Learning Solutions News

LEARNING & COMMUNITY CORNER   We hold a webinar and what remains? - an interactive guest post

Take off with AI AI is becoming an increasingly integral part of private and professional life. Here you will find tips on AI and prompting, as well as an introduction to the AI tool Notebook LM and some thought-provoking aspects of the topic.

Hohoho 🎅 dear teachers, dear colleagues, There's news from Learning Solutions again BUT this time in the form of an advent calendar with the Actionbound tool.

LEARNING & COMMUNITY CORNER eStudy and the benefits for your own teaching - a guest article

DIDACTICS & TEACHING Socially polarising topics in university courses Social, political and economic challenges also pose complex challenges for the university landscape worldwide.

INNOVATION & INITIATIVE Enriching the classroom with video Since Corona at the latest, (educational) videos have become an integral part of university teaching.

LEARNING & COMMUNITY CORNER MCI Teaching Award 2023 Excellent teaching is an essential and unshakeable building block for the quality of a university. The success of good teaching is based on two factors: on professional expertise and on good, well thought-out didactics. Outstanding teaching, in turn, has a third, additional component: the ability of the teacher to inspire students for a subject, a topic or a problem. The winners of the MCI Teaching Awards 2023 have in any case proven that they can motivate and inspire students for their subject and at the same time encourage them to actively tackle challenges. Daniel Sieber, Bernhard Hollaus and Sabine Mertens were presented with the MCI Teaching Award on 5 December 2023. Daniel Sieber"Teaching with a large proportion of content and experience from professional practice is particularly important to me. Effective learning in a lively exchange with students is best achieved when communication takes place at eye level. I am therefore particularly pleased with evaluation feedback such as "very interesting and practical, enjoyable lessons with discussions and lots of details from industry" or "very knowledgeable, but still very respectful to students". In the coming semesters, we want to continuously develop our teaching together with our young and dynamic team and add new aspects from research." Bernhard Hollaus"Lifelong learning - this expression is often associated with further training or similar. But you can learn from anything and everything, including from our students and their evaluations. Evaluations encourage self-reflection and help you to continuously improve your own teaching. Evaluation is probably the most favourable further training offered at the MCI. It would therefore be wise to take it seriously and ideally learn from it as a teacher and as a person. It is an enormous help to me." Sabine Mertens"Relevant specialist knowledge and experience are good prerequisites because they make you more confident and allow you to focus on other things, for example on interactions in the courses. Especially when students have different backgrounds, it's important to involve everyone, to challenge them but never overwhelm them. I try to give students a sense of achievement by paying attention to who I ask which questions and give tasks to. I try to pass on my own enthusiasm to the students. Good preparation, a varied presentation and the courage to admit your own mistakes are important. But in my opinion, the relationship with the students comes first. If you manage to build a relationship, success in teaching will follow .... At least for me, this seems to work." ©MCI / Janine Kiechl The picture shows (l.t.r.) Andreas Altmann, Bernhard Hollaus, Sabine Mertens, Daniel Sieber, Franz Pegger Dear Daniel, dear Bernhard, dear Sabine, on behalf of the entire Teaching Community, congratulations on your great achievement! Background information on the Teaching Award:The MCI University College presents the Teaching Award annually in recognition of outstanding achievements in teaching. Teachers are nominated automatically and comprehensively on the basis of the course evaluation by the students. Among other things, the expertise of the lecturers, the methods used, the didactics of the teaching as well as the relevance and implementation possibilities of the content taught are assessed.   DIDACTICS & TEACHING AI at the MCI: Update of the examination regulations In November, Claudia Mössenlechner and Franz Pegger provided information on an update to the examination regulations on behalf of the MCI Academic Council. An essential and new part of the examination regulations deals with the regulation for the use of generative AI systems by students and can be found in point 3.5 of the examination regulations. The cooperation between the College's Teaching Committee and members of the AI focus group is particularly noteworthy here. Collaboration was an important component in the development of the regulations concerning AI systems. Further information on the use of AI in teaching, possibilities and limitations can be found in the MCI handout and on the Teach Online page.   INNOVATION & INITIATIVE Learn & Work - Ecosystem Library Newly discovered and found helpful - the Learn & Work – Ecosystem Library as a tip from the teaching community for the community. The speciality of this library is the way it provides literature. It describes itself as a resource, dictionary and encyclopaedia - with the aim of providing a comprehensive, web-based and free database. It addresses the learning and working ecosystem, such as educational institutions, research initiatives and professional development. This is accompanied by different interest groups from the large field of learning and working, which are addressed. And this is where the speciality comes in: A total of 22 stakeholders were identified by the library. These can be considered during the literature search, which enables individual, detailed and customised search results. Have fun and enjoy browsing, searching and researching.      ©Learn&Work ECOSYSTEM LIBRARY Any other tips for the teaching community? We would be happy to include tips in the newsletter to enrich it - from teaching, for teaching. Lena Halbig would be happy to hear from you. A special THANK YOU to the Library Team for their kind permission to include the image in the newsletter.     TEACHING NUGGET- short, to the point, helpful   Mindfulness in teaching Working with and for people can be both fulfilling and draining at the same time. This also applies to teachers in the tertiary sector. The article "Achtsamkeit in der Lehre: Wie bewusste Präsenz die Hochschullehre bereichert" is about stress and how to deal with it. Perhaps just the right thing for the Christmas season, which often brings more stress than contemplation?Several AI tools can translate the article into English. Enjoy reading.   Dear teachers, dear colleagues, the Learning Solutions team would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, peaceful moments and a good start to the New Year.We look forward to working together in 2024! Your Learning Solutions Team   Contact us under: learningsolutions@mci.eduHere is our website: https://www.mci.edu/de/hochschule/das-mci/innovative-lehre

INNOVATION & INITIATIVE MCI eStudy One of the most exciting teaching projects at MCI at the moment! The MCI eStudy modules are online self-study learning modules that can be used as stand-alone microcredentials or as a stackable online Bachelor in General Management. They are aimed at (future) managers and those who want to continue their education in a flexible way. The MCI eStudy is a full bachelor programme that is 100% online and 100% self-study. It offers the greatest possible flexibility, from which teachers in particular can benefit - more on this in a moment. The teaching project was designed by the Learning Solutions team in cooperation with the BWLO under the leadership of Claudia Mössenlechner and Christiane Aufschnaiter. The content of the MCI eStudy modules is created by our lecturers and converted into a digital self-learning format by MCI Learning Solutions, a team of experienced educators, instructional designers and media producers. The modules are made available to students via our eStudy Campus. Each topic is based on a pre-defined and designed learning path that helps students work through specific topics in the form of subtopics and topic blocks. MCI eStudy consists of 18 independent modules, each worth 5 ECTS. The pre-defined learning path allows for motivating introductions, individualised input and application-oriented phases to consolidate, deepen and review knowledge. The completion of each module also requires the ability to present and apply what has been learnt orally, in writing and as a scientific paper. The possibility of using the eStudy modules in a modular way has several advantages for study programmes and teachers. These are, for example: the individualisation of curricula the integration of hybrid learning elements the low-threshold use of microcredentials Variety in everyday teaching Curious? After all the theory, we now need to take a look at the modules. Click here for some inspiration! If you are interested in a teaching assignment and/or have questions regarding content and organisation, please contact Claudia Mössenlechner.     TEACHING NUGGET- the new category in the newsletter: short, to the point, helpful   ChatGPT, AI and The Future of Teaching and Learning: We All Need a Digital Assistant An interesting and entertaining Webinar, that brings personal assistance to the desk of all teachers.   DIDACTICS & TEACHING MCI Study & Learn Sakai site Showing options for action and enabling further development are two essential features in teaching. The newly designed MCI Study & Learn site combines this. It offers (potential) students as well as those interested in learning orientation and tips on various aspects of the large subject area of learning. Among other things, the Sakai site addresses the areas of "Smart and productive studying", "Lifelong learning" and the "(further) development of digital competences". We invite all teachers to share this page with students, parents, schools and the entire learning community. The Sakai MCI Study & Learn site has free access and can be visited without an MCI login! Feedback, suggestions and ideas can be passed on to Katharina Matschl.      LEARNING & COMMUNITY CORNER Gaming4Learning Learning Solutions has recently launched a new training course: Gaming4Learning. We are pleased to include feedback from Thomas Aichner, who has already successfully completed the course.                           Prof. Dr. Thomas Aichner, Vortragender im Executive MBA am MCI:  "The 'Gaming4Learning' online course was very enriching for me as a marketing professor. Despite the confirmation that games are not able to achieve all learning objectives in every course, they have the potential to make teaching more diverse and engaging. It became clear that games can help to deliver certain content more effectively, regardless of the age of the participants or the size of the group. The examples in the course were generally helpful and have inspired me to use game-based elements more often in the future."   Anyone interested in reading the newsletter and, like Mr Aichner, wanting to immerse themselves in Gaming4Learning can register via the Designer. Thanks to the self-paced format, the course is 100% flexible. Of course, the Learning Solutions team is always happy to receive feedback! Special thanks to Mr Thomas Aichner for the nice contact and the personal feedback.   Successful and inspiring courses to all of you and see you soon! Let’s do this together! The MCI Learning Solutions Team Contact us under: learningsolutions@mci.eduHere is our website: https://www.mci.edu/de/hochschule/das-mci/innovative-lehre

DIDACTICS & TEACHING MCI Video Gallery INNOVATIVE TEACHING means MULTI-MEDIA teaching During the summer months, many teachers are busy preparing, adapting and setting up their courses. Many are looking for new, multi-media and innovative teaching materials that support the transfer of learning. MCI Learning Solutions have created a selection of video lecturers in the format of an online gallery of outstanding teachers. (Many THANKS to all the teachers and professors who have contributed here). We invite you to use the gallery intensively for teaching. INNOVATIVE TEACHING IS MULTI-MEDIA. The MCI Video Gallery provides access to an extensive repertoire of teaching videos in the fields of Economics and Life Sciences & Technology. In addition to a legend that explains the most important framework conditions for using the videos, you will find a description at the top of the page on how to embed the videos in your Sakai courses. Have fun browsing and finding the right videos for your courses! We would be very happy to hear about your experiences. 😊   INNOVATION & INITIATIVE AI Focus Group | Chat GPT & Co. at MCI The European Union formulated a draft law on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in June 2023 as part of the EU Digital Strategy. This contains proposals for regulating the use of AI in research, business and for digital security. Thus, the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) has a direct and indirect impact on education and training in the European Higher Education Area. It requires ensuring criteria and frameworks for the use of AI to generate positive, societal benefits. For the second time, interested teachers came together with the Learning Solutions team for a meeting of the AI focus group. At both meetings, the focus was particularly on the areas of using AI at the MCI for teaching, during teaching sessions and in dealing with plagiarism. The Learning Solutions team is proud to present the new MCI handbook, which serves as a guide for AI at the MCI. The German and English versions can be downloaded here. There you will find a variety of approaches, orientation points and practical examples. The broad spectrum ranges from the creation of learning content to exams and plagiarism. We are happy to receive feedback on the guideline! Julia Bär is particularly looking forward to your response. A brand new section called AI at MCI has been added to the Teach Online Sakai site. It covers the latest developments in AI and higher education. As well as ideas, inspiration and support, there is a well-curated selection of high quality self-learning resources and innovative self-learning opportunities in the field of AI and teaching. Immerse yourself in the world of AI, the fascination of large language modules, the added value of learning and teaching at MCI. At the same time, you will get to grips with the problems of AI and learn about its limitations and biases. Have fun trying out AI Tools like ChatGPT!   MCI Faculty Lunch The first MCI Faculty Lunch, organised by Quality Management and Learning Solutions, took place in June to strengthen networking and exchange between faculty. The event was supported in particular by the active participation of the teaching staff. Lively discussions and presentations covered a wide range of teaching topics such as innovations, visions and the prerequisites for good teaching - always with the aim of making teaching effective, future-oriented and sustainable for all concerned. In keeping with the name of the event, lunch was also provided. In order to get closer to our goal of a regular exchange among the teaching staff, there will be new information about the next Faculty Lunch soon - stay tuned.     LEARNING & COMMUNITY CORNER Changes in the team: Farewells It was with tears and laughter that we said goodbye to Victoria Pirker on 31 July, as she and her family moved back to her old adopted home of Brussels.Dear Victoria, thank you for the time we spent together and the intense conversations about politics and the spirit of the times. We wish you and your family a wonderful and exciting time in Brussels. All the best! À bientôt. Already in mid-March we said goodbye to our dear colleague Ina Müller, who went on maternity leave at that time. In the meantime, we were able to congratulate Ina on the birth of her son.We are very happy for the three of you dear Ina and hope to welcome you back to our team in the near or distant future - best wishes to you and your family! On 28 February, just before Ina went on maternity leave, we had to say goodbye to two longstanding and valued colleagues, Michaela Preuner and Markus Fanninger. Dear Michi and Markus, you have been an important part of the team and have seen Learning Solutions through challenging and difficult times. We thank you for your commitment and wish you all the best for the future! Changes in the team: Welcome round Since the last newsletter in December 2022, there have also been some additions to the Learning Solutions team. Julia Bär has been supporting the team since 01 January. Lena Halbig joined the team on 01 March and Katharina Matschl completed the Instructional Design team on 10 July. All three introduce themselves to you in the videos below. Dear Julia, Lena and Katharina - welcome to the team How is | Julia Bär https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAQjpFJPRt8 How is | Lena Halbig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJfIJmhECHU How is | Katharina Matschl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmEWeJoTW8w Whether it is face-to-face, blended or online teaching, we are here to help with any questions, problems or ideas you may have. Have a great summer and see you soon! Your Learning Solutions Team Contact us under: learningsolutions@mci.eduHere is our website: https://www.mci.edu/de/hochschule/das-mci/innovative-lehre

LEARNING AND COMMUNITY CORNER New team member: Adam AndersenThe Learning Solutions team is pleased to welcome a new team member. Adam Andersen joined us on 15th of December and he will support the team in the area of media productions. In the following video you will learn everything you need to know about Adam :) Dear Adam - welcome to the team! Save the Date: 14th of February, 2023 –Digital Soft Skills @ Ulysseus Multiplier Event at MCI Do we use technology in a meaningful way? How does technology use impact our identity, wellbeing and social interaction? How can we use technology to create a sustainable impact? If you are interested in discussing these questions, check out the Erasmus+ co-funded project Digital Soft Skills (D2S) @ Ulysseus and join us at the Multiplier Event on 14th February, 2023 in the MCI auditorium. In addition to the presentation of the project results, our event "Digital Soft Skills for The Citizens of the Future", aims to bring together the community in the field of "Digital Skills Development" at university level, including transfer to working life. Save the date in your calendar - more information will follow soon via email! We are looking forward to your registration! INNOVATION AND INITIATIVE Fobizz Advent Calendar Advent calendars are available in many variations and with different contents. Today, we present you an advent calendar that contains 24 exciting micro training sessions on tools and tips for the classroom. (Unfortunately, the Advent calendar is only available in German.) Behind each virtual door one finds a short video with an explanation of the respective tool, as well as a small practical exercise. You don't need any prior knowledge to use the respective tools and they are suitable for practically all subjects. You don't have much time available? Then the calendar is just the right thing for you to get to know new tools quickly and easily. Each microtraining takes some 10-15 minutes to go through and you can do it in your own time (available throughout i.e. not only on the respective calendar day). The Advent calendar is offered by the fobizz training center, which specializes in topics related to IT, media and digitalization. The offer is free of charge and requires simple registration with an e-mail address and password. Here is the link to the advent calendar: www.fobizz.com/adventskalender DIDACTICS AND TEACHING Language Tool - The online spell checker You work a lot in Sakai and have often wished for a spelling checker like in Word? Maybe the following tool is just the right thing for you: The Language Tool is a free extension for your browser and checks texts for grammar and spelling mistakes - almost everywhere on the web! Concrete examples of use would be the edit mode on Sakai or in social networks. You open a text field, type into it and at the same time your text is checked for errors. It detects errors in capitalization, word confusion, various grammar errors or spelling mistakes. It can distinguish between American and British English, and 25 other languages are also supported. No registration is required to use it. The texts are sent to https://languagetool.org via an encrypted connection and no IP address is stored. You can easily add the smart writing assistant to your browser (e.g. Chrome or Firefox). By the way: It also works with common office programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Click here for more info and the free download: https://www.languagetool.org/ Engage your students with the MCI throwable microphone Engagement and active participation improves every lecture and knowledge sharing. However, this is easier said than done, especially with large-scale groups. With the MCI throwable microphone, you can activate students by simply throwing the dice. Everyone gets to participate in the discussion and simultaneously, develop their argumentation and communication skills. You can keep the discussion up to date and react spontaneously to the questions and comments. Contact us at learningsolutions@mci.edu  or just drop by if you want to borrow the throwable microphone for your lecture!   Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Your Learning Solutions Team Contact us under: learningsolutions@mci.eduHere is our website: https://www.mci.edu/en/hochschule/das-mci/innovative-lehre