At this year’s conference of the Society for Empirical Educational Research (GEBF 2026), the professorship was represented by two separate presentations: First, Kevin Birkefeld presented findings on the inverse redundancy effect in immersive VR environments. Second, Prof. Steve Nebel participated in an open-format session on teaching and learning with digital media in teacher education.  In total, all academic staff members of the professorship were thus involved in presentations at GEBF 2026. A successful start to the 2026 conference and meeting year.

At the closing conference of the “DigiProSMK” project consortium, Kevin Birkefeld presented the results of a survey of teachers in Berlin and Brandenburg to the consortium. Under what circumstances do teachers use educational technology in the classroom, and does their personal media usage influence this professional use?

The chair is participating in the new funded project “MuDiRe” – Multidimensional Heterogeneity as a Resource for Collaborative Learning in Digital and Analog Spaces. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth and has been running since January 2026. In addition to our Chair of School-Related Media Education, three other chairs in the Department of Education are also involved. Further information to the project website can be found under “Current Research Projects.”

The lernen:next-level podcast by our academic staff member Kevin Birkefeld, with the active support of our research assistant Sophie-Louise Wagner, has been turned into an Open.UP learning course specifically aimed at teachers who want to learn about concrete ways of implementing game-based learning in the classroom.

Kevin Birkefeld was a speaker at the 2025 Sports Teachers' Day. The Sports Teachers' Day takes place every two years in Potsdam, and this year, numerous sports teachers from all over Brandenburg took part in exciting workshops on the topic of ‘Digital media in sports lessons’. Our employee's workshop introduced teachers to 360° videos and environments. Possible applications for school sports (e.g. advanced movement analysis and reflection or the use of sports-related 360° learning environments) were presented and then discussed critically and constructively.

The successful 2025 conference summer is coming to an end with our professorship presenting its last contribution for the time being at the 20th conference of the Educational Psychology Section (PAPS) in the form of a presentation. Kevin Birkefeld was there and presented the first study of his doctoral project. The study examines the inverse redundancy effect and the signalling effect under conditions of immersive learning.

Our department Media Education was represented with two joint contributions at the 14th MediaPsych conference of the DGPs. Our colleagues Lena Baumann and Kevin Birkefeld were on site from September 10 to 12 as presenters of the contributions.

Kevin Birkefeld presented the joint contribution of Lena Baumann, Pia Spangenberger, Steve Nebel, and himself at the EARLI conference in Graz. The presentation was part of the paper session 'Effects of Instructional Material on Learning and Motivation' and focuses on a study on instructional design in text-adventure educational video games.

With our staff members Lena Baumann, Kevin Birkefeld, and Pia Spangenberger, the Professorship for Media Education will be strongly represented at this year’s EARLI conference in Graz.

Kevin Birkefeld gave a presentation at the 17th Federal Congress of Centers for Teacher Education and Professional Schools of Education.

Our staff members Felix Reuth, Mandy Brose, and Kevin Birkefeld will present their projects from KISS-Pro and DigiProSMK from November 1 to 10.

On October 21, 2024, our staff member Felix Reuth will give a lecture on using AI tools in everyday teaching for teachers from Lower Saxony.

On October 7, our staff member Felix Reuth will give the opening lecture for an online training series on AI tools for teachers of all school types in Bavaria.

We stand up for an open-minded, tolerant, and democratic Brandenburg. Together, we fight against racism, hatred, and exclusion. Go vote!

The latest episode of the podcast 'lernen: next level' focuses on how teachers can assess the use of digital games in the classroom.

The video '360° Videos – An Introduction,' featuring numerous design recommendations, can now be viewed on the professorship’s website.

Our staff members presented their project on game-based learning in an interview for the UP podcast of the Office for Press and Public Relations.

The sixth episode of the podcast focuses on the use of game-based learning in higher education, with Prof. Dr. Möring sharing his experience.

At the second event of the series, the game-based learning podcast by our staff members Mandy Brose and Kevin Birkefeld was presented to teachers.

At the Education and Digitalization Conference, our staff member Felix Reuth will hold a session on AI in everyday teaching on April 24, 2024.

As part of the network committee on April 18, 2024, our staff member Felix Reuth will contribute to the workshop 'AI in Schools and Teaching.

A preliminary publication identified Prof. Nebel as one of the 50 most productive researchers in high-ranking journals in the field.

In the fourth episode of the podcast, Mandy Brose and Kevin Birkefeld discuss serious games with the expert Martin Thiele-Schwez.

In the third episode of the podcast 'lernen: next level,' we discuss the potential of game-based learning with Matthias Oborski from the Computer Games Museum.

The two project staff members of the DigiProSMK project consortium gave an introductory lecture on the topic of game-based learning.

Mandy Brose and Kevin Birkefeld published a post on the blog of the serious games developer 'Playing History' (Spuren auf Papier, Friedrich Ebert).

As a research associate at the Professorship for Media Education, Kevin Birkefeld visited the Maxim-Gorki Comprehensive School in Kleinmachnow on January 15 and 16.

As part of DigiProSMK, M. Brose and K. Birkefeld conducted two workshops on December 8. Building on these topics, a video series will be developed.

Dr. Spangenberger achieved second place in the Study Innovation Award of the Faculty of Human Sciences with her outstanding teaching concept.

The professorship participates in the BMBF-funded program KISS-Pro and supports the development of teachers’ competencies in working with AI.

The professorship is involved in the BMBF-funded project DigiProSMK and supports the process of digitalization in these subjects.

Gaming in the digital world is becoming increasingly present in our society. Video games are increasingly recognized as part of cultural heritage and permeate…

Covid-19 and gaming – how the pandemic has altered our gaming behavior. The study conducted by researchers Steve and Manuel examines whether increased gaming during lockdown is associated with reduced feelings of loneliness.