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It is a pity that the following project is only available in German, but I hope it nevertheless still is able to demonstrate the power of interactive infographics to decompose and communicate a very complex but socially relevant problem to the masses, in a compelling way. (Well, at least it is quite something else than the ever-longer numerical fact decompositions, colloquially called infographics, that are doing the rounds on the interwebs lately...)

Politikatlas Schulreform [politikatlas.de] (click the red signpost arrow in the bottom right corner!) tries to clarify the currently ongoing debate about the schooling structure in Germany. In short, there is a public debate about whether the current German school system should be continued, streamlined, or changed. As a matter of fact, the first 4 years, all German students learn within an identical school structure, called "Grundschule". But afterwards, the system gets convoluted into three separate systems, called "Hauptschule", "Realschule" and "Gymnasium". But should students be divided into different systems? When will they split? According to which criteria?

This particular project, designed in isometric visual style, tries to convey the conceptual bandwidth of the current schooling systems in each of the 16 different federal states within Germany. While the practical and ideological issues about the schooling systems are identical, each of those states seem to have chosen for a different solution.

At the top left, a small icon shows at which stage the infographic is located. The solution that proposes one single, common school system is highlighted with the green color (left side of the graphic). The solution that proposes a splitting into 3 separate systems is colored in blue (right side of the graphic). In-between compromise solutions are shown as turquoise (middle). The infographics include orange pins at various points within the analysis, which each represent a controversial viewpoint in the current debate. These pins thus mark the problems and objections of the specific solution that is shown. Some pins have green add-ons, which point to solutions to the problem, which in turn can be further explored. At the bottom right, a map of Germany highlights the different federal states in which a specific chosen solution has been put into practice. A dark blue color denotes the solution is fully implemented, a light blue color means only partly. Clicking a specific federal state will bring you to the specific solution that it adheres to.

Thnkx Marc!




Nice project, thanks for the tip. But your link is broken.

Sat 27 Nov 2010 at 1:33 AM

@Thomas: thnkx for letting me know. Repaired!

Sat 27 Nov 2010 at 6:07 AM
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