"Global Classroom“ – Pilot Project for Distance Education in Media Law

In cooperation with the Faculty of Law at the University of Hamburg, the Hans Bredow Institute is working on media law projects for education and further education. Besides general optimisation of e-learning offerings related to media law at the University of Hamburg, a central component is the e-learning project “Global Classroom”, in the context of which the Institute has developed an e-learning tool (“Global Classroom“) for using virtual forms of teaching in legal studies.

The tool is based on an individually programmed software platform and has been further developed since 2002. Since then the annual global classroom seminars offered students from Hamburg, Toronto and Bologna an opportunity to get to know a new form of computer-aided learning and jointly analyse, discuss and advance legal issues in the virtual classroom.

Recent topics of the seminars included “Internet Regulation and Free Flow of Information”, “Freedom of Expression and Privacy on the Internet”, “Broadcasting Regulation: Market Entry and Licensing” and “Youth Media Protection and Broadcasting: Constitutional Backgrounds and Regulation Concepts”. Global classroom seminars will continue to be offered regularly.

The Institute received financial support for developing this initiative further and for the continuous advancement of the didactics in the context of the „Global Classroom” through the E-Learning Consortium, Hamburg, (ELCH) in 2004 and 2005. Since then, the offering has been financed from own resources.