Digital Education Ecosystems

Visions and Decision Needs

Abstract

With the funding line for the so-called Nationale Bildungsplattform (National Education Platform), the German federal government attracted a great deal of attention within the national education landscape in 2021. Alongside praise for the ambitious initiative, there was also criticism of individual aspects. Until the release of the closed beta under the new name Mein Bildungsraum (My Education Space) in the fall of 2023, public discussion was quieter. Recently, with the handover of essential middleware components to the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, the initiative is now visibly picking up speed again in the summer of 2024. However, the vision still remains vague, and some doubts persist about the feasibility of the goals set. Against this backdrop, the article explores the question of which target images of a digital ecosystem for education are recognizable and which decisions are required to define a tangible – and therefore also implementable – vision.