M.J.P. Rohilkhand University

This study examines concerns regarding the usability and popularity of educational television among higher education students in Germany and also attempts to determine whether German youths still prefer and use educational television when the internet also offers educational content and has interactive aspects which appeal to youth. Because Germany's television market is the largest in Europe and there is maximum availability to students of higher education, a questionnaire was designed and developed, and was answered by 300 students from the University of Kassel in Germany.

Results that emerged from the study of these students are the following:

1. Both private and public channels (German national) have good presence among youths; whereas non-German national channels from other countries are less popular. 
2. A majority of youths in Germany (45%) like to watch television, and watch it for about 1-2 hours daily for entertainment, music, news, and sports, in that order of preference. Those watching television for educational purposes are in the minority (25%); types of programmes preferred are information-based programmes, followed by talk shows and documentaries.
3. Only 26% of the youths stated that they are familiar with educational television programmes. Furthermore, these types of programmes do
   not appear to have a long-lasting impact on the youths (26% of them were able to recall 5 educational programmes they had seen).
4. 6 of 10 of the students in the survey stated that they get bored watching educational programmes.
5. Almost 6 of 10 of the respondents were of the opinion that they have not learnt much about their university specialisation from television programmes. Almost 7 of 10 respondents stated that they did not share their experiences and concerns about educational television with their friends.
6. Among the respondents, 46% perceived educational television as an old-fashioned way of learning, while 57% of the youths were of the opinion that compared to television, the internet is a far better medium for education.
7. 6 of 10 respondents rejected the notion that educational programmes are of no use in their subjects, and 54% were also of the view that the availability of subject-based educational programmes on German TV is less than desired.
8. 6 of 10 respondents favoured the idea of making educational television programmes available on the internet so that they may watch and download the programmes at their convenience. 51% of the youths favoured e-learning packages.

The study concludes that there is a "strong need to devise creative ideas and implement them to make educational television popular among youths in Germany." It suggests that German youths have ideas of how to do that, including: "offering more interactive and interesting programmes; adapting new formats (Docudrama, Biographical); downloading educational programmes from the Internet; making separate websites for subject-specific programmes; devising different ways to inform students of the availability and broadcast of subject-specific television programmes; and providing information on educational television programmes on mobile phones."

The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media newsletter on November 2 2008.