Blended learning questions

As I've been reading the articles for Week 2, the big questions that come to mind are related to the ambiguity surrounding blended learning. Do we need to have a definition of blended learning in order to fully understand its use in education? How do we study a concept like blended learning if, as Graham suggests, there is no consensus on the definition of the term? Even when the definitions are "precise," as is the case with the one outlined in the "Blending In" report, the difference between 1-29% (Web facilitated learning) as opposed to 30-79% (blended/hybrid) would be difficult to distinguish for respondents who adopt a broad view of the term.

Other questions:

The article by Bonk, Kim, and Zeng (2005) includes details about a higher education survey on the future of online learning in higher education. They note that 53% of the respondents to this survey were females; this is in contrast to previous surveys where the respondents were predominantly male. Were the responses to these two surveys similar or different? If different, how so?

Descriptions of blended learning environments tend to focus on visual learning. How do these environments translate to those who do not prefer to learn in a visual manner?

Many of the advantages of blended courses (and online courses, for that matter) emphasize the blurring of time and place, working and socializing. Is this necessarily a good thing? Will policies be needed to guide those that may teeter too much on the side of working or socializing? Where and how do you begin to draw that line? How do you maintain the proper balance between the two? Will setting these boundaries become a skill that's eventually taught in school?