For the first time, awards were presented for outstanding concepts for free teaching and learning materials in German-speaking countries at the 2016 OER Festival #OERde16. As a partner to the festival, Siemens Stiftung sponsored the seventh out of the total of nine categories: “OER for STEM – teaching materials for STEM subjects in schools.” The foundation was especially impressed by the entry “Teaching with the Raspberry PI” from Tobias Hübner, who shows great engagement in inspiring an interest in programming among his pupils. He also shares his project experience with teachers from other schools.
“You can only discuss issues like bulk data retention or data security if you understand the basics of technology.” That is the reason Tobias Hübner gives for his commitment to raising awareness of the subject of digitization in society across all subjects at schools. The means he choses for that are themed books – OER that are available under an open license and so can be used, adapted or republished by anyone interested.
“Tobias Hübner impresses with his outstanding personal dedication, both as regards funding and networking,” was the reason given by Maria Schumm-Tschauder, the Media Portal Project Manager at Siemens Stiftung, in her eulogy at the award ceremony. “His project shows how you can teach children and youngsters to program and use electronics in a creative way. We believe that, in particular, grassroots projects like this deserve an award.”
Hübner, who is responsible for the “MEDIENISTIK.de” site, not only receives a certificate for the first prize, but also the commitment from Siemens Stiftung to accompany his project afterwards. Siemens Stiftung’s aim in partnering the festival is to help the OER philosophy gain greater attention and become more established.
Siemens Stiftung presents award for open educational resources (OER) in STEM subjects at the 2016 OER Festival in Berlin
