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Creating the HBS Hybrid Classrooms: Collaboration, Experimentation, Equity, and Innovation
Innovation Oct 22, 2020
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A hybrid classroom. At its surface, this is a story about the new hybrid classrooms at Harvard Business School (HBS)—the who, what, why, and how of a remarkable advance in technology, developed during (and driven by) a global pandemic. But it’s also the story of how a truly mammoth task succeeded through innovative thinking, risk-taking, and collegial teamwork.
In late March, just a few weeks into the new COVID reality of online learning, decision makers at HBS had to start thinking about what seemed like a faraway point in the future: the fall semester. There was a good chance that not all students would be on campus. How could HBS provide a safe, equitable, and engaging learning experience that would accommodate both remote and in-person learners?
The Virtual Teaching Task Force, led by Professor Srikant Datar, had already worked to optimize the virtual platform that would take the school through the end of the spring 2020 semester—an effort that launched after an intense two weeks of innovation, training, and school-wide cooperation (not to mention significant technology procurement). As intense an experience as that was, said Datar, it was also one of the most memorable and enjoyable of his entire […]
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