Abstract:

When it comes to the digitization of university teaching, there is no shortage of available options. In their comprehensive assessment of international academic journals, Trenholm et al. (2012 and 2015) identified five general trends in the field of Mathematics Education: mobile technologies for teaching and learning, MOOCs (massive open online courses), LOs and digital libraries (with the LOs being developed, packaged, distributed, and then stored in a repository), technological environments for collaborative learning (such as learning management systems, LMS), and blended learning in teacher training education. The researchers also determined that there had been precious few prior empirical studies relating to digitization in teaching, with personal experience playing a dominant role in this context. One of the core findings concerned the evaluation of e-lectures (in contrast to live classes), showing that tutors value their effectiveness and the benefits of routine while students appreciate aspects such as flexibility, convenience, autonomous learning, and the ability to pause and rewind. The clear structure of e-lectures has also been highlighted in a number of quarters. In terms of disadvantages compared with live teaching, tutors report that digitized teaching makes it difficult to convey emotions, causes students to miss out on direct feedback, and is associated with reduced interaction. Indeed, Borba et al. (2016) state that digitized teaching needs to undergo substantial further development in order to properly promote suitable and beneficial collaboration among students. They also note that this is of particular relevance to Mathematics, as advanced mathematical thought is chiefly acquired in the context of an exchange.

One digital format that enables live teaching – that is, a direct exchange between tutors and students as well as among students themselves – is the online seminar or “webinar.” The webinar is being deployed as one of a variety of teaching tools within the scope of the MathEdu Digital project at the University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. This project is aimed at digitizing teacher training education courses with a particular focus on Mathematics teaching methodology in secondary education. Participants will be investigating access requirements and barriers facing tutors, especially those with more modest digital skills, while also considering aspects of communication, interaction, and students’ acquisition of skills relating to digital matters and Mathematics teaching methodology.

Keywords:

Digitization of University Teaching, e-learning, Webinar, Blended-Learning, Learning Management Systems, Mathematics Teacher Education.