo to serve their instructional needs. Other LMSs include Blackboard, Desire2Learn (D2L), Moodle, and Schoology.

The broad range of features in an LMS can’t be overstated. These systems are built to do almost everything associated with teaching and learning. Some IDEAL member states even use an LMS to deliver professional development, giving teachers the benefit of experiencing their LMS from a learner perspective. If you’re just getting started, you may want to seek out opportunities for training and collaboration.

Microlearning

A final example of the options for delivering content is found in an emerging trend in adult education, the adoption of microlearning approaches. Microlearning involves delivering content in small, focused units, typically consumable within 3-10 minutes. This bite-sized format is ideal for mobile and just-in-time learning, aligning with the needs of adult learners who often learn on-the-go or require immediate, applicable skills for work. Microlearning supports flexible and personalized learning pathways by breaking down complex topics into manageable chunks, making it easier for learners to engage with and retain information. Teachers can build their own microlearning courses using technologies as simple as slides with embedded media and knowledge checks. The platform SkillBlox allows teachers to package free resources into short playlists (“Blox”).

Consider using the tools you have on hand to design microlearning opportunities. Think about some of the ways you learn quickly through short-form content -- like YouTube videos or Instagram reels. How can you layer in learning with that popular content? YouTube videos could be delivered through EdPuzzle with questions dispersed throughout. Social media content could be incorporated into an online form. Ask yourself how you’ll engage learners and track progress. Get creative!

Locating or Creating Content

As noted above, digital technologies have become more prevalent in educational settings. One corresponding development is an increase in the variety and quantity of digital learning content available to support instruction. There are more options for comprehensive online curricula, more free and open digital content to adapt, and increased access to powerful tools for teachers to use as they create their own content.

Leverage Courseware or Online Curricula

Digital homerooms and LMSs enable programs and teachers to organize and deliver content or a core online curriculum for students. Another way to approach this is to purchase licenses for online ready-made curricula like Burlington English, EnGen, Essential Education, Learning Upgrade, Pace-AI, Ellii, or USA Learns, which offer comprehensive curricula that follow a consistent, repeated lesson format in online courses at various levels. Increasingly, these platforms, like Pace AI, use AI to offer personalized learning (Riggs et al., 2025).

Platforms such as these can relieve some of the burden of curriculum development and often have features that mimic an LMS, like teacher dashboards that show data regarding learner progress and in app messaging. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with how the content looks and works for students (some platforms enable this with a “preview” or “student view” setting; in others, you may need to create a student account for yourself).

Many of the online curricula listed above are adaptive learning platforms, a key application of AI in education that is particularly valuable in distance education and blended or hybrid learning environments (EDUCAUSE, 2017). Adaptive systems dynamically adjust the difficulty, pace, and content of instruction based on a learner’s responses and progress, providing personalized learning experiences even when students are working remotely. In a distance education context, if a learner consistently struggles with a particular concept, the adaptive system might automatically provide additional explanations, simpler examples, or prerequisite lessons without requiring direct teacher intervention. Conversely, for learners demonstrating quick mastery, the system can accelerate their progress or offer more challenging content, ensuring engagement even without face-to-face interaction.

Resource Curation, Creation, Adaptation

There are times when even the most robust, thoroughly developed curriculum cannot cover all the learning needs of a learner or classroom of learners. Though most creators of online learning produce quality resources, what your organization or state purchases may not meet the academic, language, or computer skill needs of all learners. Also, an online curriculum may not fully address the key shifts and standards outlined in the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education (CCRSAE).

Programs may find that students need additional practice reading complex text, citing evidence, and building knowledge. Teachers may also want to provide additional opportunities for rigorous math activities that focus with equal intensity on conceptual understanding, procedural skills, or fluency. Or, they may wish to integrate other subject areas into their teaching, such as health literacy, financial literacy, or workforce preparation. 

 One way to address these gaps is to integrate supplemental resources. Content developed or self-selected by practitioners allows for more customization and complete coverage of standards, and it is generally more learner-centered. There are plentiful free resources available on the web, which are particularly useful in blended learning scenarios.

Leveraging Free and Open Educational Resources

When looking to create homegrown curriculum or supplement an existing curriculum, many instructors look to the wide variety of resources freely available online. It is important to remember, however, that just because you found something online (a lesson, an image, a video, etc.) does not mean you are free to use it. You should always examine how the materials are licensed to ensure your intended use is in line with the permissions offered by the original content creator. 

This Edublogs post, The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons (Khafaja, 2025) provides an excellent overview of the various considerations educators should take into account to ensure they are being responsible digital citizens when using freely available content. For educators developing supplemental resources solely for the use of their own students within their classroom, it is important to understand copyright and fair use guidelines. More and more, however, we recognize that teachers create their own or adapt existing resources that may ultimately be shared beyond just their own classrooms; given this, whether you are starting from scratch or building off of someone else’s existing work, we recommend considering using open educational resources (OER).

 While many excellent resources are free, not all of these resources are “open.” Open educational resources are not only made freely available by content providers; they also include permission for others to reuse and adapt them to suit their own instructional goals. So, what makes an educational resource “open”? It is commonly understood that OERs give users rights known as the “5 Rs” (Wiley, n.d.):

• Retain: Make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g., download and keep your own copy) 
• Revise: Edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g., translate into another language) 
• Remix: Combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g., make a mashup) 
• Reuse: Use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (e.g., on a website, in a presentation, in a class) 
• Redistribute: share copies of your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource with others (e.g., post a copy online or give one to a friend).¹

The value of OER comes from the fact that teachers can use them either as is or adapt them to better suit their learners and the instructional context. Because they are free and often adaptable, they are ideal supplemental resources for either blended or full distance instruction. 

Typically, OER are licensed via Creative Commons (CC) licensing. The various CC license types provide clear guidance to users as to what they can and cannot do with the resource.  

Figure 3 shows how each Creative Commons symbol provides guidance on what you are allowed to do. Click here for a simple overview of Creative Commons licensing, including a transcript of this graphic. 

Integrating Free and Open Educational Resources

To support strategic and sustained use of open educational resources when building a new curriculum or supplementing an existing curriculum, consider the following guidance:

1. Select standards-aligned content or content vetted by teachers. Make sure that the resource aligns with the standards that define your curriculum or academic program. One way to do this is to find content already vetted by teachers who understand those standards or who teach a course covering similar content. Tools such as SkillBlox allows instructors to search for resources aligned to the CCRS and other subject-area frameworks, then build lessons to share with learners.
2. Ensure content is appropriate for your learners and the existing system. Once you find a few that look promising, you need to evaluate how an OER will work for your learners in your particular context. World Education developed this resource evaluation guide, which aggregates a set of criteria (e.g., credibility, relevance, ease of use) found in a variety of different rubrics used to evaluate OER. (Note: Because the guide itself is openly licensed, you can adapt the rubric to best suit your instructional context.)
   
3. Collaborate on the crowdsourced curation or creation of OER. Despite the availability of a wide variety of quality OER, they are often overlooked by educators because it can be time-consuming to sift through various websites to find the “right” activity. Many organizations and states have attempted to address this barrier by coordinating the curation of OER to address specific content needs, such as filling standards coverage gaps of existing curricula or looking to provide more engaging options, such as videos for their learners. This concept of structured, crowdsourced collaboration is the basis of the CrowdED Learning EdTech Maker Space, through which educators have come together to develop a Digital Skills Library, a comprehensive set of leveled reading activities and lessons, and activity collections to support language development for pre-beginning and beginning level ESOL students.

Designing Resources with Generative Artificial Intelligence

Figure 4. The Open Prompt Book from World Education

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a somewhat new but very important topic in adult education, offering new possibilities that could impact the efficacy of digital education. AI-powered educational tools can analyze vast amounts of data on learner performance, preferences, and behaviors to tailor instruction in real time. Incorporating this technology into instruction provides individualization that was previously impossible at scale, potentially addressing the varied needs of adult learners more effectively than ever before. 

A significant recent development in AI is GenAI, which refers to AI systems capable of creating new content, including text, images, and even code. These systems, like ChatGPT and “Magic features” in Canva, are redefining content creation in education. World Education’s Open Prompt Book from CampGPT (pictured in Figure 4) provides guidance for teachers on using GenAI to develop customized learning materials for adults. For example, in the Open Prompt Book (pg. 2), one teacher used GenAI to develop a rhythm and blues song about shopping at the grocery store to teach grammar concepts in an engaging and contextualized way.

As this technology evolves and states and programs establish clear guidance and policies around GenAI use, it will likely emerge as a powerful tool for addressing resource gaps in adult education such as industry-contextualized basic skills materials, leveled and/or multilingual readings, and more. 

Virtual and Augmented Reality

The final edtech options for your consideration are Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), which are emerging as powerful tools in adult education, especially in distance and blended learning contexts. VR provides immersive, three-dimensional environments that can simulate real-world scenarios, making it particularly valuable for vocational training, safety instruction, and experiential learning (Vobornik, 2022). For instance, VR can allow nursing students to practice procedures in a risk-free virtual hospital or enable construction trainees to experience working at heights without physical danger. AR, on the other hand, overlays digital information in the real world, enhancing learners’ immediate environment with relevant data or instructions (Misha, 2023). This technology can be especially useful in technical education, allowing learners to see step-by-step guidance superimposed on the actual equipment they’re working with. In distance education, VR and AR can bridge the gap between remote learners and hands-on experiences, providing practical, interactive learning opportunities that were previously only possible in person. As these technologies become more accessible and affordable, they have the potential to enhance skill-based learning and practical training in adult education.

Integrating Digital Technology

No matter the modality or content you want to use in your instruction, the digital tools you choose and the way you plan to use them can make or break your implementation. Guessing is never a good idea! This section offers some strategies and resources to help plan technology use in a way that helps you accomplish your content instruction goals and help students build digital literacy as they use technology.

Technology Integration Framework as a Guide

Successful teachers thoughtfully use technology to fit learner needs and content requirements. As tempting as it may be to leap into new resources or technologies because they are novel, you and your students will be better off if you choose technology that authentically enhances your instruction. This is especially important in blended and hybrid learning scenarios, where teachers need to decide which content is best covered in class or online. A framework can provide guidance for sorting this out and can help you choose the technologies that fit the learning goals you have for your students. 

 The Triple E Framework, developed by Liz Kolb (2017), is a useful model that addresses the degree to which a technology resource helps learners meet learning goals; it focuses on what students do with technology to help them learn. The three Es are engage, enhance, extend. The framework ensures that technology use helps focus student engagement, and then, while engaged, their learning is enhanced and extended by technology (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Three Elements of Kolb’s Triple E Framework.

In an EdTech Strategy Session Lightning Talk, Kristi Reyes (World Education, 2024) offers an overview and examples of what this might look like in an ABE classroom.

EdTech Routines to Foster Digital Resilience

Even the most carefully chosen digital tools will fall flat if students struggle to use them because of digital literacy gaps. Chapter 3 highlighted strategies for understanding your students’ digital skills. Make sure you use that information to help learners fill the gaps in their skills and build confidence to use the digital tools you are offering them in your instruction. Preteaching discrete digital skills is helpful, but your goal should be to help your students gain digital resilience -- i.e., “the awareness, skills, agility, and confidence to be empowered users of new technologies and adapt to changing digital skill demands” (Digital US Coalition, 2023, Our Work section).

One strategy for building digital resilience is to use Edtech Routines, instructional routines that make repeated use of a digital technology. Creating or maintaining Edtech Routines in your class helps learners anticipate what activity and technology will be used, which can help them build digital resilience. The EdTech Integration Strategy Toolkit contains Edtech Routines that can help identify technology to use to build these routines. 

Managing Instruction

Early research in adult online distance education emphasized that effective instruction requires more than just providing access to online curricula; it depends on sustained teacher involvement. Askov et al. (2003) described a continuum of instructor engagement, from highly interactive social learning to more independent, minimally supported experiences. Zhao et al. (2005) further found that greater teacher involvement, defined as active delivery of content and availability for interaction, improves learner outcomes. At a minimum, managing instruction means assigning appropriate content, monitoring learner progress, and offering regular feedback or encouragement. Stronger engagement can include virtual or in-person meetings, supplemental assignments, and opportunities for peer interaction. When learners interact with peers through online platforms—especially those with familiar social features—they not only support each other academically but also build social presence, which research shows enhances learning even for beginning literacy students (Bigelow et al., 2017; Vanek, King, et al., 2018). (See Appendix E for key instructional activities.)

Involved Instruction

Effective engagement requires teachers to play an active role in student learning. In this model of “involved instruction,” teachers remain deeply engaged with learners—even when using a set curriculum or teaching remotely across various modalities (e.g., blended, hybrid, fully online, or HyFlex). The teacher acts as a facilitator, using digital curricula and supplemental materials as tools rather than relying on them as the sole source of instruction. As facilitators, instructors mediate between students and online content, personalizing learning experiences. Their active presence allows them to offer targeted support and design learning activities that better meet individual learner needs. In 2015, a Project IDEAL instructional strategies study group convened under the leadership of Dr. Jere Johnston to explore the state of distance education instruction and to describe the teaching practices identified as “successful” by states’ distance education leadership. The study group members interviewed the teachers and noticed similarities in their work that illustrate how to provide involved instruction. Common practices of these innovative teachers included the following:

• Focused on using one primary curriculum 
• Provided supplemental learning activities and resources when learners required more instruction 
• Organized online learning using a digital homeroom, a website hosting links to all learning activities 
• Adopted technology tools to suit instructional and content needs 
• Made use of computer labs where they were teaching 
• Continued to learn themselves

The full report from the group is called New Models for Distance Classes in Adult Education (Johnston et al., 2015).

An excellent example of involved instruction is found in the work of Delgado Community College in Louisiana. Instructors at Delgado created an online curriculum that is used by teachers across the state as a basis for instruction. Using Google Classroom, Slides, and Docs, teachers are able to respond to learners’ work and assign supplemental resources as needed. Students developing proficiency with distance learning through this supportive approach can build the confidence and digital skills they need to succeed (Sharma et al., 2019).

Involved Instruction in Action

“I set up small WhatsApp groups to give students a space to ask each other questions or build community. Many already had WhatsApp, so it was easy to get started.”

— A teacher in Texas, explaining how she established communication with her students after school closures in response to COVID-19

Monitoring and Documenting Progress

As you work with learners, you will need not only to communicate with learners but also to monitor their understanding through informal assessment during class, reviewing learner work and progress, exit tickets, and regularly scheduled check-in meetings with learners. Based on such monitoring, you may need to adjust the pace and/or review content. Just like in-person instruction, ongoing feedback and assessment can help guide your instruction so that it best meets the needs of learners. 

Chapter 6 includes more detailed information about approaches to assessment; what is important to consider here is how you will need to keep track of learner progress toward the goals they set in your orientation session. This is part of involved instruction. Some adult education programs rely heavily on the reports available in their core curriculum, which often report things like student progress, percentage of correct responses on quizzes and activities, percentage of assignments done, time spent on tasks, and login/logout times. The reports are a great way to measure progress with the learning activities included in the curriculum. These same reports are also available if a teacher has designed a course using a Learning Management System (LMS) like Moodle, Canvas, or Schoology.

There are other important markers of progress that need to be attended to that are likely, not reportable in a core curriculum or LMS, such as the following:

• NRS testing dates and results 
• Date and amount of time spent doing in-person instruction 
•  When and how communication has occurred 
• Learner work in supplemental online activities 
•  Enrollment in classroom learning 
• Proxy contact hours earned

Using a Database to Track Learner Progress

Information about learner engagement can show how much teacher time is required to support each learner and the impact of that time spent, both in terms of learner progress and in proxy hour accumulation. IDEAL member states have different ways of accomplishing this. For smaller programs, a simple Google Doc or Excel spreadsheet could be used. If you work in a program with several collaborating teachers supporting distance education, you might consider using a Google Sheet that you work on together. Large programs tend to rely on more robust data applications, like Power School, Microsoft Access, or custom-developed databases that link to or are a part of the state’s NRS database. No matter the tool or structure of your tracking, be sure to figure out a way to make progress visible to the learner. Such awareness can support further persistence and engagement.

Concluding Thoughts

This is the longest and, likely, the most significant chapter in this Handbook. We have tried to summarize some key characteristics of successful instruction in distance and blended learning. If you feel you have more to learn, you are in good company. There are entire books and courses on the topics covered here. In fact, in our IDEAL 102 study groups, we focus on instructional issues and the HyFlex model in more depth. To get the most from what you have read here, go back and try to read some of the reports linked in the chapter. Watch the videos. Do your own research. To avoid feeling completely overwhelmed, choose the instructional approaches that seem most doable in your teaching context and then experiment with them. Learn by doing. Use the activities below to get started.

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Footnote

¹This material is an adaptation of Defining the “Open” in “Open Content and Open Educational Resources,” which was originally written by David Wiley and published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license at http://opencontent.org/definition/.

Read this online at https://edtechbooks.org/ideal_dl_handbook/ch5__instruction