Even the youngest children use cell phones and tablets today, but Offenbach children learn how to use media competently as early as elementary school. For almost two years now, practical work on computers has been a fixed part of the timetable at most schools and tablets are used in lessons. Over the past two years, each school has received an LED panel and a case containing 16 tablets with a router; the schools were able to choose the operating system themselves. There was a choice between Android, Windows and Apple devices, with most schools opting for IOS, i.e. Apple. "The devices are user-friendly, intuitive to use and run stably and securely, which also justifies the slightly higher purchase costs," explains Lothar Wattendorf from the IT department of the city education authority. Together with his colleagues, he is responsible for the city's own school network, which connects all 30 school locations via fiber optics and is hosted tamper-proof on central servers at ENO at Goethering. As part of the digitalization offensive, all schools are to be equipped with Wi-Fi and more devices over the next three to four years. The city has applied for 4.2 million euros for this, with education department head Paul-Gerhard Weiß expecting funds totaling 9.87 million euros from the digital pact set up by the state of Hesse: "If you want to make schools fit for the future, you can't save on technology. However, it is also important that the technology is used and gets there."
Homepage design in elementary school '
Apple tablets are used at the Wilhelmschule, the devices are in daily use and the computer room is used by the primary school pupils. In addition to learning and reading programs such as Onlio and Antolin, the tablets are also used in lessons. A lot is tried out and tested, reports Nupur Sahni. She is a trainee teacher at the school and teaches English and mathematics. Because she wants the children to be able to buy themselves an ice cream in English, she repeatedly records short drama sequences, which she then discusses with the children: "The children also learn a lot about themselves and can assess themselves better."
Jeremi is 8 years old and has already got to know the Onilo learning platform. He has a tablet at home, of course, and he already knows quite a few games. In class, they read a book about the forest together, which was also fun because there were lots of moving elements, reports the second-grader. "We have to pick the children up early and raise their awareness of technology," says class teacher and IT officer Laura Straub.
Not only consuming, but also producing
That's why we try out and test a lot in the classroom. Of course, it is also about reducing reservations about technology. Children have an almost somnambulistic way with the devices and quickly grasp the possibilities that technology offers them. Amina is only ten years old and can already call herself a media professional. This is the name of the working group at the school, which also looks after the school's homepage. Once a week, freelance media educator Franziska Bosselmann comes to teach the children tricks of the trade and, of course, the do's and don'ts of the Internet. To help the children learn how to do research, they are also allowed to browse the Internet and use the search engines for children "Blinde Kuh" or "fragFinn". Amina thinks it's great that she can give free rein to her creativity: "We've already done interviews, made short films and can even edit pictures." So she has the title of media professional for a reason.