Minister of education Polaschek and OeAD managing director Calice: first Austrian school awarded the “Digital School” plaque

More than 267,000 digital devices have been delivered to all participating schools in the last two years for use in the classroom. Thus, 98% of the schools at secondary level 1 – secondary schools (middle schools) and academic secondary schools lower cycle – and 70% of the special needs schools already participate in the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF)’s initiative. Pupils of the participating classes receive a mobile digital device in the 5^th grade. Devices are also purchased for the teachers.

To make this digital and innovative development even more visible at the school location all participating 1,541 schools will receive a plaque of the digital device initiative “Digital School”. The first plaque was presented by the education minister Martin Polaschek and the OeAD’s managing director Jakob Calice to Edwin Scheiber, headmaster of the Wiedner Gymnasium / Sir Karl Popper School in Vienna. The education minister Polaschek emphasises: “With more than 12,000 classes participating digitisation is becoming the norm in everyday school life. All schools thus impressively demonstrate that digital, future-oriented education is a high priority at their school!”

Only 25 per cent of the equipment costs – approximately 100 euros – have to be borne by the parents or legal guardians. The rest is covered by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the European Union.

As an agency of the BMBWF the OeAD supports the digital device initiative “Digital Learning” as main point of contact for schools and parents or legal guardians. The OeAD’s managing director Jakob Calice emphasises: “With our comprehensive information services we as an education agency want to contribute to an effective use of technology and to interesting and varied teaching.” The headmaster Edwin Scheiber is pleased to say: “The new subject ‘Digital Basic Education’ and the digital device initiative are essential components for future-oriented teaching. They not only help to train people in the use of these devices as such but in particular also to make pupils aware of the opportunities and risks of digitisation. This is media education in the true sense of the word.”

Pupils who are newly assigned to a class of the 6^th to 8^th grade can also be equipped with digital devices since the amendment of the law of 6 December 2022 to finance the digitisation of school lessons. This means that, for example, in the school year 2022/23 repeaters and pupils returning from home schooling or transferring from a non-digital school/class during the school year to a digital class established in the 5^th/6^th grade in 2021/22 can also receive a digital device according to the provisions of the School Digitisation Act.

Website: https://digitaleslernen.oead.at


 

Enquiries and contact:

OeAD – Agency for Education and Internationalisation
Mag. Ursula Hilmar
Spokesperson
+43 1 53408-270
presse@oead.at
www.oead.at

Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research
Peter Stöckl B.A.
Spokesperson of the federal minister
+43 1 53120-5026
peter.stoeckl@bmbwf.gv.at
www.bmbwf.gv.at