News Overview

Education needs digitization and digitization needs education. After all, iPads, smartboards and digital tools at schools only develop their full benefits if teachers use them confidently. That's why Deutschland sicher im Netz (DsiN) is offering an expanded version of the digital guide that takes into account the needs and realities of teachers.

Hate content, disinformation, and sexual harassment - social media sites are the hub for numerous risks that children and young people are exposed to online. Nevertheless, providers continue to neglect the protection of their youngest users and do not take sufficient precautions. This is shown by the annual report of jugendschutz.net, the joint competence center of the federal and state governments for the protection of minors on the Internet.

Whether riding a bike or using toxic cleaning products - in many areas of life, it's perfectly clear to parents that they need to protect their children. Digitally, however, children often move around unprotected. In a current campaign, klicksafe provides quick and targeted help for media education.

When kids and teens are asked about their favorite video games, one name can't be missing: Fortnite. Since its release around six years ago, the Battle Royal shooter has been one of the most successful video game titles - especially among children. Many parents are put off by the brutal game content and wonder whether Fortnite is suitable for their children. klicksafe provides the most important information at a glance.

The statewide action week will take place this year from July 3 to 9, 2023. "Media literacy on the ground - here in Rhineland-Palatinate" is the motto under which all regions, cities, and municipalities are networked to make the diverse commitment to more media literacy visible. klicksafe is participating with various offerings.

The latest gaming trends, challenges or pranks on social media - are you still keeping up? The ultimate advice for media education is often: Keep up a lively exchange with your child. But what and how should parents ask to learn more about their children's online activities and support them?

When children and young people are affected by cyberbullying, they often feel helpless and isolated. This is also shown by three video spots from Webwise, the Safer Internet Centre Ireland. The videos of the #SilentWitness campaign offer the opportunity to engage in a conversation with young people on the topic of cyberbullying. How can young people help with bullying without becoming a target themselves? Our new infographic, "Observing Cyberbullying? How to become an upstander!" answers this question and provides helpful tips.

Children often use digital media alone and unaccompanied - especially digital games and the Internet. Two-thirds of parents also do not use technical options for youth media protection such as filters or security settings. These are the latest findings of the KIM Study 2022 on media use by children between the ages of six and 13.

Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence (AI): How it is changing our everyday lives and how it will have a fundamental impact on our lives in the future. But what do young people think about AI - in other words, the generation whose everyday lives will be shaped most by AI tomorrow? The Tübingen AI Center interviewed young people to find out which aspects around machine learning are relevant for future generations. These stories have now been published as a comic essay.

For the past seven years, the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia has published an annual representative forsa survey on the public's perception of hate speech. The latest figures are now available for 2023 as well. Two things in particular are striking: It is encouraging that more and more people are taking active action against hate speech. What is less encouraging, however, is that younger respondents in particular frequently state that they have been affected by hate speech themselves.

Nobody wants to fall for disinformation and fake news. However, it is tedious to carefully check every piece of content on the Internet for its sources. To protect yourself from fake news, it helps to know the most common manipulation techniques. After all, false information often makes use of the same deceptive strategies or narratives. Preventively educating people about the mechanisms of disinformation is called prebunking. In a new video campaign, three manipulation techniques are presented.

Artificial intelligence and school: Since students have discovered ChatGPT as a practical helper in everyday school life, teachers are faced with the challenge of how to deal appropriately with generative AI in the classroom. Nele Hirsch is a pedagogue and educational scientist. With her initiative eBildungslabor, she strengthens educational professionals for learning and teaching in a digitalized society. In the new klicksafe Expert*innen-Talk, she provides helpful hints and tips on the topic of "ChatGPT & Co. - AI in education".

June 1 marks the beginning of Pride Month worldwide. A month in which also in Germany LGBTQIA+ communities come together and celebrate. The colorful parades and parties are also meant to draw attention to the fact that people are discriminated against because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. They are exposed to violence, hate and hostility - in real life as well as online.

Children and young people are confronted directly and without being asked with violence, pornography or racism via their smartphones. In the book "Wir verlieren unsere Kinder!" ("We're losing our children!"), school principal Silke Müller reports in detail on her experiences with this problem. Together with her and Birgit Kimmel, head of the EU initiative klicksafe, we ask in our podcast "Are we losing our children online?" and how can we react pedagogically to online dangers?

Many children and young people are enthusiastic about video games. So the idea of tapping into this fascination and using digital games in schools is an obvious one. But how can games be integrated into the classroom? We present creative approaches and methods.