?
Die digitale (R)evolution? Chancen und Risiken der Digitalisierung akademischer Lehre
Higher Education unquestionably benefits individuals as well as society as a whole. The inter-net and internet-based technologies have made information more accessible than ever before. A new generation of “digital natives” is used to communicate, research and interact in many ways through new technologies. Although e-learning has become a standard component of most German higher education institutions, it has been the emergence of massive open online courses (MOOCs) which has recently renewed the interest of higher education managers, teachers, students and politicians in learning technologies. The present study analyses the driving forces as push and pull factors in available technology, society and higher education systems that drive or inhibit the further use of online learning and MOOCs. It analyses the potential of new technologies for serving the needs of learners worldwide as well as in the European and German context. It makes predications as well as recommendations how Ger-man (and European) higher education can profit from the new possibilities of online learning.