The results of the fnma working group show how AI can be integrated into higher education in a pedagogically meaningful, critical and responsible way, and highlight the role AI literacy can play in teaching and curriculum development.
What is fnma?
The Forum Neue Medien in der Lehre Austria (fnma) is Austria’s central platform for advancing digital teaching and learning in higher education. This cross-institutional network brings together experts and practitioners from the fields of pedagogy, research and technology, promotes exchange and collaboration, and makes jointly developed solutions available to higher education institutions. For FHWien der WKW, this network provides an opportunity to draw on the experiences and good practices of other institutions while also contributing its own expertise to the Austrian higher education community.
AI in Teaching: From Tools to Pedagogical Decisions
The working group “KI in der Hochschullehre – kritisch, verantwortungsvoll und praxisorientiert” (AI in Higher Education – Critical, Responsible and Practice-Oriented) has developed practical guidance for the use of AI in higher education. Its outputs include criteria and a collection of good-practice examples, audio and video resources, as well as a catalogue of questions for evaluating AI tools. The focus is not on the technology itself, but on its pedagogical value: the use of AI should align with learning objectives, learning activities and competence development. At the same time, aspects such as data protection, copyright, transparency, fairness, accessibility and human oversight need to be taken into account.
The resources offer plenty of practical inspiration for teaching staff. The good-practice collection includes examples of AI-supported writing and feedback processes, adaptive practice and tutoring scenarios, multimodal applications, and more accessible learning through transcription and translation. The catalogue of questions, in turn, helps teaching staff systematically assess whether an AI tool and its intended use are appropriate from a pedagogical, legal and technical perspective. Responsibility for the specific pedagogical decision remains with the teaching staff.
AI Literacy as a Task for Curriculum Development
Of particular relevance to the further development of teaching is the focus on AI literacy and critical AI literacy. These competencies go beyond simply knowing how to use AI tools. The educational framework developed by the working group combines an understanding of the technological foundations and limitations of AI with its reflective use, ethically responsible action, and a critical analysis of its impact on people, society, education, work and the environment.
The results also provide a framework for reflecting on how AI competencies can be developed in ways that are specific to particular disciplines and tailored to different stages of a degree programme, and how these competencies can be integrated into curricula. The publications therefore offer not only practical inspiration for individual courses, but also valuable starting points for the further development of degree programmes.