Vol. 3 No. 1 (2023): Lessons Learned
Issue five of the Lessons Learned Journal, the first issue in the third volume - this issue contains the second part of the fourth Lessons Learned conference from the summer of 2022. The division of the contributions from the last Lessons Learned conference de-stresses the preparation of manuscripts after the conference. This allows many authors to much more easily prepare their manuscripts at their leisure than would be the case in a situation where all papers would necessarily be available a few weeks after the conference. Therefore, this structure of dividing contributions into two issues will be maintained. The issue to be published in winter 2023 will contain initial articles from the fifth Lessons Learned conference in summer 2023. All further contributions to this conference will then appear in the first half of 2024.
In terms of content, this issue is divided into two core blocks. On the one hand, it contains a number of methodological aspects that once again expand the toolbox with which one can try out modern novel concepts in teaching in one's own everyday teaching. From reading logs, which are intended to support the self-study process, to a podcast project for students and asynchronous hybrid lab courses, to concepts that go under the heading of gaming, a wide variety of concept ideas are presented here and described in such a way that you can experiment with them yourself in your teaching.
The other large block of topics deals with the increasingly important issue of blended learning. Here, the headings of the articles already show that such concepts which combine digital and presence elements, synchronous and asynchronous aspects and the most diverse forms of teaching/learning are complex in their design and are definitely not uniformly defined. Whether one speaks of blended learning, inverted classroom or other terms used in this context is still almost arbitrary at the moment, as there are actually no fixed definitions. This makes it difficult to find examples for the design of own concepts. With the four articles that appear in this issue, a broad spectrum of possibilities is shown and it also becomes clear where problems can arise. In any case, this is a topic that will have a firm place in teaching development in the coming years.
The issue opens with the topic of Open Educational Resources (OER) - a decidedly important thematic block: the free distribution of teaching/learning materials is a core source for disseminating novel teaching/learning concepts. In some ways, the Lessons Learned conferences and the associated journal are an ideal example of how a free exchange of ideas in teaching is possible and can be successful. But providing concrete materials is a bit more complicated than describing the teaching concepts. Issues of platforms, promotion of content, and its licensing open up a complex field that requires competent partners who can advise faculty on these issues. These are usually the university libraries - in the case of Dresden, the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB). Only the interaction of all forces can, in the long run, advance the modernization of teaching and keep it dynamic; and this dynamic will determine whether the dynamic modernization process that university teaching has been experiencing for the past three years will continue and lead to an overall modernized university teaching.
With this in mind, we are looking forward to the fifth Lessons Learned Conference, which will begin in a few days. New ideas, many discussions and exciting reports in the Lessons Learned Journal are to be expected.
Stefan Odenbach
