In 2025, against the backdrop of technological accelerationism, ideological and political education needs to enhance its effectiveness to cultivate "digital-era citizens" with rational thinking abilities, technological mastery, and humanistic care, realizing the spiral sublimation of the essence of education. This project aims to deeply integrate communication laws, technological characteristics, and the essence of education, thereby consolidating the ideological front in the wave of digitalization and nurturing new-era talents with both technical capabilities and humanistic spirits.
I. Project Subject and Rationale
Targeting the characteristics of post-00s college students, especially those majoring in Software Development (Grade 2023) and Virtual Reality Technology (Grade 2024) under my supervision at the School of Software Engineering, this group exhibits strong technological dependence, diverse information acquisition channels, and distinct subject consciousness. By deeply integrating audience analysis theory from journalism and communication studies to innovate online ideological and political education methods, we can not only consolidate the ideological defense line in the new cognitive battlefield of human-machine collaboration but also respond profoundly to the essence of education in the era of digital civilization. Through in-depth analysis of post-00s college students' media usage habits, information acceptance preferences, and content demand differences, this project transforms ideological and political education from "extensive indoctrination" to "precise targeted education," fostering "digital-era citizens" with rational thinking abilities, technological mastery, and humanistic care.
II. Implementation Methods and Processes
(I) Precise Analysis of Audience Characteristics
Leveraging data resources from the college's converged media center and student file information management platform, combined with professional characteristics, we construct student digital portraits. Firstly, we analyze their basic attributes by collecting information such as academic background, interests, and social activity participation. Based on observational analysis, students majoring in Virtual Reality and Software Development generally demonstrate high technical sensitivity but relatively low attention to humanities and social sciences. Most enjoy game design, watching or editing videos, and maintain high activity on social platforms. During my tenure as a counselor, I immersed myself among these post-00s college students, understanding their interests, trying out games designed by them, analyzing the characteristics of contemporary college students, and exploring how to use internet platforms to strengthen connections with students and conduct ideological and political education more effectively.
Secondly, through data monitoring on the backend of WeChat official accounts, we analyze students' behavioral characteristics such as content preferences and active time periods, finding that they prefer content formats such as short videos and interactive animations. Thirdly, we conduct regular needs surveys using in-depth interviews to understand hot topics and knowledge gaps among students, revealing high attention to issues such as technological ethics, career planning, and digital identity.
(II) Innovating Content Communication Mechanisms
Nowadays, college students are highly dependent on AI-assisted tools. In course teaching, we incorporate content to cultivate students' critical thinking about technological products. Relying on the teacher-student team of the Virtual Reality Technology major, we develop immersive learning platforms such as VR ideological and political classrooms and VR experience halls for Party history, transforming abstract theories into interactive visual experiences. For example, we developed Party history-related projects that allow students to immerse themselves in historical events through virtual technology, enhancing emotional resonance.
(III) Building a Multidimensional Communication Matrix
Targeting the media usage preferences of different student groups, we construct a multi-level, three-dimensional communication matrix and promote in-depth operation of mainstream platforms. Firstly, we focus on building professional new media platforms such as the "Tuanxue Xiaohuoban" (League and Study Pals) WeChat official account, pushing customized content for students of different majors.
Secondly, we explore innovations on short video platforms. In collaboration with the college's Employment Department and the related course "College Students' Innovation and Entrepreneurship," we actively layout youth-gathered platforms such as Douyin and Bilibili, encouraging students to create online cultural works, exert their creativity and imagination, and interpret theoretical issues through technical language. Figure 2-1 shows an original online cultural work produced by Class 242 of Virtual Reality Technology:
Figure 2-1 Online Cultural Work: "Laicai Secondhand Trading Platform"
We regularly organize students from the college's converged media center to participate in "Online Culture" themed seminars, inviting professional teachers to communicate face-to-face with students, and producing relevant reports to expand the scope of influence.
III. Key Achievements and Experiences
(I) Key Achievements
Innovation in Content Form
The coverage of ideological and political education has been significantly expanded, and students' awareness of technological ethics has been remarkably enhanced. In the course "Ergonomics" that I teach, I integrated ideological and political elements. Through AI-generated content identification education and technological ethics discussions, most students reported having a clearer understanding of the moral boundaries of artificial intelligence products and being able to rationally view the social impact of technological applications.
In monthly counselor and class teacher meetings, we decompose "Four Histories" education into the "60-Second Party History" series, for example, using video editing software such as JianYing and Douyin to present key events. In class groups, we regularly share "ideological and political knowledge cards" to disseminate theoretical key points in dynamic graphic and text formats. Additionally, content cannot do without technology-enabled interaction. Based on the college's actual situation, we can use VR technology to create special effects such as "taking photos with celebrities." Targeting the cognitive characteristics of software engineering students, we creatively use "technical metaphors" to decode political theories, such as encoding the "Four Matters of Confidence" as the "Four Elements of Program Stability."
Evolution of Communication Channels
By synergistically adapting algorithmic logic with educational laws, college experts and teachers guide students to develop recommendation algorithms for ideological and political knowledge graphs in courses. In programming courses such as Python, we set up a special topic on "Ethics of Web Crawler Technology." On the college's WeChat official account, student WeChat groups, and class meetings, we regularly learn and share China's advanced science and technology for students to study, establishing cultural confidence.
(II) Experience Summary
Breaking Filter Bubbles
In conducting online ideological and political education for post-00s college students, we can guide them to learn to construct "value-based recommendation algorithms" and use "circle-breaking algorithms" to embed ideological and political content into ACG (Animation, Comics, Games) communities. For example, in the course "Game Design and Planning," we guide students to design and develop RPG games based on historical events and figures. Through machine learning, we continuously optimize the form of value expression. This innovation enables mainstream values to grow creatively in the digital soil, representing a paradigmatic leap in ideological and political education from "reach" to "reaching the soul."
Transcending Instrumental Rationality
We give full play to the technical advantages of students majoring in software engineering, virtual reality, etc., transforming them into innovative forces for ideological and political education, and realizing the organic unity of technological empowerment and value guidance. For example, in the contextual reconstruction of technological ethics education, we can embed "value review links" in programming teaching. For instance, guiding students to write "elderly health code optimization programs" with a "digital divide solution module." Targeting the characteristics of contemporary college students, it is necessary to strengthen the cultivation of their digital humanistic spirit and emphasize "human subjectivity" in technological applications.
Activating Participatory Culture
According to the characteristics of different student groups, we adopt differentiated communication strategies, promote segmented communication and overall ecological coordination, and focus on content synergy among various platforms to build an integrated online ideological and political ecology. Based on Jiangxi's red cultural resources and professional realities, we can launch the "My Red Code" open-source project, encouraging students to tell red stories through programming languages. The essence of this new educational form is to reconstruct the educational philosophy of "technological humanism" in digital civilization, not only building a digital spiritual home but also consolidating the foundation of social practice in reality.
IV. Future Plans for Enhancement and Improvement
Despite the phased achievements of this project, there are still some deficiencies to be improved. In the next step, we will focus on the following aspects:
(I) Improving the AI Content Education Mechanism
We will build a more comprehensive AI-generated content education system, introduce and develop AI content identification training courses, such as the use of AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, to help students distinguish and rationally use AI-generated content, which will be incorporated into the compulsory knowledge learning of relevant majors in the college. We will carry out a series of "technological ethics" themed activities, such as debates and seminars, combined with the 2025 Online Civilization Promotion Season, to cultivate students' humanistic care and technical responsibility.
(II) Deepening the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Education Model
We will further break disciplinary barriers, create a more in-depth collaborative education model, and jointly guide students to carry out projects integrating technological ethics and ideological and political education in collaboration with experts and teachers from the School of Marxism. We will expand school-enterprise cooperation channels, cooperate with leading enterprises in the industry to develop more forward-looking digital ideological and political products, and keep up with the forefront of technological development.
(III) Expanding the International Perspective of Online Ideological and Political Education
Combined with the international characteristics of software-related majors, the next step is to expand the international dimension of online ideological and political education, guide students to tell Chinese stories to international students through digital technology, and cultivate local students' cross-cultural communication capabilities. In postgraduate training, we will guide students to study academic papers on technological ethics from different countries, enabling them to establish a more comprehensive view of technological ethics. We will actively promote exchanges on online ideological and political education with universities in Belt and Road Initiative countries, encouraging our students to conduct cross-cultural communication of Chinese stories and Jiangxi's red culture, learn from each other's experiences, and achieve common development.
(V) Conclusion.
Based on the audience theory of communication studies, this case constructs a new model of online ideological and political education for software-related majors. By precisely analyzing audience characteristics, innovating content communication mechanisms, and building a multidimensional communication matrix, it has effectively improved the pertinence, attractiveness, and effectiveness of ideological and political education.
In the future, ideological and political education may present several characteristics: distributed collaboration in knowledge production—every student may become a node of theoretical innovation; cross-dimensional integration of educational scenarios—seamless connection between red landmark tours in VR glasses and practical credits. Through years of practice in ideological and political work, I believe that future ideological and political education will no longer be knowledge indoctrination like pre-installed software, but a continuously evolving operating system, where teachers and students nurture wisdom in consensus, and the integration of education and technology creates the future in symbiosis.
Only when counselors learn to convey serious theories through "memes," when algorithms actively safeguard mainstream values, and when teachers and students co-construct a spiritual home in the metaverse can ideological and political education truly bridge the digital divide. In addition, as guides for teachers and students' thinking, we must maintain the temperature of human nature in technology and cultivate new-era "π-shaped talents" who possess both coding capabilities and humanistic feelings.
