There is no doubt that using digital simulations or serious games in the classroom must be accompanied by someone or something. However, how exactly this can happen is unclear for the most part. Could simulations be made more effective my implementing gamification? How can preparatory material change the way students interact with the game/ simulation? Issues such as these could be addressed in a thesis written here, at the Chair of Media Education.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Steve Nebel
Photogrammetry allows for easy access to realistic virtual 3D-objects. Using these realistic objects in an educational setting is, however, controversial. Analysing Photogrammetry in differend user scenarios could be the topic of a potential thesis here at the Chair of Media Education.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Steve Nebel
Educational and interactive narratives (e.g. Forced Abroad) have been growing in popularity in recent years. Which design elements, however, contribute to their enhanced learning effects, has yet to be researched. Using tools such as Twinery, it would be possible to create short and simple interactive educational narratives and find out which design elements are especially useful for improving learning outcomes in these settings.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Steve Nebel
Right-wing extremist, anti-democratic and nationalist movements continuously try to infiltrate young communities and exploit them for their own gains. Video Gaming Communities are no exception to this. Not only are some video games being designed specifically to fit extremist needs, other social spaces in other video games are also being targeted by those groups. These networks specifically aim at “blind spots” of moderators and video game developers to get at their target demographic. This chair supports research initiatives that deal with analysing and critically engaging with these expansions from an empirical and pedagogical standpoint.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Steve Nebel
Recent research has indicated that further research is needed in the spaces of the design principles proposed by the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). It is especially relevant as the effects these principles have on learning in VR-settings has rarely been analysed in the literature before.
Distracting details in simple immersive VR learning environments are to be of special interest to this research. Projects trying to explore the impact of the proposed “principle of coherence” on VR learning environments could be the subject of a Bachelor's or Master's thesis here at the chair.
Contact: Kevin Birkefeld, M.Ed.
As generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) grows in popularity and relevance, students could research the potential of AI chatbots in the classroom. According to the Computers as Social Actors (CASA) Paradigm, special focus should be put on how AI chatbots can influence learner's emotions in learning environments.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Steve Nebel
Podcasts have grown very popular in recent years. At this point in time, they are no longer a mere form of entertainment but rather serve to convey a vast range of different information on a myriad of topics and fields. Podcasts, however, have not yet received sufficient attention from researchers and scientists in their roles as “transfer media”.
Bachelor's and Master's theses could hence be dealing with the topic of “Podcasts as Transfer Media”. The podcast “Lernen: next level” (engl.: learning: next level) could be the centre of scientific research in this regard. It deals with keeping teachers and teacher training students informed on news and trends in the world of Game-Based Learning (GBL).
One issue can be seen as essential here: How can we measure the success and challenges of podcasts such as “Lernen: next level”? Which indicators are useful in determining learning outcomes? How could effective feedback loops be designed to improve the quality of podcasts? Which steps must be taken to improve learning effects of instructional transfer podcasts? In the case of “Lernen: next level”: How does this podcast help in bridging the gap between Game-Based Learning in theory and in practise? All of these questions could, individually or in bulk, be the subject of a final thesis here at the chair.
Contact: Kevin Birkefeld, M. Ed.
Modern, complex learning environments put high pressure on the cognitive abilities of young learners, especially when they're laced with multimedia learning contents. This is especially true if the multimedia learning contents themselves require multitasking to deal with them in a meaningful sense. In solving complex learning tasks, for example, it may be necessary to research and analyse information material (e.g. from Wikipedia) in addition to solving the task itself. Research in this field aims at isolating key cognitive factors which improve learning outcomes in these complex multitasking situations.
Contact: Prof. Steve Nebel
The use of 360°-learning-materials, VR and Game-Based Learning (GBL) has been researched either in a general sense or for certain subjects only. Specifically for PE class, however, these technologies have rarely been the focus of researcher's attention. During the “DigiProSMK” project, this chair has already contributed to research in this field.
Using 360° videos for observing multiple ways to start a sprint at the same time, adding text-based information to depictions of a certain set of moves during athletics class, using dedicated “Exergames” and VR games during PE lessons, planning lessons and units, using the VR environment as a “best practise example” and following the depicted movements closely in the real world.
All of these examples illustrate the innovational, digitally-based and game-based learning scenarios which can be the subject of Bachelor's or Master's theses here at the chair.
Contact: Kevin Birkefeld, M.Ed.
