Quick summary of the digital school conference notes.

Finally the notes from the digital school conference in Berlin last week.

Besides the previously summarized key statements below:

• digitalization of the school environment is a prerequisite to give students a chance to participate in the digital transformation
• individualized learning can be very well supported by technology, it is the common language, it makes learning independent from time and place
• the whole digitalization is based on TRUST and the students, teachers and parents taking RESPONSIBILITY for it together
• new ways of learning require new ways of testing/checking results (verifying learning progress)
• only “people most adaptable to change will survive”

Now the notes summary:

• use media in a pedagogic way and combine analog and digital teaching
• it is okay to make mistakes, don’t know everything from the beginning
• school has to go outside, into the surrounding community
• don’t read books, write books → create your own learning material
• students are responsible for the learning progress, not the teacher → teacher as learning coach only
• availability of IT support during school hours is necessary, not covered by teachers only
• data privacy and data security concerns are key arguments to block any digital transformation in schools
• usage of digital media and new ways of digital teaching have to be a driving factor in the education of new teachers and the further ongoing training of already working teachers → skills assessment, gap analysis, development plan
• reduce hierarchies, go away from competition towards sharing knowledge and information
• enforce cooperation between different schools, share ideas and issues, networking → more power working together

“Digital media is like electricity. It's not a sake in itself, it's a tool, helping us to individualize.” - “Technology is a Language, diversity is not the Language or The Color of your Skin, it's How you learn” !!