The Hellenic American University in Athens will re-open in September to students with a state-of-the-art hybrid virtual-in person classroom that will be unique in all of Greece.

Smart classrooms will allow students to be immersed in a highly interactive, collaborative, and user-friendly learning environment, whether they attend classes in person or login virtually from anywhere in Greece.

Instructors can accommodate different groups of students located both on and off-campus maintaining real-time communication and interaction using a variety of tools and instruments provided by a combination of eLearning platforms like Blackboard Ultra and Collaborate.

During live sessions, students from different locations merge virtually with students in-class, on-campus without feeling isolated or excluded.

In this context, students see and listen to each other, participate in pair and group activities, make presentations, participate in polls, share the whiteboard, write their ideas on the chat, and share their screen with the rest of the class.

Apart from communicative teaching and collaborative learning, HAU’s smart classrooms and infrastructure allow for the safe administration of tests and examinations via digital and live proctoring (Mercer Mettl Assessment Platform).

Using AI software and virtual human proctoring, students participate in exams using a friendly, non-intrusive environment (embedded in Blackboard) which, however, carefully monitors students and ensures that there are no incidents of cheating.

Re-defining teaching and learning

The new classroom at Hellenic American University also heralds a new era in pedagogy. The class is no longer one-dimensional, but it serves multiple learner needs combining self-paced and group dependent learning.

Instructors need to learn to cater to multiple modalities ensuring that learning is systematic, active, inclusive, and fun.

Instructors’ new role is more complex and more demanding, yet less intrusive and egotistic facilitating students to become autonomous and critical learners.

“Hellenic American University will help its faculty re-define themselves and their pedagogy,” stated Leonidas Koskos, President of the university.

“We will offer access to state-of-the-art technology and participation in an innovative culture of excellence and self-development,” Koskos added.