Tag: Digitalisierung

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Online Hackathon “We Hack the Summer Semester 2020!”

On May 6 and 7, 2020, more than 900 participants pooled their energy, ideas and skills and developed digital solutions for university teaching in Germany in working groups. The free format was organized by the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung, the KI-Campus and the DAAD and acts as a pilot for the DigiEduHack in November. In the roles of hacker and mentor, groups found themselves assigned to challenges that were assigned to one of the 15 topic clusters:

  1. Qualification & support of teachers
  2. Digital teaching in implementation
  3. Collaborative work and interaction (synchronous and asynchronous)
  4. Digital tools and data protection
  5. Digital Exams
  6. Digital student advising
  7. Digital campus life
  8. Peer support/help-seeking among students
  9. Internationalization & Virtual Mobility
  10. Practical study components & practical projects
  11. Research
  12. University management (e.g. change process & third mission)
  13. Digital student participation
  14. Educational equity & accessibility
  15. AI in digital higher education

A total of 76 projects came about, which can now be viewed publicly on incom. Communication took place via the mattermost platform, and there was a joint introduction and conclusion via Youtube livestream. OESA e.V. has developed the Toolbox, an independent and collaborative overview.

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Open education in schools- a case study from Germany

There are now various measures to bring schools into the digital age: We have the Digital Pact, and there are also a number of projects and associations. It makes you wonder why digitization in schools has been so slow to get off the ground.

But at least one school in Germany is getting the hang of it. Using the Realschule am Europakanal in Erlangen as an example, educational scientist Celestine Kleinesper explains how openness and digitization can be put to good use. In this case, this includes not only teaching how to use hardware and software, but also which teaching/learning contexts certain tools and formats are suitable for. Uniformity, capacity, and the willingness of school management, teachers, parents, and students are essential.

The presentation:

Although this example exists in practice, many schools are not (yet) so fit in terms of digitization. In the discussion after the input, a number of theories emerge as to which aspects have an inhibiting effect. One recurring finding: the cultural sovereignty of the states in Germany, i.e., the fact that each state. Among the participants in the discussion group, 4 federal states shared their experiences. It also became clear that digitization is often confused with mechanization; equipping every school with smartboards and tablets therefore only makes sense if the relevant skills are imparted to those involved.

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Shaping open education at universities

Flipped Classroom. What can you imagine by it?

Up to now, knowledge has been imparted during university face-to-face events and the application of the knowledge has been tested individually and outside the university. At the weekly input lunch in April 2020, the change in learning caused by digitization was examined in more detail, which is also becoming noticeable in the university context. For example, the learning locations of theory and application are swapped (‘flipped’): Students acquire the theoretical knowledge on their own before the course in order to then work together in a solution-oriented and case-based manner. In this way, the knowledge transfer is ideally designed, because the interactive work during the attendance time can increase the learning effect.

In this context, social scientist Katharina Mosene presented a number of possibilities for designing innovative university teaching, from live surveys to interactive presentation formats and collaborative tools. She drew on her wide-ranging experience and used teaching/learning concepts that had actually been implemented to illustrate the effectiveness and meaningfulness of open higher education.

In the discussion that followed, specific questions arose about individual tools. The consensus was that there are already a large number of extraordinary tools, but that most lack the knowledge of how to use them effectively or at least the time to deal with them in depth. This is less the case at universities with e-learning offices, eScouts or digital officers – an appeal to the universities!

The presentation on the input can be found here. We thank Katharina Mosene for her encouraging input.

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Why do we need open education?

“Open education can be defined as the [educational policy] effort to enable all people to participate in good education. In the Enlightenment tradition, ‘good education’ is defined as maturity: every person should be able to participate in society with his or her own mind and in an active way” [1] . So how must educational processes be designed in order to achieve this goal?

Vocational school teacher Astrid Wittenberg begins her input with this question. As an experienced expert in open education, she is an enrichment for the round of the weekly input lunch in April 2020, especially because of the current challenges posed by Corona. She points out the need for a change in teaching and learning based on digital development: Knowledge and ideas always exist, but the ways to disseminate, implement, and develop them are changing. The Internet makes it possible to exchange information worldwide and simultaneously. This also changes the nature and understanding of education away from a society that learns by heart from books to a digital transfer of knowledge. This also requires new competencies; in this context, Wittenberg introduces the 4Cs [2]: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking. On this basis, a discussion ensues about how these competencies can be learned and what opportunities and difficulties they entail. The participants in the discussion agree that the restrictions, not only, but especially, in state institutions such as schools and universities are often a hindrance. Certain guidelines on which programs to use, time and money as limited resources, and the lack of motivation to explore meaningful alternatives inhibit the move towards more open education. The conclusion of the discussion: much is still (or already) open. This is in part tedious, but for the most part gratifying, because there is much to be shaped. Therefore, it is important for the future to promote an awareness of open education and to conduct corresponding research.

The presentation on the input can be found here. We thank Astrid Wittenberg for her inspiring input.

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Input lunch format in April 2020: “Open- digitization as a yardstick”.

Since the outbreak of COVID 19, social life has been severely restricted, especially educational institutions face the challenge of suddenly and almost exclusively working online. To counteract social distancing somewhat and to keep the exchange alive, the Open Education and Software Association e.V. invites. (OESA) invites you to a digital input lunch format around digital education in times of COVID 19. Every Thursday in April 2020, from 12 to 1 p.m., a fifteen-minute input on a topic area will be given by us, and you will receive valuable advice on practical methods and programs, new impulses and contacts. On this common basis, an exchange with small discussions, questions and suggestions will take place afterwards.

Dates: 

02.4. Open Mind

The first day is there to get to know each other: The input serves to introduce the association and the format in more detail and the subsequent exchange should give space to place topics and questions that currently move the participants*innen.

09.4. Open Education

What does “digital education” mean, what does “open” mean? Why do we need it- and why not? How can this be implemented? What opportunities and difficulties does this present?

16.4. Open University

How can lectures and seminars be designed online? Which platforms and programs are suitable for this?

23.4. Open Schoolyard

How can class council be designed online? Which learning softwares with review functions are available? How can tests or similar be carried out?

30.4. Open Society – Let’s keep volunteering going!

Our last event is dedicated to the question of how volunteerism, community service and participation can continue and what opportunities can even arise as a result. How do we deal with the lack of Wi-Fi among children and young people in our care? What tools and tips are there for collaborative work? How can board meetings and general meetings be conducted online?

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Successful pilot project at Hamburg vocational school

With a training preparation class (AVK) of the vocational school H13 in Hamburg- Eppendorf, the project week “Discover programming with the micro bit” took place in June 2017. During a three-day workshop to promote interest and potential in the field of computer science, the students were able to test their knowledge and skills. On the first day, most of them could hardly explain what python is, but at the final meeting, all of them were able to control a BBC: micro bit using the python programming language. The project offers educational institutions, regardless of age, origin and gender, free of charge, the opportunity to choose from various topics in computer science and to discover a new world with experienced and enthusiastic people and to network with an international community. An integral part of the project, which is supported by the Python Software Association, is, among other things, the critical examination of digitalization and openness. Further projects at Hamburg schools are being planned.