The “digital transformation” of schools – risks and alternatives

The digital transformation of our societies, with profound changes in all areas of life brought about by increasingly powerful technologies, is in full swing, especially in schools and universities. The stated goal is to ensure that the younger generation, as well as teaching and research institutions, are equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing society. Many educators, media scholars and philosophers criticise this process, arguing that the main task of schools – education and classroom instruction – is being pushed into the background. They say that pupils are increasingly left to their own devices, spend much of their time gathering information on the internet and use AI to do their homework – instead of acquiring knowledge and skills under the guidance of a teacher.

The provision of digital equipment such as computers and internet access in schools was still in its infancy when the coronavirus pandemic broke out in 2020, leading to widespread school closures. In Germany, the federal government and the federal states responded by passing the “DigitalPakt Schule” (Digital Pact for Schools) with a large majority. Due to an amendment to the Basic Law (the school system is a matter for the federal states), nationwide support for digitisation was approved with 6.5 billion euros, or around 120,000 euros per school. Criticism was not long in coming. The “Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen” (Federal Association of Consumer Centres) stated that “trillion-euro digital corporations” were engaging in “corporate branding” (i.e. literally: “putting their trademark on”) in schools. Learning materials contained “information useful to companies” that “found its way into schools unhindered”. Criticism was also voiced from educational, media studies and philosophical quarters.

There is no such
thing as “digital education”

Above all, experts are concerned about the unforeseeable, irreversible consequences for schoolchildren and students. Among the critics is the Gesellschaft für Bildung und Wissen (GBW, Society for Education and Knowledge), founded in 2010, which takes a critical look at the consequences of the Bologna Process (1999), the Pisa studies (since 2000) and the numerous school reforms that followed. Jochen Krautz, president of the organisation and art educator, shows in his paper “Digitalisierung als Gegenstand und Medium von Unterricht. Keine digitale Transformation von Schule” (Digitisation as a subject and medium of teaching. No digital transformation of schools) what the debate is actually about – and what it is not about.
  The author states: “Digital education”, i.e., “information intake from digital media”, does not exist. The “digital transformation of schools” is a mistake, he says, as it robs schools of their “educational core”, ultimately making “digitalised schools inhumane”:

• Gathering and absorbing information using a search command has nothing to do with acquiring knowledge. Since time immemorial, this has only been possible through “comprehensive examination of a subject ”, which is possible in traditional forms of teaching and is the only thing that leads to “technical expertise and objective judgement”.

• With the digitisation of schools, teachers are increasingly handing over their responsibilities to digital learning software. The consequences are the “breakdown of classroom teaching” and “isolation of pupils in front of their devices”. In doing so, they are neglecting their core mission of education and training: “The digital transformation of schools means the loss of their educational core.”

• This makes it all the more scandalous that the German Conference of Ministers of Education (education ministers of the federal states) is promoting the “digital transformation of schools”, which means that teaching must be adapted to digital devices (!) – and not the other way around. This upheaval is being promoted in the interests of IT and internet companies, which sense a billion-dollar business opportunity.

• Digitalised school education is accompanied by “learning analytics”, the constant evaluation of various data that is continuously collected from pupils and students. Every step in the learning process is recorded and used to “improve the learning process”, according to the report. Krautz refers to “total surveillance as the goal of digitisation”, which corresponds to the “intentions of its propagandists” and is “built into the structure of the programmes”. Data protection and privacy are not guaranteed.

Using pupils as guinea pigs is an issue that must be addressed. It’s important  to highlight the unforeseeable negative consequences of the digitisation of schools and education within IT lessons – as part of the content of these lessons – instead of granting pupils unrestricted and unsupervised access to the internet. This includes educating students about formats such as Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, etc. and their risks, such as the danger of addiction, disclosure of personal data and cyberbullying. The goal of media education is to teach students how to use this technology responsibly, i.e. media literacy.

Made by humans

The Association of Waldorf Schools in Germany has published a curriculum for media education, the concept of which is to introduce pupils to the topic of digitalisation step by step under the guidance of a specialist teacher and, in addition to traditional, analogue forms of teaching and learning methods, to give them the opportunity to gain initial experience with digital technologies so that they can then use them effectively.
  Digital technology must always be subordinate to pedagogy. A distinction is made between two things: media didactics asks how teaching content in various subjects can be “conveyed as effectively as possible through the use of media” without giving in to increasing public pressure, which constantly propagates the “expansion of media didactics as necessary for modern teaching” and runs the risk of increasingly serving the interests of the IT industry. Media education aims to enable students to “develop the skills they need to use various IT technologies meaningfully in everyday life.” Analogue and digital technologies – their specific characteristics, advantages and disadvantages – should be understood, if they are to be used wisely and effectively. The goal here, too, is media literacy. When students understand “how the media are technically structured and how they affect aesthetics and society”, they can “use all media appropriately”.
  The principle that is usually violated must apply: the methodology is based on the students’ level of development and not on the school’s digital equipment. From preschool age to the age of six, children experience the real world directly; until the age of twelve, students develop analogue skills. In middle and upper school, they learn about the advantages of digital tools – for example, in searching for and processing information or presenting work results. In addition, they are confronted with the sensitive aspects of IT technologies, such as the risk of dependency, lack of data protection and the influence of large Internet companies.
  The Waldorf school curriculum offers a wealth of creative tasks such as presentations, homework assignments, artistic performances (theatre, music, film), journalistic productions, scientific and technical projects, etc., which can be realised with the help of digital technologies. As is customary in Waldorf schools, the results are presented to the wider community of pupils, teachers and families.
  The conclusion of the curriculum: “Children and young people need age-appropriate challenges that allow them to develop their problem-solving skills and experience success […]. Experiencing that one’s own actions have an impact makes one strong. Because it means that I can make a difference, that I can accomplish difficult tasks on my own […]. Self-efficacy is the basis on which future adults can creatively shape and take responsibility for their living environment and the media world – both privately and professionally.”

Prospects

The public pressure to expand the use of digital technologies on the flimsy grounds that it is necessary for “modern teaching” is enormous. The negative consequences of indiscriminate digitisation in the education and research sector are well known. It is important to resist this pressure and to advocate for IT technology to be used only for specific purposes. This requires determination, perseverance and courage from all those involved. At stake is a future in which reliable, reputable education and research at a high level are guaranteed in order to meet the challenges of a globalised world with its numerous conflicts and dangers. • 

Sources:
DigitalPakt Schule, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalpakt

Bund der Waldorfschulen, Medienpädagogik an Walldorfschulen, Curriculum, Ausstattung, https://www.waldorfschule.de/fileadmin/bilder/Allgemeines/PDF_der_Broschüre_Medienpädagogik_an_Waldorfschulen.pdf

Krautz, Jochen. Digitalisierung als Gegenstand und Medium von Unterricht, Keine digitale Transformation von Schule, 2020  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344175019_Digitalisierung_als_Gegenstand_und_Medium_von_Unterricht_Keine_digitale_Transformation_von_Schule_GBW-Flugschrift_Nr_12020