“There is no digital teaching, but there is teaching with the help of digital tools”

The conference was opened by Prof. Dr. Jens Müller, Vice President for International Affairs and Transfer of TU Ilmenau. From his current experience in developing a fully online/digital study format of the Micro- and Nanotechnologies master’s degree as part of an International Programs Digital project at TU Ilmenau, Prof. Müller addressed the many fields of digital teaching that may weigh in when developing digital formats: Apart from opportunities and challenges relating to onsite vs. offsite teaching arising, for instance, from remote laboratory work, the audience was reminded of the importance of a strong social, engaging and collaborative component to offer high-quality digital teaching.

Straight after, the audience was invited by Ms. Irina Tribusean, research assistant for the Media and Communication Science master's program at TU Ilmenau, to take part in an ice-breaker activity that also lends itself to use in digital classrooms with students anywhere and is easily customizable according to teachers’ needs. An online survey tool was used to illustrate the audience’s differences in terms of institution, country and years in office, as well as their commonalities in terms of issues they have encountered with unstable Internet connections during online classes, camera use and participants’ motivation to collaborate. With this activity, the importance of ice-breaker activities in online learning environments was highlighted, and participants experienced first-hand that, despite some differences, there was also ample common ground for engagement.

Virtual spaces for learning and collaboration

Pexels/Julia M. Cameron

Prof. Dr. Rolf Kruse, Applied Computer Science, Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, enabled participants as part of his keynote address to find out more about “Virtual Spaces for Learning and Collaboration” from a meta perspective and demonstrated his decades-long involvement and commitment to immersive learning technologies. After a short overview about the history and continuum of virtual 3D learning spaces, many practice examples were highlighted: From a long-standing development in games design, to industry and free-market applications such as  simulations, and more recently realizations of a metaverse environment; in addition to educational uses, all virtual spaces aim to let users experience otherwise distant places. Prof. Kruse also shone light on “learnings” from his and his colleagues’ development and use of virtual learning spaces over the years: To provide teachers and students time and help for “onboarding”; to facilitate learning and communication via topic-specific room designs; to make use of browser-based environments where no installation of software is required; and to enable the use of VR headsets, i.e. goggles, for an even more immersive experience - these are some of Prof. Kruse’s key points of advice. Future work, according to him, is required for developing authoring tools that are easier to use, and more examples and virtual room templates should be provided for teachers’ and students’ use. Nonetheless and despite Prof. Kruse’s support for virtual learning and collaboration spaces, he also stated that: “There is no digital teaching”, but there are “digital tools in the hands of teachers”. Didactically speaking, this message holds true perhaps for many, if not all, conference contributors.

Ethical aspects of online exams

Following the keynote presentation, Dr. Mathias Magdowski, from the Chair of Electromagnetic Compatibility, Institute of Medical Technology at Otto von Guericke Universität Magdeburg, offered short input on ethical aspects of online exams, with a particular focus on how these can be less stressful and intimidating for both teachers and students. When it comes to online exams, according to Dr. Magdowski, examiners are often afraid of communication problems such as an unreliable Internet connection, plagiarism such as undiscoverable “helpers”, and contract cheating. Instead of passing these concerns on to the students, by clinging to an “outdated exam culture” and “traditional forms of testing”, he suggests testing for competencies – the “4Cs”, i.e. creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking, paired with professional or essential skills needed in the real world of work. Replacing one summative assessment with many smaller formative assessments, he argues, can also go a long way to make exams less stressful. Making online exams “non-googleable”, competence-based and feedback-oriented are recommendations that Dr. Magdowski has tried out himself for many semesters now within the discipline of engineering, which otherwise is often still heavily governed by traditional forms of testing.

Virtual Reality in intercultural communication

Before the first part of the Digital Teaching Day came to a close, two experience reports were presented in a parallel session. In breakout room 1, Prof. Dr. Liane Rothenberger, School of Journalism, Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, and Mr. Gunther Kreuzberger, Virtual Worlds and Digital Games Group, TU Ilmenau, shared findings from a collaborative seminar on the subject of intercultural communication, wherein a virtual reality application was used over the course of the winter semester 2021/22, presenting a direct practice example of the use of VR in teaching. Although the speakers could relate to Prof. Kruse’s “learnings” and spoke of trying to approach certain aspects differently next time too, they also highlighted the opportunity that a VR environment can constitute: more reserved students may find it easier to interact as a result of being embodied via an avatar.

Online tools for language learning

In breakout room 2, as part of the experience report session, Dr. Fei Fan, Associate Professor of College of Design and Innovation Tongji University and Co-founder of Future Learning Lab, reported on a combination of online and onsite tools in the field of language learning, and simultaneously illustrated differences in students’ and teachers’ expectations in the didactical approach. Whereas teachers often felt knowledge mediation to be important, students would have welcomed a makerspace of experiences, where theories are acquired by doing.

Gamification elements in e-learning

Following a short break, a parallel session with two short input opportunities took place. In breakout room 1, participants were introduced to gamification elements in e-learning by Dr. Mathias Bauer, Institute of Media Technology, TU Ilmenau. The talk focused on how gamification elements can foster learner motivation and user experience in e-learning environments and provided notable input for participants on motivational design frameworks that may enable these aspects. Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction (based on J. Keller’s ARCS model) and their corresponding strategies, such as the use of audio-visual effects, personalised language, the ability to demonstrate prior knowledge, and the provision of individual feedback, are key concepts when it comes to gamification design that motivates learners. Moreover, specific gamification mechanisms are important in increasing learners’ motivation: The inclusion of progress bars, feedback mechanisms and learning goals may play a particularly important role for learners (whereas badges and scoreboards may be of less importance for learners).

Flipped classroom scenarios in online learning environments

In breakout room 2, Dr. Vita Astuti, Communication Department, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, addressed flipped classroom scenarios that she had transferred from onsite to online learning environments as part of her teaching praxis with students, and how the continuation of a “physicality of learning” played a vital role in her learners’ motivation to participate and interact online. She reported on successful learning experiences in breakout rooms that tend to prove difficult to navigate for many learners in digital spaces without adequate facilitation. 

Workshops and first-hand experiences

ari

Towards the end of the Digital Teaching Day, participants had the opportunity to engage in three different mini workshops for even more practical input and experience-gathering. In breakout room 1, participants were invited to visualize remote lab work by Mr. Johannes Kretzschmar and Dr. Falko Sojka, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Best practice examples included buddy programs via Zoom and software implementations that enable remote access to lab setups.

In breakout room 2, Mr. Gunther Kreuzberger and Ms. Gunjan Kumari, Virtual Worlds and Digital Games Group, TU Ilmenau, enabled participants to explore their introductory VR room first-hand, hosted on the browser-based Mozilla Hubs Virtual Campus (vcamp) of TU Ilmenau.

In breakout room 3, representatives of the eTeach Network Thuringia, including Mr. Martin Backhaus and Ms. Zaryab Chaudhry, demonstrated gamification elements in practice via their own design of a games map using the open-source software “WorkAdventure”. The interface allows teachers to add another didactic dimension to their digital classes by creating a gameboard-like experience for students to “think, pair, and share” in a virtual/hybrid setting.

Virtual roundtable discussion and outlook

The virtual roundtable discussion at the end of the Digital Teaching Day, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Martin Löffelholz, Media and Communication Science, TU Ilmenau, emphasized participants’ main takeaways for their future teaching praxis. Above all, the discussion highlighted once more that digital teaching has a lot to offer and can aid in deconstructing rigid didactic structures, if teachers and education professionals are not afraid to take action and choose appropriate tools.

To facilitate further exchange, and to include the perspectives of students who have studied in online/digital environments, TU Ilmenau is already planning a Digital Learning Day in the near future. More details will be released once available.

Special thanks go to Ms. Johanna Gill of the Central Institute of Education, TU Ilmenau, for the event moderation and to Mr. Tom Sauer and colleagues of the Computer Center, TU Ilmenau, for technical support.