The challenges of introducing new technologies in Humanities: A case study of the perceptions of academic staff of classics

The purpose of this paper is to show the attitude of the academic staff of humanities towards the use of information technology in learning activities during the undergraduate courses. The study was realized in the departments of Classics, Greek Philology, Modern Greek and Mediterranean Studies in three countries: Greece (University of Athens and Patras), Spain (University of Barcelona) and The United States (University of California at Berkeley), with the participation of fortyfive instructors. Almost half of them (42%) were examined individually (with face-to-face interviews and surveys) and the other 58% answered a survey and participated in discussion groups, where they exchanged about a) the challenges they face while introducing ICT in their courses, b) possible solutions in solving the problems that occure and c) the potentiality of innovation technology in humanitities. After this data analysis, and by following G. Moore's (1989) classification, we separated the participating academics in three groups: the "conservatives", the "mainstream" and the "early adopters". Since the starting point for the application of innovation in the classroom is the instructor, the policy makers are called to focus on helping him/her become conscious of the change in teaching methods and to include his/her opinion during the design of the innovative projects.