The use of e-learning tools in higher education is rapidly growing in both quantity and quality to enhance blended learning. Although students generally perceive e-learning resources to be valuable for their learning, many published studies reveal that currently available e-learning tools provide little educational benefit. It is hypothesised that their lack of educational benefit may be attributed to their design not being governed by any relevant pedagogy or teaching theories. Therefore, the need for well-designed studies to identify the relevant pedagogy for the development of e-tools, and to better understand the relationship between the defined pedagogy, the educational objectives and specific elements of e-tools in improving student learning is a pressing need in the current educational context.