Teacher Development of Computer Use in Education in Germany

During the last 25 years efforts in the German educational system on different levels were made to introduce computers in schools. In parallel teacher training and consultation was established. Results from the international IEA-study Computers in education for lower secondary level in 1992, but also for upper secondary level in 1989 show that teachers attitudes to learn something about computer use are positive: The training need and their self-confidence to learn something about computers is relatively high. Support for teachers is mainly given by formal training. But the offers in teacher training are limited concerning the needs of teachers for different subjects. This situation is comparable with other countries in the world as documented in the additional publication of national case studies of the IEA. As a consequence a part of the teachers get their help through self-studies and private preparation of course material. In recent years the use of computers for networking and multimedia applications developed rapidly. The integration of these technologies into the subjects is another field demanding intensive efforts in teacher training. Different programs for the development of this field were established, but still offers for teacher training are insufficient. As a new perspective for educational change in this rapidly growing field a classroom-based teaching and learning approach in a collaborative network is proposed.