cheekymonkey
Field Trip
Last week, instead of attending a normal lesson in the university our course was supposed to meet at the Martin-Luther-Schule in Marburg, in order to join a field trip. A young teacher from the school showed us around and explained the role of new media at the school nowadays.
We were first shown two computers which are provided for the teachers in the staffroom. On these computers there are a variety of different programmes, for instance, a reservation programme with which you can book a specific room for your classes or even canoes, if you would like to go on a canoe trip with your students. This means that if you would like to reserve a room for an exam or a room equipped with computers, you can just log in and book it with just one mouse click.
Furthermore, the teacher showed us a media cupboard, which was filled with digital cameras, speakers and a suitcase equipped with a laptop and a projector. As a teacher, you have access to these mediums and can borrow them for your classes. Nevertheless, there could be problems if more than one teacher at a time decides to use one of these mediums, which are not provided more than one at a time.
We were told that there is an online schedule for deputising. That means that if a teacher is ill, the pupils can check online who is going to stand in for him or her. Younger pupils don't have access to this online schedule, however, they can check the deputising once they arrive at school using the flat screen provided on the hall wall, which shows all the relevant information.
The school further provides four computers in the library, where students have access to the internet. Pupils can choose between a wide range of books and magazines for research as well as the internet, provided that they own a certain internet id, which enables them to use the internet in school. Parents have to sign for their children, enabling them to use this possibility.
After that, the teacher explained that there are only three copiers in the school, which is way too little. As a teacher you should be aware of the fact that it might take a long time to wait your turn on the copier, which is why some teachers decide to make their copies at home. However, if you want to save time you have to bear the cost on your own, something that isn't very fair. She told us that she needs more or less 5000 copies per year, being a language teacher. Often she has to ask her colleagues to give her some free copies from their copy cards, otherwise she might not have enough. As we have seen, copies of certain worksheets are still required in order to provide students with good tasks. She explained to us that this is due to the books the teachers use in class, many of which appear not to be satisfactory.
The next thing she presented to us was a huge cupboard filled with a big flatscreen and an audio system. In order to show a movie or listen to an audio file, teachers only need to plug in a usb or laptop. I think that this is quite useful because you do not have to carry things around with you all the time, e.g. your CD player.
The school is equipped with two smartboards, however, one of them is placed in the biology classroom. It is a shame that there are only two available because there are so many nice features you can use , especially if you are a language teacher. You can show movies, audio files, podcasts, power points, web quests and many other things on an interactive whiteboard. We were told that a smartboard costs around 4000€ and that the city of Marburg offers 100,000€ for new media supplies for every school in the city. As you can imagine, it is quite difficult to provide a school with all the technical equipment needed, but I think that this school is lucky because they have a lot of different new mediums available to use.
We were further shown a computer room for teachers, which is equipped with three computers. However, most of the teachers prefer to prepare their tasks on computers at home because often all the computers are taken. The school also has a laptop cart at its disposal so that teachers can take it with them and provide every student with their own computer.
We were first shown two computers which are provided for the teachers in the staffroom. On these computers there are a variety of different programmes, for instance, a reservation programme with which you can book a specific room for your classes or even canoes, if you would like to go on a canoe trip with your students. This means that if you would like to reserve a room for an exam or a room equipped with computers, you can just log in and book it with just one mouse click.
Furthermore, the teacher showed us a media cupboard, which was filled with digital cameras, speakers and a suitcase equipped with a laptop and a projector. As a teacher, you have access to these mediums and can borrow them for your classes. Nevertheless, there could be problems if more than one teacher at a time decides to use one of these mediums, which are not provided more than one at a time.
We were told that there is an online schedule for deputising. That means that if a teacher is ill, the pupils can check online who is going to stand in for him or her. Younger pupils don't have access to this online schedule, however, they can check the deputising once they arrive at school using the flat screen provided on the hall wall, which shows all the relevant information.
The school further provides four computers in the library, where students have access to the internet. Pupils can choose between a wide range of books and magazines for research as well as the internet, provided that they own a certain internet id, which enables them to use the internet in school. Parents have to sign for their children, enabling them to use this possibility.
After that, the teacher explained that there are only three copiers in the school, which is way too little. As a teacher you should be aware of the fact that it might take a long time to wait your turn on the copier, which is why some teachers decide to make their copies at home. However, if you want to save time you have to bear the cost on your own, something that isn't very fair. She told us that she needs more or less 5000 copies per year, being a language teacher. Often she has to ask her colleagues to give her some free copies from their copy cards, otherwise she might not have enough. As we have seen, copies of certain worksheets are still required in order to provide students with good tasks. She explained to us that this is due to the books the teachers use in class, many of which appear not to be satisfactory.
The next thing she presented to us was a huge cupboard filled with a big flatscreen and an audio system. In order to show a movie or listen to an audio file, teachers only need to plug in a usb or laptop. I think that this is quite useful because you do not have to carry things around with you all the time, e.g. your CD player.
The school is equipped with two smartboards, however, one of them is placed in the biology classroom. It is a shame that there are only two available because there are so many nice features you can use , especially if you are a language teacher. You can show movies, audio files, podcasts, power points, web quests and many other things on an interactive whiteboard. We were told that a smartboard costs around 4000€ and that the city of Marburg offers 100,000€ for new media supplies for every school in the city. As you can imagine, it is quite difficult to provide a school with all the technical equipment needed, but I think that this school is lucky because they have a lot of different new mediums available to use.
We were further shown a computer room for teachers, which is equipped with three computers. However, most of the teachers prefer to prepare their tasks on computers at home because often all the computers are taken. The school also has a laptop cart at its disposal so that teachers can take it with them and provide every student with their own computer.
An easier way for students to have access to computers is to go to one of the two computer rooms. Students share computers by working in pairs. The teacher can make use of a programme called Mastertool, which enables him or her to have a glance at the desktops of their students and monitor their computers, for instance.
It is really interesting to see how much media is used nowadays in school and how well equipped a school is. Nevertheless, it would be nice to provide every single classroom with a smartboard or a multimedia cupboard so that teachers would not be forced to book the technically equipped classrooms in advance, but rather decide more spontaneously whether or not they would like to use one of the mediums. I was quite surprised when the teacher revealed that there is no additional vocational training for the use of new media. There is an additional course for new media, however, teachers are not required to attend and participation is pretty low. I thought that more teachers would be interested in the new possibilities provided by new media. I therefore appreciate that we as students get to know how to use new media.
It is really interesting to see how much media is used nowadays in school and how well equipped a school is. Nevertheless, it would be nice to provide every single classroom with a smartboard or a multimedia cupboard so that teachers would not be forced to book the technically equipped classrooms in advance, but rather decide more spontaneously whether or not they would like to use one of the mediums. I was quite surprised when the teacher revealed that there is no additional vocational training for the use of new media. There is an additional course for new media, however, teachers are not required to attend and participation is pretty low. I thought that more teachers would be interested in the new possibilities provided by new media. I therefore appreciate that we as students get to know how to use new media.
