Field Trip Report
The computer library at Alfred-Wegener Schule in Kirchhain
We started at 10 a.m., just in time to start with our tour at the Alfred-Wegener Schule in Kirchhain. Mr. Schouler, our guiding teacher started his explanations with the cornerstone of daily school lesson planning: The digital bulletin-board, a screen on which students and teachers can look up which teacher is sick today or in which room they have a substitutional lesson.
Mr. Schouler was quite enthusiastic showing us the first real computer room. Although he personally does not enjoy this kind of class arrangement Mr. Schouler also said that the computers, that were standing at the walls of the room, could be used much better for research in this way. He critisized the conception of the room arrangement for a communicative lesson because students are not facing each other and talking would not be practiced enough for a constructive English lesson. The computers are administrated by the teachers and a district worker that is employed to grant the teachers a little relief and lets them focus on their lessons. Of course not only computers are used. Other media, old and new ones alike, find their places in the new classes: As in the next example we could see that a library and a computer classroom were joined into one big learning environment. Additional little "group learning rooms" were also integrated so group work can take place in a quiet environment where students can talk without the commotion (the sound levels should be low in a library anyway). The computers were similiarly arranged as in the first room but in the front of the class was also a black board, loudspeakers and an interactive board. This combination of media in the classroom is a good example of ambivalence in media usage. This classroom is often in use and teachers sometimes have to fight tooth and nail to get a free space in this learning room. The free space makes it a nice environment for students to comminicate and even prepare and present group works. There is also a positive resonance from the students: Most of them like the way teachers and students can act in this room and they also do not have difficulties in choosing media that they like to learn with. In addition to the use of learning programs, the school also encourages teachers to engage in seminars to further improve their knowledge about computer technics and increase the methods they can use in the multimedia classroom. In these seminars it is also vital that old and new media are combined; books should not be banned just because they are an older medium and schools also should not switch only to computers because it is fun to work with them and they give a teacher so many options. The last computer room was arranged very differently from the other two: The computers were placed on tables in the middle of the room, so called "learning islands", the books on the other hand were placed in shelves at the walls of the room. The students get the impression that they are surrounded by information. Also the learning island theory makes students talk in groups and communication can take place effectively. In addition the classroom has a little compact presentation unit which includes a laptop, a projector and loudspeakers, all in a moveable cabinet. This makes presentations very variable and the students are not bound to a certain place. After all Mr. Shouler was a very resourceful guide who could tell us a lot about everyday life in school and he also had interest in our personal thoughts about lesson structure including new media. In my opinion the field trip was very helpful, interesting and, in a certain way also entertaining.
My questions to Mr. Schouler were:
1. Is the computer maintenance done by school teachers? A: Teachers + district employed maintenance.
2. Can students interact and rearrange the network? Is it save? A: No rearrengement of the network itself but interaction between network participants is possible.
3. Is there a restriction system that locks access to certain websites? A: Locks on diverse websites to ensure students will not be distracted from learning. Manual unlocking with teacher's permission (e.g.: for presentations).
4. Are older media (books) combined with the newer ones in the lessons? A: Many occasions for combining old and new media (media library, "learning island"-room)
5. Are students allowed to operate the computers freely or do teachers have to supervise them? A: Media library always has a librarian. "Learning island"-room has no supervision, students are allowed to learn there freely. Problem: Thefts are possible. Computer rooms in the "Sekundarstufe I" are generally locked and students need a teacher to supervise them in there.
Mr. Schouler was quite enthusiastic showing us the first real computer room. Although he personally does not enjoy this kind of class arrangement Mr. Schouler also said that the computers, that were standing at the walls of the room, could be used much better for research in this way. He critisized the conception of the room arrangement for a communicative lesson because students are not facing each other and talking would not be practiced enough for a constructive English lesson. The computers are administrated by the teachers and a district worker that is employed to grant the teachers a little relief and lets them focus on their lessons. Of course not only computers are used. Other media, old and new ones alike, find their places in the new classes: As in the next example we could see that a library and a computer classroom were joined into one big learning environment. Additional little "group learning rooms" were also integrated so group work can take place in a quiet environment where students can talk without the commotion (the sound levels should be low in a library anyway). The computers were similiarly arranged as in the first room but in the front of the class was also a black board, loudspeakers and an interactive board. This combination of media in the classroom is a good example of ambivalence in media usage. This classroom is often in use and teachers sometimes have to fight tooth and nail to get a free space in this learning room. The free space makes it a nice environment for students to comminicate and even prepare and present group works. There is also a positive resonance from the students: Most of them like the way teachers and students can act in this room and they also do not have difficulties in choosing media that they like to learn with. In addition to the use of learning programs, the school also encourages teachers to engage in seminars to further improve their knowledge about computer technics and increase the methods they can use in the multimedia classroom. In these seminars it is also vital that old and new media are combined; books should not be banned just because they are an older medium and schools also should not switch only to computers because it is fun to work with them and they give a teacher so many options. The last computer room was arranged very differently from the other two: The computers were placed on tables in the middle of the room, so called "learning islands", the books on the other hand were placed in shelves at the walls of the room. The students get the impression that they are surrounded by information. Also the learning island theory makes students talk in groups and communication can take place effectively. In addition the classroom has a little compact presentation unit which includes a laptop, a projector and loudspeakers, all in a moveable cabinet. This makes presentations very variable and the students are not bound to a certain place. After all Mr. Shouler was a very resourceful guide who could tell us a lot about everyday life in school and he also had interest in our personal thoughts about lesson structure including new media. In my opinion the field trip was very helpful, interesting and, in a certain way also entertaining.
My questions to Mr. Schouler were:
1. Is the computer maintenance done by school teachers? A: Teachers + district employed maintenance.
2. Can students interact and rearrange the network? Is it save? A: No rearrengement of the network itself but interaction between network participants is possible.
3. Is there a restriction system that locks access to certain websites? A: Locks on diverse websites to ensure students will not be distracted from learning. Manual unlocking with teacher's permission (e.g.: for presentations).
4. Are older media (books) combined with the newer ones in the lessons? A: Many occasions for combining old and new media (media library, "learning island"-room)
5. Are students allowed to operate the computers freely or do teachers have to supervise them? A: Media library always has a librarian. "Learning island"-room has no supervision, students are allowed to learn there freely. Problem: Thefts are possible. Computer rooms in the "Sekundarstufe I" are generally locked and students need a teacher to supervise them in there.
