The Zoom whiteboard function has been updated at KIT since October. This allows participants to work together on a digital whiteboard in video conferences. They can collect, organize and visualize content together on the endless canvas using intuitive tools. The whiteboard is ideal for interactive group work, brainstorming sessions and visual presentations.

The need for more agile teaching models that meet individual learning needs is constantly increasing. Nowadays, there are numerous learning concepts and scenarios that enable flexible learning. But how can such scenarios and models be combined without it becoming confusing and complicated? This is where the SMART Reader comes into play: an HTML-based e-book with a variety of learning materials that can contain everything from texts and videos to audio tracks and interactive tasks. The SMART Reader is free and cross-platform, making it accessible to all.

With the open source tool H5P, you can quickly create interactive learning modules for your own teaching. There are different types of content to choose from - from clickable presentations to virtual tours, there is a lot possible. As H5P is integrated into ILIAS, you can create the content directly there. The modules can also be exported and used on other platforms. If you prefer to create the blocks offline or for your own website, we recommend the free program Lumi.

Good teaching activates students to think intensively and participate actively in the teaching process. Especially with online teaching, the feeling of speaking into an echoing virtual room can quickly arise. To prevent this, you should plan for activating methods as early as the design stage of your course. In recent months, there have been some technical changes on Zoom that encourage just that.

At the turn of the year 2021/22 there has been an update of the learning platform ILIAS. This time, it was not just a simple update, but rather a fundamental, major system adjustment. The update to ILIAS 7 comes with a modern design, a new page editor, other new features and an improved user experience. We present the most important changes briefly and compactly.

Whether it's a hybrid institute seminar or a hybrid meeting - the cases contain everything you need to enable you to involve people on site as well as participants connected online in just a few simple steps. The cases are expected to be available for checkout at the library's South Campus and North Campus locations starting in mid-November.

At KIT, it is now possible to integrate the tool "MATLAB Grader" on the learning platform ILIAS with the help of a plugin. With the "MATLAB Grader" plugin, teachers can create interactive programming tasks on ILIAS and have them evaluated automatically by the program. In this way, they receive an overview of the learning performance of their students.

Quizzes can be integrated into different phases of teaching and learning scenarios. They help students to repeat and consolidate knowledge they have already learned at the beginning of the lesson. Teachers can use them to assess the interim status or to check students' practiced competencies and the content of the respective learning unit. In addition, polls help to lighten up the lessons and make them more interactive. In the following, we will present a few digital tools that can be used to conduct surveys.

At KIT, the use of PINGO is recommended.

Professional video conferencing systems such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom enable digital communication in real time and completely independent of location. They are therefore not only ideal for work in the home office, but also for online seminars or lectures at universities. Since the participants are not in the same room and communication is often limited, virtual meetings can quickly become boring. This makes it all the more important to make online seminars as interactive as possible. We have collected some tips for teachers on how to make their digital seminars and lectures more interactive.

When producing a video, it is often not easy to decide on a perspective. The ZML's multi-angle video player now brings more interactivity. The video player, which can be used by the public without restrictions, not only makes it possible to switch between different perspectives, but also opens up completely different dimensions in knowledge transfer: Using different special cameras, it is possible, for example, to switch between thermal imaging, UV and normal cameras. It is also possible to switch between different language variants as well as different narrative perspectives. A total of up to three video and audio tracks can be integrated, which the user can choose from.

Perfect for meetings, lectures, and MOOCs: Since last year, the new platform of the DFNConf video conferencing service has been available to all KIT employees free of charge. The service enables video conferences with participants worldwide. These can be set up, organized, and carried out independently of the platform. Access is also individual: DFNConf can be accessed not only via video conferencing systems but also via smartphone apps, web-based solutions, or simple telephone dial-in.