December 5, 2008
Use of Computers In My Old School
Today´s use of the new media in my old grammar school:
The school I graduated from in 2005 is called CJD Bad Zwesten-Oberurff. It is a private school with Realschule and Gymnasium, having a total of 900 students at the moment. I ,unfortunately, couldn´t find a school programme when I was looking through the school´s website www.cjd-oberurff.de. However, I noticed that this is actually the older website version and the newer can be found at: http://www.onlzoberurff.info/. When I was scrolling through this page, I saw some interesting AND known features: tags, calendar, blogroll, etc. Also the subheading was straight forward: “Weblog and online magazine of the Christophorus school Oberurff”. I finally realized that they were using the exact format then our FLE class does (i. e. wordpress).
I could easily write ten pages about certain aspects of this multimedia site, but to reduce it to its major aspects: it gets students to be involved, it informs them with up-to-date information (i. e. if there´s a classroom change, who´s absent, etc.) and it is also interactive (pictures, videos, etc.). Pupils´ involvement is represented on this communication platform via modern discussions (“Should there be a school uniform?”), own articles and much more. STUDENTS (not only staff members) actually have an account on this site and can contribute to it lively, which, I think, is great.
The use of new media when I was in my old school:
Okay, my graduation was three years ago, so it´s kind of tough to remember EXACTLY what we had and used in school. Of course, we had a computer lab where students could (and did) research. This was supervised throughout the whole day by a student or a teacher. The infrastructure was very good, too. Almost every classroom had a TV, OHP, and sometimes even a beamer. PowerPointPresentations were held, videos being watched, but, nevertheless, most teachers stuck to the “old” methods such as writing on the blackboard or showing something on transparencies. On my mind, this way of teaching is still quite effective and time-saving. 
My opinion:
Overall, I think that my old school is heading towards the “right” direction. They´re using the new media not because it´s just hip and trendy, but, because it actually makes sense. In an age of “I don´t want to read a book”, it becomes crucial to motivate students to read and write. The PC is the best medium for this purpose in my opinion. Almost every student has one (or more?! 
) and spends a lot of time online. To, therefore, have an actual website which offers students possibilities to enhance their communication skills is a really good idea. Besides, communication does not get out of hands since there is always someone who leads or sets up the discussion (mostly a teacher) and most likely ends it (by a voting system, for instance). Except for researching a specific topic (e. g. Martin Luther King in grade 12) in the computer lab, new media is not in advance yet when it comes to classroom teaching at my old school, which is not necessarily a bad thing 
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franziskagraf said,
December 9, 2008 at 9:27 am
Hello Maximilian,
the structure of your post is very good. The information you gave are interesting. There is noot that much more to say
Franzi
alexandra said,
December 9, 2008 at 9:43 am
Hi Maximilian!
! I also believe that your school is well-equipped with the New Media and agree with most of your points! Especially the blog: great idea of your former school!! However, I don’t believe that computers lead students back to books, I believe that it’s actually vice cersa…one argument in favor of my opinion is that students usually don not use “good” language while writing sth on the computer! Well, we could argue about that 
Almost every classroom had a beamer?!? well, that’s an example for a private school