Finished Projects
In the BMBF research project PRiME - Professional Reflective Mobile Personal Learning Environments, RWTH Aachen University and its partner DB Training, Learning and Consulting of Deutsche Bahn create a learning and knowledge management system based on digital media.
It is designed to support mobile employees, for example service technicians, who do not have direct access to a computer, but still need permanently available and current data. The idea behind PRiME is to create customized information and training opportunities to improve workplace-related self-directed learning and to provide immediate assistance. The functions in PRiME go far beyond a classical LMS. The new approaches are particularly represented by mobile apps cooperating with each other.
QOLB / LeBiAC Stage 1 - Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung
With the Quality Initiative in Teacher Education the federal and state governments support the development and promotion of extending teacher-training programs. Since 1 January 2016, the Department for Didactics of Computer Science at RWTH Aachen University has been participating in the new program with three particular measures.
MINT-L-OER-amt
The aim of MINT-L-OER-amt is to integrate the concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) into the STEM education and training programs at the RWTH Aachen University. This is accomplished by qualifying and supporting certain target groups to create, edit and utilize OER Materials for teaching purposes. The target groups are: Lecturers and students of the STEM didactics at RWTH, current school teachers in the region and later on other lecturers and STEM field students of RWTH. The above-mentioned groups are to be qualified gradually supported by the center of excellence at RWTH (MINT-L⁴@RWTH). All materials used within the qualification program will be available also as OER.
Personal Photonics
Personal Photonics is a large joint project of InfoSphere with the Media Computing Group of Chair i10 at RWTH Aachen University, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the funding measure "Open Photonics". This project provides interactive demonstrators that utilize photonics technologies, such as depth-cameras, LEDs and stereolithography 3D Printing. InfoSphere will carry out Arduino microcontroller programming workshops with photonics aspects to a broad audience throughout Germany and online.
TABULA
In the TABULA project, we examine the use of tangible objects on interactive multitouch tables in computer science education.
IaG - Computer Science at Primary Schools
The aim of the project "Computer Science at Primary Schools" in North Rhine-Westphalia is to explain the facets of computer science to the school students of third and fourth classes and to show the importance of computer science in everyday life. The focus lies not on the usage of computer systems but on the basic concepts of computer science, for example displaying information.
BeLEK - Profession Teacher at Vacational Colleges
The project BeLEK stands for Profession Teacher at Vocational Colleges. It is funded by the Ministry for Innovation, Science and Research of NRW, in short MIWF, and aims to strengthen the teaching profession in NRW and act against the lack of teachers in the commercial and technical area.
MINT-L⁴@RWTH Aachen - Lifelong Learning for Teachers
MINT-L⁴@RWTH is a centre of excellence founded in 2012 that is dedicated to the acquisition, the education, and further education of current and future teachers in the STEM field as well as the support of students in the STEM field before and while they're beginning their studies..
AIX - Future Teaching & Learning
With this project funded by the Stifterverband, the RWTH Aachen University is striving to modernize and improve its teaching by implementing blended learning concepts in all of its faculties by the end of 2017. Using tools and methods from the areas of Learning Analytics, Data Mining, and interview techniques of Technology and Innovation Management, until then the project should develop the means necessary to separate useful investments and quality improving measures from measures that are mainly costly but do not improve the quality of the teaching significantly.
PALM - Personal Academic Learner Model
The project realizes a comprehensive recommender system for researchers, integrating various visual analytics modules.
Learning in Context
The Learning Context Project defines a LifeLong Learner model, which is fundamental to all our Learning Analytics activities. The learner model includes context information in order give valuable feedback or recommendations and to allow self-reflection on the daily tasks or learning activities. Nowadays, learning does not necessarily take place at home or in school / university. Due to the vastly growing number of smartphone / tablet users, learning can take place everywhere and every time. Such a scenario creates many new opportunities to improve learning by making use of a set of various context information that can be gathered by modern (mobile) devices or of information about the learners themselves, for example their interests, knowledge or goals.
Course Mapper
CourseMapper is a mind map-based collaborative course annotation and analytics platform that fosters collaboration and interaction around pdf/video learning materials, supported by visual learning analytics. CourseMapper can be developed into a MOOC platform focussing on cMOOCs, shot for connectivist MOOCs.
IGaDtools4MINT - Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming Framework for Computer Science Study Programs
Despite extensive research, pilot projects and aid programs that should help to increase the proportion of women in the STEM courses, that is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and to reduce dropout rates in these areas, the number of women in technical and scientific studies stagnates. With that said, the project IGaDtools4MINT addresses to develop an overall concept through which the number of women in STEM subjects can be sustainably increased, based on existing research and the analysis and synopsis of best practice measures carried out nationwide.
In this joint project the Learning Technologies Research Group of Computer Science Department 9 and the research group GDI, short for Gender and Diversity in Engineering, together with the Technical University of Berlin developed a Gender and Diversity Toolkit consisting of guidelines, strategies, and methods for universities to increase the percentage of young women and other target groups heretofore excluded from the STEM courses thus contributing to a paradigm shift in the STEM field.
L²P - Lehr- und Lernplattform der RWTH Aachen
L2P is the central web-based learning and teaching platform of RWTH Aachen University. It’s a centrally hosted platform, integrated into the IT services of the university, with regular back-ups and support. Its virtual course rooms facilitate the administration of courses and give students easy access to all dates, materials, assignments, exercises and other information relevant for learning. Moreover, it opens up additional didactical options for using digital media in teaching. Being a protected system with personalized login, L²P also allows lecturers to distribute third party materials corresponding with the copyright restrictions. Additionally, it allows for easy integration of third party systems to extend the platform's functionality.
SAiL-M - Semi-automatic Analysis of Individual Learning Processes in Mathematics
In university courses with hundreds of participants, it is impossible for the tutors to take extensive care of each student. On the other hand, completely automated learning environments often do not offer the feedback that weaker students require in order to catch up. Therefore, the goal of the BMBF project SAiL-M is to develop concepts and tools that allow for a semi-automated analysis of individual learning processes in mathematics and other disciplines.
During the last year, we developed interactive tools supporting the user in mathematical exercises, such as proving geometric theorems or transforming terms in set algebra. In cooperation with our partners in Schwäbisch Gmünd, we integrated interactive visualizations based on the Cinderella Dynamic Geometry System. A Jacareto module allows to evaluate the student’s learning process.
The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research within its Program for Empirical Research in Education.