Education and digital transformation

Who we are and what we do

In our research unit "Education and Digital Transformation" we observe how the societal, political and cultural conditions in education are steadily changing.

In particular, we focus on the increase of digitalization and the digital competences children and young people are going to need in the future. We further examine the consequences of digitalization for curricula development, learning environments, learning processes and teacher education.

In order to prepare educators to pay attention to these new developments and to meet the challenges posed by digitalization, it is crucial to explore new avenues in teaching and research. In our research group, we respond to these pedagogical and societal realities, often by working in interdisciplinary teams and by applying experimental and participative research methods.

Through this approach the development of theory (i.e. the evolution of concepts and their descriptions) and practice becomes richer and more diverse. Our research combines different approaches with regard to both methodology and theory. In this way, we treat questions related to education at the interface of education and society, which occasionally lead us to identify new topics of examination or new objects of research. At the same time, we aim to discuss problems and questions concerning educational research in a broader context, as we do not only see these as private or individual issues but always regard them as joint and public matters.

Two people work with digital devices {f:if(condition: '(c) M. Reicho', then: '©(c) M. Reicho')}
©(c) M. Reicho

Topics that we are currently addressing in our research and teaching revolve around the questions...

  • ... how digitized applications (Internet, digital learning environments or games) shape our (virtual) reality and what this means for individual life and living together.
  • ... how we can support the pedagogical professionalization and competence development of future and experienced teachers through the research-based development of targeted pedagogical models and materials.

Interdisciplinary networks in which we are active include:

  • Human factor in digital transformation (HFDT) - interdisciplinary network that deals with the transformation of our society through digital technologies
  • Colibri - a combination of "biological sciences", "social sciences" and "computational complexity sciences" in which we deal with the complexity of life

Teaching materials that we are currently developing alongside our publications include

  • Resources for conceptualizing and creating digital stories on climate change mitigation (digital story telling & climate change).
  • A learning app (serious gaming) to promote cybersecurity skills among young people.
  • A video case archive with stories from school that links practice and theory in teaching and research.
  • Teaching materials that deal with the topic of social inequality in education.

Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil.
Kathrin Marie Otrel-Cass
Leitung
kathrin.otrel-cass(at)uni-graz.at

+43 316 380 - 3837

Anna Major BA

anna.major(at)uni-graz.at

+43 316 380 - 2560
Employees

Overview of current third-party funded projects

Hacking Innovative Pedagogies: Digital Education Rewilded (HIP)
Professionalization in STEAM career change (ProQ-Steam)
Video case archive: Stories from school
KusMINT - Culturally sensitive pedagogy in STEM lessons
Interactive Audio Books

Overview of theses

2023

2022

2021

Ongoing dissertation projects:

"Counteracting Fake News (COFANE): Rethinking digital competencies for the educational future" by Michael Reicho, bakk (phil) (Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kathrin Otrel-Cass; Secondary supervision: Ao. Prof. Fritz Hausjell). This dissertation deals with digital skills of students and teachers for the prevention and early detection of disinformation, also known as "fake news". The aim is to develop an effective and practical pedagogical approach and implement it in the classroom. This also involves the digital realities of pupils, digital teaching and learning settings and digital skills teaching in schools.

"Career Change into the Teaching Profession: Identity Formation and the Significance of Emotion in Out-Of-Field Teaching" by Melanie Gürentz, MA, BA (Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kathrin Otrel-Cass; Secondary supervision: Priv.-Doz. Dr. Margit Raich). The aim of this thesis is to investigate the various aspects of identity construction of career changers and the important role of emotions in this process. This process can be seen as even more complex when career changers teach outside their subject area.

Worth knowing

Video case archive
Teaching materials, tools, videos
Completed projects