Kanban Boards
Kanban Boards are particularly suitable for project management in the classroom. They can be used to organise tasks, processes and work stages in seminars in an efficient and structured way, enabling teachers and students to better plan, track and complete their projects.
Kanban Boards are boards with movable elements on which entries can be recorded. These items are organised into lists and can be moved within and between lists. The successful use of Kanban Boards in the classroom can be influenced by several factors, such as the acceptance of the users and their willingness to update the boards regularly.
On this page you will get an overview of the advantages, the didactic possibilities and the applications available at Leuphana University for creating and working with Kanban Boards.
These are some examples of how you can use Kanban boards in the classroom:
- Project management for group work: Students can use Kanban Boards to manage the distribution of tasks and the progress of their group projects.
- Time management and exam preparation: Students can use Kanban Boards to manage their study and exam preparation time. They can create assignments for each subject or module and track progress to ensure they are sticking to their self-designed syllabus.
- Event planning: For larger events such as conferences, Kanban Boards can be used to track the different tasks and aspects of planning.
- Visualise and structure relationships: Kanban Boards are also useful for structuring complex information and sorting or classifying it with a group.
- Self-management and goal setting: Kanban Boards can be used by individuals to track personal goals, progress and tasks.
- General collaboration: Kanban Boards encourage communication and collaboration between groups by making the progress and activities of all participants visible.
The benefits of Kanban boards at a glance:
- Visual representation: By displaying all project phases and tasks on a single board, all stakeholders have a clear overview of the project's progress. The boards illustrate the current status and next steps, promoting transparency and team communication.
- Flexibility: Teachers and students can easily customise the boards to add new tasks or change priorities. This makes it possible to respond quickly to the changing needs of university teaching and research.
- Identification of bottlenecks: Bottlenecks are identified at an early stage in order to optimise the project process. If tasks get stuck or pile up in the "In Progress" area of the Kanban Board, project participants can react in time to remove bottlenecks and optimise the project flow.
- Clear tasks assignment: With Kanban Boards, it is immediately clear which tasks are assigned to which team member. This promotes ownership and reduces potential misunderstandings.
- Time management: With a clear overview of deadlines and project stages, teachers and students can plan their time more effectively.
Kanban Boards are used for Problem Oriented Learning (POL), Problem Based Learning (PBL) / Situated Learning to break down complex problems or projects into individual steps or tasks. Students can develop their own approaches to solving these problems and track their progress. The aim of these approaches is to focus learning more on the practical application of knowledge, to encourage critical thinking and to support students to be active participants in their own learning and working process.
At Leuphana you can use the Kanban Board WEKAN. The application is data protection compliant. After you have activated the application for yourself in myAccount, you can log in to WEKAN. You can find more information on the Teaching Service website.
Cryptpad also offers a Kanban Board - select the corresponding button in the application. It also provides basic functions. Access to Cryptpad is possible without prior activation. More information about Cryptpad can be found on the website of the Teaching Service.
Another way of working with a Kanban board is to use the "Board" plug-in in Moodle, which you can select from the activities. You can find more information on this in the manufacturer's documentation.
Collaboard also offers a Kanban board among its templates that can be integrated into the digital whiteboard (language can be changed in personal settings). The manufacturer provides suggestions on its website. More information on Collaboard can be found on the website of the Teaching Service.