So was the 5th MINT-Tag Mainfranken – local news from the city and district of Schweinfurt

Bianca Ely, project manager at the Forum Bildung Digitisierung eV, reported in her introductory lecture about the conditions that contribute to the success of digitization in school facilities. In addition to a positive attitude on the part of teachers towards digital media, it takes courage to try things out and make mistakes. Regular exchange among the teaching staff is important, as is a didactically sensible integration of the digital learning materials into the teaching concept. “Simply purchasing technical equipment is not enough. We need to take our time, build knowledge and empower our professionals to use new technology appropriately, ”she said. “In principle, a lot more money would have to go into expanding human resources.”

The Veitshöchheim high school – a digital pioneer

This is also the opinion of Dieter Brückner, Rector of the Veitshöchheim High School, and Gunnar Leuner, math and physics teacher and IT system supervisor at the school. In a short interview, both explained how the high school could become a digital pioneer in Mainfranken. In 2002 they were one of the first schools in Bavaria to introduce a notebook class. Since then, the educational institution has participated in numerous digital school trials and has been a media reference school from the very beginning. From the Calliope Mini to sensor technology and digital analysis software, a wide variety of technology is used in MINT lessons in order to bring the students closer to their uses and functionality. “If we assume that our children and young people learn not for school but for their lives, then we have to prepare them for it in the classroom. Life no longer works without a smartphone, internet and computer ”, stated the headmaster Brückner. As chairman of the federal directors’ conference of grammar schools, he has insights into Germany-wide activities and found that Corona has definitely become the unplanned engine for digital education in all federal states. But the effect should not remain a flash in the pan, he finally warned.

Eight different workshops by MINT network partners

Then the participants started in four different workshop packages, each of which was designed by two regional MINT institutions. In the first package, Dr. Dorothee Kleinschrot from the Mineralogical Museum shows various minerals using the document camera; in addition, Dr. Judith Flurer and Katja Weichbroth from the Rudolf Virchow Center carried out experiments in their laboratory and broadcast them via the live stream. Andre Greubel from the Chair of Mathematics Didactics at the University of Würzburg proved in the second workshop room that modeling experiments in math lessons are by no means complicated and boring – using the example of evacuation. Furthermore, Dr. Markus Elsholz and other employees of the M! ND Center, which digital offers and learning management systems the university institution is making available to support the current situation. In workshop room three, the teachers got to know the programming platform Open Roberta together with Markus Dietz from the Wissenswerkstatt Schweinfurt, while Shawn Kennedy, speaker of the Young Researchers Initiative, presented the free e-schooling offer “Experience health technologies digitally”. Finally, Prof. Dr. Ansgar Jaeger from the Faculty of Plastics Technology and Measurement of the FHWS in the fourth workshop room, whether plastics are a curse or a blessing for our planet and how the topic can be dealt with with students. Roland Mai from BayernLab Bad Neustadt an der Saale then presented the educational staff with the various functions of the “BayernAtlas” online map viewer and how they can be used in STEM lessons.

Added value for your own classroom

Overall, the 5th MINT-Tag Mainfranken was a successful cooperation event, thanks to the committed cooperation of various partners and the intensive preparation of the Mainfranken GmbH region. According to the feedback from the participants, the MINT day offered great added value for one’s own everyday work. “Very good organization, exciting content and a pleasant working atmosphere,” summed up one teacher in her anonymous assessment.

REGION MAINFRANKEN GMBH

As the supporting platform of the Regiopole Region Mainfranken and regional development company of the Main Franconian counties, the independent cities of Würzburg and Schweinfurt as well as the chambers of commerce, Region Mainfranken GmbH bundles the regional forces in politics, science and economy to position Main Franconia in the national and international competition for locations. Target-oriented location marketing makes Mainfranken visible to potential specialists, investors and interested parties. In addition to the two independent cities of Würzburg and Schweinfurt, the shareholders of Region Mainfranken GmbH are the seven Main Franconian districts of Bad Kissingen, Haßberge, Kitzingen, Main-Spessart, Rhön-Grabfeld, Schweinfurt and Würzburg as well as the IHK Würzburg-Schweinfurt and the Chamber of Crafts for Lower Franconia.

The MINT-Tag Mainfranken project is supported by Regional Management Bavaria, a funding program of the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.

In the picture: The integration of digital technologies is a necessary component in today’s teaching concepts
Foto: AdobeStock © Gorodenkoff