Experience mathematics in a new way: Interactive streams attract millions!

Experience mathematics in a new way: Interactive streams attract millions!

On July 4, 2025, Professor Dr. Christian Spannagel, a mathematics didactician at the Heidelberg University of Education, presented the innovative event series “True Math”. This series, which tests interactive science communication via live stream, aims to make mathematics engaging and understandable for a wider audience. Loud ph-heidelberg.de The series has already been viewed over 2.5 million times on social media. With this project, Spannagel would like to loosen up the often rigid image of mathematics and invite a new understanding.

The series, funded by the Daimler and Benz Foundation, includes six participatory online sessions that took place between October 2024 and February 2025. The participants had the opportunity to work together on mathematical problem solutions and to question existing mathematical rules. The sessions were conducted on the streaming platform Twitch, allowing for real-time chat. On average, over 336 people took part in the live streams. The first event even attracted 553 participants. An interesting aspect was the gender distribution of the participants: 58% were male, 40% female and 2% diverse. Navik According to this, the proportion of working participants was 63%, while 23% were schoolchildren or students.

Interactive formats and the community

The “True Math” series not only promoted learning, but also exchange among participants. The Discord community now has over 1,700 members who regularly support and get to know each other. The number of videos uploaded from the sessions totals 100, with 72 short videos having already received over 32,000 views. Particularly noteworthy is the video “A number that is divisible by 3 but not by 9,” which alone received 1.2 million views. Broadcasting on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok significantly expands the reach and audience of this innovative educational initiative.

Through ongoing participation and interaction, Spannagel intends to examine the effects of these interactive formats on participants' self-concepts. This research will be part of a comprehensive transfer and research program on interactive mathematics formats, according to information from ph-heidelberg.de.

Science communication and training

The relevance of science communication in our society is undeniable. It is brought together by various actors with a wide variety of target groups, such as Navik emphasized. The platform www. Wissenschaftskommunikation.de was created to anchor science in society. Its goal is to provide current trends and proven communication tools to improve the quality of science communication. To this end, it offers comprehensive training and further education opportunities for communicators, researchers and journalists.

An example of innovative training formats is the e-learning course on social media in science communication, which is run by sciencecommunication.de is organized. The course is aimed at scientists and communicators at all career levels and offers an introduction to the functions and special features of social media. Varied content, such as videos and practical exercises, is intended to help participants communicate effectively on social media and overcome challenges in the digital context.