School principal Silke Müller has been advocating for digitalization in schools for years. In our interview, she shares more about the technology at her school and gives tips for teachers and parents who want to get more involved in this field.
Even in 2023, Germany is still far from being fully up to date technically. Schools, in particular, often lack the necessary devices and funding.
The Waldschule Hatten in Lower Saxony is among the leading schools in Germany in this area. We spoke with principal Silke Müller in a two-part interview about the hurdles of digitalization, her successes, and tips for teachers and parents.
The first part of the interview, which deals with social media and influencers, can be found here:
“The school is still very much stuck in old structures“
Irina from MeinMMO: Hi, can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Silke: My name is Silke Müller. I come from beautiful Lower Saxony, district of Oldenburg. I am the principal of a secondary school, the Waldschule Hatten. We have about 850 children and 85 colleagues as well as school chickens and dogs.
In Germany, we seem to have 30 different types of schools. You can think of us as a combined comprehensive school, meaning that we educate students up to grade 10, but with a different concept called secondary school. The children graduate with their first educational certificate in Germany, which allows them to go into jobs, further education, or whatever.
We have been strategically digital since 2009, starting with early projects. Since the 2013/14 school year, all children from grade 7 have had a parent-funded tablet.
We focus on three core objectives in addition to regular analog lessons: imparting basic IT skills, a fundamental understanding of AIs, and above all, digital ethics.
At your school, there is an ungraded subject called Digital Studies. What knowledge is imparted there?
When we started strategic digitalization in teaching, we adopted a holistic approach of digitalization in every subject and everywhere. However, school is still very much stuck in old structures.
- We have subjects, even though the world is not divided into subjects.
- We often have too little time to get through the curricula.
And when someone says, “You need to conduct media competence education,” that is fundamentally true. But for the beginnings, we need proper input, so that the children are told, “Listen: data protection, rights to one’s own image, here you need to be careful, this is allowed, these are creative solutions. This is how you can use apps and store data.”
If you look at my desktop, you can see that I never had media competence, as there were no media in school at that time. I graduated in 1999, and I believe we had a computer room, but I was only in there once. It was also about writing Word documents.
That didn’t exist, but the children need to learn data security and data organization. And we said that when the children are given a device starting in grade 7, we need to move away from the idea that “they are just messing around or using it for internet research.” They need input. Unfortunately, this can only be addressed through compressed time that we dedicate solely to this topic.
“These are very religious discussions”
How difficult was it to bring your school up to the digital and technical standard it is at today?
I could talk about this for nights, but I’ll put it this way: one needs grit, perseverance, and a very thick skin. You really engage in discussions with the teachers about apple eaters and window watchers. These are very religious discussions about whether to use Apple, Windows, or whatever else.
This goes as far as “Why does it need to be done?” This insufferable value debate. Yes, my God, because the world is digital. That’s why, by the way, we learned math, writing, and reading back then, because you need those skills to survive in this world.
So I also need knowledge about the media world to survive. That this is still being discussed today is surprising to me. I go so far as to say, “People, if you don’t do this, then you’ve really missed your profession because schools prepare for the future and are part of the present.”
There are many discussions. We teachers are very special people who think they know everything and are often resistant to criticism. However, we are currently under a lot of stress because this system is tipping over and is no longer functioning properly as it stands.
But the battle is already significant, and I am very pleased that we now have a fundamental conviction throughout the entire staff of the school community that this is the right way. This means we no longer have to discuss and do not simply accept things like ChatGPT without criticism, but also don’t immediately dismiss them with “No, forbid it.” It has been a tough road.
“Parents are proud to have their children here“
Can you give example tasks that the kids have to complete with their tablets?
Sure. In English class, for instance, there are many vocabulary programs for online learning. There are digital textbooks that provide specific exercises, quizzes that can be done. In mathematics, there are programs that generate tasks, using AI, by the way.
Our kids write using the program Notability, which means they learn to manage digital folders. In other words, they maintain basic order and have a digital school bag.
It’s generally quite diverse, extending to very production-oriented tasks. They create podcasts on topics, produce explanatory videos, and they learn much more when they have to explain a fact to others who need to understand it.
What feedback have you received from parents regarding this?
Good. We start in grade 7, and that will initially remain the case. In grade 5, the kids come into contact with loan devices, but not continuously, as we focus greatly on social learning.
However, parents are almost demanding this and say, “Hey, start earlier.” But, and I find this beautiful, the parents who have their children in our school are receiving good feedback about how great the Waldschule is. They are proud to have their children here and support them significantly. And that’s wonderful.
Is acquiring tablets difficult for financially weaker families?
Yes, for sure. However, it should be noted that when the children come here after grade 4, the parents are already aware of what is ahead in 2 years. This means there is enough lead time to make savings plans.
If it is still tight, as is often the case in everyday life, there is a kind of social fund that supports weaker families through the support association. Initially, they can receive a loan device, and when they say, “Okay, now we’re ready,” they can terminate the contract at any time.
What can teachers and parents do?
You advocate for the same or at least a similar program to be implemented in other schools. What can teachers and parents do to take the initiative to achieve this?
Build up a lot of pressure. On the school sponsor and the school management. The position is quite significant in this regard, as we are the engine. We can say “No,” and when we do, no one can do anything about it.
On one hand, create positive pressure, showing that you want to support this. At the same time, however, also presenting clear demands that you desire this to occur. I also don’t think it’s necessary to bring the entire staff along right away, but you first need a critical mass that says, “Okay, we are eager to do this and will take it into our own hands.”
That you practically get the ball rolling. Many people will follow, but you will always have the negative critical mass and the resistors. But they will become fewer over time, and you have to be honest that you can hardly reach them.
You can always draw one out and soften them up, but they will always exist everywhere. But they are not the ones driving development, nor are they the ones who cause great disruptions.
What would you wish for from Germany regarding digitalization in schools?
First and foremost, I would like all 40,000 schools in Germany to quickly get to work and say, “Alright, we need to provide our children access to the digital world.
This means on one hand natural technical equipment, which is the foundation of everything. At the same time, it’s a drastic demand on the federal and state governments because we are still discussing whether we can get fiber optics and WLAN in schools. This shouldn’t be the case.
And it must also quickly be about strategic concepts. What do we want? Not just buying devices but also clearing up administration, attitude, and development questions.
Personnel changes are also necessary. We need a new working hours model for teachers, so that all this can actually be managed.
My wish is that we understand digitalization not just as technicalization, but that we finally recognize that it is also an attitude issue. Allowing this topic of social media into schools is truly close to my heart.
That we say every school really needs a social media consultation hour and that every school should address this topic at every conference.
We sincerely thank Silke for the interview and wish her many successes at her school and in the field of digitalization.
