Digital Schoolbag

In one of the last sessions we talked about a project conducted by the “Medienzentrum Kassel“. It is called ”digital schoolbag”. In the following paragraphs, we want to give a brief summary of what is meant by the term “digital schoolbag”. We will also discuss advantages and disadvantages of the project.

What are Digital Schoolbags?

USB pen drives have established themselves as a medium which is already often used by students. However, it is usually employed in order to save personal data, e.g. word documents or presentations. USB pen drives are also the central medium of the digital schoolbag project. However, in this approach, USB pen drives do not only have the function of a data storage, but they also contain software. In other words, digital schoolbags are a collection of software which is free of charge. Students and teachers only need UBS pen drives on which they can download portable versions of a variety of software programmes. All the software is for free so that you only have to pay for the USB pen drive. With this software package, teachers are well-prepared for lessons in which they want to work with the new media since the digital schoolbag offers a great variety of programs for several purposes (writing texts, internet research, preparing presentations, learning software etc.). These programs should run everywhere, too, so that teachers and students should not encounter any technical difficulties.

The digital schoolbag contains:

• Artweaver
• Firefox
• Open Office
• VLC- Media Player
• Audacity
• Deepburner
• Skype
• etc.

Advantages of the Digital Schoolbag

The digital schoolbag offers teachers and students a variety of advantages. First of all, the students can use the software at home, as well, so that they are not required to have all the programmes used at school at home, as well. Usually, students have different versions of word processing programmes or presentation software at home so that technical problems might occur when they start working on a text at school, send it to their e-mail address and want to finish it at home. If they do not have the matching programs at home, they might not be able to access their documents and continue working on them. What is more, it is easier if they can use the same programs school and at home, because they are familiar with these programs and the teacher can help them more easily if they have any technical questions or problems. Additionally, the computers at school do not need a big storage since all data can be saved on the portable device. Even more, complicated installation processes are avoided so that the distribution and updating of software becomes easier. Another advantage consists of the fact that the students are not required to have a computer at home. Theoretically, they can use the programs whenever and wherever they like. If they do not have the chance of working with a computer at home, they can for example, work at a computer in a computer room of the school. In other words, a huge advantage of the digital schoolbag consists of its flexibility. Even more, the digital schoolbag also has advantages for the children’s health: They might be able to leave some books at home, e.g. by using electronic texts from the internet. Nevertheless, this does not mean they students do not need any books any more. Of course, teachers should find the right balance between traditional and new media. Another advantage consists of the fact that there are two different versions of the digital schoolbag, namely one for elementary school (years 1-4) and another one or older students (years 5-13). Consequently, students can work with software that matches their age. Finally, you do not encounter problems with any licenses, either.

Disadvantages of the Digital Schoolbag

However, there are also some disadvantages. First of all, although the software is free of charge and USB pen drives have become really cheap, there might be some students whose parents still cannot afford to buy the portable devices. Schools might solve this problem by offering the chance of borrowing USB pen drives or by looking for sponsors who pay for the devices of children who cannot pay for them. What is more, it would be a good idea if the students did not have to buy the portable devices privately, i.e. individually, but if the school would buy a large number of them so that they would become even cheaper for the students. Furthermore, it would also be important that the school ensures that students who do not have a computer at home, have the chance of working at the school’s computer labs. Maybe they could arrange an extra room where students can work individually (often schools only have computer rooms which can be used by entire classes or courses).

Conclusion

The digital schoolbag is a very useful device that helps teachers to integrate the new media into their lessons more easily. It makes the lessons more flexible because tasks can easily be completed at home. Although there are many advantages, schools must make sure that each student- regardless of his financial background- has the chace of using the digital schoolbag and of working in the school’s computer labs if they do not have a computer at home.

Do you have any experiences with the digital schoolbag? We are interested in your comments