We often use the phase "blended media" in conversation with clients to mean solutions that combine different media. Blended media can have two meanings—one in training and the other more general.

Blended media in training refers to the fact that a single medium alone may not always be the best communication solution to provide your audience/user. So, the developer creates multiple deliverables to accomplish his or her goals. For example, Zuchero Communication has developed self-paced paper training that includes electronic demonstrations and email conversation between student and instructor. This combination of self-paced, demo, and personal contact is an example of blended media in learning. See the Blended Learning sample.

Saving Money through Blending

Another type of blending, which is very cost efficient, is combining training into traditional user guides. When created as task-based guides, where the emphasis of the guide is to explain only the information and topics that are relevant to the job of the user, it is possible to create a blended document that trains the user while including reference information. In this way, the book is not simply a recitation of reference information about your product or service, but a practical book about how your product or service is best used by the target audience.

© 2007 Zuchero Communications