City media center: from coding to candy bar
There was something for everyone at the presentation by SMZ at the Colorful Night of Digitalization
The Karlsruhe City Media Center (SMZ) at the State Media Center Baden-Württemberg (LMZ) was part of the second Colourful Night of Digitalization. The SMZ gave an insight into its diverse work. Creative solutions were used to convey how important digitalization and all the associated disciplines and skills are for the future.
We spoke to the new head of the SMZ, Jan Hambsch, about the prospects and goals of the facility and the Karlsruhe location. The former teacher is currently in charge of redesigning the SMZ. Digitalization has always been the focus of his work.
One of his first official acts was to position the SMZ on Twitter: “I wanted to network the SMZ in the Twitter teacher community. Not all teachers are there, but when it comes to digitalization and digitality, they are the multipliers who can bring this into the schools. That’s why I thought it was important for us to be active in this area.”
However, Hambsch is not only focusing on schools on Twitter: “We are thinking about the many teachers in Karlsruhe during the redesign. We are creating a program for them with further training opportunities, for example for the use of tablets, especially iPads, which are widely available in Karlsruhe schools. TeSKA – Technical Support for Schools in Karlsruhe, which looks after the Karlsruhe schools’ networks, will hopefully be expanded soon so that we can offer an even better service.”
The SMZ in action at the Colourful Night of Digitalization
During the Colourful Night of Digitalization, the SMZ focused on one group in particular alongside the teachers – the pupils. Children and young people were able to try out a number of things in the Makersphere. The SMZ not only provided information about its own work, but also offered various participatory activities. The focus here is on getting involved and understanding the technology behind digitalization. Hambsch finds this particularly important: “When it comes to digitalization and digitality, it’s all about understanding how things work. I don’t believe that everyone should be able to program, but that everyone should get an insight into how the things they use every day actually work.”
This is why the Makersphere is being created at the SMZ, consisting of a podcast, video and XR studio where children and young people, and of course teachers, can discover media for themselves. A makerspace where interested parties can learn about 3D printing, upcycling and more, as well as during the Colourful Night of Digitalization. Another part of the Makersphere will be the Gaming & Coding School, where children can take their first steps in programming and understand the concepts through a conscious approach to games.
With regard to the use of social media in particular, Hambsch believes that a better understanding of the processes behind the platforms is important, “also to understand how the algorithms can be used and that algorithms are made by people. That people can decide what algorithms produce or conceal.”
The promotion of young talent is particularly important at the IT location Karlsruhe
Hambsch also believes that media education is relevant for Karlsruhe. “Coding is also important for the future and we want to get young people excited about it. In Germany, we don’t have enough young people who are enthusiastic about STEM subjects. And we try to offer them things that they enjoy and see whether they might also enjoy it. This is not only important for our society as a whole, but also for Karlsruhe as a location, which is also known and very active in the IT sector. And we simply need a lot of young talent. This will certainly come from outside via the universities and colleges, but I believe that we should also activate people from our own region.” The SMZ thus joins a wide range of educational opportunities in the STEM sector in Karlsruhe, such as the Karlsruhe technology initiative technika, which presented itself together with karlsruhe.digital at LEARNTEC 2022.
The offers have already had their first successes. For example, Hambsch reports of a happy pupil who, after many hours with the offers for the Colourful Night of Digitalization on 1 July, enthusiastically announced: “Wow, I was in there for so long, I didn’t even look at my cell phone.” If that’s not a seal of approval for a successful presentation of work with and for more digitalization.
Pictures: Hambsch/SMZ-KA.