Digital education is an ongoing process that empowers young people to actively shape their lives and learning in a digitized world and prepares them in the best possible way for the future world of work. Advancing digitization is creating more and more new opportunities for instructional design.

Smartphones, tablets and laptops make it possible to organize shared learning very flexibly for individuals in terms of time and space. The devices open up many possibilities for optimally networking learners: through flexible and structured communication, through sharing knowledge, opinions and questions, or through options for quick feedback.

Individualization and differentiation are also facilitated. These in turn give pupils the opportunity to consolidate the skills they have acquired. With the help of digital tools, lessons can be designed more creatively and adapt fluidly to the reality of young people’s lives today. The digital school thus promotes new forms of teaching!

To bring this transformation of education before the curtain, there has been the education award “Klasse! Lernen. Wir sind digital” by OeAD, BMBWF and Ars Electronica.

What does digital learning mean?

The Education Award is aimed at teachers and pupils who see the transformation to a new digitized classroom as a challenge for the development of new ideas and projects. The aim is to promote the creative, innovative and sustainable use of digital tools in the classroom. Future school lessons pose many new challenges for teachers and students, but also offer enormous potential for joint further development. The sustainable anchoring and multi-layered use of new technologies in daily school lessons is one of the main criteria of the competition. In addition, the competition is also intended to motivate critical questioning: Which structures can and should be usefully extended with digital tools and which elements of school teaching need direct (analog) social interaction? Digital learning not only means mastering digital tools, but also finding and implementing as many synergies and complements as possible between analog and digital teaching.

The 2022 Winners

Main prize

Wir tun was für unsere Welt – Die 17 UN-Ziele

4e VS Bendagasse (AT)

In this project, the role model function was particularly convincing – here a primary school shows what is meant by “digital basic education”. In “Wir tun was für unsere Welt” (We do something for our world), an ideal combination of subject and technology was achieved. This project was implemented in a comprehensive lesson, i.e. cross-curricular. With the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations, the primary school Bendagasse takes on a really complex subject area and combines it with the most diverse tools available. The children were free to choose both the subject area and the way of implementation, which requires an enormous degree of flexibility on the part of the teacher. The result is a series of authentic children’s products, which, however, are based on extensive research. The digital form of presentation was chosen not least because of the Corona regulations. Otherwise, a completely analogue exhibition might have been created – but this way, a digital end product is preserved in the long term and accessible to many. Sustainability as a competition criterion is perfectly implemented here in two ways: on the one hand ecologically / thematically, on the other hand in the sense of a school development towards digitalisation. The selection of this project as the winning project points the device initiative to the next logical step – equipping primary schools.

Awards of Distinction

Schnittstelle:Werken

3AR of BG/BRG Schwechat (AT)
The name says it all here: “Krawallpflichtfach Werken” (Krawall = riot). The FAB-LAB 3-Print of the BG/BRG Schwechat shows that “riot” can be both didactically meaningful and interdisciplinary and action-oriented. In addition to the exciting and successful results, which range from PET rockets and triangulation to Dazzle camouflage and the printing and construction of geodesic domes, the prudent planning of the project is convincing. Here, process-oriented school development is advanced, with the various development phases of the FAB-LAB being prototyped, tested and reflected upon. The school has succeeded in designing a long-term and meaningful implementation of digital-analogue interfaces in a three-year plan and in turn piloting targeted projects within this development. This enables a sustainable use of technology in different subjects as well as a creative, reflective use of the tools.

YES, WE CAN!

Sonderschule Waidhofen an der Ybbs, ASO1 (AT)
With Yes, we can! a team of eight pupils, one teacher and two teaching assistants has shown in a magnificent way what really good teaching can look like. The process from the first idea to the finished video is stringent and remains comprehensible to outsiders in all its phases thanks to good documentation. The pupils’ involvement can be felt authentically throughout all production steps. The learning progress for the pupils is certainly enormous due to so much content. It ranges from writing an email to celebrities to a drone camera flight over the city. Luckily, the rights check of the music clip also stood up to our research. A really cool song was indeed used, which the authors made available for free use. And last but not least, it is noticeable that in the classes of ASO1 not only digitally aesthetically sophisticated output is produced, but also quite classically on paper – to be seen in the background of the video – YES, YOU CAN!

Honorary Mentions

„Code together” – Von der virtuellen Welt in die Praxis

Pupils of the Music and Computer Science Secondary School Wendstattgasse (AT)
The idea that the pupils of the Wendstattgasse Music and Computer Science Secondary School not only acquire new digital skills within the framework of the “Code together” project, but also pass them on to primary school children in specially designed workshops, inspires with its convincing peer-to-peer approach. In a first step, the pupils immerse themselves in the areas of coding and robotics on the level of digital learning. In a further step, the pupils slip into the role of experts and learn to apply this knowledge in practice and to pass it on to younger pupils. This is more than just imparting knowledge and working on social skills. What takes place is the enthusiastic passing on of curiosity and passion – which is clearly visible in the children and the project.

Cookie Cutter

VS Mönchhof (AT)
The VS Mönchhof has demonstrated how a 3D printer can be used in an innovative, creative and realistic way in the 4th grade of a primary school. In addition to the good didactic concept of the project, the meaningful combination of the different subjects stands out. While the shapes are calculated in mathematics and the young people themselves become 3D printers in computer science, the pupils write the corresponding recipes in German and design the appropriate Christmas cards in the subject of visual education. They not only learn how to use different tools, but also discuss and reflect on the function and use of 3D printing in everyday life. Cookie-Cutter shows how low-threshold technology can already be used with young learners and in the context of their lifeworld.

Digiday

Teachers of the GTMS Grundäckergasse (AT)
The teachers of the GTMS Grundäckergasse focused on the reflective and responsible use of the new tools by the pupils for the start of the device initiative at their school. On the initiative of the IT team, they jointly organised a station operation in the entire school building, the Digiday. In small groups across classes, the pupils of the 1st and 2nd grade received inputs on cyberbullying, cybercrime, Google and the Internet, media education, source search, the keyboard, the correct use of electronic devices and daily transport at eight different stations. The day was concluded with a small test and the presentation of the notebook driving licence. The Digiday model convinces with the idea of joint station operation as a form of teaching and shows a prototype for a successful start phase in dealing with digital end devices. The committed teachers also created an intro video to accompany their pupils through the Digidays in the best possible way.

Digitales Lernen – when homeschooling goes wrong

Kollegium Aloisianum Linz (AT)
This submission shows that a critical examination of the pitfalls and challenges of digital distance learning in times of pandemic does not necessarily have to be dry or permeated by a certain cultural pessimistic heaviness. The media reflection developed in English lessons is able to succinctly bring the difficulties of distant learning to the point with simple means. At the same time, it captivates with its lightness and creative, sometimes anarchic youthful humour. It is precisely through the latter that an honest and also self-critical perspective on one’s own teaching is achieved. The authentic humour of the pupils makes the collaborative development process and the good relationship between teacher and class clearly visible and shows that, despite all the technology, relationship work is still a central pillar of good teaching.

Eigene Spielkonsole mit Hilfe von Scratch bedienen

Mittelschule Schwechat-Frauenfeld (AT)
Gaming is part of leisure activities. Again and again, people warn that there are many hidden dangers, especially if the recommended age limit and time limit are not observed. The Schwechat secondary school sees things completely differently. The game console project, which was planned as an interdisciplinary lesson, uses a traditional Scratch programming idea in combination with a Makey-Makey board as a control module. Although this idea, which has already been implemented in many different ways, can be found on the web, including instructions, this project stands out because of the involvement of the pupils in the entire development and cognition process. DIY and making, sovereignty and independence are lived in this combination of handicraft education and physics and rounded off by the creative and technical application of Scratch as a programming tool to produce their own game. However, the fact that this project was not only designed as an on-site game console, but was also conceived as a transportable gaming station from the very beginning, is the premium bonus.

Forest in Change – International ESA-Action Group „Climate Detectives“

BG/BRG Waidhofen an der Thaya (AT)
In Forest in Change, the pupils impressively show how to use, read and relate different analogue and digital archives. The confident use of digital technologies to stay in contact with extracurricular project partners and to get assistance also shows the innovative didactic achievement of the teachers leading the project. The group has engaged in research activities of the “Climate Detectives” initiative, which allow and promote thinking and action skills that reflect factual knowledge about the region and oneself. This method, which explores how contextual factors influence people and the impact that an individual’s action can have on society, has added an expanded dimension to the digital teaching and learning strategy through interdisciplinary and media collaboration.

Labor Medienbildung – eTutor/innen – eKlassenordner/innen

Öffentliches Gymnasium der Franziskaner, Hall in Tirol (AT)
With the Laboratory Media Education, the Franziskaner Hall Public High School convinces with the joint innovative development of lessons in the context of digitalisation. The “lab” is both a place for the storage, maintenance and use of digital devices and a framework for the experimental development of teaching concepts, which takes place jointly with pupils, teachers and guardians: Teachers exchange ideas monthly in learning workshops about the successful use of digital devices in lessons, joint further training is organised and e-parents’ evenings on didactic-pedagogical concepts are offered. In the “cross-age tutoring model” of the eTutors, pupils of the 9th and 10th grades offer practical support for pupils of the lower secondary level. They also train them as e-class administrators, who in turn are the first point of contact for their school colleagues on technical and content-related questions. These cross-school peer-to-peer models impressed the jury.

The 2022 Jury

Ulrike Giessner-Bogner (AT/DE) interested in the interfaces between arts, culture, education, participation, diversity and digitality. Since 2004 she is head of the area “Cultural Education with Schools” in Vienna (till 2019 at KulturKontakt Austria, since 2020 at OeAD — Agency for Education and Internationalisation). She studied theatre sciences, Spanish and cultural management in Erlangen/Nürnberg and Vienna, was coordinator of the office “Cultural management in Europe” at KulturKontakt Austria and head of the departments “Training and Project Management” at the Austrian Cultural Service. Since 2021 she is member of the advisory board of “Double Check — Network for Culture and Education in Vorarlberg”. oead.at/kulturvermittlung

Elke Hackl (AT) is a media designer and educator, mentor and researcher in the field of integrating participatory, cultural and media spaces in school and extracurricular projects and the resulting expanded teaching and learning strategies in creative processes and technological usage structures of the digital age. These take place and have taken place nationally and internationally in the form of exhibitions and open labs and aim to inspire and motivate in an interdisciplinary and transgenerational way. She has been an assistant, teacher and responsible for the Makerspace in elementary and primary education since 2020, teaches digital basic education in secondary education at the Upper Austrian University of Teacher Education and subject didactics in the media design department at the Linz University of the Arts.

Konstantin Mitgutsch (AT) is researcher, author and game designer with the focus on transformative learning experiences and games. He is the founder of the Viennese game design agency Playful Solutions that creates playful experiences with purpose for organizations and for educational settings. He worked at MIT Game Lab of the the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and was Visiting Professor at the University of Vienna. He is lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna for experience and game design. He writes a column for DerStandard on Play & Work and his publications include books like “Schauplatz Computerspiele”, “Sports Video Games”, and “Context Matters!” or “Lernen durch Enttäuschung“. playfulsolutions.net/

Simon Prossliner (IT) is passionate about student leadership – when children are given the opportunity to take responsibility for change and innovation and to shape it themselves. Diversity, independent, creative thinking and (digital) innovation are particularly close to his heart. After studying political science in Vienna and Harvard, the South Tyrolean by birth found himself in the field of education. He taught at a Viennese middle school, worked as a Lead Fellow Program for Teach for Austria to promote educational equity, and was involved in the MTOP “Culture School” to sensitize schools to diversity. Since 2020, he has been working at the OeAD as project manager of the “Digital Learning” device initiative.

Susi Windischbauer (AT) is a cultural and project manager, process facilitator, folk and university teacher as well as format developer and facilitator with a focus on technology, creativity and inclusion. She studied art history and cultural management at the Karl Franzens University in Graz and completed the part-time Bachelor of Education (special education and elementary school teaching part-time) at the Pädagogische Hochschule Oberösterreich. She has established a wide variety of educational formats for the Ars Electronica Festival and Museum in Linz (including the Ars Electronica EducationLab), developed, curated and managed the u19 – CREATE YOUR WORLD future festival, redesigned the youth section of the Prix Ars Electronica media art competition and conceived, curated and produced a wide variety of national and international projects. School development is one of her heartfelt concerns. At the moment, after working for several years as an elementary school teacher in a mixed-grade integration class in Pettenbach/Upper Austria (with which she won the Ministry of Education’s Media Literacy Award for a VR project in 2018), she is working as an interemistic school principal at the same location.

Interviews and Stories

Klasse! Lernen. 2022: These are the best projects

The Austria-wide education award "Klasse! Lernen" honors pupils and teachers who integrate digital tools creatively and sustainably into the classroom. We took a closer look at the main prize and the two Awards of Distinction.

Learning at school - Digital and together

Digitalisation is changing the way we learn together at school. The jury of the education award "Klasse! Lernen" looked at ideas and proposals for using these digital tools.

Submission 2023

Who is the Education Award aimed at?

The education award “Klasse! Lernen. We are digital” is aimed specifically at motivated teachers who want to implement new projects together with their pupils. This means that the award is given directly to teachers together with their pupils.

Submission as a team:

• School classes or teams of pupils from secondary level I with their teachers at Austrian educational institutions
• School classes or teams of pupils in the 4th grade of elementary school at Austrian educational institutions with their teachers in preparation for digital learning in lower secondary school.

Eingereicht wird als Team:

• The teacher or the team of teachers submits the project together with pupils.
• All eligible schools should be able to participate within their means, regardless of their level of digitization.

Criteria

The school site is about

• Transformation processes: What new processes are needed in everyday school life in order to be able to use digital tools?
• Sustainability: How can digitization be sustainably anchored at the school site? How can the development of digital skills among pupils be sustainably promoted?
• Innovation: Which innovative approach creates the greatest space for change and new ideas in the respective context?
• Creativity: How can digital school be implemented as creatively as possible?

Dotation / Price

Prize money will be awarded that can be used, among other things, to further develop the digitization of your school at the site.

• 1x Grand Prize at €10,000
• 2x Awards of Distincition at €5,000 each
• In addition, 7x Honorary Mentions are also given.

Open Call

Projects can be submitted free of charge until March 20, 2023.

Submit now!