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Virtual learning environments using cutting-edge technologies such as augmented and virtual reality promise to be the future of remote and online learning. This master thesis casts a critical look at both the technical and pedagogical feasibility of such solutions. An innovative approach to virtual classrooms in physics education is designed in a process with stakeholders (teachers, learners, policy makers), prototypically implemented and evaluated to outline guidelines for future learning technology in this space.

Experience in developing AR or VR applications is needed.

Recently, the openness of the Internet has been blamed for the rise of populist, anti-democratic tendencies. It is hard to deny that, as an open medium equally accessible to all, the Internet enables all kinds of hate speech, fake news, conspiracy theories and manipulative writing. Most famously, the filter bubble phenomenon is said to have had massive impact on recent democratic decisions like BREXIT and the US presidential election. The main question this thesis (and for society and science) is: How can we use a free and open Internet to counteract these tendencies? How can the Internet be used to promote more self-reflective, critical engagement and support democracy, transparency and equal rights for everybody, instead of hampering and restricting these ideas? This thesis’ goal is to explore digital tools and strategies that use the unique structure of the Internet to further youths’ critical reflection and thus advance openness and promote democracy in order to counter narrow-minded, authoritarian and segregative tendencies in society.

Over the last years game-based learning and gamified learning environments have become respected means of teaching, in particular in project- and challenge-based teaching and learning. At the same time it is doubtful how such digital learning experiences can be inclusive for different target audiences (e.g. by addressing all genders) how they can sustain engagement with the learning contents, and what the points are where people disengage from learning with game-based technologies. This master thesis looks at these questions by implementing and evaluating a game-based learning intervention, which addresses these problems.

App development and/or game development skills are needed for this thesis.

In the Sparkling Instruments projects a method of project-based teaching was developed, where across a series of workshops students built digital music instruments to further music literacy and knowledge in STEM subjects. The thesis is concerned with turning the insights of the project into tangible small learning modules for secondary school teaching.

This topic requires an interest in or prior experience with didactics and creating learning materials. Knowledge of electronics and digital music making is beneficial.

More information about the project: http://www.piglab.org/sparkling-instruments

The project COMPASS aims at exploring how to navigate the vast opportunity space of IoT towards creating applications that are valuable, meaningful, empowering and trustworthy, maximize their utility and reflect responsible innovation. It provides the foundations to make a significant first step towards developing tools for business to create such technology, for policy makers to develop the necessary legislative environment, and for research to fill the knowledge gaps and define future agendas accordingly. This thesis looks at how the insights from of the project can be turned into new learning materials for university education and continuing education of university lectures. This topic requires a strong interest in or prior experience with didactics and creating learning materials and an understanding of Internet of Things devices.