Digitalisation in Higher Education: A Flipped Classroom Arrangement to foster Internationalisation

This practical paper presents a successful international teaching & learning project in Higher Education (HE), which can be used as blue print for similar international HE teaching/learning cooperations. A virtual module, delivering 5 ECTS to participants from Germany and Iran, was organized as flipped classroom (FC), consisting of 2 phases: (1) online phase of 7 weeks, having started at April 12, 2019, with 15 students from Shiraz University, Iran, and 23 students from TU Dresden, Germany, collaborating in mixed teams of 5–6 participants each on a complex business case under tight guidance by qualified learning community managers, and (2) a follow-up on-site meeting at TU Dresden in the first week of July with 3 intensive workshops applying different techniques to consolidate the prior online collaboration results

Migration to the Flipped Classroom – Applying a Scalable Flipped Classroom Arrangement

Purpose – This paper is part of an extensive project1 which focusses on creating and implementing a scalable flipped classroom framework to broaden information and media competencies in university staff in Saxony. A flipped classroom arrangement with a sensible mix of multimedia tools promotes meaningful learning and lowers travel costs by avoiding content consumption in face-to-face time and instead offers content beforehand using various sources. This paper will in particular focus on the approach to gradually apply a flipped classroom arrangement to a B2B-Marketing course specifically designed for part-time students and use the implications to promote this method and further the step-by-step migration to the flipped classroom at universities in Saxony. Design/methodology/approach – Gathering information by reviewing previous experiences in E-Learning over the past decade, we were able to create an overview of how to approach part-time students and identified various concepts to create a more flexible and meaningful learning environment. We decided on a flipped classroom arrangement which offers time sensible teaching and promotes meaningful learning. A flipped classroom framework has been created which can be adjusted freely. Finally, we implemented the framework to a B2B-Marketing course by adapting it to the course content, time frame and attendance number. This procedure is designed to gradually increase usage of multi media tools and self efficacy and thereby steadily migrates the course to the flipped classroom. Originality/value – Focussing on part-time students’ needs and satisfying them with a flipped classroom arrangement is an entirely new approach. This project connects parttime- learning with online learning in a yet unprecedented manner. Practical implications – This paper describes the project’s two main outcomes. Firstly, an independent scalable framework which can be adapted to different learners’ and teachers’ needs. Secondly, the application strategy is described in detail and offers explicit indications and methods to implement the flipped classroom gradually. Also, there will be an evaluation which will be interpreted and summarized in a guideline as well as patterns and lessons learned. In general, this project aims to broaden media and information competencies and encourage and strengthen collaboration in higher education in Saxony

Ein Fall für zwei Hochschulen: Entwicklung eines modularen Manuals zur Gestaltung von Fallstudienseminaren im virtuellen Raum

Das Projekt „Ein Fall für zwei Hochschulen“ wird vom Sächsischen Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Kultur und Tourismus (SMWK) gefördert. Ziel des laufenden Projektes ist es ein bereits erprobtes didaktisch-methodisches Framework weiterzuentwickeln und in einem Manual aufzuarbeiten. Dieses Manual soll Lehrende unterschiedlicher Hochschultypen und Fachdisziplinen unterstützen, effizient Lehrmaterialien und Inhalte, sowie die organisatorische Struktur für eine fallstudienbasierte, hochschultypübergreifende und virtuelle Lehrveranstaltung zu erarbeiten und gewinnbringend in ihrer Lehre einzusetzen

Manual Virtuelle Lehrkooperationen

Das Projekt „Ein Fall für zwei Hochschulen“ wurde vom Sächsischen Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Kultur und Tourismus (SMWK), im Rahmen der Initiative „Bildungsportal Sachsen“, in der Laufzeit von Mai 2019 bis Dezember 2020 gefördert. Projektbeteiligte waren Prof. Anne-Katrin Haubold - Professur für Human Resources Management und Prof. Ronny Baierl - Professur für Schlüsselqualifikationen der HTW Dresden, sowie Prof. Dr. Eric Schoop - Professur für Wirtschaftsinformatik, insbes. Informationsmanagement (WIIM) der TU Dresden. Ziel des Projektes war es, ein bereits erprobtes didaktisch-methodisches Framework weiterzuentwickeln und in einem Manual aufzuarbeiten. Dieses Manual soll Lehrende unterschiedlicher Hochschultypen und Fachdisziplinen unterstützen, Lehrmaterialien und Inhalte, sowie die organisatorische Struktur für eine fallstudienbasierte, hochschultypübergreifende und virtuelle Lehrveranstaltung zu erarbeiten und gewinnbringend einzusetzen. Das Manual beschreibt die an der Professur WIIM entwickelte virtuelle Fallstudiendidaktik des Virtual Collaborative Learning (VCL) in einer hochschultypübergreifenden Variante. VCL ist ein Best-Practice-Framework für innovative online Lern/Lehrformate, die sich gut in übergeordnete Blended Learning Arrangements integrieren lassen. Es basiert auf jahrelanger intensiver wissenschaftlicher Forschung im Rahmen mehrerer Dissertationen und Projekte. Blended Learning bezeichnet die didaktisch sinnvolle Kombination von traditionellem Präsenzlernen und Online-Lernen auf der Basis neuer Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien. VCL wird seit 2001 kontinuierlich in der formalen Lehre eingesetzt. Ziel ist es, das Lernen in studentischen Kleingruppen in den virtuellen Raum zu übertragen. Die Studierenden arbeiten über einen festgelegten Zeitraum an authentischen Business Cases mit klarem Praxisbezug. Sie werden in ihrer Zusammenarbeit von qualifizierten E-Tutoren unterstützt. Das VCL-Framework ist inhaltsunabhängig und bietet vielseitige Möglichkeiten für universitätsübergreifende Zusammenarbeit

Climatic changes and social transformations in the Near East and North Africa during the ‘long’ 4th millennium BC: A comparative study of environmental and archaeological evidence

This paper explores the possible links between rapid climate change (RCC) and social change in the Near East and surrounding regions (Anatolia, central Syria, southern Israel, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and eastern and central Sahara) during the ‘long’ 4th millennium (∼4500–3000) BC. Twenty terrestrial and 20 marine climate proxies are used to identify long-term trends in humidity involving transitions from humid to arid conditions and vice versa. The frequency distribution of episodes of relative aridity across these records is calculated for the period 6300–2000 BC, so that the results may be interpreted in the context of the established arid episodes associated with RCC around 6200 and 2200 BC (the 8.2 and 4.2 kyr events). We identify two distinct episodes of heightened aridity in the early-mid 4th, and late 4th millennium BC. These episodes cluster strongly at 3600–3700 and 3100–3300 BC. There is also evidence of localised aridity spikes in the 5th and 6th millennia BC. These results are used as context for the interpretation of regional and local archaeological records with a particular focus on case studies from western Syria, the middle Euphrates, southern Israel and Cyprus. Interpretation of the records involves the construction of plausible narratives of human–climate interaction informed by concepts of adaptation and resilience from the literature on contemporary (i.e. 21st century) climate change and adaptation. The results are presented alongside well-documented examples of climatically-influenced societal change in the central and eastern Sahara, where detailed geomorphological studies of ancient environments have been undertaken in tandem with archaeological research. While the narratives for the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean remain somewhat speculative, the use of resilience and adaptation frameworks allows for a more nuanced treatment of human–climate interactions and recognises the diversity and context-specificity of human responses to climatic and environmental change. Our results demonstrate that there is a need for more local environmental data to be collected ‘at source’ during archaeological excavations

Migration to the Flipped Classroom – Applying a Scalable Flipped Classroom Arrangement

Purpose – This paper is part of an extensive project1 which focusses on creating and implementing a scalable flipped classroom framework to broaden information and media competencies in university staff in Saxony. A flipped classroom arrangement with a sensible mix of multimedia tools promotes meaningful learning and lowers travel costs by avoiding content consumption in face-to-face time and instead offers content beforehand using various sources. This paper will in particular focus on the approach to gradually apply a flipped classroom arrangement to a B2B-Marketing course specifically designed for part-time students and use the implications to promote this method and further the step-by-step migration to the flipped classroom at universities in Saxony. Design/methodology/approach – Gathering information by reviewing previous experiences in E-Learning over the past decade, we were able to create an overview of how to approach part-time students and identified various concepts to create a more flexible and meaningful learning environment. We decided on a flipped classroom arrangement which offers time sensible teaching and promotes meaningful learning. A flipped classroom framework has been created which can be adjusted freely. Finally, we implemented the framework to a B2B-Marketing course by adapting it to the course content, time frame and attendance number. This procedure is designed to gradually increase usage of multi media tools and self efficacy and thereby steadily migrates the course to the flipped classroom. Originality/value – Focussing on part-time students’ needs and satisfying them with a flipped classroom arrangement is an entirely new approach. This project connects parttime- learning with online learning in a yet unprecedented manner. Practical implications – This paper describes the project’s two main outcomes. Firstly, an independent scalable framework which can be adapted to different learners’ and teachers’ needs. Secondly, the application strategy is described in detail and offers explicit indications and methods to implement the flipped classroom gradually. Also, there will be an evaluation which will be interpreted and summarized in a guideline as well as patterns and lessons learned. In general, this project aims to broaden media and information competencies and encourage and strengthen collaboration in higher education in Saxony

Imbrication between human and material agencies in decision making in the police work force: Affordances explained in practice

Task complexity has been an important part of analyses of the Group Support System literature and relates to both task performance’s process and outcomes. The entanglement between the human agency (e.g., users) and the material agency (e.g., technology) should not be underestimated when considering decision-making enacted through technology usage. A relational concept of technology, affordances and constraints facilitates the organizational understanding of the potential of a technology as well as its sometimes unintended use. In order to assess the interaction between human and material agencies, we draw from the “imbrication” metaphor on sociomateriality. In this article, we combine the perspective of affordances with the McGrath task typology/circumplex) to study the material and human agency in the context of decision making in police work. Our approach is illustrated with field data collected during decision-making of police officers in practice. The approach proves useful to determine the outcomes of technology on High Reliability Organizations. It outlines differences between intended technology use and technology affordance as it is enacted in practice

Personalwirtschaft integrativ und virtuell

Das hochschulübergreifende Lehrangebot „Personalwirtschaft integrativ und virtuell“ steht für ein interaktives sowie flexibles Lernarrangement. Ziel des kooperativen Projektes zwischen den wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultäten der Technischen Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) und der Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden (HTW Dresden) ist die Realisierung eines lernerzentrierten, integrativen und virtuellen Lehrkonzepts. Der vorliegende Beitrag fokussiert sich in diesem Zusammenhang auf die Darstellung des didaktischen Grundkonzeptes und damit einhergehend auf die Schaffung eines generischen Frameworks zur Übertragung auf ähnliche Lehr-/Lernszenarien in der Hochschullehre. Zudem werden die aus der Durchführung des kooperativen Lehr-Lern-Projektes resultierenden Herausforderungen und Potenziale im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit und Verstetigung der Projektergebnisse für weiterführende Lehrangebote herausgearbeitet

Ein Fall für zwei Hochschulen: Entwicklung eines modularen Manuals zur Gestaltung von Fallstudienseminaren im virtuellen Raum

Das Projekt „Ein Fall für zwei Hochschulen“ wird vom Sächsischen Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Kultur und Tourismus (SMWK) gefördert. Ziel des laufenden Projektes ist es ein bereits erprobtes didaktisch-methodisches Framework weiterzuentwickeln und in einem Manual aufzuarbeiten. Dieses Manual soll Lehrende unterschiedlicher Hochschultypen und Fachdisziplinen unterstützen, effizient Lehrmaterialien und Inhalte, sowie die organisatorische Struktur für eine fallstudienbasierte, hochschultypübergreifende und virtuelle Lehrveranstaltung zu erarbeiten und gewinnbringend in ihrer Lehre einzusetzen