Ostallgäu daycare centers provide digital opportunities for early childhood education!

Ostallgäu daycare centers provide digital opportunities for early childhood education!

In today's digital world, early childhood education is becoming increasingly important. The Bavarian district of Ostallgäu has also recognized this, where seven daycare centers successfully took part in the “Startchance kita.digital” qualification program. Last Friday, a festive presentation of certificates took place in the district office, where 15 representatives of the institutions were honored for their commitment. Loud Allgäu hit The following institutions received awards: AWO-Kinderhaus Schatztruhe, AWO-Kita Weidach, Kindergarten St. Gordian, Kindergarten Epimach, Kindergarten St. Valentin, Kita St. Gabriel, Kita Pusteblume and Kita Sonnenschein.

The “Startchance kita.digital” program was launched by the Bavarian Ministry of Family Affairs and aims to integrate digital education into the everyday life of daycare centers, crèches and after-school care centers. It enables children to become aware of how to use digital media at an early stage. The implementation is supported by the State Institute for Early Childhood Education and Media Competence (IFP) and the JFF - Institute for Media Education. District Administrator Maria Rita Zinnecker praised the daycare centers' commitment and emphasized how important these initiatives are for the children's future.

Importance of media education

In times of digital change, it is essential for daycare centers to support children in using digital media. Like the platform Kita Digital Bavaria explains, most children already have experience with digital media before they come to daycare. It is therefore often a given that daycare centers take an active role in media education.

The digitalization strategy for daycare centers in Bavaria, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in September 2020, includes important qualification offerings and technical infrastructure. The previous model experiment “Strengthening media literacy in early childhood education” is also a crucial step to ensure that the results are integrated into all Bavarian daycare centers. The introduction of the online platform KITA HUB Bayern is intended to help daycare centers further expand their digital skills.

Media literacy and challenges

Early childhood media education is viewed by many as an educational task, but how bpb As noted, implementation in practice is often not sufficient. Empirical studies show that many daycare centers do not make sufficient use of their opportunities to promote media literacy. The reasons for this include the media education habitus of educators and various priorities in the curricula.

Young children grow up in mediatized environments and observe their parents' media behavior. It is important that they learn to use media potential and deal with possible negative experiences. Media education is particularly important for children from troubled families. Daycare centers must act as a place where children can learn how to use media in a protected environment.

In order to respond to these challenges, many daycare centers rely on creative use of media. These include projects in which tablets are used, for example to design digital picture books or produce animated films. All of these measures help not only to let children consume passively, but also to actively encourage them.

In summary, it can be said that Bavarian daycare centers are on the right track to integrate digital education into early childhood education. With programs like “Startchance kita.digital” and the support of platforms like KITA HUB Bayern, they are laying the foundation for the media literacy of future generations.