Media Education

as an alarm clock, as a radio, as a camera; we buy tickets, we track down our relatives; it’s our address book, our notebook, our reference guide, our map; we use it to pay at the register. Today, devices like the smartphone are no longer mere tools, but an integral part of our lives—they shape social relationships, learning processes, and the construction of reality.

In a society shaped by AI applications and social media platforms, media education is more relevant than ever. It is no longer just a niche field, but rather a means of developing key competencies for social participation. The goal of media education is to foster media literacy—moving away from simply protecting against dangers toward an empowering, reflective, and creative approach to media. In light of disinformation, cyberbullying, and the intense daily usage of many hours among young people, all educators must provide guidance and foster critical thinking. The core task is to support children and young people in transitioning from passive consumers to confident creators of their own media environment.

For many years, Waldorf schools were highly skeptical of anything digital. Parents who had a TV at home were viewed with suspicion, and schools declared themselves cell-phone-free zones—which seemed overly old-fashioned and backward to some people. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Waldorf schools—often led by tech-savvy students—established new technology centers that enabled online lessons—and suddenly, many teachers had email addresses! Meanwhile, countries like Australia have imposed social media bans for children under 16, and many schools in Australia and elsewhere ban cell phones altogether—and Waldorf schools, with their skepticism, seem very modern once again.

This issue of Erziehungskunst has been produced in collaboration with media education experts from Freie Hochschule Stuttgart and Alanus Hochschule. Robert Neumann, Paula Bleckmann, Franz Glaw, and Nino Mindiashvili provide examples of how analog teaching materials can be used to develop skills that will later contribute to media literacy, and how media education can be integrated into various forms of instruction without schools having to immediately establish a separate «media education» course. High school student Johan Mateo Grimsehl calls for greater openness to technology.

There are many other articles worth reading in this issue of Erziehungskunst: for example, Waldorf teacher Xandra Fritz teaches inmates at a correctional facility and describes which elements of Waldorf education can be effective even in this setting. Stefan Holz from Freunde der Erziehungskunst describes a platform where we can voluntarily offset our carbon footprint and thereby support Waldorf institutions in regions where climate change has particularly severe consequences. 

I hope you enjoy reading this, and that you have a wonderful April spent enjoying the real, outdoor world of spring with your children!