One of the elements that characterise the best universities is the quality of their classrooms, the technology that is available to students and teachers. Having top technology in our classrooms and updating it on a regular basis is essential to face crises like the current one. The universities that use technology have been able to provide real, interactive, quality education, maintaining their educational standards during this pandemic.

We have great examples in Harvard’s digital classrooms, which have been in place since 2014 with the Harvard Business School Online (HBS) project. They have combined video conferencing software with television hardware to create more dynamic experiences for students. 

  • Source: Alumni Harvard Business School

Meanwhile, Japan is known for its use of cutting-edge technology, and it demonstrates this in many areas. In the area of education, Japan has been a pioneer in the use of digital whiteboards and digital study books, as well as having innovative platforms for the delivery of online classes.

The facilities at the Osaka Institute of Technology, where I teach regularly, allow for face-to-face and online learning models to be implemented simultaneously, to adapt to students who are unable to attend class, so they do not lose out.

Even more impressive are the facilities at Clemson University that allow for interactive, blended learning classes and, where necessary, have made it easier to maintain normality in terms of training.

There is no doubt that online learning is essential in overcoming physical barriers, offering study alternatives, and those institutions that go one step further in this regard, using cutting-edge technologies, will be the educational leaders of the future.

Posted by Juan M. Corchado

Juan Manuel Corchado (15 May 1971, Salamanca, Spain) is Professor at the University of Salamanca. He has been Vice-Rector for Research from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the Science Park of the University of Salamanca. Elected as Dean of the Faculty of Science twice, he holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Salamanca and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of the West of Scotland. He leads the renowned BISITE (Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems and Educational Technology) Research Group, created in 2000. Director of the IoT Digital Innovation Hub and President of the AIR Institute, J. M. Corchado is also Visiting Professor at the Osaka Institute of Technology since January 2015, Visiting Professor at the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and Member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda of the European Counter Terrorism Centre (EUROPOL). J. M. Corchado has been president of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, and academic coordinator of the University Institute for Research in Art and Animation Technology at the University of Salamanca, as well as researcher at the Universities of Paisley (UK), Vigo (Spain) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK). He currently combines all his activity with the direction of Master programmes in Security, Digital Animation, Mobile Telephony, Information Systems Management, Internet of Things, Social Media, 3D Design and Printing, Blockchain, Z System, Industry 4.0, Agile Project Management, and Smart Cities & Intelligent Buildings, at the University of Salamanca and his work as editor-in-chief of the journals ADCAIJ (Advances in Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence Journal), OJCST (Oriental Journal of Computer Science and Technology) or Electronics MDPI (Computer Science & Engineering section). J. M. Corchado mainly works on projects related to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, IoT, Fog Computing, Edge Computing, Smart Cities, Smart Grids and Sentiment Analysis. He has recently been included in the board of trustees of the AstraZeneca Foundation, along with other health professionals and researchers recognised for bringing scientific knowledge closer to society.

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