Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Jan Künzl. Jan is the Founder of edeos Digital Education, a Berlin-based agency, specialized in producing and distributing web-based knowledge content. edeos is producing project WissensWerte, short videos about civic education for the YouTube age.
In a democratic system, political education is crucial. Citizens need to have an understanding of the political sphere, in order to use their democratic rights in a responsible way.
Unfortunately, in an increasingly individualized and depoliticized society, the willingness to get informed about politics or even get engaged is declining rapidly. This is especially true for the youth.
In today’s globalized and interdependent world, political problems are almost always multilayered and complex.
What is needed is not only the simple knowledge of facts and dates. A deeper understanding of structures, contexts, dynamics, actors and stakeholders of political problems and processes is critical. This is the core of global learning. My behaviour as a consumer in Germany can have effects on social, economic and ecologic factors anywhere in the world.
But how is it possible to promote a topic like politics in and outside of the classroom to a broad young audience?
I would argue, there are two important aspects, which have to be taken into account: How to present the information and how to bring it to the target group: The medium and the distribution.
The Medium- Presenting Knowledge
Facing a low average attention span of young people, political education needs to rethink text based forms of knowledge presentation. A good alternative especially for introductory purposes may be audiovisual content. Animated videos, videos with real footage or mixed forms, info graphics or even serious games are future basics of any online based education.
They are better suited to visualize complex, multilayered issues than are analogue aids such as textbooks. The information can be better absorbed by the target group because it meets their viewing habits. It can easily be integrated in broader e-learning and networked learning environments.
And last but not least, when such medias are enriched with interactive elements, learners have a higher educational motivation.
Such media won’t oust text based forms, but they will definitely play a more important role in a future where the classroom is becoming more and more digital.
The Distribution- Approaching the Target Group
The second aspect applies mostly to non-formal types of education which take place outside of the school setting. Examples are non-profit organizations, initiatives or state agencies who want to educate the public about political issues.
It is not only necessary to produce educational media, which meet the target group. The media must also be made easily accessible to the target group. The main space to be is Web 2.0. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. where the youth searches, gathers, produces and discusses information.
Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are standards in online based marketing. In the non-profit sector, especially in education it is still frequently neglected. YouTube Channels with a couple of subscribers and videos with some hundred views are the sad result.
Establishing social media channels does not automatically lead to a viral effect as some might think. A straight strategy and a lot of effort in community building is essential, especially in distributing educational content which is far less viral than, for example, a 30 second video about a sneezing panda.
On the other hand these efforts are worth it, since in many cases, they are still more efficient than other analogue media.
Conclusion
Considering all the above mentioned points, political education needs to get where its main target group is: Web 2.0. And it needs to adapt to the habits of information sharing and information distribution common in this space. If it does so, it will have a strong tool against the disenchantment with politics, so often whined about.
Picture: Wikipedia Andreas Praefcke
