According to the latest findings of a study carried out by ICILS (International Computer and Information Literacy Study), Germany stands to be one of the few inefficient countries when it comes to digital education or IT equipment such as wifi in many schools across the country.
14 different countries took part in the study in which the digital literacy of grade 8 students was measured and tested. For the last five years, Germany has been stuck in the same position. Denmark, one of the neighbors of Germany has once again fared better than Germany as far as digital education is concerned.
The results showed that only 33% of the german 8th graders had basic computer skills. They can search for what they are looking for on the internet but are unable to assess the search results properly. Only 2% of the students were able to work efficiently with their computer systems, while more almost 43% of the students needed someone’s help to work with simple documents.
Digital education promotion in schools
The ICILS study showed that some progress has been made in Germany as far as digital education goes. More than 50% of school principals now believe that digital literacy and education is as important as teaching any other subject today. Five years ago, only 9% of the teachers used digital equipment to teach the students; that number has now risen to more than 23%.
However, one of the biggest problems and reasons for poor ranking is the lack of digital equipment in schools. Many of the principals complained that they need to have better IT equipment for their school.
There are only 26% of students who claim that they have access to wifi at school. The global average of this stat is almost 65%. Moreover, a single computer is shared between 10 students. German teachers too, face a lack of their own personal laptop or tablet. Only 3.2% of schools have that kind of provision in Germany. The global average stands at 24% whereas Denmark leads the way at 91%.
Featured image by Pixabay
