THE BASEMENT. The Leibniz Insitute For Educational Media's Digital Lab
Explore the future
‘The Basement’ is a digital laboratory, designed as a flexible classroom of the future and equipped with a range of hardware and software. It is open to anyone interested in testing and researching the possibilities of digital education and in designing such education using critically reflective, participative methods. Researchers and teachers are encouraged to use the space for study groups and research projects and to implement their ideas. We provide stimuli through a range of events and consultation processes for interacting with digital technology and designing learning processes. We are also very keen to explore with all interested parties how digital media are changing schools and educational processes, for example in terms of learning scenarios, possibilities of participation, the understanding of roles and data practices.
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Teachers can book The Basement in order to test new methods, teaching concepts and media – from teaching software and computer games to programming kits and a 3D printer – with their classes. The laboratory nature of the space should be taken literally: experimentation is expressly encouraged.
If you are looking for ideas for creative teaching scenarios you can also take part in one of our teacher training seminars, visit us on one of our Open Basement days, or make an appointment for an induction on how to use the space.
Researchers and teachers conduct participatory research into digital education in The Basement. Feel free to speak to us if you are interested in taking part in a research project.
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Researchers exploring digital education can use The Basement as part of their research infrastructure. We welcome projects from diverse disciplinary perspectives. If you would like to use The Basement for your research project you can find more details here.
The space was developed to complement the Georg Eckert Institute’s research profile. The concept stems from the awareness that education in a digitally networked world must not only involve an expansion of technological infrastructure and its availability. Rather, in our view it is necessary to examine the cultural, social and political dimensions of the medial shift in schools and education such as changes in roles, educational content or data flows. The Basement therefore provides a alternative location in which new techniques, scenarios and practices can be tested and researched.
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The Basement hosts participatory, interactive and entertaining events that encourage an exchange of ideas between all those interested in digital education. These include creative formats in which we produce, critically question and learn about technologies in different ways. We have, for example, run a TikTok workshop for young people, or examined the uses of social media more closely for educational purposes. Our Open Basement events also provide space on a regular basis for an exchange of ideas or to try things out. Other events are always being planned! Do you have an idea for an event related to digital education and think the Basement would be a good location? Perhaps along the lines of a hackathon or a game jam – we are always interested in joint activities and cooperative ventures!
