Harvard Technology Team Wins Eduventures Innovation Award

The Emerging Technology Solutions Team from the Harvard Division of Continuing Education (DCE) recently received a 2024 Eduventures Innovation Award at the annual Summit in Chicago, Ill., according to a news release. DCE designed, developed, and implemented the HELIX Portable Blended Classroom, which expands the teaching capabilities of blended classes to allow for an connected, immersive learning experience.

The HELIX (Harvard Extension Live Interactive eXperience) Portable Blended Classroom replaces HyFlex (Hybrid and Flexible) teaching to allow Harvard faculty to teach classroom-based and remote students in real time from any classroom on campus. The hardware is available via two portable carts with minimal setup required and uses Zoom-based software, according to the news release. The technology has been deployed in hundreds of classrooms used by the Harvard Extension School, Harvard Summer School, Harvard College, and other professional schools.

The DCE Emerging Technology Solutions Team is led by Henry Leitner, PhD, Chief Innovation Officer and Associate Dean, Information Technology. Eduventures Research is a division of Encoura that offers research, analysis, and advisory services to higher education leaders and that recognizes innovative approaches to teaching, learning, and student support, the news release reports.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Tennessee Middle School Completes Health, Life Safety Renovations

    The Giles County Board of Education in Pulaski, Tenn., recently announced that a series of renovation projects has been completed at Bridgeforth Middle School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers and Brindley Construction to modernize building systems at one of the district’s oldest schools.

  • Doerr School of Sustainability Accelerator

    From Concrete Warehouse to Innovation Hub: Accelerating Sustainability at Stanford

    The transformation of a once windowless, concrete publishing warehouse into a sun-drenched center for global innovation began with a single, fundamental challenge: how to turn an industrial storage shell into a space built for human connection.

  • Cal Poly Humboldt Starts Construction on Healthcare Education Hub

    California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, Calif., recently announced that work has begun on a renovation project that will turn the Stewart Building into a new Healthcare Education Hub, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Sundt Construction Inc. for construction services.