The topic of the 14th evening on Thursday, 24.04.2025, 6 PM is:

SWIPE, LIKE, DISCONNECT? – In everyday life, together alone

The art of living real closeness despite digital overload

Our children are growing up in a world where likes are currency and notifications are on a constant loop. Between TikTok trends and WhatsApp chats, there is often little room for real listening, real moments - real connection. How can we as parents counteract this and put ‘relationship and closeness’ before ‘screen time’ again?

This digital parents' evening invites you to discover new ways of healthy interaction in everyday digital life. We will talk about how we can consciously shape closeness and commitment in a networked world - without pointing a finger, but with a lot of heart, humour and impulses suitable for everyday life.

Speakers: Sabine Reichsthaler and Judith Guserl Co-founder of Kopfgarten - your happiness campus

Picture: ERIS portrait

BEING MINDFUL WITH SMARTPHONES: Why We Are Always on Our Phones – and How We Can Change It.

Why do we so often reach for our smartphones? What technologies and mechanisms keep us constantly checking our screens? In this talk, we explore the reasons behind our smartphone use, the role of "persuasive technologies," and the psychological effects they have on us.

We also present practical approaches to reducing screen time and fostering a more mindful media consumption. Through simple exercises, everyday tips, and long-term strategies, you will learn how to achieve digital balance in today’s world.

Objective: Understand the background and mechanisms of smartphone use and gain practical tips and exercises to reduce screen time.

Speaker: Johannes Knierzinger is a teacher of Digital Education and the director of Forum MedienBildung GmbH (MedienBildung.at). He has been working with digital media for 20 years. As a media educator, he focuses on topics such as digital balance, persuasive technologies, and sustainable media use. A passionate teacher and practitioner, he aims to provide not only theoretical knowledge but also hands-on strategies to help shape digital transformation consciously.

Picture: medienbildung.at

The topic of the 12th evening on Thursday, 07.11.2024 was:

Teach with Space

ESERO Austria is the education office of the European Space Agency ESA, based at the Ars Electronica Centre in Linz.

At ESERO Austria, we utilise the fascination of space, space travel and earth observation to introduce young people to scientific and technical topics and get them excited about them.

We offer projects, learning/teaching materials, information on career opportunities in space, videos on exciting and current topics and training courses in Austria and Belgium for mentors.

The digital parents' evening is the ideal opportunity to get to know our wide range of offers for pupils, teachers, mentors and parents.

Speakers: Bettina Anderl, ESERO Austria Manager, astronomer and teacher of maths and physics

ESERO Austria – EUROPEAN SPACE EDUCATION RESOURCE OFFICE

The topic of the 11th evening on Thursday, 26. September 2024 was:

High-quality additional education parallel to AHS? CAP. makes it possible.

High-quality additional education parallel to AHS? CAP. makes it possible.
The CAP. educational initiative offers young people an exceptional opportunity to broaden their horizons alongside their AHS upper secondary school, quench their thirst for knowledge and think outside the box. With well-founded and professionally developed additional training programmes, AHS upper secondary school students at CAP. THE opportunity to develop further in a people-centred environment and to enter the adult world with further educational qualifications in addition to the A-levels.

We give all interested parties an insight into the two training programmes MECHATRONICS and CYBERSECURITY, explain how and why CAP. was created and how the training programme has developed in recent years. Above all, we will explain why the topics of holism and personal development are so important to us as part of the training programme and what we do to integrate both areas into the lessons in the best possible way.

Speaker: Gabriele Egger - Programme Director CAP.TRAINING, Jan Schützenhofer CAP. graduate JG 2016 Gabriele Egger has actively supervised CAP.TRAINING since 2017, has been Programme Director since 2020 and has launched the new CYBERSECURITY training branch together with the Upper Austrian University of Applied Sciences/Department of Secure Information Systems Hagenberg. Since joining the training programme, she has mentored over 150 young people aged between 14 and 18 through to their final apprenticeship examination.

Jan Schützenhofer started the CAP. apprenticeship programme in 2016, passed the extraordinary final apprenticeship examination in 2020 and is currently studying business law in Vienna. He has been supporting the CAP.team in organisational matters since the beginning of this year.

www.cap-ausbildung.eu

Picture: CAP.Ausbildung

The topic of the 10th evening on Thursday, 04.07.2024, was:

Digital Textbooks—Where Are We Heading?

Digitalization entered the classroom many years ago, but what exactly does that mean? What does digitalization look like in the context of school textbooks?

We will provide a brief overview of the digital materials already available to students today. However, digitalization is not static; it is constantly evolving. Therefore, as an educational publisher, we are deeply engaged in the question: What will the textbook of tomorrow look like?

We will offer insights into a recently launched pilot project on the subject "Digital Literacy" and share the ups and downs that come with such a new development.

Speakers: Stefanie Ertl – Product Manager, Julia Brandner – Product Owner
The speakers are responsible for the management and further development of learning platforms at VERITAS Educational Publishing. They focus on developing digital products to best support teachers, students, and parents in achieving learning success.

Image: stock.adobe.com/highwaystarz

The topic of the 9th evening on Thursday, 23. May 2024, was:

cyberchecker: A Guide Through the World of TikTok and More

Children and teenagers and their current trends on social media, combined with simple tips for dealing with them—for teachers and parents.

Despite the school subject "Digital Literacy" and the increased focus on media education in schools, guiding children and teenagers through the colorful world of social media is extremely challenging. The trends are overwhelming, and social media, with all its platforms, has a significant impact on the opinions of young people. Political content, one-sided information driven by algorithms, violent content, and much more—children and teenagers are in the middle of it all, with unfiltered access to these contents.

- How can we, as adults, guardians, or teachers, engage with social media content in a low-threshold way without wagging our fingers?

- How can social media even become a learning tool at home or in school?

Speaker: Alexandra Vrhovac, founder of www.cyberchecker.at and middle school teacher in Meidling, Vienna.
With extensive experience in social work, as a middle school teacher in Vienna, and as a lecturer at the University of Education in the field of migration pedagogy, she decided over 1.5 years ago, together with her team partner Sandrine Baumgartner, who is a marketing expert and digital creator, to found the association Cyberchecker. The influence of social media on the formation of opinions and the mental health of children and teenagers, and the resulting helplessness of adults, led Sandrine and Alexandra to pursue this heartfelt project to this day.

Their motivation to start this initiative was the need to support children and teenagers in navigating the digital world safely and responsibly—with the help of strong and informed adults!
Let’s become cybercheckers together.

Picture: cyberchecker.at

The topic of the 8. evening on Thursday, 25.04.2024 is:

Learning success with technology

Practical tips for using learning tools

Digitalization has a huge impact on the education sector and the way we learn. Learning tools play a crucial role in this by enabling learners to learn in a more flexible and individualized way. Through the use of digital tools, learning content can be made more interactive, personalized and better customized to the needs of learners. Together, we will dive into the world of digital learning tools and take a look at the platforms, apps and programs that are available to help children and young people achieve their learning goals more efficiently.

Speaker: Fatlinda Ibraimi - Trainer and Coach with Teach For Austria. After 4 years of teaching experience in the out-of-school education sector, she is now responsible for implementing the Teach For Austria training program in Upper Austria and supports teachers in the form of coaching and workshops on classroom management, teaching methods and techniques and intersectional educational work. Teach For Austria is committed to educational fairness to support every child in developing their full potential. This also includes the promotion of future skills, including digital skills.

Picture: pexels.com

The topic of the 7. evening on Thursday, 28.03.2024 was:

Esports & Gaming: More than just a game

Educational Potentials in virtual worlds

The gaming and esports industry is no longer just a lonely niche subculture. Millions of fans tune in weekly to watch their favorite teams play on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Billions of children and adolescents worldwide regularly sit in front of computers, consoles, and other devices to play video games. But what opportunities do these video games hold for parents, teachers, and children?

In this lecture, we take a look at virtual gaming worlds and discuss how games like Fortnite and Minecraft can be used as educational tools. Using best-case examples, we illustrate how Minecraft Education has already been successfully integrated into classrooms and the benefits it offers to students.

Furthermore, we shed light on the various jobs and occupations in esports and gaming, and finally, we provide concrete tips on how to support children and adolescents' passion for gaming.

Speaker: Theresa Schaffer works as an Esports & Gaming Consultant at MYI Entertainment in Switzerland. She is one of the few esports and gaming professionals in Austria. As a passionate gamer herself, she develops concepts for companies such as Swisscom, Ovomaltine, Opel, and many more. Personally, she is strongly committed to the topic of "Women in Gaming" in her own project at MYI, as well as a co-author for Esportpedia Volume 7.

Picture: pexels.com

The topic of the 6. evening on Thursday, 29. February 2024 was:

Entrepreneurship Education

How can children and adolescents learn to shape the future?

To address challenges such as digitization, strengthening democracy, or climate change, confident and informed citizens are needed to advocate for a better future. People who implement ideas and shape their own lives and society with confidence. But how can we prepare children and adolescents for a world full of challenges? What do we need to provide them with so they can lead self-determined lives?

Entrepreneurship Education represents the junior program for the future shapers. The lecture will provide possible answers to these questions and examine the topic of Entrepreneurship Education from primary to secondary level II. In addition to an introduction and an overview of the current situation in Austria, the focus will be on concrete offerings (such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Week) and opportunities to get actively involved.

Speaker: Valentin Mayerhofer – Valentin has experienced firsthand during his school years the life perspectives made possible through Entrepreneurship Education. After studying Entrepreneurship at the University of Liechtenstein, he has been the managing director and board member of the non-profit educational association IFTE #Entrepreneurship4Youth since 2018. In addition to coordinating numerous association activities, he is involved as a project manager in the successful implementation of initiatives such as Start Your Project, the Young Entrepreneurs Program, or the Youth Entrepreneurship Week.

Picture: IFTE.at

The topic of the 5. evening on Thursday, 25 January 2024 was:

Attention please!

Behind the likes - insights into the world of social media. . 

Attention - how can we so easily waste something that is so hard to get? The Digital Parents' Evening will explore the question of how the social media services that capture our attention every day actually work. What technologies and tricks are behind these applications? And last but not least, what sophisticated business models are causing us to lose ourselves in the digital worlds? The aim of the lecture is to give you a deeper understanding of the complex mechanisms of the social media world. We will take a critical look at the challenges, but also the opportunities that this digital landscape brings for parents, young people and society as a whole.

Speaker: Johannes Knierzinger - After more than 15 years in the media industry, he switched to the education sector and founded Medien.Start, a project that connects schools and media. His speciality is research into the functionality of media, the business models that drive them and the increasingly important research into decision-making using algorithms. After working for national and international media companies, he now works as a teacher for basic digital education and for the Upper Austrian Education Directorate and the European Commission.

Picture: Oladimeji Ajegbile, pexels.com

Topic of the 4. evening on Thursday, 30. November 2023 was:

Online Career Guidance
in the world of adolescents

At the end of compulsory education, adolescents are confronted with a multitude of options for their further educational path and often feel left on their own when making this decision.Since they now spend a significant portion of their free time in the digital world, it is important to support them there with an easily accessible educational and career counseling offering. Michael Kass-Buchberger, a secondary school teacher in Linz and the founder of PATHfindr (a social startup offering guidance), shares how educators, parents, and young people can utilize the digitization of career guidance as an opportunity.

Speaker on Thursday, 30. November 2023: Michael Kass-Buchberger, Founder & CEO of PATHfindr GmbH

Picture: PATHfindr GmbH

Topic of the 3. evening on Thursday, 19. October 2023 was:

Data protection
How private is the internet?
Data protection 101 for parents and their children

On the internet, children and young people quickly come across technologies (and business models) that are designed to collect and store information about them.
business models) that are designed to collect, store and exploit information about them. But how can they judge whether everything is above board or whether they are taking a risk by revealing something about themselves?
This is where data protection helps, because it gives those whose information is digitally processed various rights.
These rights make it possible to influence what happens what happens to their own information.

In order for children and adolescents to use the internet responsibly and autonomously, it is important that they also know and can exercise their (data protection) rights. We will discuss what parents should know about data protection to support their children in this regard during the digital parents' evening.

Speaker on Thursday, October 19, 2023: Raphael Albert, Data Protection Consultant and Certified Data Protection Officer.

Picture: Amina Filikins, pexels.com

The topic of the 2. evening on FRIDAY, 13. OCTOBER 2023 at 6 PM was: 

Offline or Online?
Bullying = Bullying!

Alía was removed from the class chat group and is being ignored, Rene's nude pictures are being forwarded and of Alex are being spreaded.

Is all of this already bullying? 

During the digital parents' evening, we will explore the question of what (online) bullying actually is and what impact it can have. Because only when we understand what bullying is can we take action against it.

Speaker: Katharina Maierl, MA - Bullying and Violence Prevention Trainer at KiJA Upper Austria and Safer Internet Trainer.

Picture: RDNE, pexels.com

Topic of the 1. evening on Thursday, 22. June 2023 was:

Who owns the truth?
Artificial Intelligence in the school environment

Tools such as Chat GPT can generate human-like responses to text-based queries, causing a sense of wonder, excitement and fear among many users.

It is clear that the free availability of artificial intelligence can fundamentally change the daily lives of teachers and students

However, AI-enhanced learning and teaching also has risks. Artificial intelligence can be used for cheating or plagiarism, and chatbots occasionally provide false or misleading information.

What could be a suitable framework for integrating them into the classroom as a platform with added value?

The speakers on Thursday, 22. June 2023 were Christoph Kremer and Thomas Viehböck from the ARS Electronica Center Linz (Future Thinking School).

Picture: Pavel Danilyuk, pexels.com