4. Education for Sustainable Development in a Culture of Digitality

Education for Sustainable Development is not a conservative pedagogical position to ensure to keep the world as it is—it is about designing a fair, livable, and ecologically diverse future in an ever-changing world. Digital technologies and their ongoing development are an eminent aspect of a constantly changing world. This leads to a deep change of everyday practices, in other words, to a culture of digitality that proposes challenges and chances to sustainability at the same time. Concerning an Education for Sustainable Development, a whole complexity unfolds: Firstly, digital technology forms new topics in (geography) education: Material resources, energy consumption, and e-waste are a threat to sustainability, while intelligent environments and mobility can save energy and resources. Secondly, digital technologies change the relation between humans and environment, which deeply influences processes of learning and understanding the world: The enrichment of everyday spaces with augmented information, and the new forms of sharing meanings and spatial constructions change the perception of environments profoundly, and thus have great influences on geographical learning. Changing in communication processes requires new forms of communicating geographically that might lead to new ways of participation in shaping a sustainable future. Consequently, this paper systematizes insights into the linkages between Education for Sustainable Development, geography education, and digitalization, supported by practical examples.