The IWM has always regarded the practical field of universities as relevant. The portal e-teaching.org, run by the IWM, has been supporting and documenting the developments of university teaching with digital media since 2003. e-teaching.org set up a community of stakeholders in which current trends are discussed and presented to a wider public. With its comprehensive material, online events and newsletters, the portal offers an important basis for the qualification of university teachers.
Similar to the practical field of schools, the practical field of universities represents a formal learning space in which learning processes are intended and didactically supported. University teaching has always been an innovative field for the usage of knowledge media. Multi-medially augmented texts, simulations, distributed labs and dynamic visualizations are only a few examples. Digital media support self-regulated and cooperative learning, both in classical concepts of classroom teaching such as lectures and seminars, and for preparation and follow-up of events or so-called „flipped classroom“-concepts, in which students acquire the subject matter mainly individually and with the help of media while the lessons serve in-depth learning and discussion. These processes can be augmented by learning analytics or through the use of online diaries to assess the learning progress.
Questions we would like to answer with our research in this field include:
- How can digital media make university teaching more attractive, open, practically relevant and interdisciplinary? Which success factors and obstacles play a role in the implementation of innovative digital development projects [Smart Teaching Baden-Württemberg]?
- How can the use of digital media in higher education be described from a learning psychology perspective? How can the effectiveness of digital media in university teaching be evaluated [Digital Learning Map 2020]?
- What can digital teaching do to prepare students for the flexible demands of working life? How can medical university teaching be opened for other disciplines and practice [OpenTeach]?