Less bureaucracy, more learning tools, educational goals and professional development: expectations for the Digital Pact 2.0 are high. The SCCON panel discussion ‘Turning Old into New: The Digital Pact 2.0 in Practice’ centres on the five billion euros that have been available since September for the next five years. Alongside tablets, smartboards and secure Wi-Fi, the focus is shifting to the quality of teaching. “The Digital Pact 2.0 will be a success if we manage to use digital tools to strengthen basic skills in German and maths,” says Stephan Ertner, State Secretary at the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Cross-state collaboration

Ertner is committed to data-driven quality development: what do schools and pupils need, and how can digital teaching build on this? The federal states are also to work more closely together on data protection-compliant chatbots and cloud solutions for digital educational content. “We need to simplify procedures and processes so that, for example, we in Lower Saxony can use what the Bavarian Data Protection Commissioner has approved,” he explains.

Easier access to funding

According to Ertner, the new Digital Pact does away with numerous documentation and application requirements. Frank Wüst, head of the Digital School team at Nuremberg City Council, welcomes this: “With the first Digital Pact, the bureaucratic process was absolutely mad,” he says. “Now there are lump-sum payments without the need for applications or supporting documents – something we’ve been calling for for years. Local authorities can be trusted; we’re in dialogue with the schools, and they’ll make the best of it.” However, he feels there is no clear answer as to the direction in which teaching in Germany should be heading.

Claudia Thiele, head of the Digitalisation Unit in the district of Wittenberg, first wants to know how digital skills are distributed and where gaps exist. “It’s important to engage people, pool knowledge and make it available so that good ideas can be put to further use. This needs to be managed properly,” she says.

Educational added value and professional development count

Sarah Franke, managing director of Magma Mathe Deutschland, also assesses the Digital Pact by how pupils’ learning and skills are changing. “There is now a greater focus on the ‘why’ – on didactic and educational added value – in other words, on what digital classrooms really deliver,” she says. At the same time, there is a growing emphasis on reducing the workload on teachers.

Timely, straightforward professional development is crucial for this, emphasises Tomi Neckov, Federal Chair of the Education and Training Association (VBE): “The software must be readily available, high-quality and easy to use. But in order for us to support the children effectively, we teachers need to be trained. This is also so that we do not lag behind the pupils, who are often far ahead of us technologically,” he explains. Then, he adds, a Digital Pact for the ages would be most welcome.