Learn Hardcore German: Für den Onlinekurs gibt es einmal pro Woche eine Videokonferenz mit der Dozentin. - For the online course there is a video conference with the lecturer once a week.

German main clauses must have the conjugated verb in second position (the V2 rule). The element in first position can be many things: the subject, a time phrase, a prepositional phrase, etc.

Both of these are correct:

Für den Onlinekurs gibt es einmal pro Woche eine Videokonferenz mit der Dozentin.
Es gibt für den Onlinekurs einmal pro Woche eine Videokonferenz mit der Dozentin.

In the first version, Für den Onlinekurs is put first for emphasis (it highlights for this particular online course). In the second, the neutral starting point is Es gibt.

So the sentence doesn’t have to start with Für den Onlinekurs; it’s a stylistic choice that still obeys the verb‑second rule:
(1st: Für den Onlinekurs) – (2nd: gibt) – (rest of the clause…).

Why is it den Onlinekurs and not der Onlinekurs?

Because of the preposition für.

für always takes the accusative case.

Onlinekurs is masculine (der Onlinekurs in the nominative). The masculine accusative article is den:

Nominative: der Onlinekurs (subject)
Accusative: den Onlinekurs (object, here after für)

So: für + den Onlinekurs is grammatically required:
für (preposition) + Akkusativ → den Onlinekurs.

What exactly does es gibt / gibt es mean, and why do we need es?

es gibt is an existential construction, usually translated as there is / there are.

Es gibt eine Videokonferenz. → There is a video conference.

In your sentence, the word order is inverted (gibt es) because something else was put in first position:

Für den Onlinekurs gibt es ...

But the basic unit is still es gibt.

The es here is a dummy subject (like English “there” in “there is”). It does not mean it in a concrete sense; it just fulfills the requirement that the clause have a subject.

You normally cannot drop it in standard German:

Gibt eine Videokonferenz ❌ (incorrect)
Es gibt eine Videokonferenz ✅ (correct)

Why is it einmal pro Woche and not something like einmal in der Woche or jede Woche?

All of these exist, but they have slightly different nuances:

einmal pro Woche – literally once per week; neutral, a bit “schedule-like”.
einmal in der Woche – very similar meaning; slightly more colloquial in some contexts.
jede Woche – every week; doesn’t say how many times per week, just that it happens weekly.
einmal wöchentlich – once weekly; more formal/technical.

In your sentence:

… gibt es einmal pro Woche eine Videokonferenz …
→ emphasizes the frequency: exactly once each week.

You could say:

… gibt es einmal in der Woche eine Videokonferenz … (also fine)
… gibt es jede Woche eine Videokonferenz … (says only that it happens weekly, not necessarily exactly once).

Why is it eine Videokonferenz and not einen Videokonferenz?

Because Videokonferenz is feminine in German:

die Videokonferenz (nominative singular, dictionary form)

In the accusative singular, the feminine article is also die, and the indefinite article is eine:

Nominative: eine Videokonferenz
Accusative: eine Videokonferenz

The form einen is the masculine accusative (e.g. einen Mann, einen Kurs), so using einen Videokonferenz would be incorrect because the noun is not masculine.

Here, eine Videokonferenz is in the accusative as the thing that es gibt (what “there is/are”):

Es gibt was? → eine Videokonferenz (accusative).

Why is it mit der Dozentin and not mit die Dozentin or mit die Dozentin?

Because of the preposition mit.

mit always takes the dative case.

Dozentin is feminine (die Dozentin in nominative). The feminine dative form of the definite article is der:

Nominative: die Dozentin (subject: “the lecturer”)
Dative: der Dozentin (indirect object: “with the lecturer”, “to the lecturer”)

So:

mit + Dativ → mit der Dozentin

Using mit die Dozentin ❌ is ungrammatical in standard German.

What does Dozentin mean exactly, and how is it different from Lehrerin?

Both refer to people who teach, but the context is different:

Dozent / Dozentin
- Typically used for lecturers or instructors at universities, colleges, adult education centers, or professional training courses.
- Often suggests tertiary or specialized education.
Lehrer / Lehrerin
- Usually used for school teachers (primary and secondary school).
- Can also be more general, but the default association is school.

In your sentence, die Dozentin is a female instructor of the online course, probably in a university or some kind of structured course setting.

Masculine forms:

der Dozent (male lecturer)
der Lehrer (male school teacher)

Why is Onlinekurs written as one word and capitalized?

Two reasons:

German compounding: German likes to write noun compounds as one single word:
- Onlinekurs = Online
  - Kurs
- similar to Hausaufgabe (house + task = homework), Sprachkurs (language course).
A hyphen (Online-Kurs) is also possible, especially in modern or graphic design contexts, but Onlinekurs as one word is very standard.
Nouns are capitalized in German.
Kurs is a noun, so Onlinekurs is also a noun and must start with a capital letter.

So: Für den Onlinekurs … is correct capitalization and compounding.

Could we move einmal pro Woche to another position, and does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can move it, and the meaning stays basically the same; only the focus changes slightly. Some common variants:

Für den Onlinekurs gibt es einmal pro Woche eine Videokonferenz mit der Dozentin.
Für den Onlinekurs gibt es eine Videokonferenz einmal pro Woche mit der Dozentin. (less natural)
Für den Onlinekurs gibt es mit der Dozentin einmal pro Woche eine Videokonferenz.

The most natural in everyday German is usually to put time fairly early, often after the verb:

Es gibt einmal pro Woche für den Onlinekurs eine Videokonferenz mit der Dozentin.

German has a loose preference for Time – Manner – Place order, but it’s not a rigid rule. All of the above are understandable; the original version is idiomatic and clear.

What is the difference between Videokonferenz and words like Videoanruf or Videogespräch?

They all involve communication via video, but:

Videokonferenz
- Suggests a more formal or structured online meeting, often with several participants.
- Like a Zoom meeting, Teams meeting, etc., especially in work or study contexts.
Videoanruf
- Literally video call; often sounds more informal, e.g. calling a friend via WhatsApp, FaceTime.
Videogespräch
- Video conversation; can be neutral, but is used less frequently than Videokonferenz in course/university contexts.

For an online course with an instructor, Videokonferenz is the most natural: it implies a scheduled, organized meeting, not just a casual video chat.

Why is the subject not obvious? What is the subject of gibt es in this sentence?

In es gibt, the grammatical subject is the dummy es:

Es (subject)
gibt (verb)
eine Videokonferenz (accusative object – the thing that “exists” / “is given”)

Even if we reorder to gibt es because we front other elements, the underlying structure is still that es is a formal subject, and eine Videokonferenz is an object, not the subject.

Compare:

Es gibt eine Videokonferenz.
Eine Videokonferenz findet statt.
- Here Eine Videokonferenz is the subject of findet statt.

So es gibt and es gibt … with reordering are special: the real-world “thing that exists” is in object position (accusative) grammatically.

How would the sentence change if there were several videoconferences per week?

You’d make Videokonferenz plural and probably adapt the frequency expression:

Für den Onlinekurs gibt es mehrmals pro Woche Videokonferenzen mit der Dozentin.
→ mehrmals pro Woche = several times per week

Note two things:

Plural of Videokonferenz is Videokonferenzen.
For indefinite plural nouns in German, you often drop the article entirely:
- singular: eine Videokonferenz
- plural: Videokonferenzen (no eine, no keine unless you explicitly negate)

Example with negation:

Für den Onlinekurs gibt es keine Videokonferenzen mit der Dozentin.
→ There are no videoconferences with the instructor for the online course.