The Blended Learning as an Alternative to the Online Education for the Bangladeshi Universities

During the Covid-19, online education, the only alternative to the face-to-face education had a number of limitations and challenges such as, the negative conception about the lack of quality, non-achievement of learning outcomes, chances of unfair means in examinations, digital divide and the lack of trained teachers. So, it was assumed that blended education can be an effective alternative to the online education. But there was no research as to authenticate the efficacy of this method. This study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of students and teachers about blended learning. This is a qualitative, in particular, case study. The data came from interviews with 15 student participants and two teachers who conducted a blended course, their discussions, and postings on online forums, such as Facebook, Google Classroom, and student journals. Data collected from these sources were analyzed following the qualitative data analysis method. The majority of the participants in this study opine that the blended method is a useful substitute for traditional classroom instruction for the universities of Bangladesh. This method, they reported, offered them opportunities such as more flexibility, increased learning through teacher and peer feedback, scope for self-exploration, better and enhanced interaction, an increase of technological skills, and higher-order thinking though there are a number of challenges of blended method such as the digital divide, and the lack of teacher training. This study can be an eye-opener for stakeholders like UGC Bangladesh, university authorities to improve the quality of higher education.