![['English'] Logo vom EduCamp in Essen](/fileadmin/user_upload/ECRuhr25mitGebamsel.png)
Who are you, what kind of conference was it?
I am Anja Lorenz, Instructional Designer at the Institute for Interactive Systems (ISy).
The EduCamp in Essen (#ecruhr25) took place from 21st to 23rd March 2025 at the Essen-Überruhr Gymnasium. It is a BarCamp, which means that there is no fixed agenda in advance. Instead, the participants contribute by bringing their topics, pitching them and creating a mixed session plan together on site.
How did you contribute to the event?
I gave a session on how to create online courses with the support of AI tools like ChatGPT. I focused on approaches for teaching staff with a low barrier to entry, without the need for programming skills.
Although the session was primarily based on my own (and therefore not scientifically evaluated) best practices, it was important for me to point out that I build on established didactic approaches such as constructive alignment – and that my professional background is important for turning the results of AI tools into good online courses or other learning formats. The participants had many questions, and there were lively discussions and feedback from their very different professional backgrounds.
👉 Click here to access the session documentation
What did you learn at the event?
Right from the start, it became clear that AI will be an important topic, as AI was mentioned as one of the three hashtags in the introductions by around a quarter of the participants. This was also reflected in the session plan.
I also enjoyed learning new things about H5P, a tool we often use ourselves in online courses. There were helpful resources presented, such as an interactive H5P guide or the ‘H5P Caretaker’ by Oliver Tacke – a former ISy colleague and still my podcast buddy.
I am always impressed by the colourful variety of different topics: there was a session with a travel report on schools in Morocco, one on magic as an introduction to lessons, in another session there was an online textbook based on MediaWiki on dental technology (wikidental.de) and in yet another, role cards were designed with the help of AI tools.
Name a highlight from the event
The special mix of participants is always a real highlight for me: People from very different educational backgrounds come together at the EduCamps – from schools and universities to further education – which always provides exciting perspectives and new impulses.
I also like the open and almost family-like atmosphere: about half of the participants came for the first time, while the other half was already known to me. And as always at the EduCamp: children are included as a matter of course! They organise their own sessions, this time on scratch pictures, MakeyMakey or Voxelibre - a kind of open source Minecraft.
