Children's learning in Estonia at an early age: Why digital Hygiene cleaning today as important as teeth

A little weird Mustamae has a nine-storey panel buildings of Soviet design, only five kilometers away from the fairy-tale Hanse-houses of the old town of Tallinn. On the entrance sign of the largest school here is "German-profile-school". Almost 1000 boys and girls of Buffalo here, from primary school to high school. The walls are painted mint green and pink. The lifts the mood, but the rector Kaarel Rundu scolds: "Not a single wall outlet have installed spaces by the Russians in the Aulas in front of the class." Annoying this is, because the Kids could charge their phones in the breaks.

smart phones are not allowed to Rundus school, but an integral part of the teaching. Because, as in all schools in Estonia will also be organized at this the lessons are digital. Not always, but often.

The "tiger's leap" of the Estonian digitization first used in the schools

The most Unusual thing about it is, however, that this is already for almost 20 years, the normal case. Because the Estonians had already decided in 1996 to the digitisation of their society, and thus the schools began. As an investment in the future, in Estonia, at that time in the fifth year regardless, on the front it wanted to be. 14 countries, 14 Reporter – solutions, which can be for our society as a model

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And these are the Estonians, without a doubt. "Tiigrihüpe" they named the Initiative, tiger leap, which is already three years later, in 1999, all of the schools were not connected to the Internet, while the German children did, what is Internet. Karel Rundu was then 14 and a student in Mustamae. For the past five years, the 33-Year-old where Director.

< p > the App shows you the teachers, how quickly the students are learning

How quaint, a digital Classroom could look like, shows Rundu and on the door to the computer lab. First of all, the only math teacher Riina Leeppmaa on the projector screen to see, of pupils no trace. You have three, four steps into the room, to the little tots of 1. Class behind the large monitors to show up.

Riina taps 1+7 on your Tablet, the task appears instantly on the screens of the Ersklässler. "Each student has a educational App, a personal hours account. The teacher can keep track of the solutions of the children at the same time and immediately help if a device is in trouble,“ says Rundu. Furthermore, everything goes much faster than on a chalk Board. And also with the homework, and the subsequent control, the time savings is considerable.

"No digitisation the digitisation's sake"

This is a computer room is used by all classes, in addition, there are two other rooms in which Tablets will be informed. In each class room to another PC including a digital projector and speakers. The students are asked to use in the classroom Smartphones, for each class, there are matching Apps. Who has no own devices, Tablets, or Laptops from the school, borrowed, explained the Director in perfect English.

Rundu is even grown up in the digital world, he knows to appreciate the advantages of fast Information. His father is a Diplomat, he came as a student a lot of rum, two years in Austria, three years in Madrid, where he has made the OJ at a German school.

The school Director, it is "not to digitisation the digitisation will, but to those areas in which you can use to make sense to us". The same is true for the use of robots and, in General, Artificial intelligence (AI): "It is important to prepare the children and to explain to you what options the AI has to offer."

Fears against rapid digitization of early on

remove The can help, according to Rundu early, "unfounded Fears against the increasing mechanization mining". In fact, every second person in Germany has to be afraid of the competition, which could create the AI on the labour market. And every third person feels from the rapid progress of digitization completely overwhelmed. The use of digital resources has also another advantage: "The correct dosage of phones, Tablets and PC in the classroom increases the desire to Learn."

the knowledge quiz in the student Team on the Tablet – the main award: Good grades,

How, demonstrating geography teacher Maive Merkulova with her middle school class. The students compete in two groups, those who answered in the digital knowledge quiz most of the questions the fastest. "What is a Caldera: a. a funnel, formed by explosive eruptions or the collapse of magma chambers? b. a Magma crater? c. a funnel, by means of steam explosion?“ Hardly the question on the tablet screen, displayed the arms of two students shoot up the win with answer a. the round jubilantly. At the end of the Top Scorer is using a projector list with all the Teams posted as a Quiz on the television. Main prize: good grades.

"We are not, in principle, only teacher whose eyes Shine"

only the students but also the teachers are actively involved in the modernization processes. "Not only because the teachers must of course have a craving and it's not easy for everyone, after years of conventional teaching is becoming more and more digital methods. We generally take only the ones whose eyes glow in the light of our priorities too,“ says Rundu.

Those who are already experienced and are always on the latest state of the art, to form the other colleagues in courses. And sometimes teach students, even the teachers, supported the young Director: "for the Fun of it of course, but it is no less successful. Because often the Little ones are just so much more than the teacher, which relates to the security of applications or the selection of the correct App. We want to here, only crisp Apps, such without the bells and whistles that work well.“

Digital Hygiene – a daily basis, such as when brushing your teeth,

As a long-time school psychologist Rundu knows only too well how important it is to devote regularly of the "digital Hygiene" – such as when brushing your teeth. "How to exhort the students to pay attention to the phone at certain times, easy to issue, especially when Sleeping, including vibration mode." So it could be prevented, that the suffering of the children in the 'Fear-of-missing-out-syndrome – the pathological fear to miss something. Also regular Questioning of the things posted on social media, not one of them. And how to verify whether a message is real or a Fake News.

the "tiger leap" gives the students undreamt-of forces, reflects itself in the statistics. In the area of natural Sciences, the Estonians now occupy top positions. "We were already very well in 2012, but at the time, the students were not happy with the way of teaching. Today is different – he makes them fun!“ The says Rundu, was also the reason, why he want to be the rector: "I wanted to help increase the fun and Learning at the school, I am once gone."

thanks to the "tiger leap" to the top of the young scientists

the "tiger leap" has also presented the students with undreamt-of force, even in statistics and studies. In the area of natural Sciences, the Estonians now occupy top positions. "We were already very well in 2012, but at the time, the students were not happy with the way of teaching. Today is different – he makes them fun!“ The says Rundu, was also the reason, why he want to be the rector: "I wanted to help increase the fun and Learning at the school, I am once gone."

the IT sector of the TU Tallinn is booming

Jaak Aaviksoo, rector of the Tallinn University of technology with 11,000 students, confirms this Trend. "One in four is now an IT Student, and the Numbers continue to rise. They even come from Latvia and Lithuania to the us, where you also have good engineers. But the difference is: With us, you can do more, because more money is there. And because we are talking about Estonians better English.“

As to the schools in the country would be modernised the teaching methods at the universities, constantly supplemented by the TU rector. "In the past, each faculty was closed. IT IT, Mechanics, Mechanics, archaeology, archeology. Today this is no longer so.“ Through the Internet and the exchange of tremendous amounts of data in a fraction of a second, more and more cut would be areas amounts between different special. "Some of the teaching already ceased to exist are therefore even. But the possibilities that develop from new technologies, are the more numerous,“ says Aaviksoo.

the robot teacher?

At the German school in Tallinn, there is now also a pilot project with a teaching program for mathematics, which is designed completely digital and without a single sheet of paper. The government promotes the ongoing Pisa-in the natural Sciences, the digital methodology, in the meantime, even as a learning-based approach. "But a robot as a teacher or maybe even a robot-rector? No, it will never give up,“ says rector Karel Rundu with a grin. "Finally, I must yet every year around one thousand paper certificates to sign." You don't want to miss any Good News? Then subscribe to our WhatsApp Service! To the WhatsApp registration

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