Strengthening digital teaching and learning

Digital tools are now an integral part of studying: Students have everything they need for learning on their tablets. Teachers use PowerPoint presentations in their lectures. But does that alone constitute digital learning and teaching? How can students and teachers get the most out of digitalization? And what does it take to use digital formats confidently and create real added value for teaching and learning?

This is where the “digit@L” project comes in: Students and staff at the University of Stuttgart are to be supported in their teaching and learning processes with the help of digital solutions. Since 2021, a team of experts from 15 institutes and three central institutions has been testing various tools and formats to promote users' digital skills. A media production team and a media didactics team are also contributing to the project, supporting the specialist teams with advice and assistance in developing the courses on offer. Feedback from students and the Quality Development Unit (QE) also helps to drive development forward.

“digit@L has helped us to firmly establish digital teaching and to specifically address and support both students and teachers in the digital space,” says Professor Michael-Jörg Oesterle, Vice President for Teaching and Continuing Education. “With learning materials tailored to the individual learning needs of each person, we create real added value with offerings that remain in place even after the project has ended.”

“The courses are aimed at students and teachers, as well as all university staff who want to strengthen their digital skills,” says project coordinator Christina Kugler. “In particular, we want to support first-year students and promote their motivation and success in learning.”

This will be achieved, for example, through self-study courses on generative AI and digital literacy, scheduled to launch at the end of this year. For example, such courses teach the basics of literature research, confident use of university systems such as C@MPUS or ILIAS, and the reflective use of AI. An online self-study course for learning programming with Python in German and English is already available, as is a collection of adaptive learning exercises for exam preparation in advanced mathematics and a steadily growing number of explanatory videos and tutorials for students of STEM subjects.

The “Fit in Digital Teaching” workshops and the “Strengthening digit@Le Teaching” lecture series provide teachers with a platform for exchange and professional development. “We are receiving positive feedback from teaching staff,” says Kugler. "They report that it is very helpful to discuss common challenges with colleagues. This makes it easier to access new digital tools and offer students learning opportunities that are of a high standard in terms of media didactics and subject matter."

The project has also resulted in a new portal for key data on quality development in study programs and teaching. The idea: visualize and analyze study progress data, such as exam results and attempts or graduate and dropout rates. “The key data helps us, for example, to adjust study plans to real-world circumstances and identify ways to enhance studyability,” says Nicolas Zörlein, who has been developing and maintaining the Key Data Portal at the University of Stuttgart since 2022. The data is available not only for quality development, but also to deans of studies, study managers, and academic advisors.

Since 2021, the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education Teaching has funded the project digit@L – Digital Teaching and Learning at the University of Stuttgart. Boost, Skills, Support with six million euros. More than 60 professors and employees of the University of Stuttgart are involved in the project. To date, three self-study courses, a certificate program, and over 60 teaching/learning videos have been created. The courses are not only available to students at the University of Stuttgart, but are also freely accessible throughout Baden-Württemberg via the inter-university Open Educational Resource platform ZOERR. Further digital offerings for students and teachers are to be rolled out by the end of the project in late 2025. 

Offers for students
Courses that are already available can be found under Digital Services.
- Python self-study course in German and English
- Teaching and learning videos for students studying STEM subjects. More videos to follow.
- Collection of advanced mathematics exercises [de] for exam preparation

Offers for teaching staff
All material created for teaching purposes can be used with an OER license.
- Teaching/learning videos explaining terms and concepts in the STEM field
- Self-study courses (see offers for students)
- Workshop series “Fit in digital teaching”
- Lecture series “Strengthening digit@Le Teaching” – only until the end of 2025
- Key data portal of the Quality Development (QE) department

Coming soon
- Digital Literacy Certificate Program
- ILIAS self-study course on using generative AI in your studies
- ILIAS self-study course on digital and data literacy in higher education
- ILIAS self-study course on virtual and augmented reality