All hardware and software problems bring frustration to the fore in many households. In Baden-Württemberg, however, the path to digitization is not only particularly rocky in times of digital home schooling, but also before that there were countless problems and obstacles. Two years ago, the Minister of Education, Susanne Eisenmann (CDU), had to bury the school platform “Ella” (electronic teaching and learning assistance). Over 8 million euros were spent on this platform. But not only under Eisenmann’s leadership, but also with its predecessor, there were repeated problems with this platform and the associated project management.
Even if the platform was almost completely developed, it could not register 1.5 million users and standardized email addresses for the students and teachers were also impossible. Access to an online library was envisaged, which should be accessible to all students around the clock. A uniform cloud storage function should also make digital work easier for students and teachers. But the intended messenger service for teachers also had its little problems and this would be particularly helpful in times like these.
The follow-up project, also called “Ella 2”, is only just beginning and will probably not be completed until the end of this year. If this platform were already operational, 4,500 schools would have fewer problems with homeschooling. This would mean that programs from Microsoft and open source providers would be uniformly available. Pupils, teachers and parents feel deficits like these every day.
Failure in all areas
The school administration had over four months to prepare for another lockdown. When the new distance learning started on January 11th, the first servers collapsed. In a total of 4,500 schools, one in ten of them was unable to start virtual lessons on time using the “Moodle” learning platform or the “Big Blue Button” video chat program. Instead of vocabulary, only error messages were displayed. The ministry does not admit guilt and justifies itself by saying that you have already spent money on additional servers (2.6 million euros). The capacities of the platforms were also increased for 250,000 euros.
The responsible advisor for school digitization of the Baden-Wuerttemberg Philological Association sees the difficulties not only with the hardware and software, but also with the Ministry of Culture. This should give the schools too little support. Regulations are made, but there are no instructions on how to ideally implement them. The school directors’ association has also complained and complained that they are being let down.
However, the Ministry of Culture fends off these allegations and asserts that they are already doing everything possible to ensure that the lessons can be held smoothly. For example, loan devices are provided for students who have neither a laptop nor a tablet. Letters are also sent regularly to all schools by the Ministerial Director.
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