Blog entry by Eummena Learn Guru
TAP-TS Faces: University College of Teacher Education Vienna
Welcome to yet another post of the "TAP-TS Faces" series! In this series of blog posts, we will be introducing you to the faces of TAP-TS, outlining their work with the project and their personal ambition related to the project. And in general, anything else that they're willing to share with us! For this post, we will be hearing from the team at University College of Teacher Education Vienna
What is your role in TAP-TS?
University College of Teacher Education Vienna (PH Vienna), Austria’s largest teacher training institution, offers a program of primary, secondary, vocational and special needs teacher education as well as CPD courses. PH Vienna researchers and educators contribute to TAP-TS with their expertise in the field of digital technology and sustainability, bringing experience from a number of ongoing projects at both national and international levels.
The PH Vienna team coordinates work on the development, validation, and publishing of seven sets of high-quality, open and flexible learning and teaching packages, incorporating innovative resources and pedagogical approaches. These packages aim to develop a European and international perspective towards learning in a digital world, sustainability, equity and inclusion.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to TAP-TS?
As a team – PH Vienna and TU Darmstadt, we are interested in exploring how the two areas of sustainability and digitality are related, and what connects the two discourses. More importantly for TAP-TS, our aim is to establish which pedagogical approaches could be used for school education, specifically at primary level, to introduce the two subjects and educate the younger generation about sustainable use of technology, increase awareness of the impact of technology on the environment and society, and engage them in small actions for a more sustainable future.
We hope to contribute to TAP-TS with our expertise in media literacy and sustainability in the digital age as well as with our experience developed in the award-winning project on the life cycle of a smartphone called "ÖHA! - Ecologically sustainable media use at school and beyond" (https://oeha.phwien.ac.at). In 2022, we launched a new learning space called DINA Lab, which stands for “DIgitalität und NAchhaltigkeit” (Digitality and Sustainability), where we develop and test teaching and learning materials, and provide pre-service and in-service teacher training in the areas of sustainability, digitalization and media studies.
At the TU Darmstadt, we are already implementing the experiences of TAP-TS in teaching in the BA and MA in Education and in the teacher training programme. We are also setting up a NADI-Lab based on the DINA Lab at the PH Vienna and integrating it into the existing ComputerStudienWerkstatt at the TU Darmstadt. We are already working with TAP-TS learning materials in numerous projects and workshops with student teachers and in-service teachers.
Where can people find you? (i.e social media)
The PHVienna team consists of five people. On our websites, you can find further information as well as emails of our team members: Elena Revyakina, Klaus Himpsl-Gutermann, Florian Danhel, Martin Sankofi and Petra Szucsich.
The TU Darmstadt team consists of three people: Nina Grünberger, Judith Hoehling and Gregor Eckert. You can find further information on projects and contact details for the team members on the websites.