IuM: Comprehensive practical guides for the new compulsory subject available to download free of charge

Since the 2025/26 school year, ‘Computer Science and Media Education’ has been a new compulsory subject in Baden-Württemberg. It was initially introduced in grades 5 and 6 at all secondary schools and is then to be extended to one grade level higher each year.

A solid education in computer science is essential to ensure that children and young people are well equipped for the new digital age. The compulsory subject will be graded and will count towards promotion to the next grade. This gives the new school subject great importance.

However, pupils need not only technological skills, but also an awareness of the risks and dangers. In this respect, we welcome the decision of the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs to combine computer science with the necessary media education.

But where will the many qualified teachers come from? And how can IuM avoid becoming a new subject that pupils hate – as mathematics is for many pupils?

SPARKS wants to make a significant contribution here: we are continuously developing comprehensive teaching materials for IuM to accompany schools on their journey into this new era. We focus on three criteria in particular: quality, user-friendliness for teachers and fun for pupils!

The material is available to download free of charge in editable form from our website. It is a kind of playbook – for each lesson, with lesson plans, comments, classifications, learning objectives, worksheets and recommended reading. We have even thought of templates for letters to parents. The material for grades 5 and 6 is already complete; we will soon start with the material for the next grade, grade 7, which begins in 2026/27.

We couldn’t do all this on our own: SPARKS has experienced educators on its team. Nevertheless, our material, especially for the first two grades, is based on the excellent resources from klicksafe – the best in the field of media education in the German-speaking world. For the technical part, we rely on Snap, the tool developed by SAP that enables versatile application. In the background, we are supported by the Hopp Foundation with its many years of experience in IT literacy education: Many thanks to our partners, without whom none of this would be possible!

With the IuM material, we also want to introduce teachers to innovative teaching modules: among other things, we are integrating theatre education elements into the new school subject. Prepare to be surprised!

We do all this to support teachers – but ultimately, we are all focused on the students: may IuM become their new favourite subject and help young people in Baden-Württemberg to be better prepared for their future!