The need for flexibility in learning and the affordances of technology provided the impetus for the rise of blended learning (BL) globally across higher education institutions. However, the adoption of BL practices continues at a low pace due to academics' low digital fluency, various views and BL definitions, and limited standards-based tools to guide academic practice. To address these issues, this paper introduces a BL framework, based on one definition and with criteria and standards of practice to support the evaluation and advancement of BL in higher education. The framework is theoretically underpinned by the extant literature and supported by focus group discussions. The evidence supporting the criteria and standards are discussed with suggestions for how they can be used to guide course design, academic practice, and professional development.

Contemporary technological and social developments demand transformation of educational practices. Teachers and schools are no longer fountains of knowledge that fill students with information. Rather, their primarily role is to equip students with new literacies, competencies for productive use of information technology, and sufficient disciplinary-specific bases of conceptual knowledge. This requires changes toward student-centered practices. In such contexts, teachers are designers of learning; therefore lesson planning is replaced with a concept of ?learning design.? This paper introduces the RASE (Resources-Activity-Support-Evaluation) learning design model developed as a framework to assist teachers in designing learning modules. Central to RASE is the emphasis on the design of activities where students engage in using resources and in the production of artifacts that demonstrate learning. The paper also emphasizes the importance of ?conceptual models? as a special type of educational multimedia resource, and its role in assisting learning and application of concepts, as opposed to the ?information transfer? models. RASE is beginning to emerge as a powerful framework for transformation of teachers and their traditional practices to contemporary, relevant student-centered practices. The model is also an effective framework for productive uses of information technology in education.

Post-PC TouchPad mobile devices are increasingly being used in educational contexts. Growing investment is planned by higher education institutions in Hong Kong and by the HKSAR Education Bureau in relation to educational uses of TouchPad technology. However, current research into educational applications of this technology is limited. This paper reports an ongoing qualitative study that investigates how higher education teachers use iPad technology to facilitate their practice. The emergent study results provide insight into both the educational affordances of iPad technology and the ways in which teachers' personal or private theories mediate these affordances and transform through the process. The study outcomes will contribute to theoretical understanding of higher education teacher changes through adoption of technology. Furthermore, the outcomes will provide a set of recommendations for applications of TouchPad technology in higher education and ways to support teachers to effectively adopt such technology in their practices.

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