Digitalization Strategy in Teaching

The enhanced digitalization strategy of Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) includes objectives and measures in the following areas:

Digital Competencies and Teaching-Learning Scenarios

Students at Ruhr University Bochum are prepared for the current challenges of the digital world of work and life and learn to independently keep the subject-specific and interdisciplinary digital skills they acquire during their studies up to date. Institutions responsible for degree courses and their teaching staff anticipate trends at an early stage and incorporate them into the curricula. In this way, these digitally-reflective, extended specialist skills are anchored in the curriculum. Teaching-learning scenarios benefit from the successful combination of classroom and digital support formats.

What Ruhr University Bochum is actually doing:

• The Centre for Teaching and Learning (Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik, ZfW) advises on digital learning progress monitoring, in particular on the design options on the Moodle learning platform.
• Ruhr University Bochum promotes the exchange of experience between the institutions responsible for degree courses with regard to the use of digital and e-examinations.
• Students can evaluate courses anonymously using software. The developers regularly survey students in order to further develop the software. In this way, digital tools can help to improve teaching.
• A tool shows students their individual progress compared to one or more peer groups.
• The e-exam room is continuously adapted to the various needs in terms of accessibility.

Digital Teaching and Digital Exams

Digital teaching and digital examinations enrich classroom teaching where they promote the personal development of students, safeguard educational opportunities and make didactic sense. Ruhr University Bochum supports its faculties and lecturers in the use of digital teaching, for example to expand teaching internationally and to intensify interaction between students and lecturers and students in courses. It encourages them to try out new forms and formats of digital teaching and, following successful initial implementation, to anchor them permanently in degree courses.

What Ruhr University Bochum is actually doing:

• In their own concepts, the institutions responsible for the degree programs regulate the extent to which digital teaching should take place in the respective degree program.
• All overarching RUB statutes containing regulations on the implementation of digital examinations are regularly reviewed and updated as necessary.

Feedback and Examination Culture

Digital tools and instruments are changing the feedback culture. A variety of digital feedback processes support both students and teachers in their individual development. They help students to ascertain their learning progress, manage their learning process and provide evidence of their performance to third parties. Teachers use them to further develop their teaching in an informed manner. Digital learning assistance systems based on artificial intelligence, for example, are incorporated in a targeted and transparent manner. The intensive use of digital feedback instruments and tools supports a high degree of individualization and interaction, reduces the workload and helps to do justice to the heterogeneity of students.

What Ruhr University Bochum is actually doing:

• The Centre for Teaching and Learning (Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik, ZfW) advises on digital learning progress monitoring, in particular on the design options on the Moodle learning platform.
• RUB promotes the exchange of experience between the institutions responsible for degree courses with regard to the use of digital and e-examinations.
• Students can evaluate courses anonymously using software. The developers regularly survey students in order to further develop the software. In this way, digital tools can help to improve teaching.
• A tool shows students their individual progress compared to one or more peer groups.
• The e-exam room is continuously adapted to the various needs in terms of accessibility.

Internationalization

Digitally supported international teaching in the form of digital or hybrid joint events across national borders (Virtual Exchange) and other digital mobility formats (Opened Courses, Virtual Mobility) is a central component of internationalization@home. It proactively supports this, particularly in international networks such as the European University Alliance UNIC. Digital tools and platforms open up access to international teaching and learning formats as part of the curricula and to a wide range of extra-curricular offerings. The curricula of all degree programs regulate whether and how students can acquire CP through Virtual Mobility or Virtual Exchange.

What Ruhr University Bochum is actually doing:

• The International Office and the Centre for Teaching and Learning (Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik, ZfW) offer supportive training and advisory services for teaching staff.
• The institutions responsible for the degree programs regularly offer digital events in which international students learn together with RUB students, for example as part of the European University UNIC.
• Ruhr University Bochum is involved in the design and establishment of the UNIC Virtual Campus.

Digital Accessibility

Barrier-free communication is the basis for equal participation in studies, research and teaching. Ruhr University Bochum provides support and information on inclusive didactics and digital accessibility and is developing its own services in line with the rapid developments in digitalization. Students, lecturers and advisors at RUB are sensitized to the topic, they know and use the available offers and tools.

What Ruhr University Bochum is actually doing:

• RUB uses a university-wide survey to find out the target groups whose needs it would like to address in a special way.
• RUB uses digital technologies to meet special requirements: Lecturers can facilitate low-barrier examinations for students with disabilities and offer options for learning that are specially tailored to them.
• Together with other universities, RUB is developing a permanent support and advisory service for the inclusive design of digital teaching and learning scenarios.
• The possibilities and limits of compensating for disadvantages are communicated transparently and presented in internal training courses.
• Experts of IT.SERVICES also select new software based on its accessibility.

Infrastructure and Support

Digital teaching and studying is possible everywhere at Ruhr University Bochum thanks to central support at various levels. As technical infrastructure plays a key role in this, it is being continuously developed in collaboration with teaching staff and students in order to create didactic and practical added value for teaching and studying. The introduction and further development of a new campus management system plays a central role as a uniform, comprehensive and seamless tool for the entire university. The system maps improved and complexity-reduced core processes and regulations of the study and examination organization and is the basis for further teaching and study-supporting digital – also AI-based – service and support offers.

What Ruhr University Bochum is actually doing:

• Basic technical infrastructure such as an area-wide WI-FI is being further expanded.
• Workspaces enable students to switch easily between face-to-face and digital teaching.
• New application scenarios for learning, research and innovation processes are being tested in innovation rooms.
• RUB offers training and advice on numerous aspects of digitalization. These offers are bundled in the service portal for employees (link leads to a German-language web page).
• Competent contact persons can help with legal issues relating to digitalization, such as copyright law. They actively provide information on innovations and interesting facts about digitalization at our university.