Digital lessons in Austria: Teachers use AI, but where's progress?

Digital lessons in Austria: Teachers use AI, but where's progress?

Vienna, Österreich - On May 15, 2025, a new study by the Austrian Federal Verlag (ÖBV) was published in cooperation with the University of Linz, in which 949 teachers in Austria were asked about their dealings with digital media. According to the study, 87% of teachers use digital devices and offers, but only 25% use these media in more than 40% of their lessons. 50% of teachers even use digital media in less than 20% of their lessons. The differences in use are particularly striking depending on the school form: there is hardly any digitally supported lessons at elementary and special schools, while vocational schools show a higher distribution of digital aids.

Especially in the context of artificial intelligence (AI), the study shows that 56% of the AI ​​tools surveyed, usually for teaching. While 60% of teachers use AI intensively at vocational schools, this rarely happens in normal lessons. A third of the teachers finally encouraged the students to use AI. The rejection of this technology has decreased and there are hardly any prohibitions.

challenges and potential in class

Despite the positive trends, there are also challenges. Around a third of the respondents complain about unstable internet and inadequate digital teaching materials. 25% criticize an inadequate number of end devices and jobs for preparing teaching. Only 10% of teachers find their digital skills problematic, which indicates that digitization in schools is considered "on a very good way".

Nevertheless, the didactic potential of AI tools remains largely unknown. The use of AI in class is assessed by teachers as useful. Many teachers report positive experiences when it comes to conducting dialogues with KIS or carrying out individual research. The majority of teachers see AI as a helpful tool to relieve the lessons and enable students to learn individualized. On the other hand, false results from AI often lead to frustration for students.

training for teachers

In Germany, the federal states have already started to intensify their efforts to further training teachers in dealing with AI. In Baden-Württemberg, for example, the focus is on the integration of AI in class, whereby students should learn how to use AI effectively. The same applies to Bavaria, where extensive training offers are provided for all subjects and types of school. Berlin and Brandenburg also offer guidelines and further training opportunities through various educational institutions to make it easier for teachers to deal with AI.

In Lower Saxony, special training courses are offered under the keyword "Learning Mitski", and comprehensive materials and courses on text-generating AI systems are available in North Rhine-Westphalia. The various initiatives in the federal states show that the integration of AI into the education sector is considered necessary. This is underpinned by the survey results, which show that over 20% of the students in Austria have used AI to cheat during exams, while almost a third wishes to be offered as a teaching subject.

Finally, it can be said that digitization and the integration of AI are progressing into class. It will be crucial to expand access to the necessary technologies and didactic concepts in order to optimally support the teachers and to improve the learning environment for the students. The challenges that are accompanied by digitization require a collective effort of teachers and educational institutions in order to achieve learning objectives sustainably and effectively.

For further information, the study results are on vienna.at , the knowledge of AI use on Education.digital and the advanced training courses in Germany on Zukunft-Digital.schule available.