Knock Down the Walls, Open the Doors

Hybrid classrooms, or blended instruction, blend the traditional face-to-face instruction model with newer technologies of online learning. 21st Century students crave a more interactive learning environment, but unfortunately, today's teachers largely lack exposure to Web 2.0 technologies and technological expertise to offer such learning tools to their students. Therefore, teacher preparation programs, state departments of education, and local education authorities must improve the technical skills of teachers. Once teachers have 21st Century skills, they will be prepared to offer a more dynamic learning environment to students, including hybrid learning environments. This chapter will explore the possibility and effectiveness of utilizing hybrid-learning environments at the high school level. This will be accomplished through review of the literature, an evaluation of the educational objectives met through the implementation of hybrid learning, addressing the obstacles to implementation, and suggesting methods of improvement for teacher preparation programs, state departments of education, and local education authorities to improve the technical skills of teachers.