[15.7.2022] In Hesse, two cities and one district have joined forces to tackle the challenges of school digitization together. Since the cooperation agreement was signed, 2,500 digital boards have been put into operation in Offenbach, Hanau and in the Main-Kinzig district.
About a year ago, the cities of Offenbach and Hanau and the Main-Kinzig district in Hesse signed a framework agreement for the nationwide installation of digital boards in schools. The city of Hanau reports that around 2,500 such displays are now in use. With this exemplary intermunicipal cooperation, the two cities and the district are ensuring that their schools are continuously digitized. But the cooperation goes beyond that: Since 2021, the teachers have been receiving practical training in handling the new multi-touch displays in the DigiLab.schule, a training center run by the Hanau media center. Training sessions take place there several times a week.
Experiences from other municipalities had shown that school digitization does not usually fail because of funding – this is usually secured by the DigitalPakt School and other funding. The hesitant implementation is more due to complicated tendering procedures, a lack of IT support and the qualification of the teachers, which has to keep up with the equipment initiative.
Coordinated digital strategies
The merger of the three regional authorities made it possible to achieve better prices and to manage tasks for the Europe-wide tenders, which usually last six to eight months. The special feature was also the synchronization of the digital strategy. This not only includes joint planning and coordination of the procurement of large-format displays, but also the requirement that every teacher in the equipped schools be made familiar with the technology in a basic training session. The media centers of the three school authorities are responsible for this. The high level of acceptance shows that the path we have taken is the right one.
Since the signing of the contract with the manufacturer VS Vereinigte Spezialmöbelfabriken, 600 systems have been ordered in Hanau, which will be installed and put into operation by the end of the summer holidays. 900 complete systems have already been installed in the city of Offenbach and 1000 in the Main-Kinzig district.
The debt officers of the three regional authorities involved in the cooperation were impressed by the logistical performance, according to Hanau. Within just three days, 75 old boards were dismantled and disposed of in a school and new complete digital systems were delivered, installed and put into operation. According to the city, the training courses for the teachers began shortly thereafter. (together)
https://www.hanau.de
https://www.mkk.de
https://www.offenbach.de
Keywords: school IT, Offenbach, Hanau, Main-Kinzig district, DigitalPakt school
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