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Up to now, there is no equivalent to the smart city concept for rural areas. Such a concept can draw on the findings and experiences from the urban context, but must adequately take into account the characteristics and structures of rural areas. This is where the enrolment of a concept for smart countryside in this paper starts as an action-oriented framework. Through an integrative consideration of current trends and tendencies, normative debates about equality and justice as well as possibilities in various fields of action, it includes development options that become possible through digitalisation and 'smart' implementation. Their realisation should be strongly demanddriven. The concept includes also governance processes and knowledgemanagement, and the application of co-design approaches. Development potentials of digitalisation are seen beyond simple technology orientation. The concept of digitalisation presented here can contribute to a more comprehensive transformation of rural areas towards sustainability. It formulates a joint design mandate for politics, society and science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital learning and self-assessment tools have gained importance in medical education over the last years and are pushing back print media more and more. They enable flexible learning that is aligned with current state exams and the latest scientific findings. Embedded videos, interactive graphics and practice questions offer a more diverse learning experience than using books alone. While the commercial learning tools cover the state examinations' content well, they often lack what is additionally taught in different faculties. At the same time, the dominance of a few providers is tied to rising costs for students or to provide campus licenses. Faculties may thus offer literature and learning platforms of less variety, and an intensive and broad examination of subjects and problems is made more difficult. The promotion and nationwide availability of locally initiated non-commercial learning and examination tools can counteract this development. Electronic learning platforms enable efficient exam preparation with the presentation of exam questions. Paper-based preparatory exams have already been almost completely replaced by their electronic counterparts. Digital exams offer decisive advantages over paper-based exams, for example with the embedding of video sequences and increased feasibility of sequential questions, and should become standard not only in exam preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]