Many schools have too few digital devices. Most classrooms are poorly equipped: there are no smartboards, iPads or tablets. Most schools only have outdated PCs and overhead projectors. According to a survey by broadcaster WDR, there is, alarmingly, an average of one desktop PC for every 9.6 pupils, one tablet for every 12.8 and one laptop for every 30.2. The fact that the media skills needed to use these devices are sometimes missing is another problematic factor. Some schools now have what are known as iPad classes, but they are very much in the minority. Plenty of schools these days have Wi-Fi, but it does not always run smoothly; the networks often collapse when too many classes use them at the same time. Some schools certainly do have a school server, which makes communication between teachers and pupils a good deal easier, but the number of such school servers is very small. Taken together, these observations add up to a sorry report card on the digital progress of schools.
In times of the coronavirus pandemic in particular, digitalization is becoming ever more important. The lockdown in March showed just how necessary digital learning is. The supply of digital devices still leaves a lot to be desired. In many households there are neither the devices for online lessons nor the internet connection needed to take part in video calls, for example. The handling of school servers did improve a little, though. Many teachers now fall back on servers such as iserv or Microsoft Office during normal school days as well.
My personal verdict on home schooling during the first lockdown:
My school used Microsoft Teams, like many others. Both we pupils and the teachers needed a little while to understand the app and all its features.
At the start of every school week the teachers uploaded "assignments" for each subject. The assignments were to be completed and sent back to the teachers by the end of the week. Unfortunately, many teachers rather overdid the amount of work they set. A few teachers could not be reached at all during the lockdown, and did not upload any assignments either.
Workflow grade: 3- (still satisfactory)
Communication between teachers and pupils did not run flawlessly either. Some teachers did not reply to their pupils' messages at all, or only after weeks. Very few video calls took place. When they did come about, there were connection problems every single time. I even had teachers who did not know how to run a video call. Of course all of this depended very much on the individual teacher; many teachers made digital learning very easy for us pupils and were always available for questions and problems.
Communication during lockdown: 4+ ( fully adequate)
What I would like to see in future:
If I were to travel to the year 2030 with the experience I have gathered so far, digital teaching should look like this:
There should only be iPad or laptop classes. For exams and tests, though, paper should still be used. Class registers, timetables and cover schedules should be exclusively digital. Apart from that, no more paper is needed.
For digitalization in schools to move forward, however, schools need to catch up on their knowledge of how to handle digital systems. Classrooms also have to be equipped with modern devices. On top of that, it is important that work is done on the networks in schools. A stable internet connection is the key to the success of the digital transformation.
