Abstract
Children, young people and adults in the Federal Republic of Germany have access to a wide range of media. The range of media includes the press and books, radio and sound recordings as well as film and television, computers and the Internet. How can this diverse media offer be used in a meaningful way for learning and teaching? What educational tasks result from the extensive use of media and how can they be fulfilled? After clarifying the terminology, this article first deals with the lines of discussion in the field of media didactics and media education theory. Then questions of media education training in Germany as well as institutional development in the field of media education are dealt with.