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“Digital technologies are omnipresent and have fundamentally changed the conditions in which we live and work. I would describe these new conditions as digitality.” (translated with DeeplPro)
Felix Stalder (2019)1
Today, digitalisation and digitality generally represent the self-evident context in which areas of society are developing. For the education sector in particular, this overall social trend opens up enormous opportunities for its own cultural development, despite the challenges. In this context, digitality is of central importance for Agile Educational Leadership due to its cultural-scientific orientation as a contextual condition in the (higher) education sector and framework for action. Because the terms relating to the digital in particular are very varied in the education sector, this chapter differentiates and describes the understanding of digitality in order to create a basis and frame of reference for agile educational leadership in the following chapters.
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- Digital change
- Digitalization and digitality
- digitality and higher education
- Digital transformation
Digital change
How have you experienced the digital transformation in the education sector so far?
When it comes to digitalisation and digitality in the German education sector, a recurring pattern has been observed in the debates for at least the last 20 years, and it now seems possible to break this pattern.
From wheather to how
The role of the new media or digital media or mobile media or e‑learning in education, depending on which term was favoured at the time, was seen with its opportunities and limitations, reflected on in detail and exemplary experiments were carried out. Over the last few decades, the integration of digital media in education, especially in school lessons or university teaching, has been less and less a question of wheather, dif, but more and more a question of how.
At the same time, it could be observed that beyond broad debates and diverse projects or individual plans, relatively few systematic, binding activities took place across the board. Such activities could have contributed to strengthening the natural integration of digital media alongside the existing, traditional media, so that the didactic development of learning environments and thus learning with regard to learners and innovative learning scenarios in subject-specific and interdisciplinary contexts become more commonplace. On a positive note, it should be noted that the bold discussion about the decision for or against digital media in the education sector is now viewed in a more differentiated way. The only thing that now needs to be clarified is the how, i.e. the question of implementation. And this is where we stand today. Behind the how how, to put it bluntly, is the challenge of an innovative and contemporary development of teaching and learning as well as the development of educational organisations and thus the education sector. The current critical and constructive experiences that are being made everywhere in the education sector represent a realistic and encouraging reference for the next possible steps in the development of (higher) education.
Technologie as a driver
To this day, questions about the development of education are quickly followed by the question of digitalization as something that is taken for granted and with which innovative education is thought of together. This is followed by a focus on infrastructure and its procurement. However, the equally self-evident next step is often missing, namely the much more challenging question of how to enable a changed learning culture in the education sector and what role such a cultural change plays for the stakeholders involved and what they need in such a process.
At the same time, it can be observed that a lot of time is always spent on the question of infrastructure or, once this has been largely clarified, the questions of rights and obligations. It seems that the fundamental cultural questions that cannot be related to individual tools, toolsets or end devices are also postponed in this way — and with each new technological advance. This has been observed over the last few years, with the respective debates being fuelled by new technologies that have become established on the market, and sometimes also by excessive euphoria. Initially, it was laptops for a longer period of time, followed by an intense debate about mobile devices such as tablets, combined with Wi-Fi equipment and interactive whiteboards in educational institutions (see, i.e, Stoltenhoff, 2019 for a discourse analysis of media education in schools since 1995)3. Today, for example, virtual reality and augmented reality are important technology-based drivers in vocational education and training and learning analytics in higher education. Artificial intelligence is currently even regarded as an overarching social trend. But here, too, the really exciting question is how the education sector, or what is referred to here as educational, can develop under these conditions and what of this can be shaped by us actors.
Beyond the how
Even if the focus is usually placed on technology first, a common understanding is emerging that it cannot remain solely with hardware and infrastructure, but that the development of a corresponding teaching and learning culture as well as media-related qualification or training of all stakeholders is just as necessary (see, for example, the approach in the cross-educational strategy on education for a digital world of the KMK 2017))4. However, the central challenge seems to be to move forward together as soon as the devices have been unpacked and the percentage figures on Wi-Fi coverage have been statistically processed. A further challenge lies in recognizing, in the important, critical debates that are and should be held here, which individual interests shape and influence activities, especially in the large field of education and digitalization.
Overall, all debates to date have been linked by the fact that they stagnate conspicuously soon when it comes to the question of a suitable how, i.e. the consistent implementation process, especially when it comes to nationwide projects with the help of a masterplan. There seems to be more commitment in the culture of debate surrounding the digital transformation of the education sector than in a culture of doing. But are long-term master plans for a digital transformation still needed today, with technological development itself taking place in ever shorter cycles when it comes to the future of the education sector and contemporary education for the next generation?
Digitalisation and digitality
When considering calling the approach presented here Agile Educational Leadership, we deliberately refrained from explicitly mentioning or adding a reference to digitalisation because digitalisation is seen here as a self-evident condition that constitutes the framework for action. Such an explicit addition of a “digital”, for example, to digital agile educational leadership or agile educational digital leadership would also result in a truncated view, because this is not about digital leadership with digital tools or instruments, but essentially about a technology-independent view. In this respect, the term Agile Educational Leadership under the conditions of digitalization and digitality would be the most appropriate from the current perspective, provided that the establishment of a concrete reference is seen as helpful.
This choice of wording can be explained by the relevance of both a technological and a cultural studies perspective. And because Agile Educational Leadership, as will become clearer in later chapters, is less associated with technologies and techniques and more with practices and practice and the associated communication, interaction and joint action, it is precisely a perspective that focuses more strongly on culture that is so relevant.
The concept of digitality was developed in the context of a culture of digitality (Stalder, 2016)5 in recent years in the discussion in the education sector and with its help a conscious differentiation from digitalization has been made.
Digitalisation
For Stalder, digitalisation stands for the mechanisation and creation of technical infrastructure, which is a prerequisite for the (further) development of a culture of digitality. This also applies to the teaching and learning culture in the education sector as well as to all fields of action beyond teaching to the areas of support and administration. Pure digitalisation of educational institutions in the sense of mechanisation would therefore be a means to an end in order to ensure a better and long-neglected level of equipment and a functional infrastructure. However, this approach presents a looming obstacle to cultural change: previous and sometimes outdated approaches, structures and concepts as well as pedagogical and didactic approaches could merely be digitalised instead of leading to a redesign of the teaching and learning culture through developed approaches, communication methods or concepts for action.
This is why it is sometimes perceived as difficult to speak of digitale education or digital learning in a shortened form, as this is often associated with and conveys the aforementioned hurdle of digitalized education or digitalized learning. This implies that previous educational ideas and teaching and learning concepts from everyday analogue life could basically be digitized 1:1 if only the right technology were available. An alternative view would be to use the possibilities now expanded by digitalization to make new, appropriate didactic considerations for teaching or in the development of curricula, modules or curricula. The topic of implementing distance learning in schools or online teaching in universities is currently a very prominent example of this (Hochschulforum Digitalisierung, 2020)6.
Digitality
In (higher) education, digitality also stands for a more cultural studies perspective and description of the current state of society under the conditions of a culture of digitality (Mayrberger, 2020)7. Digitalität baut auf Technisierung und Digitalisierung auf und meint das Aushandeln von Kommunikations- und Handlungsweisen und beinhaltet letztlich die Frage, wie wir in der heutigen Gesellschaft leben, arbeiten und auch lernen wollen. Digitalität meint daher mehr als Digitalisierung, und umfasst Praxis wie Praktiken in einer Kultur der Digitalität. Diese Kultur der Digitalität ist vor allem geprägt durch drei besondere Formen: 1) Referenzialität, d.h. Vernetzung von Personen und Daten; 2) Gemeinschaftlichkeit, d.h. soziale Gemeinschaft und sozial vernetztes Handeln sowie 3) Algorithmizität, die auf die große Bedeutung von Daten Bezug nimmt und deren Einwirken auf Entscheidungen und das Suchen und Finden sowie Vernetzen von Inhalten. Diese Bedingungen rahmen derzeit unser Handeln und stellen damit auch die rahmenden Bedingungen für einen Kulturwandel in den unterschiedlichen Bildungsbereichen dar (siehe Stalder 2017 für den Hochschulbildungsbereich)8.
Digitality and higher education
Stalder gets to the heart of the connection between digitalisation, digitality and the educational context very well when he highlights the example of higher education:
“The central challenge for universities under the conditions changed by digitality is not primarily which devices should now be purchased, but how they should and want to reorganise their own practices under these conditions. […] The challenges of digitality are therefore not primarily on a technical level, but on an epistemological and organisational level. Only by developing answers to these challenges can the infrastructure be developed in such a way that it fulfils the changed requirements for teaching, research and social embedding” (translated with DeeplPro)
(Stalder, 2018, S. 15)9
A cultural perspective on digitality is also based on the fact that, unlike technological progress, it is not necessarily replaced by the next technological trend. Rather, analogue and digital practices can exist alongside each other as well as integrated or building on each other and there can also be reinterpretations of previously analogue practices in a digital context (Heimstädt, M., & Gegenhuber, T., 2020)10. In this respect, the term digitalisation or digitalisation of teaching and learning or digital learning as well as digital education falls short in the (further) development of the (higher) education sector, which usually starts at the micro level of teaching and learning.
An alternative consideration would be the idea of a gap word to make it clear that there are a variety of technological and cultural perspectives on “digital”, digitalisation and digitality with regard to education. One could then speak of DigitalBildung somewhat artificially, but with an integrating intention, in order to implicitly think about and depict the differentiation.
The contextual condition of digital change is a dynamic one and will also have an impact on the development of interaction and communication and thus on the culture of digitality over time. The differentiation outlined here is relevant for agile educational leadership because it becomes clear that digitality as a framework is an explicit condition and meaningful reference point that frames the approach, but is not itself an explicit part of the approach. The education sector as well as educational organizations and institutions will develop in the course of their respective digital transformation.
Digital transformation
The digital transformation in the education sector and its educational organisations can be explained quite soberly by the fact that all processes and framework conditions are digital and therefore based on digital data and information processing in order to modernise the educational organisation.
The discussion about the role of technologies in the educational process and the necessary infrastructure, which has been observed extensively in recent decades, is therefore relevant because it creates a necessary basis, but it is no longer sufficient with regard to the education sector. Today, the role of data, its generation and, above all, its storage, use and deletion is much more important from the perspective of those involved in education. Data in the (higher) education sector can be used to optimize counselling, learning and examination processes as well as study programme planning, as is currently bundled under the keyword learning analytics (Ifenthaler, 2020)11. In addition, the role of data not only in society as a whole, but also in the education sector, gives rise to a critical discussion of its use and the ability to handle it well and responsibly.
From the perspective of the organisations, the analysis and use of data is of interest, be it for the optimisation of business processes in relation to the entire educational organisation, as is the case, for example, for universities that are not state-funded (see, for example, the description of the US initiative EDUCAUSE)12.
Less soberly, digital transformation in the education sector stands for a cultural change that, if successful, represents a very effective element in the joint further development of society, including the education sector. At the same time, however, with all the digital innovations, it is also an enormous endeavor for everyone involved, because some of the previous habits are now being called into question or completely replaced by new possibilities.
Changed lifeworld
Just as our everyday lifeworld is permeated by media, it is also understandable that the educational sector is. And we notice in our everyday communication and actions how something is changing – perhaps only unconsciously at first. The clearest example of this is the way in which our exchange of information has developed via mobile phones and today’s smartphones. If you think back to the role played by making phone calls with an analogue phone at home or in the phone booths that were set up everywhere, the role that mobile phone capability and sending text messages has since come to play for us, and how that has changed again since every smartphone is a small computer and we can access the internet from any smartphone. In particular, our activities in social networks and via messenger services show us how the way we interact with each other has slowly changed. Just think, for example, of the fact that it has now become common practice to send video or voice messages via a messenger service that was originally intended for text messages. What has remained the same is that you can exchange messages at the same time, i.e. synchronously, or at different times, i.e. asynchronously – only the way in which you do it has expanded and developed. The example shows that as technologies have developed, our practices, i.e. how we do something as a matter of course or how we do something, have also developed or have been completely reintroduced. The fact that exchange has a high cultural value has not changed. But the practice of how we interact with each other has developed over the years because, for example, in addition to telephone and letter, other communication formats such as e‑mail, SMS or short messages or video and text messages are available, which can be supplemented by images or emoticons.
Changed world of education
Similar to the example of exchange in the private sphere, the digital transformation in the field of education not only ensures the mechanization of processes, for which digital infrastructure is needed to modernize the organization of education, but is also partly responsible for a cultural change when new practices and thus changed educational practice develop in an emergent way. We are also experiencing this in teaching and learning, or more abstractly in communication, interaction and social interaction with each other, as exemplified by the now taken-for-granted and increasingly confident use of video conferencing, which will probably have become established for selected formats.
Digital transformation in the (higher) education sector can bring about a change in teaching and learning culture if concrete ideas about how we want to teach and learn in the future are combined with the activities that digital technologies enable today or require from users in a positive sense due to the way they are used. For example, an exchange in a group chat or forum between teachers and learners or between learners themselves is documented on a learning platform for all to read, thus ensuring transparency between all participants. The same applies to wiki technology, as can be seen from the example of Wikipedia: Anyone can contribute and change something, but what has been editorially released by whom and for what reasons it has been deleted, changed or rewritten is documented in the versioning of the respective pages in a way that is equally transparent and comprehensible for everyone. Through automated documentation, technology therefore potentially contributes to the possibility that the exchange can take place in a comprehensible manner and thus more on an equal footing or, on the contrary, that power constellations become apparent. Power imbalances between the actors can possibly even be reduced with this information. In this way, teaching and lessons can potentially be designed in a more transparent, open and overall learner-orientated way in line with didactically contemporary teaching and learning concepts in order to enable and encourage learners to take greater responsibility for their learning process.
Individuals in Focus
The challenge for the education sector outlined above still lies in the how, i.e. the process of the (further) development of educational organizations with their respective teaching and learning cultures and their established practices and respective specialist academia practices under the conditions of digitality.
In most cases, as is the case here, the micro level of teaching and learning and, strictly speaking, also of testing is looked at first in this context, because this is easier for many to grasp through their own experiences. And the micro level is also addressed because it is also important that the educational sector should ultimately enable successful and good learning and educational processes. It is therefore important to emphasize that although the example of teaching and learning is often cited because it is easy to imagine, actors in the education sector who can potentially take on agile educational leadership for their sector naturally also refer to actors who share responsibility for the wider framework, without which teaching or lessons would not be possible at all, in addition to learners and teachers. This includes employees in administration or from the support systems as well as those with management functions or educational policy tasks.
In this way, it was also made clear here as an example for the micro level that much more is possible with digital media in the education sector than simply transferring existing lessons or teaching, including established procedures and didactic concepts, 1:1 to digital and thus digitizing them. The technical infrastructure that digital media offers for teaching and learning, as well as for research and administration, forms the basis for the development of a specific culture of digitality for each educational sector with its own practices.
There is now a better opportunity to cultivate learner-centred practices, for example. For such a perspective, the relationship or prioritisation of pedagogy, technology, digitalization or didactics is irrelevant. After all, when developing new concepts and approaches for (higher) education, individual learners and their individual, iterative learning processes are becoming more important than going through or teaching a certain amount of content, as is traditionally the case. The design of formal, non-formal or even informal learning environments in such a learner-centred practice is geared towards the people involved with their diverse needs and contributions – and of course under the conditions of digitality.
Just as in the specific area of teaching and learning, learner-orientation and thus the focus on individuals and their willingness to take responsibility for their own learning process can promote change in the learning culture, agile educational leadership also starts with the individual. Here too, the aim is to act effectively step by step in the respective area, in which everyone takes responsibility for their respective area of activity in the form of an idea of leadership and demonstrates leadership. Such individual and team efforts to advance the education sector in the digital transformation could help to make better progress with the how than before – namely step by step.
- https://www.thinktank-transit.ch/den-schritt-zuruck-gibt-es-nicht/ [↩]
- https://de.freepik.com/psd/mockup”>Mockup PSD by Vectorium — de.freepik.com; book-cover by Kerstin Mayrberger, Lizenz CC BY 4.0 [↩]
- Stoltenhoff, A.-K. (2019). Medienbildung im kompetenzorientierten Schulsystem Diskurs- und hegemonietheoretische Analyse des Wissensfeldes ›schulische Medienbildung‹ (dissertation). Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen. [↩]
- Konferenz der Kultusminister der Länder in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. (2017). Strategie „Bildung in der digitalen Welt“ (Beschluss der KMK vom 08.12.2016 in the version of 07.12.2017). Berlin. Accessed 16.03.2021, from www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/pdf/PresseUndAktuelles/2018/Digitalstrategie_2017_mit_Weiterbildung.pdf. [↩]
- Stalder, F. (2016). Kultur der Digitalität. Berlin: Suhrkamp. [↩]
- Hochschulforum Digitalisierung (2020). . Corona und die digitale Hochschullehre: Ein Einblick in den aktuellen Forschungsstand. Accessed 17.03.2021, from https://hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/corona-digitale-hochschullehre-forschung. [↩]
- Mayrberger, K. (2020). Digitalisierung und Digitalität in der Hochschulbildung. Bildung und Erziehung. 73, 2, 136 – 154. [↩]
- https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/universitaet/themen/reihe_hochschulperspektiven/stalder.shtml, abgerufen am 31.03.2021 [↩]
- Stalder, F. (2018): Herausforderungen der Digitalität jenseits der Technologie. Synergie – Fachmagazin für Digitalisierung in der Lehre, 5, 8 – 15. [↩]
- Heimstädt, M., & Gegenhuber, T. (2020). Digitale Transformation der Hochschulbildung – Möglichkeiten strategischen Handelns. In M. Deimann & T. van Treeck (Hrsg.), Digitalisierung der Hochschule – Aspekte und Perspektiven der Transformation (S. 41). Berlin: DUZ Verlags- und Medienhaus. [↩]
- Ifenthaler, D. (2020). Learning Analytics im Hochschulkontext – Potenziale aus Sicht von Stakeholdern, Datenschutz und Handlungsempfehlungen. In R. A. Fürst (Hrsg.), Digitale Bildung und Künstliche Intelligenz in Deutschland. Nachhaltige Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Zukunftsagenda (S. 519 – 535). Wiesbaden: Springer. [↩]
- https://www.educause.edu/focus-areas-and-initiatives/digital-transformation, accessed 31.03.2021 [↩]
