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Berlin-based education expert Thomas Seidel talks about how the German education system can catch up after missed opportunities to introduce ICT in the classroom.

Why introduce computer-aided learning in the classroom?

Seidel: Knowledge and education are basic prerequisites for a country and its youth to be competitive. We need to anticipate what children will be confronted with in the future. It's tough to find a job today that doesn't require computer skills. The only country that's still debating whether or not teachers should use computers in their lessons is Germany.

Which types of schools do you think would benefit the most from this development?

Seidel: Primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools – basically all of them. But those types of schools that give teachers the freedom to focus on their students' individual talents and are less concerned with keeping things strictly by the book would benefit most. What kids learn in school is often outdated by the time they enter the professional world. That's why we need to place greater emphasis on general skills instead of course material, on skills such as learning how to process information, how to research, how to give a presentation and how to solve problems. Acquiring these skills generally does not have to depend on the type of school since ICT can be individually tailored to the abilities and talents of each student.

Use of computers in the classroom is on the rise throughout the world. Which countries have made the most progress in this field so far?

Seidel: The US is definitely in the lead. However, the numbers in Scandinavia and Canada are close to those of the US. And many other countries are well on their way. We can be happy if, in ten years, we manage to catch up to where Scandinavia, Canada and the US are right now solely in terms of computer integration. And the same can be said for other areas as well. While we drag our feet – and need tutoring, you could say – other school systems are racing along at top speed. At this pace, what is now a decade could become light years. I'm positive that if the OECD were to do a "teacher PISA" study on the integration of computers in classrooms, Germany would have to get over its next PISA shock.
But if we're just talking about hardware, significantly less than ten percent of the computers at our schools are mobile laptops, whereas these constitute twenty percent of school computers in many other countries. If we were to start using laptops, in other words, mobile access to knowledge and education, together with the right teaching concepts, it would be much easier to integrate computers into classroom lessons.

The key concept here is "the future." How long will German children remain "out of the loop?"

Seidel: This deficit is going to have a direct impact on our children and then, in a few years, also on our country's economic power. If the next generation is lacking in IT skills, companies in this global world we live in are going to go to those countries where they can find more innovative IT specialists. And many of our specialists are going to follow them. You're just fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Is there no room in German schools for computers?

Seidel: The reasons are multi-faceted. Unlike the children and adolescents who naturally grow up and work with computers, only fifty percent of our teachers know their way around technology. In an EU study that was conducted a year-and-a-half ago, only sixty-five percent of the German teachers surveyed said that using computers in the classroom would give students a significant advantage. In all of the twenty-six remaining countries included in the study, over eighty-five percent of teachers expressed this opinion. Germany entirely forgot about computers during the last education system reform in the 80s and 90s, which got almost all European countries back on track. England is a good example of how some countries are doing it differently: They are planning to give every child access to an eLearning platform this year.

What can we do to promote the use of ICT in schools?

Seidel: The problem is not just individual schools or teachers, but society as a whole. People don't recognize that the education kids are receiving today is what will determine the quality of life in ten to twenty years. The transition is receiving tremendous support from the government in other countries. Our government is hiding behind the debate about educational responsibility at the state level. While other countries are investing around ten to fifteen percent of their gross national product, our state-led education system makes it difficult to determine how much is actually being invested. However, there are indications that it's somewhere between five and seven percent. But if we want to improve our education system, we need to start using and financing ICT.

Does that mean money is the key?

Seidel: Definitely. Otherwise we're going to fall into a trap. The notorious lack of funding for our schools has already cause teachers to fatally skimp when it comes to material. What they're basically saying is, "I can't spend money on classroom materials since the school doesn't have any money."

But providing computers to students alone is not enough. Who provides the knowledge?

Seidel: Knowledge is not the decisive factor. What is decisive is the ability to quickly acquire the necessary knowledge when you need it. Knowing how to do this means being flexible and being able to easily adapt to future changes. Knowledge is on the Internet. This means that you don't need to learn what you can access on the Internet. To support this, you don't need traditional textbooks as much as brief explanations that address the problem at hand and digital worksheets like those that are being increasingly produced by textbook publishing companies. Teachers can use a learning platform to provide appropriate bundled multimedia lesson content and assignments. It just doesn't make sense to send our children out into the professional world with only some of the tools they need. No one wants to be responsible for that.

What about education platforms that can accompany us throughout a lifetime of learning, through elementary school, college and our continuing professional education? Do we need those as well?

Seidel: Yes, of course. The knowledge half-life is becoming increasingly shorter. Knowledge is no longer something static. It's become dynamic. Learning platforms give us the opportunity to acquire new knowledge in small amounts regardless of time or place. Throughout a lifetime.