Blended learning is no longer a "new idea" worthy of experimentation, it is now established as an innovative learning strategy. Educational institutions rely too heavily on passive learning techniques. They must adopt blended learning in order to provide for the needs of the learner.

Unfortunately, higher education institutions are traditionally the most resistant to change, especially since blended learning strategies challenge the "status quo" of passive lectures. Instructors must transmit enormous amounts of information, and e-Learning demands higher workloads. (Garrison, 2017). It is possible for higher education faculty to adopt and implement blended learning strategies, yet they must receive the support of the administration, technical support personnel, and Instructional Designers. Effective implementation of blended learning strategies can only be achieved via the faculty community, the support of the leaders, the re-design of courses, and the self reflection and adaptation during the implementation (Garrison, 2017).

There is a plethora of technologies available for educational use, so much that it can be overwhelming to the educator and institutions. Before the introduction of COI, early educational attempts at using social media in the classroom quickly exceeded the ability of the established pedagogy. However, social media has significantly shaped the group dynamics of today's student body. Many educational institutions struggle on how to adapt this technology, or even if it can be adapted for classroom use (Garrison, 2017).

Since the advent of COI and blended learning, significant progress has been made with effectively integrating technology into the classroom. Previously, too much attention was devoted to the technology itself, now the focus is on the needs of the students, and how the current technology can be utilized to meet those needs (Garrison, 2017).

As mentioned in Chapter 11, the faculty of an educational institution must receive support from the administration in order to implement blended learning strategies. One way to help demonstrate how blended learning classes should be designed, is to operate the training workshop itself as a blended learning environment. This allows the faculty to experience what they will expect from their students (Garrison, 2017).