Media driving license at the Zwilling-Scholl-Gymnasium: students fit for the internet!

Media driving license at the Zwilling-Scholl-Gymnasium: students fit for the internet!

At the Zwilling-Scholl-Gymnasium in Nossen, media competence is very important: all students in the 5th and 6th grades acquire the media driving license here, an integral part of the school's prevention concept since the 2019/20 school year. This initiative aims to prepare students not just for exams but for real life. Dr. Bert In this context, children began to address problems independently and reflect on their media use.

The media license includes a comprehensive series of workshops that last two years. Topics such as data protection, fake news, social media, artificial intelligence, cybergrooming and cyberbullying are covered. The classes come together once a week for approximately eight weeks to work together in teams on interesting projects and carry out fact checks. At the end of the 6th grade, students must take an exam to receive the coveted certificate. This means they are able to use their smartphones in certain areas from the 7th grade onwards - but only after class!

Cell phone rights and responsibility

The school rules regarding cell phone use were recently adjusted. While students in grades 5 and 6 are not allowed to use their devices during school hours, older grades from grade 10 onwards have a little more freedom and are allowed to use their cell phones during breaks. At parents' evenings, great importance is placed on informing parents about their children's media use. More and more parents are feeling overwhelmed and are starting to actively monitor their children's screen time. School social worker Susann Horn reports that this exchange to strengthen media literacy is making enormous progress and that parents are an important pillar in school education.

A comparable initiative is the Bavarian media license, which provides teachers with free materials to strengthen media literacy. These fun and varied teaching materials cover topics such as copyright, social media and digital gaming. Step-by-step skills development is offered here on an online learning platform called mebis. In addition, teachers test the teaching units before publication to ensure quality. This collaborative work between educators and the Bavarian state government has proven to be extremely useful since 2009, and not only schools but all educational institutions, including those in the special education sector, benefit from the educational initiatives.

The role of AI in media education

Another important topic in today's media education is the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The relationship between humans and AI has long been viewed as dystopian. But the discussion has changed: more and more people are asking which values ​​should be incorporated into AI. Unlike in the past, the focus is now on critical debate. Educational offerings that deal with the analysis and understanding of AI-generated content are becoming increasingly important. It should be noted that such technologies, if based on existing data, can reproduce social injustices.

The current media landscape is forcing schools to redesign curriculum content and ensure students develop the skills necessary to use these tools. The media driving license makes a valuable contribution to this, especially since the quality of the applications often depends on the backgrounds of the developers. Therefore, comprehensive workshops and discussions on artificial intelligence in school education are crucial.

Overall, the commitment of the Zwilling-Scholl-Gymnasium and similar initiatives in Bavaria reflects an important step towards future-oriented education. Media competence is no longer viewed in isolation, but rather as an integral part of promoting social skills, critical thinking and responsible behavior in the digital world. The results are promising and it is clear: schools are taking on the challenge of making young people fit for the digital future.