klima.schule: The first online climate school for 10- to 14-year-olds in the German-speaking countries

Having fun learning to protect the climate

klima.schule uses the same mechanisms that computer games do, passing on climate protection knowledge and skills without a moralising undertone, like a ranger giving climate school lessons in schools. The primary objective: Children and youths are enabled to understand their day-to-day decisions in the light of their relevance for the climate and climate protection. klima.schule can be used by individuals, a group of friends, or within the framework of school classes.

Resources for teachers

klima.schule is suitable for use in lessons for various school subjects. To satisfy educators’ needs and to ensure easy accessibility for use, a class management system is integrated. The modularly designed topics included in klima.schule can be activated individually by educators, which makes them flexible to use. In addition, the system includes an overview of the pupils’ progress, which helps ensure that the current quality standards are being met.

Developed with experts

Multidisciplinary experts were involved in the development of klima.schule. The topics were largely compiled by rangers from Upper Tauern National Park. They experience the effects of climate change first-hand in the mountains. Feedback from digital learning experts ensured that the selected subject matter was suitably prepared for school pupils and complied with the highest educational requirements. Implementation and programming were done by the agency ovos media, which has numerous credentials in the areas of online knowledge transfer and playful training.

What experts say about klima.schule

Andy Schär, eduxis consulting: "The Climate School offers a wealth of prepared teaching content for lessons. Videos, pictures and texts are available online. In the integrated, playful learning environment, the acquired knowledge can be reinforced and the learning progress seen in the form of the score. Knowledge about the climate and the weather is packaged in a motivating way with current media!"

Stefan Schmid, Virtuelle PH: "The Climate School online platform is a more than successful example for the advantageous, playful use of new media in class! I can fully recommend its use to everyone!"

Resource is unique in the German-speaking countries

"In 2010, with the VERBUND Climate School in cooperation with Upper Tauern National Park, we initiated an innovative programme through which valuable knowledge about climate protection is vividly demonstrated by rangers in schools in the three provinces surrounding the National Park. Now we would like to expand this through a step into the online world, and reach as many 10- to 14-year-old climate protectors as possible in the German-speaking countries in a climate-friendly way. klima.schule is a one-of-a-kind resource, conveying knowledge and being fun at the same time," exults Beate McGinn, Head of Corporate Communications at VERBUND and one of the founders of the VERBUND Climate School with Upper Tauern National Park.

Wolfgang Urban, Salzburg Director of Upper Tauern National Park and Chairman of the Directorate of the National Park Administration, is convinced of the quality of the new resource: "In the framework of national park environmental education, knowledge transfer is combined with the experience of nature, and it has been proven that this does not merely bring forth reproducible facts, but more: namely an awareness of one’s actions as they affect the various aspects of nature and environmental protection. A large conservation area such as Upper Tauern National Park will always use its greatest 'asset' for environmental education, namely the extensive, untouched natural landscapes and the experiences of nature that go along with them, in order to get young people excited about the global concept of national parks. But before we reach that point, it is often a difficult undertaking to reach the children and youth in the first place. There is no question that modern forms of communication and didactics play an important role, which is why klima.schule and its connection to Upper Tauern National Park will certainly make a valuable contribution."

Jörg Hofstätter from the implementing agency ovos media put a lot of energy into the project: "It was important to us to cooperate in creating a platform that would support teachers in their tasks and impart skills to pupils in a playful way. At the same time it should be an invitation to focus more deeply on the climate and its protection. The rangers’ valuable communication of knowledge is now being expanded with a playful and educational online challenge."

About the VERBUND Climate School with Upper Tauern National Park

The VERBUND Climate School in cooperation with Upper Tauern National Park is a free educational offering for school classes from the 4th to the 10th year of schooling in the provinces surrounding the National Park: Carinthia, Salzburg and Tyrol. Ever since 2010, specially trained rangers from Upper Tauern National Park have been coming into the schools for four school days of four hours each, to do project lessons with the pupils on the topics of climate and climate change. In this way, since its inception more than 20,000 pupils have been reached and made into competent climate protectors.
With the expansion to include the klima.schule online resource, school classes, children and youth in the entire German-speaking area can now profit from the expertise the Climate School has developed. In the provinces encompassing the National Park, it is also possible to combine Climate School lessons in class with the online resources at klima.schule.