Welcome!
The “new” media play an increasingly important role in our digital society and they are an integral part of the younger generation’s everyday life. However, teenagers are far from using the media they have grown up with to learn. Instead, they consume the ever-increasing flood of information in their leisure time. For even today they are not born with the knowledge about the proper use of the media they usually carry with them in their pockets but they need to be taught exactly that.
Learning in the digital age has long ceased being limited to the classroom. Rather, it has become a lifelong task and is accomplished in both global and social contexts, as well as in networks. Nowadays, learning is independent of time and place and goes far beyond a common frame of 45 minutes to an hour in a classroom. Moreover, in the digital age, intercultural and intergenerational contacts can be easily included in the learning process.
During my active time as a teacher, I had a clear vision of what education in the 21st century means and I also wanted both my students and me to have fun learning from each other. This is why I used ICT in the classroom ever since I was a trainee. Furthermore, I took lifelong learning very seriously. Since for me sharing is caring, I started this blog to share my experiences, ideas and whatever I learned during webinars and training sessions with my colleagues.
Since then, a lot has happened. I am currently detached to the Landesmedienzentrum Baden-Württemberg and I have spent a big part of my free time in the past couple of years giving workshops and talks and as a consultant for innovation in education. This is why this blog has not been updated for a while. However, I still – and even more than back in 2011 when I started this blog – firmly believe that education has to change fundamentally and that it is up to us to actively participate in this change. This is why we need to break new ground: we have to rethink the role of the teacher, reevaluate the purpose of education in general and challenge the current educational system. To do all this we have to look ahead and move forward instead of reminiscing about the past.
Therefore, I have decided to give this blog a makeover and to give my best to restart blogging and sharing my thoughts. I am, however, fairly certain that most of my posts will be in German and that I won’t have the time to translate everything. Please feel free to use Google Translate to get a rough idea what I am talking about and don’t hesitate to contact me if you need more information or just want to talk.