Study "Digital Education at Bavarian Universities during the Corona Pandemic" published
12.10.2022
In our new study, students, higher education teachers and deans were asked about the current state of digital education at Bavarian universities. The study focuses on the summer semester of 2021, which is determined by Corona, but also broadens the view to the tasks that lie ahead after the pandemic has subsided.
During the Corona pandemic, universities managed to provide a robust infrastructure, particularly consisting of video conferencing systems and learning management systems. This infrastructure enabled most faculty to deliver their courses online. Despite the resulting increase in flexibility of study, which is highly appreciated by both students and higher education teachers, didactic and innovative changes in teaching often failed to materialize. Rather, previous formats of teaching in presence were often substituted and the potential of digital technologies was therefore not exploited. However, higher education teachers showed commitment in their qualification, which often took place in collegial collaboration and autodidactically. The study shows that many higher education teachers have the necessary digital skills. However, there is also a smaller group in which the digital skills are not present to a sufficient degree.
The largely predominant online teaching also posed problems for some students: However, these problems were not so much due to a lack of digital skills as to the increased demands on selfregulation skills. Lack of Internet stability and speed also proved to be a problem for some students. The lack of personal contact with peers was cited particularly frequently as the main problem. This contact was also missed by the higher education teachers. The potential of digital solutions in terms of flexibility and availability in teaching was appreciated by all participants.
The universities are now faced with the challenge of involving all participants in the digital transformation and responding to the different prerequisites and needs. Taking stock of the experience gained from online teaching is important in order to combine the best of both worlds: what should the "new presence" look like - what can also be taught well online. Even clearer strategic management by the universities plays an important role here, and central to this is the consolidation of infrastructure and qualification and support initiatives that have often only been temporarily funded to date.
The study is freely accessible at:
https://www.vbw-bayern.de/vbw/Themen-und-Services/Bildung/Hochschule/Studie-Digitale-Bildung-an-bayerischen-Hochschulen.jsp
(Language: German)