Field Trip

On the 19th of January we did a field trip to the Alfred-Wegener-Schule in Kirchhain, to gain some practical experience on the use of new media in school. One of the teachers gave us a tour through the buildings and answered our questions.

• How long have you been working with the new media?

In 2009 the school won the award “Medienschule des Monats: Januar 2009″. Since then the importance of new media advanced. nonetheless the school has always been a role-model for new media use in education.

• How many computers do you have at your school?

With two computer labs, one “Lernwerkstatt” and another media room for older students the school has about 80 computers in its possession.

• Are the new media used in all subjects/ in which subjects are they applied?

The most frequent use of new media is in computer science. Other subjects use it for research purposes. Additionally in English students write blogs, create websites and wiki or even their own newspaper.

• At what age do the students start to work with the new media?

In 5th grade. Students take part in a six-week crash-course that familiarise them with the basics on word, spreadsheet and Powerpoint processing.

• Are there special subjects in which the use of the new media is taught?

Computer Science is the main subject that includes new media use. One expects the teachers of other subjects to include basic new media use into their lessons (e.g. internet research, creating a Powerpoint presentation).

• Does your school cooperate with other schools or institutions, e.g. via email- friendships with students in foreign countries?

The school arranges several student-exchange programs with Spain, France, USA, Australia and South America.

• Are the parents involved? Do you also offer courses for them so that they might be able to help their children (especially in younger grades)?

No. Parents are not involved in any kind of further education courses on new media. Nevertheless they keep track of the tasks and projects their children create in class.

• What type of training in the use of new media do teachers receive?

Besides further education, teachers (this does not include computer science teachers) receive no special training on new media use. They have to acquire their skills and knowledge independently.

• Are there “virtual sessions” which supplement the normal in-class sessions?

No not yet.

• How do the students like working with new media?

In the right doses new media is very motivating for students because it is something new and different. They respond well to the more independent and creative working process.

We enjoyed the trip a lot because we finally saw new media in praxis. Our group liked the “PC-isles” and “Lernwerkstatt” concept because both combine different media and provide a wonderful learning environment. We thought it was very insightful that Mr. Schuler, our guide , shared many of his own thoughts and experiences on the subject.

On the other hand it would have been useful to show us the operating mode of the Smartboard, because this is a medium we have to work with later in our career. Furthermore we observed that some of the media was only available to some learners. It would be worthwhile to permit all learners the same privileges.

All in all it was a very exciting and informative experience.

You can find individual remarks on the field trip on our E-Portfolios:

Jenny, Elisabeth, Sarah.

Questions for the Field Trip

Hello everybody! We are going to visit the Alfred-Wegener-School in Kirchhain next week. This school is quite advanced as far as the use of new media is concerned. Therefore, we hope to get some insights into the teachers’ and students’ experiences with the new media. Here are some questions concerning the use of the new media that we might ask the teachers. If you can think of other interesting questions, feel free to write a comment!

• How long have you been working with the new media?
• How many computers do you have at your school?
• Are the new media used in all subjects/ in which subjects are they applied?
• At what age do the students start to work with the new media?
• Are there special subjects in which the use of the new media is taught?
• Does your school cooperate with other schools or institutions, e.g. via email- friendships with students in foreign countries?
• Are the parents involved? Do you also offer courses for them so that they might be able to help their children (especially in younger grades)?
• What type of training in the use of new media do teachers receive?
• Are there “virtual sessions” which supplement the normal in-class sessions?
• How do the students like working with new media?