Blog entry by Eummena Learn Guru
TAP-TS Faces: Technical University of Darmstadt
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 Technical University of Darmstadt.
What is your role in TAP-TS?
Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt, Germany) is characterized by a high degree of interdisciplinarity between engineering, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, which is reflected in both research and study programmes. At the centre of the new research area "Pedagogy of Digitality", which was founded in 2022, is the general pedagogical question of educational processes in the face of a world shaped by digital infrastructures. In particular, questions are addressed along the guiding premise of a more sustainable development of our society from three perspectives - ecological, economic and social. The new department was founded by the new professor Nina Grünberger, who was previously employed at the PH Vienna and was involved in a number of projects there. This means that experience and a great deal of thematic expertise will flow into the TAP-TS project and the associated creation of teaching and learning materials.
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.