How do you teach tech-savvy kids to safely navigate the digital world? In Germany, you bring in the teenagers.
“Many are not really aware yet of the impact their messages can have on others,” says Hueben, dressed all in black except for white sneakers. “We’re teaching them not to post anything private on the class chat, not to send photos of others and not to insult anybody.”
The session at the Gesamtschule Borbeck high school, in the western German city of Essen, is part of a large-scale program in which teenagers teach their younger schoolmates how to stay safe and sane online.
As they grow older, they also participate in workshops about media copyright issues or sexting, and, at the end of eighth grade, they take a test to get a laminated “mobile license” that allows them to use their smartphones at certain times at school.
The exam includes 10 multiple choice questions. One asks what to do when somebody sends an embarrassing Snapchat photo of a fellow student. The answer, of course, is to not forward the picture to others.
Over two-thirds of kids in Germany have smartphones by the age of 11 and, like children around the world, many are stressed by the huge number of messages they receive and don’t know how to handle inappropriate and hurtful posts. With many parents and teachers lacking in digital skills and unable to relate to what it means to grow up with a smartphone, German authorities decided peer education was the best approach.
At Borbeck, which has about 1,000 students and is considered one of the most advanced schools in Germany when it comes to teaching digital skills, there are 32 students teaching in the “Medienscouts,” or media scouts, program.
This story is from the June 15, 2019 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 15, 2019 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
US GROWTH SLOWED SHARPLY LAST QUARTER TO 1.6% PACE.REFLECTING AN ECONOMY PRESSURED BY HIGH RATES
The nation’s economy slowed sharply last quarter to a 1.6% annual pace in the face of high-interest rates, but consumers — the main driver of economic growth — kept spending at a solid pace.
ORACLE'S LARRY ELLISON SAYS PLANNED NASHVILLE CAMPUS WILL BE COMPANY'S 'WORLD HEADQUARTERS'
Oracle Corp.’s planned campus in Nashville, Tennessee, will serve as the business software giant’s world headquarters, placing it in a city that’s a center for the U.S. healthcare industry, company Chairman Larry Ellison said.
FTC SENDS $5.6 MILLION IN REFUNDS TO RING CUSTOMERS AS PART OF VIDEO PRIVACY SETTLEMENT
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5.6 million in refunds to consumers as part of a settlement with Amazon-owned Ring, which was charged with failing to protect private video footage from outside access.
AS BIDEN CELEBRATES COMPUTER CHIP FACTORIES VOTERS WAIT FOR THE PROMISED PRODUCTION TO START
President Joe Biden has a great economic story to tell voters a decade from now, less so in 2024.
US ADVANCES REVIEW OF NEVADA LITHIUM MINE AMID CONCERNS OVER ENDANGERED WILDFLOWER
The Biden administration has taken a significant step in its expedited environmental review of what could become the third lithium mine in the U.S., amid anticipated legal challenges from conservationists over the threat they say it poses to an endangered Nevada wildflower.
TENSIONS BETWEEN BEIJING AND WASHINGTON ARE THE BIGGEST WORRY FOR US COMPANIES IN CHINA.REPORT SAYS
Simmering tensions between Beijing and Washington remain the top worry for American companies operating in China, according to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China released this week.
MICROSOFT & AMAZON FACE SCRUTINY FROM UK COMPETITION WATCHDOG OVER RECENT AI DEALS
British competition regulators said this week they’ll scrutinize recent artificial intelligence deals by Microsoft and Amazon over concerns that the moves could thwart competition in the AI industry.
OLYMPIC ORGANIZERS UNVEIL STRATEGY FOR USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN SPORTS
Olympic organizers unveiled their strategy to use artificial intelligence in sports, joining the global rush to capitalize on the rapidly advancing technology.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRAPPING YOUR CAR
Gaze around the next time you’re stuck in traffic and see if you’re not surprised, maybe even a little saddened, by the monochromatic sea around you.
TIKTOK MAY BE BANNED IN THE US. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN INDIA DID IT
The hugely popular Chinese app TikTok may be forced out of the U.S., where a measure to outlaw the video-sharing app has won congressional approval and is on its way to President Biden for his signature.
