are based in the Business School at Manchester Metropolitan University. Mark Stubbs is a Principal Lecturer in the Business Information Technology subject group. He has a particular interest in the development and successful adoption of enterprise-wide managed learning environments. Ian Martin and Lewis Endlar are both Senior Lecturers within the same subject group. Ian Martin is currently researching open source software and its applications within the private and public sectors. Lewis Endlar has been evaluating the possibilities of mobile information and communication technologies for learning and teaching. AbstractThis paper considers the challenges faced by those seeking to design effective blended learning. Using a 2-year case study involving cohorts of approximately 200 students, it demonstrates how Anthony Giddens' structuration theory can provide a metaframework for assisting educational designers in creating coherent blended learning experiences that reinforce intended learning outcomes. It calls for educational designers to be sensitive to both their audience and the unintended and unanticipated consequences of their actions and shows how a holistic annual review framework can reinforce or suppress emergent behaviour through unit development. IntroductionThe term blended learning has been adopted widely to describe combinations of faceto-face and technology-based learning. Although loosely defined, the emphasis on 'blend' forces proponents to address key questions about the mix of communication channels and activities required to achieve desired learning outcomes. Addressing such questions has become a common theme in accounts of blended learning activity. O'Toole and Absalom (2003) argue that simple substitution of face-to-face for technology-based learning is unlikely to be successful and, instead, call for designers to integrate communication channels on the basis of their relative merits and collective abilities to reinforce progress towards intended learning outcomes. MacDonald and McAteer (2003) reach similar conclusions in their reflection on the timing and nature

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