Why is the sky blue? Why do mussels rustle? How does an unmanned car drive? There are an infinite number of questions a child asks themselves every day - and some of them are so complicated that only professors can answer them. That is why the Goethe-Institut developed the Digital Children's University, a free online platform that is available to all children - regardless of where they live or school, their parents' level of education or their financial resources. The Digital Children's University thus makes an important contribution to access to education.
The Digital Children's University is an innovative project that promotes the innate curiosity of children and teaches them creative thinking. It is designed for young students between the ages of eight and 12 and gives them the opportunity to get to know different areas of science and to recognise tendencies towards scientific fields at an early stage.
The Digital Children's University is similar in structure to a normal university with three faculties: Humanities, Nature and Technology. The content of the lectures comes from the successful German TV series Die Sendung mit der Maus. The video sequences were made available by WDR and implemented on the learning platform of the Goethe-Institut. Christoph Biemann, the inventor of the Sendung mit der Maus series, will be involved in the moderation, as will the characters Professor Einstein and his assistant Sophie Schlau. In the eight-to-10-minute lectures, the children can get to know subject areas, find answers to their questions and learn their first words in German.
The Digital Children's University combines several educational approaches and methods that are currently among the most progressive.
Child-friendly learning
The Digital Children's University does not force the child to learn, but arouses their interest in a child-friendly, playful way. This strengthens their motivation and self-discipline while learning. Passive and active sequences alternate: after each lesson an area opens up with tasks that encourage the child to make the necessary connections, to draw parallels and to think creatively. The tasks are divided into two categories: content and language.
Foreign language
Foreign language skills are one of the main competencies of the 21st century. The earlier a child learns a foreign language, the more likely it is that they will master it without any major difficulty and later use it without an accent. That is why scientific learning at the Digital Children's University is accompanied by getting to know the German language. Alongside English, it is the most important language in the scientific community and the most widespread in Europe. With every new foreign language, children gain knowledge of the world, gain access to tolerance, international competence and also train their brains. The latest methods such as "CLIL" (Content and Language Integrated Learning) or Sprachbad make learning the German language exciting for children and generate motivation.
Professor Einstein and Sophie Schlau speak English with the young students who do not yet understand a word of German, but occasionally add German words to their sentences. If the child has already started to learn German, Professor Einstein and Sophie speak German beginner level; English or German subtitles can be displayed for better understanding.
Media expertise
The online format not only makes the Children's University accessible to everyone, but also teaches the children the basics of media skills, which are inevitable in modern societies. As a rule, children between the ages of eight and 12 are already able to handle mobile devices, which they primarily use to play. The online university, however, requires more complex handling of computer-aided technologies, which will facilitate their further use in the future. Gamification - the use of playful elements in actually non-playful situations - helps children to learn without overexerting themselves. That is why the Children's University is set up like a game. The children collect badges and thus reach the next level - from students to bachelor's degrees, master's and doctoral degrees to professors.
A kids’ university at home, in school or in the suitcase
In addition to the online format, the Digital Children's University is also available for learning in school: ‘Sets’ with didactic materials have been developed for teachers who want to make their German lessons more interesting and worth knowing.
In addition to the online format, the Digital Children's University is also available for learning in school. There is also the children's university in an inventor's case - with games, quizzes and experiments.
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