Schramberg vocational schools have fiber optic connection in the building.
Pupils at the Schramberg vocational schools can now surf the internet at gigabit speeds. District Administrator Dr Wolf-Rüdiger Michel, Head of School Axel Rombach and Dr Annette Schumacher from aconium GmbH, the project sponsor of the funding program for the expansion of gigabit internet on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, and representatives of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Education met on site on 15 October 2019 to officially switch on the new fibre optic connections. A speed test, public WLAN network and a variety of online applications at the digital marketplace gave everyone the opportunity to see for themselves what will be possible in the future thanks to fast data transmission.
The Schramberg vocational school center is the first school in the district of Rottweil to benefit from the ongoing fiber optic expansion. By summer 2020, 69 schools in the district, both municipal and otherwise, will be directly connected to high-speed internet. District Administrator Dr. Wolf-Rüdiger Michel spoke of a highly gratifying day: “We are investing in high-performance internet access at our schools with full conviction. In this way, we are making them fit for the teaching of the future. The quality of media use in our schools will be significantly improved. Now we need to develop media-related skills through training and further education so that pupils can develop constructive and interactive learning activities.” Dr. Annette Schumacher, aconium: “Particularly in view of the need for digitalization in the education sector, it is important that we pick up the pace and build sustainable, high-performance networks. This has been achieved quickly and in exemplary fashion in the district of Rottweil, not least thanks to the excellent cooperation between all those involved. This has created an essential prerequisite for the introduction of innovative digital teaching and learning methods into everyday school life and thus for outstanding education and training in Baden-Württemberg and Germany.” Michael Föll, Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs: “In view of the rapid changes in the world of work due to digitalization, vocational schools are facing major challenges. That’s why connecting them to the fiber optic network is all the more important.” There is also a special situation in Schramberg, notes Föll: “The district has already shown that vocational training is important by setting up a Learning Factory 4.0 at its own expense. The fiber optic connection is now the next step, which optimally complements the learning factory and puts the school in a good position for the future.” At a digital marketplace with many practical examples in the classrooms of the vocational schools in Schramberg, students, teachers and media pedagogical speakers demonstrated the practical possibilities that the fiber optic connection opens up in the field of digital learning at school. An illustrative live web meeting with the Oberndorf-Sulz vocational schools, during which the schools’ two learning factories were presented, showed how learning can be location-independent in the future. Photo: from left to right: Dr. Annette Schumacher (aconium), Dorothee Eisenlohr (Mayor of Schramberg), Andreas Schütze (Head of the Ministry of the Interior BW), Dr. Wolf-Rüdiger Michel (District Administrator LK Rottweil), Frank Bothe (Telekom) and Michael Föll (Ministerial Director Ministry of Education BW). The speaker will be Axel Rombach (Head of Schramberg Vocational Schools).