Hybrid flexible classrooms link up for greater learning

Students and faculty at MBZUAI now benefit from a HyFlex (hybrid flexible) learning experience thanks to three technology-enhanced classrooms, which are revolutionizing hybrid learning on campus.

The classrooms are an example of well-thought, modular, flexible, and optimized spaces using a human-centric (students and faculty) and design-thinking process to actively engage remote and face-to-face students. The Zoom platform is used to stitch the three classrooms together, allowing content to be fed to multiple classrooms.

Some of the new features include the latest smart whiteboards, sensor cameras to spot movement and speech, and multiple screens. The two smart screens on the side of the room allow the instructor to see both remote students and the presentation that is broadcast to them. Importantly, instructors are now able to annotate directly onto presentations.

To increase social presence, sense of belonging, participation, connectedness and instructor-students / peer-to-peer interactivity and teamwork both for in person and online modes, an additional 55-inch screen was added to the back of the room.

It is believed MBZUAI’s HyFlex is the first of its kind in the Middle East and has been well received by visiting international faculty and students.

MBZUAI benchmarked its HyFlex classrooms with similar technical set-ups at Harvard (USA), San Francisco State University, Leuven, and King’s College, with the aim of improving on it against in the content of the needs of the university’s student body and faculty.

A cross-functional team made up of staff from academic development, IT, facilities, and student affairs ensured the project was successful with plans underway to upgrade a further three classrooms. There was an extensive period of ideating, prototyping, and testing – with tens of datapoints taken into consideration – to provide an immersive experience for all.

The development and evaluation of the HyFlex course design model for blended learning environments was pioneered by Dr. Brian Beatty at SFSU. A research article by MBZUAI Head of Educational Program Development Dr. David Santandreu, former Director of Academic Development Dr. Mark Thompson, Head of Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Assurance Dr. Leisa Hassock, and Assistant Professor of Computer Vision Dr. Mohammad Yaqub titled: “HyFlex Learning Space Design and implementation: an iterative process” is currently under peer review and traces the development of the university’s approach.

The HyFlex classrooms reached a score of 85% when assessed against the validated Educause Learning Space Rating System (LSRS, V-3).