Media competence as an

educational challenge

Prof. Dr. Stefan Aufenanger

Universität Hamburg
www.aufenanger.de
 Role of media

• Children grow up with all kind of media

• Children use all media: new one and old
one
• Media help better learning
• Media help to communicate
Challenges of new media to education

• Question of content arises

• To become independent from teachers
• New kind of experiences with new media
• To become independent from localities and
time structures
• Changing role of teachers
 Problems
• Can all students share the new media?
• Will be a knowledge gap?
• Can only the younger generation use the
internet?
• Have all members of the society access to
new media?
• Will be a cultural gap of using new media?
 Media use in different countries

Media Third World Germany

Telephone 0,4% 80%

Computer 0,7% 50%

Internet 0,05% 20%

Devices per habitant; UNDP 1998

 „Don‘ts“ of the discussion
about media competence

• Don‘t forget the old media (book, TV)!

• Don‘t forget the adults and older people!
• Don‘t forget the future!
• Don‘t forget the responsibility of the media!
• Don‘t forget the education!
 Media competences of children and adults
children
Internet research cognitive understanding symbols
word processing dimension navigation in hypertexts
usage dimension
spread sheet select information
writing hypertextes

social to communicate with media

affective media dimension to use interactivity
to be touched by media
dimension competence social consequences
to keep distance

ethical to judge media content

aesthetic
media design dimension ecological consequences
dimension
form-function media anthropology

adults
From media competence to reflect
media competence
 Media competence as a...
• task for the educational system
(to acquire all dimensions of media
competencies)
• task for society
(chances of equality, participation)
• task for the generations
(children and adults learn together with media)
• intercultural task
(integrate minorities, to help Third World
countries
 Situation in Germany

• 44,000 schools
• 50% with internet access
• End of 2001 all schools will have internet
access
• Only 3.5% of teachers courses at university
are about media
• Only 7.5% of teachers are using the internet
in their courses
• Average age of teachers: ~ 50 years
 Challenge:
• So many computers in schools
but less well media educated teachers

• How can we teach them all?

 Types of Teachers
„Technology Expert“-
„No Computer“-Teachers Teachers

„Pedagogical Expert“- „Interested, but not qualified“-

Teachers Teachers (Novice)
 What to do?
• Traditional Way: wait until schools will
have new teachers and all teachers are well
educated
• Alternative Way: hands-on-training;
training at schools; teacher education by
cooperation of different departments of
education and by hypermedia learning
materials
 Objectives
• Media Literacy (Media Compentences)
• Didactic Competences
• Compentences in Media Education
 Contribution of schools for
fostering media competence
• Infrastructure of different media
• Chance to experience media
• Accept media for learning
• Look for creative parts of media
• Integrate the role of media in processes of
social learning
• Consider all dimensions of media
competence
 New Media

New New
Learning
Schools