Monitor Digital Education - College in Digital Age - College Management and Administration

The Digital Education Monitor (Monitor Digitale Bildung) creates for the first time a comprehensive and representative empirical database on the state of digitized learning in the various education sectors in Germany - schools, vocational training, higher education, and advanced training.

Use of digital forms of learning and learning concepts at the university. Assessment of the university strategy for the digitization of teaching. Assessment of digital learning. Future visions for the digital university. Digital learning for specific target groups. Challenges. Qualification measures for the use of digital media.

Topics: 1. Technical equipment: media technology or hardware available for use in courses (tablet, PC and notebook, digital camera, interactive whiteboard, beamer, other); planned acquisition, available in small or sufficient numbers; learning applications available with licenses for university staff, for students, resp. for individual devices (office programs, access to paid content, e.g. e-books, learning management system, e.g. Moodle, software such as statistics or design programs, literature management programs, e-portfolio, other applications (open); sufficient WLAN at own university; assessment of technical equipment for digital learning at own university.

2. Students´ device equipment: assessment of the use of private devices by students in events (appears disruptive, can be used well during the event, e.g. for research, promotes opportunities for cheating, increases participation, increases distraction through emails or social media use); university´s own attitude or strategy regarding the use of private mobile devices by students in events (responsibility of lecturers, university or faculty regulations apply, no regulation to date).

3. Assessments of digital learning: assessment of the university strategy for the digitalization of teaching (no university-wide systematic use of digital learning media, university participates in the implementation of digital learning within the framework of pilot projects, good equipment with technical devices and programs, consulting and support services for digital teaching, university management increasingly invests in hardware and software, digital media also not relevant in the future at the own university).

4. Introduction of digital learning: importance of the use of digital forms of learning within the strategic orientation of the university; driving forces for the introduction of digital media at the university (students, individual university lecturers, central university institution, university management, ministry, funding institutions, nobody, other (open)).

5. Visions: evaluation of selected future visions for the digital university (meetings and face-to-face events will increasingly be replaced by virtual meetings, future supplementation of face-to-face events with online offerings, conducting aptitude and final tests increasingly online, students will increasingly cooperate and learn online, student support increasingly through social media, university will offer completely online degree programs in the future, tailored services for higher- and lower-performing students through learning analytics.

6. Open educational resources - content and applications: external learning materials and learning technologies made available centrally at the university (learning apps, learning management systems, e.g. Moodle or ILIAS, digital learning resources, e.g. e-books, learning videos, software, e.g. statistics and calculation programs, business games, literature management programs, e-assessment systems, examination systems).

7. Digital learning for specific target groups: additional resources used or not used at the university to support students with special needs (providing equipment, e.g. loan notebooks, assistive systems to compensate for physical handicaps, use of small evaluations combined with short tasks (quests), support for self-determined learning, video offerings that demonstrate complex issues and processes, texts that take into account native language competence, cost coverage for paid offerings, e.g., remedial courses, scripts, aptitude assessment and tests using digital media, other forms of support (open).

8. Assessment of digital learning in general: assessment of digital teaching and learning offerings (motivating, time-consuming, improve learning outcomes, difficult to check for success, relieve teaching staff, reduce dropout rates in studies, improve access for socially disadvantaged / physically impaired learners, make individual learning more difficult, promote the attractiveness of the university).

9. Challenges: difficulties and problems with regard to the use of digital forms of learning at the university (too high costs for the acquisition of learning content and for technical equipment, too expensive maintenance of devices and applications, concerns about health effects, e.g. WLAN, other tasks and forms of learning leave students little time for digital learning, problematic legal issues. e.g., on usage rights, lack of professional support for digital infrastructure at the university, unclear offerings for digital learning, questionable quality of digital learning opportunities, students lack sufficient media-related competence, too much effort and no credit for teaching load, lack of didactic advice on digital teaching at the university, other challenges (open). Challenges specific to universities:
Addressing selected challenges through digital learning media (growing student numbers, heterogeneity of students, e.g., age, origin, knowledge level, inclusion of students (handicaps), internationalization, high dropout rates, improving suitability for study, student recruiting, individualized learning, better quality of support, more service and flexibility, learning success controlling and analysis, transition from school to university).

10. Test and examination concepts: university practice for taking examinations with the assistance of the computer (examination or test as an entrance examination for a course, tasks and tests as an examination in between to optimize the course, examination or test as a final examination of a course).

11. Qualification: appropriate measures to qualify university teachers for the use of digital media (as a hiring or appointment criterion, continuing education courses, promotion of informal exchange, self-study, other possibilities (open); existence of an internal or inter-university working group for university teachers on the topic of digital media; open naming of this working group; institution follows certain standards in the use of digital media or has received a certificate, a seal of approval or an award (open naming of these standards, seals of approval or awards).

Demography: sex; age (grouped); type of institution of higher education; public, private, or denominational sponsorship of institution; length of service in current role.

Additionally coded: respondent ID; respondent´s function at the university (university management or rector´s office, dean´s office, media or computer center, university library, university didactic center, other); groups university size.