I interviewed a female student, who goes to a private „Gymnasium” in Baden-Württemberg. She is 17 years old and in year 13. The interview was conducted in German and later translated into English.

How often is the computer used in your classes at school?

We don’t use computers a lot at school. We work with computers maybe once a week in the lessons, but the students from year 11 onwards have free access to the computer room, so if we have a free period, we often work with the computers.

And what do you do then?

Well, normally we don’t work, but check our emails, go to schueler-vz or something like that, although the computers are actually intended for school work only. But most of the students don’t use them for that, except when we have to give a presentation or have a homework where we need to prepare something using the internet.

You said you don’t work with computers a lot at school, but when you do, in which subjects is that?

In English only, I guess.

And what do you use the computers for in English?

For example, if we have to find out things about certain people or a book. Sometimes our teacher gives us tasks to find out something and we have to find material and later present our redults in class.

Do you sometimes you Powerpoint in class?

Yes, when we have to give a presentation. Most of the students use Powerpoint for presentations.

And do you have projectors installed in all the classrooms, or do you have special rooms for presentations, or…?

No there are 5 kits with projectors and laptops at school and if you want to give a presentation, you have to register for one of them.

Is Powerpoint only used for student presentations or do teachers use it, too?

No, only students. Well, last year in physics a teacher used it several lessons for showing some experiments, but that was it, I think.

Do you generally like the use of computers at school?

Yes, but I wouldn’t want to use it too much.

Why not?

Because there’s sometimes just too much information and that gives me a headache.

Do you think it is used either too much or too little?

I would say neither too much, nor too little. As I said I wouldn’t want to use it too much. 

Is it always used in a good way?

Not always. I like when the tasks are creative, but once my history teacher made us solve many tasks that were listed on a website. It was not very demanding, but only boring. And I think the teacher knew, but he was only very lazy.

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I wrote down the real answers that I was given, which is why some answers are rather short. As the reader will notice, there are also some inconsistencies, e.g. the student first says computers are only used in English, later she talks about the use of computers in her history and physics lessons.

I have to say I was quite surprised about two things the student said. First of all, I wouldn’t have thought that computers are apparently so rarely used at this school, as I know the school and it is quite well-equipped with new media. Secondly, I would have guessed that most students very much like using computers in lessons and are eager to use them rather more, especially when they are currently only used once a week. Of course, I interviewed only one student, so this might not be representative for the majority of students in Germany.

Still, the findings show that it can not be enough to only buy technical equipment for a school and assume that this alone makes the students acquire media competency. The teachers need to learn how to use the new media in a way that is suitable and motivating for the students.