Blended is Best: Case studies on blended learning in higher education with guests Santosh Panda, Sanjaya Mishra, & Pardeep Kumar Misra
Blended learning has been growing for decades. As it does, the models, frameworks, policies, and pedagogical innovations are constantly evolving. Fortunately, in this episode of Silver Lining for Learning, we will hear about various blended learning case examples in higher education and open universities. Santosh Panda, Sanjaya Mishra, and Pradeep Kumar Misra, the editors of two new books on this topic will help us grasp the landscape of blended learning in higher education and map out the various national and institutional education systems in terms of blended learning. Their holistic perspective of online and blended learning should prove quite valuable for educators, administrators, government officials, parents, and students. We will hear about case studies on policy, planning, and management as well as features of quality assurance.
More on your guests and the books below the video
Two books on Blended Learning in Higher Education and Open Universities
Dr Sanjaya Mishra is one of the leading scholars in open, distance, and online learning with extensive experience in teaching, staff development, research, policy development, innovation, and organisational development. With a multi-disciplinary background in education, information science, communication media, and learning and development, Dr Mishra has been promoting the use of educational multimedia, eLearning, open educational resources (OER), and open access to scientific information to increase access to quality education and lifelong learning for all. He has designed and developed award-winning online courses and platforms, such as the Understanding Open Educational Resources, Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action, and COLCommons.
Recipient of the ISTD-Vivekanand National Award for Excellence in Human Resource Development and Training in 2007, Dr Mishra has conducted in-person and online training in over 30 countries. The Satija Research Foundation for Library and Information Science conferred Dr Mishra with the Indian Library Leaders Award 2012. Dr Mishra received the Prof G Ram Reddy Social Scientist Award 2013 from Prof G Ram Reddy Memorial Trust for his contribution to distance education and OER.
He has written and edited over 300 publications in the form of books, chapters, peer-reviewed journal papers, conference presentations, book reviews, and distance learning materials. While at UNESCO, as Programme Specialist (ICT in Education, Science and Culture), he facilitated the adoption of a strategy and policy for open access to scientific information and research. Dr Mishra serves on the Editorial Board of several peer-reviewed journals in the field of distance and online learning. He served as a Board member of Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (2021-2022).
Professor Santosh Panda is a National Fellow at the National Institute of Educational Planning & Administration, Government of India https://www.niepa.ac.in/National_Fellows. He recently retired as Director, Staff Training & Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE), Indira Gandhi National Open University. Started university teaching in 1984, and has above 42 years of experience in university teaching, research and administration, including 37 years for open and distance learning at IGNOU. He has been a Fulbright Scholar at UNM/Albuquerque; Chairperson of National Council for Teacher Education (national regulator), Government of India; Director of Policy & Research, Association of Indian Universities; and Director of Distance & Flexible Learning, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
An internationally recognised leader of distance and online learning from the Global South, he has presented keynotes and workshops in above 30 countries; and has consulted for ADB, COL, DfID, Ford Foundation, GTZ, IDRC, SADC, UNESCO and the World Bank. His recent books include: Handbook of Open Universities Around the World (2025/ Routledge); Case Studies on Blended Learning in Higher Education – design, development and delivery (2025/ Springer); Case Studies on Blended Learning in Higher Education - policy, planning & quality assurance (2024/ Springer), Pedagogy in Practice (2022/ Bloomsbury), Technology Enabled Learning (2021/ COL-Canada), Planning & Management in Distance Education (2017/ Routledge), Economics of Distance and Online Learning (2008/ Routledge). He is the Chief Editor of Scopus-indexed Journal of Learning for Development, published by the Commonwealth of Learning/ Canada (https://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d).
One of the global Leaders & Legends of Online Learning: https://onlinelearninglegends.com/podcast/084-professor-santosh-panda/
Prof. Pradeep Kumar Misra is a Professor and Director of the Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education (CPRHE) at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi. He has made significant contributions to the fields of higher education, educational technology, and teacher education. His academic journey is a testament to his global recognition, underscored by the numerous prestigious international research scholarships he has received. These include Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship of the USIE, the Commonwealth Academic Fellowship of CSC, UK; Doctoral and Senior Researcher Scholarship of DAAD, Germany; Erasmus Mundus Visiting Scholar Scholarship of the European Commission; National Scholarship of Slovak Republic; MASHAV Scholarship of the Israel Government; and Research Exchange Scholarship of FMSH, France. He is also the recipient of the Joint Research Project under ICSSR (India) and NIHSS (South Africa) and a member of the academic bodies of several institutions and organizations in India and abroad.
Prof. Misra has published extensively both nationally and internationally, completed research and development projects, and developed educational media programs. His recent books, Teaching Competencies for 21st Century Teachers: Practical Approaches to Learning (Routledge, 2024) and Learning and Teaching for Teachers (Springer, 2021), are not just publications but prime examples of his impactful work that resonates with teachers globally. His recent books include Case Studies on Blended Learning in Higher Education: Policy, Planning and Quality Assurance (Springer, 2024), Case Studies on Blended Learning in Higher Education: Design, Development, and Delivery (Springer, 2025), and India Higher Education Report 2023: Higher Education Research (Routledge, 2025). Prof. Misra has also developed educational media programs and supervised Ph.D. scholars. His extensive experience in education has taken him to many countries, spanning continents and cultures.
Forthcoming book from Sanjaya Mishra and Santosh Panda:
The Handbook of Open Universities Around the World: (in press) https://www.routledge.com/Handbook-of-Open-Universities-Around-the-World/Mishra-Panda/p/book/9781032754055
Per book homepage from Routledge: "The Handbook of Open Universities Around the World is the first collection to provide a comprehensive and critical overview of open universities internationally. Over 80 open universities have been established across five continents to provide a distance-orientated, class-inclusive, and high-quality education for learners left behind by existing formal systems for higher and continuing education and lifelong learning. This mission has been continually reshaped by major developments in open education, learning technologies, and online social networking, as well as by the evolution of specific concerns such as the massification of education, employability, financial trends, artificial intelligence, and development agendas on the regional, national, and global levels."