Diversity is an important consideration for universities undergoing digitization. The document discusses how to design digital teaching and learning processes to be inclusive of all students, recognizing differences in backgrounds, skills, resources, knowledge and needs. It provides examples of challenges like ensuring non-discriminatory communication and teaching methods that accommodate different learning styles. The document offers recommendations for various university departments, such as developing inclusive curricula and digital formats, providing learning support, researching barriers to access, and creating experimental spaces to test innovative approaches to management and teaching with a focus on equal opportunities for all.

1. Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
Prof. Dr. Ada Pellert

2. Diversity is of entral importance
for universities going through the
process of digitization
24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
2

3. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
3
“We see reflection on gender and diversity as a task for everyone, as the
systematic perception and consideration of different life situations people
are in and the conditions they are faced with. Teaching in a way that
reflects gender and diversity means assuming that your student base
comprises a variety of differently positioned individuals with quite
different skill sets, resources, previous knowledge, experience, and
needs, rather than using some kind of ‘average student’ as your
working basis. This is not disconnected from experiences of
discrimination and privilege in social structures of inequality.
These structural inequalities and individual characteristics
need to be recognized and accounted for during teaching
design. It also means reflecting on and adapting one’s own
teaching content and methods to provide equal educational
opportunities for all.”
Network Gender and Diversity in Teaching

4. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
4
Digital Gender Gap, a study
by the D21 initiative, carried
out by Kantar TNS, is licensed
under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International
license.

5. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
5
4 Student Profiles
 Explorers
 Archivers
 The Easily Inspired
 Determined Learners

6. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
6
Didactic action area Diversity-related challenges
(Self-)perception • Diversity dimensions and diversity competence in the university context
• The perception and importance of our diversity as teachers
• Our perception and handling of student diversity
Subject content • Inclusion of gender and diversity studies
• Consideration of various living situations
Communication &
interaction
• Promotion of non-discriminatory communication
• Development of non-discriminatory interaction and cooperation approaches
Teaching & learning
methods
• A student-centric approach that takes the diversity of students’ prior experiences,
motivations and learning styles into account
• Design of a diversity-friendly learning environment
Performance review • Equity-based review of student performance (preparation, implementation &
evaluation)
Framework conditions • Non-discriminatory access to courses/classes
• Drawing up of diversity-friendly framework conditions
http://divers.uni-koeln.de/Das_Self-Assessment-Tool.html

7. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
7
“The higher education system is characterized by
the increasing diversity of students, teachers, and
also other staff. Over recent years, universities have
opened up significantly – in other words, diversity is
not some ‘new’ phenomenon that is merely
manifesting through the demographic characteristics
of their members (e.g., in terms of their age,
nationality, or educational background). University
members are thus characterized by their quite
different personal (cognitive) backgrounds, different
value systems, learning styles or motivations to study
that clearly impact their learning and study success
and (can) often be influenced and impacted through
socialization at university.”
Aichinger, Regina; Linde, Frank & Auferkorte-Michaelis, Nicole (2020). Editorial: Diversität an Hochschulen – Chancen und Herausforderungen auf dem Weg
zu exzellenten und inklusiven Hochschulen. In: Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung, vol 15/no. 3, October 2020, p. 10

8. Diversity arises from
• Miscellaneous prior knowledge
• Cultural conditioning
• Linguistic competences
• Self-learning competences
• Temporal availability
• Self-assessment
• Other factors.
24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
8
How can we design learning
and working processes?

9. 9 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
Educational establishments need
• to be aware of the risk that digitization can produce or perpetuate inequalities;
• a perspective on digital learning and working process which emphasizes
inclusivity and equal opportunities;
• resources that empower all people to confidently participate in educational
processes and in the digital transformation of society;
• digital and networked teaching, learning and working concepts that
meaningfully combine digital and analogue formats;
• recognition of learning successes that go beyond existing degrees and
qualifications, both in society and in educational policy;
• alternative, modular educational formats and certifications which are firmly
established in the educational system;
• a learning culture that does not view mistakes as failures but rather as a
productive aspect of the learning and working process.

10. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
10
TO Dos in various university departments

11. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
11
University Management
• Agility and networking aspects are still not sufficiently
integrated into working practices in educational institutions.
Scope needs to be created for this.
• Promotion of employee creativity and innovation by those who
think in different ways and have new ideas. Diversity
management is change management.
• However, not so much in the sense of the introduction of new
technologies, rather by encouraging changes in attitudes.
How can we use technology to reach our education goals?

12. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
12
Higher Education Development
• Continued development of curricula: a greater number of
interdisciplinary and application-oriented degree programs
• Development of various programs for career changers and
lateral entrants
• Focusing on barriers to higher education access
• As future disseminators of knowledge, all students must be
taught diversity competence and an awareness of the risks of
discrimination as a cornerstone of “digital literacy.”
• Qualification of teaching staff

13. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
13
E-Learning
• Transparency in the structure of course formats to ensure that
various biographies are optimally catered for
• Various forms of access, e.g., synchronous/asynchronous
• Creation of optimum examination conditions for students that
take the growing diversity among examinees into account,
e.g., through ePortfolios, prototypes, badges
• Offer learning support
• A combination of blended learning designed to identify “the
right mix for each respective student”

14. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
14
Research
• Research projects generate insights that flow back into
everyday school life and education policy
• This enables the development of media-didactic teaching
and learning scenarios
• Research on digital society
• Internal educational offerings based on research-based teaching
• Diverse composition of development teams working on digital tools and applications
brings greater benefits for diverse social groups and higher quality results
• Interdisciplinary composition: involvement of people with gender and diversity
competence in research at higher education establishments and in cooperations
• Participatory research: Involving people with disabilities in the research process as
"experts for their own lives"

15. 24.05.2023 Inclusion and Digital Accessibility
15
University Management
• Experimental spaces are needed for:
- Error culture
- Context-dependent development of measures
- Piloting innovative approaches must also include
testing at management level.
• Digitization strategies with clear aims and responsibilities
- Quality improvements in teaching
- Creation of profiles
• Networking teaching, administration, research, and management
• Development of university administration competencies in respect of
technical tools, but also a cultural change

16. Thank you!