Media literacy is a key prerequisite for acting independently and successfully. How do you distinguish “news” from “fake news”? How do you research on facts and figures? How do you conduct an interview? How do you write and publish an exciting or gripping text?
With the aspiration to reach this competence, Discimus Lab currently offers the project “Jugend schreibt (Youth writes)” in cooperation with IZOP-Institut/Aachen and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung/FAZ for a network of elementary and grammar schools in Celje and the Ptuj region in Slovenia, and supports the project in Koprivnica, Ogulin, Vidovec and Zagreb in Croatia. Media projects of this kind were initially only offered in Germany until the mid-1990s. Dr. Gerald Hühner then designed the project “Zeitung in der Schule (Newspaper in school)” in cooperation with the Süddeutschen Zeitung for the first time in 1996 in Gyönk/Ungarn, for teaching German as a foreign language, and implemented it successfully in practice. This “pioneering achievement” (Dr. Gernot Sittner, then editor-in-chief of the Süddeutschen Zeitung) which links the European intercultural dimension, work with media in theory and practice (publication) as well as the cooperation with extracurricular partner from all aspects of social life, “has set a precedent far beyond the borders of the original project area”. (Peter Brand, Managing Director, IZOP-Institut, 18.11.2009). The project currently runs annually from 01.02. to 31.01. of the following year.
– The journalistic work is offered for:
- Print media
- TV
- Radio broadcasting
- Social Media
– Workshops are offered as part of the journalistic work.
Examples from the project archive:
With the concept “CLIL Robotics from kindergarten to profession©“, we would like to respond to the enormous challenges and chances which result from the accelerated use of robotics and artificial intelligence. CLIL stands for “Content and Language Integrated Learning”. In this case the content is robotics. Language can be any foreign language, in our case preferably German and English. There is consensus that learning languages is particularly easy for children at an early age. That is why we offer robotics courses in German from kindergarten and continuously until professional/vocational training.
The “CLIL Robotics Championships” currently offered in Croatia and Slovenia, with a broad international perspective, are the finalisation of each annual project. Local teams consisting of an elementary and a grammar school or gymnasium with 6 pupils/students each participate in the championship. The local teams are supported by two teachers per school, one from the German and one from the STEM department.
AN EXCERPT FROM THE COPYRIGHTED CONCEPT:
The following proposals initially refer to a voluntary and supplementary offer for working with children and young people, pupils and apprentices/trainees. The programme can be carried out in consultation with pre-school, elementary and secondary school teachers. In the vertical progression, the concept builds up the knowledge level from simple to advanced competences for employment.
At first, the offer just gives a framework which can be implemented differently according to
- institutional requirements
- infrastructure
- group size
- previous knowledge
- interest (of the working group or individual pupils/students)
- time specifications (schedule, limit)
However, this approach does not only result from the different situational contexts given, but also from the pedagogical principle of “active learning”. Teachers act as facilitators who provide impetus and support. In short: It is about “Learning by doing”.
This project to promote youth encounter and German as a lingua franca in the region, was initiated by Dr. Gerald Hühner in 2011 and has been carried out annually since then. School teams from Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and the Ukraine have participated so far. Teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Sweden have announced their participation for the next tournament.
The opening match of the tournament is traditionally played by the “Team of European Handball Diplomats/TED”, a team of diplomats from the participating countries, against the “Zentral-Europäische Schüler (Central European Students)/ZEUS”, a mixed students’ team consisting of students from the participating countries.
The 10th anniversary tournament had to be postponed several times due to the Corona pandemic. The new date of the event will be announced as soon as the pandemic makes it possible.
Excerpts from the project archive:
Discimus Lab has created a concept for the promotion of STEM subjects in German language, which will be implemented across borders in the CSEE region. The concept is registered under copyright law.
EXCERPT FROM THE COPYRIGHTED CONCEPT:
“German speaking STEM region CSEE
Promotion of mathematics, natural sciences, computer science, technology, from kindergarten to profession; especially for girls and young women. German as lingua franca is in focus. Combat shortage of skilled workers. For individual and structural support.
Background:
The robots have long been here. And Europe is at risk of losing touch with developments in Asia and the USA in robotics/automation/artificial intelligence. Small countries like Slovenia and Croatia, whose frontier build the core STEM region mentioned, have the advantage of being able to react flexibly to changes with innovative concepts and to act as pioneers and as a kind of “role model”. In combination with the know-how from other, mainly German-speaking countries, successful synergistic effects can be achieved, which can have an impact far beyond their region.(…)!”
DecAid was inspired by Monica Hühner’s dissertation on the use of the “Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)” in agriculture. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a multi-criteria decision method whose algorithm is the basis for DecAid
Try out DecAid: https://decaid.eu/
We appreciate any constructive feedback.