Day 2

FAU - Chair of Media Education

Digital Leadership, Well-being and Teacher Training Innovation

1. Introduction to the LEADCOM project and subprojects

Presented by Simon Heid

We began the day with a deep dive into the LEADCOM project (Digital Leadership and Communication and Cooperation Development), one of the 24 initiatives under the German national network Kompetenzverbund lernen:digital, focused on digital transformation in education.

Coordinated by FAU and involving 11 universities and 18 working units, LEADCOM develops professional development courses for teachers across three main areas:

• Digital communication and cooperation

• Innovative educational technologies (e.g. AI, video systems, social virtual environments)

• Distributed digital leadership

So far, the project has produced 16 training courses that are made available in open formats. LEADCOM works closely with state-level teacher training centers to support the implementation and dissemination of these courses across Germany.

We learned about the complexities of the German educational system, where each federal state uses different digital platforms. A shared infrastructure is currently being developed to unify efforts. Additionally, the project collaborates with initiatives like Lehrer-online.de and Learning Lab GmbH, which help bring the courses directly to schools and teachers.

The team also presented two key subprojects focused on digital well-being: one aimed at students and another at teachers and school leaders. Rather than concentrating only on the negative effects of technology, these subprojects aim to highlight its positive potential in fostering motivation, professional satisfaction and healthy digital habits in education.

LEADCOM’s team also proposed our participation in the future Erasmus+ Teacher Academy “Digital Well-being”, a project aimed at promoting a European approach to teacher well-being and tackling the ongoing teacher shortage.

3. Introduction to the self-paced course “Train the Trainers” (DiSo-SGW and DiäS)

Presented by Ruth Maloszek

Before lunch, we joined a session led by Prof. Ruth Maloszek, who introduced the self-paced course Train the Trainers, developed within the DiSo-SGW project. This initiative is part of the national Kompetenznetzwerk lernen:digital, and focuses on building the digital sovereignty of teacher educators in the fields of social sciences, languages, and economics. The course is structured in clear, modular units and covers:

• Pedagogical models like SAMR, Bloom’s taxonomy, and the Community of Inquiry

• Use of multimedia resources and case studies

• Practical tips, reflective tasks, and selected digital tools (grouped by function)
  
  

This session offered valuable insights into how Germany is designing and delivering digital teacher training, and gave us inspiration to reflect on our own training models and resources.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a cultural visit to Nuremberg’s historic city centre, walking through its medieval streets and visiting the Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle). The activity helped us better understand the local cultural context while reinforcing team bonding and intercultural learning.