29th November 2011
Field trip.
On the 8th of November we visited the Martin-Luther Schule (MLS) in Marburg in order to look at the media equipment of an average school. This trip should give us insights in the actual media situation in schools and should prepare us for the media 'reality' we can expect as future teachers. In the MLS we were welcomed friendly by one of the teachers who showed us around the school and told us everything about the media equipment we wanted to know. In the following mind map the media equipment and the facilities of the MLS are illustrated:
_ As you can see in the mind map above most of
the media equipment in the MLS is portable. In order to organise the use of
these devices, the school has a system in their intranet where they can book
the media equipment or the computer room in advance. I think that an
organisation like that is unavoidable, if you want to make sure that there are
no overlaps.
In contrast to my former school there has been a huge development and progress what concerns media equipment. We had only a couple of mobile CD players, TVs and DVD players, and only some rooms where equipped with a projector. From reports I know that there have also been many modernisations in my former school. This makes me aware of the rapidity how new media enters and changes schools, in particular teaching, and how important it is for us as future teachers to be become acquainted with the use of new media.
In the MLS precise media education is restricted to the 5th and 6th grade. In these grades the pupils take a so called Medientraining that takes place every fortnight for two lessons. In these classes they learn, for instance, how to use text processing programmes or how to use the internet properly (media awareness). Due to time issues, classes like these are not offered in higher forms. Teachers that advocate for new media in the MLS hope that in higher forms the media competence of the pupils is supported by the individual teachers.
The MLS is also concerned with the protection of minors. Parents have to sign a consent form so that their children are allowed to use the internet autonomously. On the computers in the library there are no pages blocked, but there is a supervisor as a kind of control. When working in the computer room, the computer of the teacher has a supervising system called Mastereye. With this tool the teacher can block certain pages, unlock only certain pages for the pupils and control on what pages the pupils surf. This enables the teacher to draw the pupils attention to the actual content of the lesson.
One problem that the vice principle pointed out are the costs of new media equipment. He said that the MLS is not ‘under-equipped’ but has limited means. The city of Marburg spends 100.000 € every year in order to support special projects in schools. This year the MLS obtained 20.000 €. At first sight this sounds very much, but when you look at the prices for certain media equipment and the high number of pupils, the money can be spend very, very quickly. Therefore the MLS instituted boards that decide about new equipment acquisition. Their priority is to acquire equipment that improves the teaching lesson and not to be always up-to-date and work with the newest version, when the old one still runs well. I think that this is a very good attitude when considering the purge date of new devices.
In contrast to my former school there has been a huge development and progress what concerns media equipment. We had only a couple of mobile CD players, TVs and DVD players, and only some rooms where equipped with a projector. From reports I know that there have also been many modernisations in my former school. This makes me aware of the rapidity how new media enters and changes schools, in particular teaching, and how important it is for us as future teachers to be become acquainted with the use of new media.
In the MLS precise media education is restricted to the 5th and 6th grade. In these grades the pupils take a so called Medientraining that takes place every fortnight for two lessons. In these classes they learn, for instance, how to use text processing programmes or how to use the internet properly (media awareness). Due to time issues, classes like these are not offered in higher forms. Teachers that advocate for new media in the MLS hope that in higher forms the media competence of the pupils is supported by the individual teachers.
The MLS is also concerned with the protection of minors. Parents have to sign a consent form so that their children are allowed to use the internet autonomously. On the computers in the library there are no pages blocked, but there is a supervisor as a kind of control. When working in the computer room, the computer of the teacher has a supervising system called Mastereye. With this tool the teacher can block certain pages, unlock only certain pages for the pupils and control on what pages the pupils surf. This enables the teacher to draw the pupils attention to the actual content of the lesson.
One problem that the vice principle pointed out are the costs of new media equipment. He said that the MLS is not ‘under-equipped’ but has limited means. The city of Marburg spends 100.000 € every year in order to support special projects in schools. This year the MLS obtained 20.000 €. At first sight this sounds very much, but when you look at the prices for certain media equipment and the high number of pupils, the money can be spend very, very quickly. Therefore the MLS instituted boards that decide about new equipment acquisition. Their priority is to acquire equipment that improves the teaching lesson and not to be always up-to-date and work with the newest version, when the old one still runs well. I think that this is a very good attitude when considering the purge date of new devices.