bsMOOC

Research Question and Motivation

The digitalisation of our working environment and communication also has an impact on teaching and learning formats at universities. In order to prepare students as well as possible for their daily work, the Institute of Design Engineering develops and evaluates new teaching and learning formats. Modern forms of communication and interaction are used in these teaching and learning formats. Thus, a variety of videos and a method learning portal form the basis for online-based teaching that enables students to acquire knowledge independently of attendance phases. One of these formats are so-called MOOCs, which are developed in an innovation project within the Teach4TU project at the TU Braunschweig.

Approach and Project Objective

MOOC is short for Massive Open Online Course. It refers to online courses that are intended to be accessible to a wide audience. The didactic concept aims at conveying specialist knowledge through various learning activities, such as video lectures by lecturers, exercises, self-tests or discussions in forums. This stimulates exchange and communication among the locally distributed participants and the teachers. In a so-called blended MOOC, supplementary presence formats tailored to the needs of the participating students are offered in addition to the various online materials. These deepen the content-related connections and the mentoring relationship between teachers and students. As part of the second implementation phase of the MOOC@TU9 initiative, the Institute of Design Engineering (TU Braunschweig), in cooperation with the Institute for Product Development and Device Construction at the LU Hannover (IPeG), is designing and producing a MOOC on the subject of "Methods and Tools for Engineering Design". The course is completely in English and can be attended by anyone interested.

Procedure and structure of the MOOC
The course primarily addresses prospective Master's students who have not completed the corresponding basics in the Bachelor's programme. The existing heterogeneity of the basic knowledge in the field of methodical product development is to be compensated in this way before or during the entry phase into the Master's programme. Each semester the first complete online course "Methods and Tools for Engineering Design" starts anew both at the IK and the IPeG. Every week during the semester, the lecture units are activated so that the students can develop new content step by step. Students from Braunschweig and Hanover have the opportunity to get in direct contact with the lecturers by attending an introductory and final presentation event. The online course is accompanied by a team project, in which a closed development task is to be worked on with the learned methods and aids. The description of the exact topics can be found under "Teaching".

Research Results

Currently the course is offered via the platform stud.IP of the TU Braunschweig. Students of the TU Braunschweig can register for the course "MOOC - Methods and Tools for Engineering Design" and will be provided with further information. Participation in the introductory class is recommended. Interested students from other universities can register by e-mail at ik-mooc@tu-braunschweig.de stating surname, first name, course of studies, university and e-mail address.

Further information on the project: https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/tu9-mooc or in the stud.IP course "MOOC - Methods and Tools for Engineering Design".
Platform: stud.IP (via Courseware)