Putting blended learning to work: a case study from a multinational oil company

Blended learning can be operationalised in many different ways. At Shell International Exploration and Production, a form of blended learning focusing on learning while in the workplace through work-based activities within technology-supported courses has been evolving since 2000, with approximately 100 different learning events reflecting this form in 2004. After a review of the general approach to blended learning (‘putting learning to work’) that steers blended learning at Shell EP and the rationale for work-based activities that serve as the tools for ‘putting learning to work’ within these courses, a case study of the course ‘Production System Optimisation’, including a variety of types of evaluation data, is described. With this case as a point of reference, some reflections on the implications of work-based activities as a key tool for blended learning conclude the article.