Daer Chido Ganda,

I am writing to give a simple answer to your query.

The features of blended learning is its incorporation of traditional forms of teaching (eg. lecture) with active and highly customized individualized forms of learning using communications and information technology. Blended learning enhances learning because it combines the benefits of modern communications and information technologies with traditional lectures. Blended learning encourages the student’s desire to learn and enables learning through the form that is best suited to the student without neglecting alternative methods. The use of different teaching and educational methods increases the participant’s interest and activity and offers more flexibility because the student decides how much time to devote to independent study.

I hope I have been of some help,

Best wishes,

Andrija

Dear colleague, 

Blended learning is a term used to describe the way e-learning is being combined with traditional classroom teaching methods and independent studies in order to create a new, combined teaching methodology. It represents a fundamental change in the way teachers and students approach the teaching and learning process. 

Along with other researchers, I see all learning as blended (Avgerinou & Gialamas, 2016). Modes, methods and tools have always been mixed for the benefit of the learner. Thus learning will remain blended while more and more the methods, modes and tools will be technology-facilitated.

I've developed some recorded presentations on blended learning principles and how to design for and deliver blended courses, which might be of interest. These are free to access here: http://bbbb.blackboard.com/LP=95?elqCampaignId=45

Have used elements of the presentations - overview of principles and planning tools to support staff at York. 

There is no single, reliable definition of blended learning  or even a universal agreement on the term itself.Many use terms like hybrid, mixed, or integrative to describe it. Others understand it as e-learning combined with traditional teaching-learning process.

In my humble opinion, blended learning has been used by many scholars in a variety of settings with or without naming it. If teaching keeps on adopting the sender-receiver style, then this job will be boring. Teachers had to get out from this negative cycle by varying activities in the classroom.

I have learnt this "varying" in my postgraduate diploma in education 41 years ago long before the arrival of computers. This varying is the essence of blended learning,in my view. But I think that we ought to work on more improvements & modifications to meet the challenges of modern times. I think we ought to try more,e.g. Flipped Classrooms and to really replace the role of "lecturer" by the role of "facilitator".

You may be interested to see a Research gate thread that dealt with a close question one year ago.

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_specific_features_of_blended_learning_environments/1

Blended learning may also be termed as personalized learning which maybe formal or informal with the sole advantage of depending on the context of the predetermined  learning objectives.It combines digital format and traditional mode in teaching learners. It could possibly feature well for less technological efficient individuals with little or no experience in digital media learning format.

Under this model, learners can easily adopt a fast method of learning through the process and can work independently giving the tutor the opportunity to focus on others that may need more personalized attention. It has the feature of collaborative learning which recently have been recognized as the best approach of learning to tackle slow learning process in individuals.

Blended learning is cost effective because learning materials may actually come in digital format and with the paperless society the world is moving into this could be the best model of learning. 

However, can this learning model be applied to younger children that are yet to be conversant with learning through the use of technology? or the older adults that has phobia  over the latest technology use in learning? or even for the illiterate adults that are beginning to get the rudiments of education?. The raised questions still makes a positive case for the usual traditional formal learning model to be the best approach of learning.