How technical University is fostering inclusivity and improving learning
TU Wien (Vienna’s Technical University) is Austria's largest university in the field of technology and natural sciences. It has about 26 000 students and 4000 teaching and research staff. The University’s history stretches back over 200 years, and it stands for a modern, open-minded, and practice-oriented approach.
The University started using Mentimeter to increase student engagement, for both remote and on-campus students. It soon discovered that the tool achieves this and more:
it fosters inclusivity
makes learning fun and interactive
provides immediate feedback for improvement
and helps students learn better
Read on to discover how TU Wien achieved these results with Mentimeter.
Looking for the right tool
TU Wien aims to make learning engaging and interactive. This applies to both their onsite and distance-learning classes. So, the University asked its e-learning department to investigate tools for collecting student answers. The team tested several solutions and found that some free tools and plugins were not user-friendly or mobile-compatible. After careful evaluation, they chose Mentimeter.
"Mentimeter covers many functions [which] we previously had to provide with three different programs."
- Kurt Matyas, former Vice Rector of Academic Affairs
Fostering inclusivity
Mentimeter helps TU Wien foster inclusivity. Instructors use the tool during lectures and panel discussions, inviting students to post their questions or responses anonymously. "This works very well," says Kurt Matyas, former Vice Rector of Academic Affairs. "Diversity is very important to me and to TU Wien, and this helps us ensure that everyone feels welcome."
"We first used Mentimeter in a podium discussion during the pandemic," explains Kurt. "We were starting a psychological support program for students. During the event, students could post questions anonymously and vote on them, which helped manage the discussion. This interactivity is also useful in lectures."
Thanks to Mentimeter, people can participate, regardless of whether they are following a lecture remotely or on-site.
"Mentimeter includes all the functions we need and scales well for courses with up to 500 people. The campus license with unlimited participants is very convincing."
- Kurt Matyas, former Vice Rector of Academic Affairs
Making learning fun and interactive
TU Wien is known for its practical approach to learning. Mentimeter helps make lectures and seminars engaging and interactive. "It works great as an ice breaker," says Reinhard Grabler, a University Assistant at the Department of Labor Science and Organization. He often starts classes with a simple poll about the students’ field of study or country of origin.
Mentimeter also allows students to actively engage with the course material. For example, the open ended or question slide type lets them ask questions that they may not have dared to ask in front of the other students. And the quiz function serves as a fun way to review the contents of the lecture. "There is a low threshold to using Mentimeter, which helps to neatly integrate it into teaching," says Reinhard.
A Senior Scientist at the University, adds, "Mentimeter helps to bring variety into your lecture, which makes it livelier for all of us (students and lecturer)."
There is a low threshold to using Mentimeter, which helps to neatly integrate it into teaching
Immediate feedback for continuous improvement
The University uses a standardized process to collect student feedback at the end of each course (via a different tool). While this is helpful, it can only improve the next iteration of the course. That is why many instructors use Mentimeter as a complementary tool to collect feedback during the course, e.g. after tests. That way, the course can be improved immediately, to the benefit of the current cohort. These surveys tend to have higher response rates and more detailed comments than end-of-course questionnaires.
"The immediate feedback helps improve teaching during the semester rather than after the semester." - Reinhard Grabler, University Assistant at the Department of Labor Science and Organization
Helping students learn
"I start each lecture with a quiz on last week’s material," says the Senior Scientist at the University. "Students like it very much, and you can easily review important content."
Another way to enhance learning with Mentimeter is through Peer Instruction questions. Reinhard explains, "I project a question, and each student must choose among four possible answers. Then I show the results, and they are sent into groups, where they discuss why they chose their answer. After the discussion, they vote again, and with the segmentation, now we can see how many people changed their answers. After that, I explain the correct answer."
Students' responses to the question "Which statement about change and innovation management is correct?" before peer discussion.
Students' responses to the question "Which statement about change and innovation management is correct?" after the peer discussion, using the segmentation feature to show which answer students had submitted before discussing with each other.
The University’s IT department connected Mentimeter to the IT environment through Azure Cloud with Azure SCIM. There is an in-house "shop" of IT tools where instructors can add Mentimeter to their toolkit – and it becomes available within an hour. This way, Mentimeter became a part of the University’s software ecosystem.
Kurt Matyas, former Vice Rector of Academic Affairs, says, "Inspiring students is essential to me. Good tools, like Mentimeter, support me as a teacher. Mentimeter was a great decision because it works well, and we can rely on it. We get good feedback from instructors, and it has been technically tested."