Supplementary study "JIMplus Corona" published

The special "JIMplus Corona" survey on students' media use during school closures found that they gave the overall situation of the first phase "school at home" a grade of 2.5.

Supplementary study "JIMplus Corona" published
www.mpfs.de/studien/jim-studie/jimplus-2020/

As part of the special survey for the Youth, Information, Media (JIM) study series, 1,002 students aged twelve to 19 in Germany were surveyed online from April 2 to 6.

Sixteen percent gave a grade of 1 to the question of how "school at home" had worked out overall, while around a third each gave a grade of "good" (36%) or "satisfactory" (32%). One in ten had more problems and gave a 4, five percent a 5 and one percent a 6.

The course of "homeschooling" varied:

  • 30 percent of students were given assignments at the beginning of school closure and had little contact with their teachers afterward.
  • Just over half of the students or their parents (56%) received regular assignments via email,
  • One in ten received work assignments via WhatsApp.
  • In some classes, work was also done digitally: One in four (26%) used a class chat,
  • about one in five (22%) had access to a school cloud,
  • 16 percent met in video conferences.
  • Ten percent also used the telephone to contact teachers,
  • Every fourth person spoke to classmates on the phone about school issues.

In terms of technology, the young people mainly used cell phones (82%) and PCs or laptops (80%) for school at home, although one in four (26%) had to share a computer with someone else.

When learning in general, students mostly supported each other via chat (50%), 45% used tutorials on the Internet, 43% were helped by parents, one in three received instructions from school (32%), and 35% simply tried it out. However, younger students needed significantly more support, with 90 percent of 12- to 13-year-olds reporting that they received help from parents with their learning.

Media learning opportunities were predominantly YouTube (83%), followed by Wikipedia (58%), documentaries and knowledge programs on TV (27%), and explicit school programs on TV or the Internet (21%).

The special situation with contact ban and school closure also had a clear impact on everyday life and media use. For example, the adolescents reported spending more time than before on YouTube videos (82%), listening to music (78%), streaming services (71%), watching TV (54%), going for walks, and studying (52% each). This is also reflected in usage times: On average, teens spent about two hours per day (121 min.) learning and streaming services (114 min.). Listening to music (100 min.), YouTube videos (92 min.) and watching TV (70 min.) were also used intensively.

Almost all young people kept in touch with friends via messenger, e.g. WhatsApp (90%), almost one in two used the telephone (48%), one in three exchanged information via computer games/teamspeak (36%) or video chats (34%), and one in four used special apps such as Houseparty to stay in touch. Grandparents or older relatives were mostly contacted by phone (69%), just under half used messenger (46%), video chats were an option for 15% and 18% made visits without direct contact.

Overall, it can be seen that the young people can draw on their "private" experience with digital communication and, at least according to their own statements, are mostly coping well with the current school situation. The fact that only about one-fifth of students at secondary schoolsusea digital learning platform, such as a school cloud, documents the backlog demand for digital educational applications.

The Medienpädagogische Forschungsverbund Südwest is a cooperation of the Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg (LFK) and the medienanstalt rlp (LMK). The study was conducted in cooperation with Südwestrundfunk (SWR).

The complete study results of "JIMplus Corona" are available at www.mpfs.de.

More on the topic