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Diese Stellungnahme bezieht sich auf die Replik von Christian Swertz, der in der Ausgabe 3/2024 der MEDIENIMPULSE auf den Artikel „Künstliche Intelligenz in der Bildung – Ein KInderspiel?“ kritisch reagiert. Swertz wirft den Autorinnen unter anderem eine „Datenreligion“ und die Zerstörung des Bildungssystems vor. In dieser pointierten Stellungnahme setzen sich die Autorinnen mit diesen Vorwürfen auseinander und beleuchten die potenziellen Vorteile einer verantwortungsvollen Nutzung von Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) im Bildungswesen. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der Unterstützung von Lehrkräften und Schüler*innen, nicht auf der Ablösung menschlicher Pädagogik durch Algorithmen.

Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Rolle von Chatbots als Lernassistenz für Studierende des gehobenen medizinisch-technischen Dienstes an Fachhochschulen in Österreich. Der Fokus liegt auf der aktuellen Nutzung und den zukünftigen Anforderungen dieser Technologie in der Hochschulbildung, insbesondere auf der Entwicklung und Implementierung von künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) als unterstützendes Werkzeug im Lernprozess. Die Ergebnisse einer Online-Umfrage mit 101 Studierenden zeigen, dass eine Mehrheit KI bereits nutzt und deren Potenzial erkennt. Insgesamt liefert die vorliegende Studie wichtige Einblicke, um ein tieferes Verständnis für die Wirksamkeit von KI als Lernassistenz zu erlangen und um maßgeschneiderte Anwendungen für die Hochschulbildung zu entwickeln.

The rapid evolution of digital technology has necessitated a shift in educational paradigms, particularly in teacher training and continuous professional development. This paper presents a study that explores Austrian teachers' attitudes toward digital education training and their preferences for in-service training modalities. Data were collected from a comprehensive survey involving about 600 Austrian secondary public school teachers and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods to reveal preferences and constraints in digital education in-service training, including the preferred modalities, the support required, and the teachers' motivations for engaging with training. Key findings from the study indicate that Austrian teachers generally have a positive perception of their autonomy in teaching digital education. Additionally, the study reveals that teachers are willing to participate in in-service training under specific conditions. This willingness is influenced by factors such as the flexibility of the training schedule, the provision of support resources, and the balance between professional obligations and personal time. The study highlights a broader trend toward flexibility and efficiency in in-service teacher training, acknowledging teachers' time constraints and the importance of maintaining a work-life balance. The findings suggest that flexible and supportive training environments can enhance teachers' engagement with digital education, ultimately benefiting their teaching practices and student outcomes. Overall, this study underscores the importance of adapting in-service teacher training to meet the needs of teachers, promoting a more effective integration of digital education.

Diese Arbeit widmet sich der Integration und den Auswirkungen von generativer künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) im Bildungswesen. Es werden eine Vielzahl von praktischen Anwendungsfällen vorgestellt, in denen KI den Unterricht unterstützen kann – von der Unterrichtsvorbereitung über die Arbeit mit Texten, bis hin zur Förderung von Kreativität und Sprachunterricht. Zudem wird auf die Notwendigkeit einer kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit KI und die Entwicklung unterstützender Maßnahmen für eine verantwortungsvolle Integration in den Bildungsalltag hingewiesen. Abschließend wird hervorgehoben, dass der Einsatz von KI im Bildungsbereich das Potenzial hat, den Unterricht zu bereichern und individuelle Lernwege zu unterstützen. Weiters wird betont, dass die Integration von KI in das Bildungswesen eine kritische und verantwortungsvolle Herangehensweise erfordert. Die Autorinnen unterstreichen die zentrale Rolle der Lehrkräfte bei der Nutzung des Potenzials von KI, während gleichzeitig die Herausforderungen und ethischen Bedenken berücksichtigt werden müssen.

Nowadays, digital technologies are crucial in supporting students in geometry in secondary mathematics classrooms. However, in some cases, the role of visual function in technology was only utilized for seeing and conjecturing, not for experimenting, while to develop a relational understanding of geometry concepts, students should actively participate in the learning process. To address the issue, this study investigated how students learn geometry with digital technology assistance based on students' diversity in their mathematics abilities. A task with a dynamic geometry software called Techno-based Mathematical Tasks (TbMT) was designed to assist students in exploring geometrical activities and solving a problem through investigations on tessellation. This research employs educational design research and focuses on the preliminary design by conducting a pilot study on three students based on the diversity in their ability in mathematics classrooms, i.e., low, middle, and high. As part of data collection, we captured students' works to examine critical information in their responses based on their differences in abilities. We collected the data through online meetings and recorded the data. We analyzed students' work from the recording by capturing critical information. The results revealed that the TbMT might provide students with opportunities to learn by exploring tessellation activities that might contribute to students' understanding of geometry concepts. Due to the limited number of participants in this study, further research can be an opportunity to expand the number of participants to enhance the contribution to the literature with more comprehensive empirical evidence.

„Habe Mut, dich deines eigenen Verstandes zu bedienen!“ (Kant 1968) – Kants Leitspruch wurde 1784 zu einem wichtigen Wegweiser der Aufklärung und rund 240 Jahre später erlebt er seine Renaissance im Zuge der aufgeklärten Medienpädagogik. Angesichts der rasanten Entwicklungen der generativen Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI) erscheint Kants Aufforderung aktueller denn je. KI ist zwar im Stande Text zu generieren, doch braucht es eine kompetente und kritische Überprüfung des Outputs. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt eine Integration von generativer KI in den schulischen Kontext unter dem Gesichtspunkt der aufgeklärten Medienpädagogik. Beginnend mit einer Einführung in generative KI, betont die Arbeit die Bedeutung einer reflektierten Auseinandersetzung mit neuen Technologien. Die Diskussion erstreckt sich über technische Aspekte von KI bis hin zu den gesellschaftlichen und ethischen Auswirkungen von KI-Output. Weiters wird eine Roadmap für die Erstellung eines projektbezogenen Unterrichts über generative KI mit generativer KI beschrieben. Dazu wird ein Arbeitsauftrag präsentiert, der Schüler*innen ermutigen soll, individuelle KI-generierte Kunstwerke zu erstellen und in einen kritischen Kontext zu setzen. Die Teamarbeit und Präsentation der entstandenen Werke erfolgen in Form einer virtuellen Kunstgalerie. Durch diese praxisorientierte Herangehensweise werden Schüler*innen nicht nur in die Technologie der generativen KI eingeführt, sondern auch dazu angeregt, ihre Medienkompetenz und kritisches Bewusstsein zu schärfen. Die Arbeit schließt mit einer Reflektion über den Prozess, sowie Implikationen für die medienpädagogische Praxis und mögliche Richtungen für zukünftige Forschung.

Today's teachers play a critical role in preparing students for the integration of educational technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), into their lessons. It is thought that AR implementation improves collaboration, motivation, and learning outcomes. Considering this, this study aims to determine the teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and obstacles of employing mobile AR applications (mAR) in their biology education, along with suggestions for practice, app developers, and policymakers. Therefore, a mixed-methods study was used to examine Austrian secondary school biology teachers’ opinions. A questionnaire containing open-ended and closed-ended questions was distributed to 35 teachers. Descriptive statistics were employed to process quantitative data, whereas grounded theory was utilized to process qualitative data. According to the findings, biology teachers likely utilize mAR apps to teach about human anatomy or to identify living things (e.g., plant determination). According to the teachers, mAR can improve students’ learning outcomes, motivation, and collaboration, and further their enthusiasm for learning biology. The main obstacles that teachers encounter whilst integrating mAR into their lessons are lack of technical devices, Internet issues, inconsistency with the curriculum, and questionable scientific accuracy of information. Despite the promising results, additional future studies with larger sample sizes are needed.

After Jeanette Wing in 2006 described computational thinking (CT) as a fundamental skill for everyone just like reading or arithmetic, it has become a widely discussed topic all over the world. Computational thinking is a problem-solving skill set that is used to tackle problems in computer science. However, these skills, such as pattern recognition, decomposition, abstraction, generalization, and algorithmic thinking, are useful in other domains, as well. This study focuses on the use of CT skills to approach complex linguistic learning tasks in the foreign language classroom. To foster these problem-solving skills, an innovative method is used. The authors take advantage of computer science (CS) models (e.g. Unified Modeling Language – UML) and transform them into a teaching and learning tool. This paper describes the design and implementation of a survey used to detect students’ use of learning strategies that are linked to computational thinking. This survey is an instrument used in a multiple-case study and was administered at the beginning of the interventions. The participants of the study were learners of English and Spanish (n=66) from two secondary schools. Results indicated that the students were medium to low users of learning strategies that demand problem-solving skills related to computational thinking. Differences by gender were also found, with females reporting higher use of learning strategies than males. To conclude, the study showed a low use of strategies among students and highlighted the importance of introducing students to learning strategies and fostering skills needed for future professional life.

Today’s teaching and didactical methods are progressively aiming to integrate digital technologies, computational thinking (CT), and basic computer science concepts into other subjects. An innovative and creative way of combining and integrating CT and teaching cross-curricular skills without digital devices is to include the game Poly-Universe (PolyUni). According to previous research, the game is expected to have a positive effect on visual perceptual progress, including isolation, and the development of shape-background skills. So far, however, comparatively few attempts have been made to explore the educational possibilities of PolyUni for different school levels and subjects, besides mathematics. Therefore, this article aims to close this gap by exploring how PolyUni can be used to promote CT in three subjects: physical education (PE), digital education (DGE), and biology (B). Furthermore, it evaluates whether the pre-defined learning objectives in those subjects have been achieved, and examines how PolyUni combines the requirements of the different curricula in Austrian secondary school, based on self-designed tasks. Additionally, further aspects of PolyUni such as engagement and collaboration are discussed. To explore the above-mentioned benefits, a mixed-methods study was implemented, whereas the workshops and accompanying teaching materials (e.g., worksheets) were developed based on the COOL Informatics concept. The participant observation method was employed for qualitative data collection, and a self-designed assessment grid as well as additional picture analysis were used for the quantitative data. PolyUni was introduced in three different workshops at Austrian secondary schools with 80 students observed and analyzed. Based on the present data, it can be assumed that PolyUni supports achieving the requirements of the different curricula and pre-defined teaching and learning objectives in a playful way. Furthermore, the game not only promotes CT in secondary school but also encourages enjoyment and collaboration between peers in biological, digital, and physical education lessons.

Basic Digital Education (BDE) is already planned to be integrated with the forthcoming curriculum for Austrian primary schools (6–10 years) as it was already implemented for lower secondary schools (10–14 years) in 2018. BDE includes the most essential and novel developments of Computational Thinking (CT), which are fundamentally responsible for nurturing students' problem-solving skills. Thus, evaluating teaching materials, scaffolding guidelines, and assessments is becoming increasingly important for the successful implementation of CT in Austrian classrooms. This study is a part of a longitudinal multi-cycle educational design research project aiming to explore how to foster CT and to raise the awareness, importance, and confidence of teachers and students in applying CT for everyday uses. Our paper focuses on a sub-study in which teaching units for grade 3 and 4 students (8–10 years) were designed by combining an Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook and Physical Computing with the micro:bit device. The designed learning environment consists of three units and was implemented in two classes over 3 weeks. The two classes were further split into two groups each, to ensure better support during implementation. The class teachers received upfront teacher training and conducted pre- and post-test assessments with the students. The resulting data was then analyzed to gain insights into the effects on CT skills of the young learners. Results showed that combining block-based programming and physical computing devices could become a promising approach to promote computational thinking skills in lower school grades. Furthermore, the observed direction of the designed units supports low-barrier access to increase the desired uses of CT in classrooms.

In this paper, we propose novel transdisciplinary STEAM practices to enable students and teachers to model architecture using technology. Architectural modelling can foster students' mathematical knowledge and computational thinking while connecting them to other disciplines such as culture and history. Our study focuses on enabling architectural, cultural, and historical diversity in educational practices. Moreover, the study tries to foster participants' modelling skills and innovative technology use as augmented reality and 3D printing. Thus, this paper will describe three case studies from Austria, Libya, and Indonesia and how these STEAM practices were used in different ways to allow participants to express their diversities through modelling diverse architectural constructions cross-culturally. We followed a qualitative data analysis approach for the participants' interviews, questionnaires and artefacts including architectural modelling, disciplines connections and lesson plans. The data analysis resulted in emerging themes emphasizing STEAM practices' possibilities to connect architecture to culture and history and highlighting the participants' cultural diversities in each of the three case studies.

Wir leben in einer Zeit, in der sich die 4. industrielle Revolution mit einer der größten Herausforderungen der modernen Gesellschaft überschneidet: der SARS-COVID-19-Pandemie. Aufgrund des eingeführten „Distance Learning“ wurde der Tagesablauf der Schülerinnen und Schüler auf den Kopf gestellt. Die meiste Zeit mussten sie ihre schulischen Aufgaben selbst organisieren und waren vor allem in der digitalen Welt gefordert. Als Österreich 2018 die verbindliche Übung „Digitale Grundbildung“ in der Sekundarstufe I einführte, feierten auch digitale Kompetenzen, Medienkompetenzen sowie politische Bildung ihren offiziellen Einzug ins Klassenzimmer. Der vorliegende Beitrag berichtet über die Erfahrungen mit dem neuen Curriculum im Rahmen des „Distance Learning“, wobei eine Umfrage ausgewertet wurde, die während der SARS-COVID-19-Pandemie stattfand. Die Studie wurde an 133 öffentliche Schulen der Sekundarstufe I in Oberösterreich verschickt, wobei 121 Lehrerinnen und Lehrer bereit waren den Fragebogen auszufüllen. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass fast jede Schule den Unterricht in „Digitaler Grundbildung“ fortgeführt hat.

Robotics is needed as education keeps up with challenges students are facing in a technological environment. A long-term research project focuses on developing a feasible robotics-based learning environment that enables primary school teachers to introduce computer science education. This paper shows educational robotics combining storytelling to promote computational thinking through the method of Tell, Draw, and Code. The study was conducted via pre–post test, using the Beginners Computational Thinking test (BCTt), with third and fourth graders (N = 40) to determine if the integration of robotics-based storytelling activities enhances computational thinking skills. Results show that an increase in computational thinking is evident after the intervention is implemented. The approach of combining stories, texts, and literature with educational robotics seems to be a promising concept to equip students with the required skills.