«I don't have a mobile phone, which is really annoying»

Noé has moved on to sixth form and hopes that digital media will also be on the timetable there. The 13-year-old already practised programming in sixth grade.

"In sixth grade, I was lucky that our class teacher was way ahead of his colleagues when it came to digital media. We worked on the computer for four hours a week, two of them at fixed times. Every pupil had an account on profaxonline.com, where we practised geography and German. From flashcards and grammar games to interactive maps of the country, there are lots of different ways to learn. We also designed posters on learning topics, mixing handwriting with pictures and text elements from the Internet.
Our teacher also showed us some unusual things: we used the Audacity software to create a radio play, and we also learnt about the Scratch programming language. Of course, the whole thing has nothing to do with the kind of programming that Dad knows as a computer scientist. Scratch doesn't require any difficult text commands, you program with colourful blocks, for example games or animations.
We also discussed with our teacher how to deal with hate comments or the question of which information is trustworthy. Personally, I rely on Wikipedia, but I don't trust the conventional media. A few months ago, friends of mine accidentally caused a terrible accident when they were experimenting with fire. False reports then circulated on the internet, which made me sad.
Our former class teacher was convinced that digital media would become increasingly important in the school of the future. I hope so! I probably won't live to see how we learn with tablets and smartphones. I see lots of children with smartphones who don't even realise what they have in their hands. I don't have a mobile phone myself, which is really annoying. My older sister got her first one when she was 12, I'm 13 now and I'm still waiting for it."
(Noé can be seen to the left of his brother Luc in the photo)

Read more in our dossier "Digital revolution in the classroom":

  • Interview: Philippe Wampfler gilt als Vorreiter und Experte für den Einsatz neuer Medien an Schulen. Herr Wampfler, machen digitale Medien Schule besser?
  • Übersicht: Mit der Einführung des Lehrplan 21 in vielen Schweizer Kantonen bekommen  «Medien und Informatik» eine grössere Bedeutung an den Volksschulen. Was steht genau drin und was bedeutet das für welche Altersstufe?
  • Porträt: Stefan Bienz findet, dass die Schule das Potenzial digitaler Medien zu wenig ausschöpft. Der Vater zweier Teenager findet: «Die Schule soll besser aufklären»
Chiara,15, findet, dass digitale Medien einem das Lernen vereinfachen. Dennoch ist die Schülerin der dritten Oberstufe dagegen, dass Tablets und Co. Bücher und Papier ersetzen.
Chiara,15, thinks that digital media makes learning easier. Nevertheless, the third year pupil is against tablets and the like replacing books and paper.

"Digital shouldn't replace books"

Sarina,11, verbringt zu Hause viel Zeit vor dem Bildschirm. In der Schule arbeitet die Sechstklässlerin regelmässig am Computer, würde aber auch Tablets und Smartphones im Klassenzimmer begrüssen.
Sarina,11, spends a lot of time in front of the screen at home. At school, the sixth-grader regularly works on her computer, but would also welcome tablets and smartphones in the classroom.

"Unfortunately, mobile phones are banned in class
"