The Slightly Unusual Semester #2 - Digital Project Auction (Projektbörse) at the Beginning of the Lecture Period
The project-based course of study is a unique feature of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: Together in small groups, students tackle current issues, not only in their own disciplines, but also – in the Bauhaus tradition – interdisciplinary topics. Each semester begins with the search for suitable semester projects. The digital summer semester 2020 means reorganising this as well.
In pre-coronavirus times, the presentation and selection of projects was carried out by each individual faculty in various ways, depending on the discipline: Notices posted on the bulletin board, individual consultations based on artistic portfolios, e-mail applications including letters of motivation, and the Project Auction (Porjektbörse) in lecture halls packed with fellow students. There were countless ways to find a place with the desired semester project. In the current semester, however, nearly everything all communication is being carried out digitally; this includes both the presentation of projects and the selection of students.
Combining expertise to find a joint solution
A working group led by Prof. Dr. Christian Koch, vice-president of Academic Affairs and professor of Intelligent Technical Design, has come up with a solution. »It was necessary to pool the existing expertise at the university for this project: The Medieninformatik department had already come up with a concept for a digital module exchange in March. Working together with colleagues from the Dean’s Offices of the various faculties, the Office of Academic and Student Affairs, the eLab, and the Service Centre for Computer Systems and Communication (SCC), this concept has been developed so that it can be used across the university by all faculties«, explains Prof. Dr. Christian Koch. »We chose to use moodle since it was a platform already familiar to both students and lecturers«.
Ready, steady, go! – The green light for the digital Project Auction (Projektbörse)
Server capacities were upgraded so that the 59 projects, numerous Bauhaus.Modules and specialised courses that made up the digital Project Auction (Projektbörse) could begin on 4 May 2020. »We’ve decided to present the projects in parallel live sessions. Students were shown the materials, such as slides, clips and images, in advance«, said PD Dr. Andreas Jakoby of the Medieninformatik department. »Students were then given the opportunity to jump between instructors’ presentations that caught their interest and to ask questions in the chat or using a microphone«. Students were then asked to submit a list of the top three projects they were interested in joining. A specially developed algorithm was used to allocate students to the projects based on those lists.
Individual consultations took place at the Faculty of Art and Design via moodle the next day and students were able to discuss their expectations in one-on-one conversations.
A successful début with student support
Elisa Kluge, fourth semester Medieninformatik student, offered support to instructors and students both during and after the Project Auction (Projektbörse) as an eTutor and said: »There was extensive preparation and communication with lecturers involved with this project. The level of cooperation, with Stepan Boldt for instance, made it fun to watch this Project Auction (Projektbörse) develop. There were hardly any technical issues during the digital event. Most of the questions asked were about the content and could be passed on directly to instructors. Suggestions for technical improvements, such as the use of headsets for better sounds quality, were collected to be implemented in future events«.
Computer sciences digital semester project brings students back to schools
Although Kluge is still studying, she is also offering a teaching project in the Project Auction (Projektbörse). The project examines »digitisation in schools under exceptional circumstances«. Kluge is implementing this project together with Axel Schorcht, Bachelor student in Medeininformatik. Both students have been supporting the Lyonel Feiniger Gymnasium Buttelstedt/Mellingen since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis using various digital tools to help implement home schooling.
»The Medieninformatik degree programme is very practice-oriented. This idea was meant, through the framework of university teaching, to analyse and find solutions for the challenges that schools are currently facing«, explains Kluge. Prof. Dr. Bernd Fröhlich and PD Dr, Andreas Jakoby have taken over the scientific management of the project. The students have a heavy workload ahead of them in the upcoming weeks: Various learning management systems and web conferencing tools have to be taken into consideration and compared. In addition, a nationwide survey on the corresponding tools required by teachers and students is planned. Once the project has been completed, recommendations for schools are to be drawn up. These recommendations should take into account both the technical and social aspects of digital teaching in a school context.