Assignment #1: „What does digitization mean for our private and school life?“

Digitization is present in almost all areas of life in our society. New technologies change the way we handel school and private life. Through the use of digital products and applications we save time:

Private Life

Household robots can be helpful when vacuuming, wiping or mowing the lawn. Digital shopping lists like (WUNDERLIST) with access for all members of the household and online ordering services (PICNIC) with flexible delivery times or personal pick-up in the nearest supermarket save us time and long checkout lines.

The way to get from place to place can be optimized by a software for traffic-dependent route planning (almost) in real time. We can find out the best departure time based on calendar entries and current traffic situation by digital assistants for example with a navigation system in the car.

If we want to find out opening hours we can quickly check online and if we would like to set up an appointment with a doctor we often arrange appointments online.  In the future we will simply attend video calls with the doctor when we are not feeling well.

Anyway, there are so many ways we are saving time which we can now spend otherwise.

School Life

The use of digital media in the classrooms makes sense, because it arouses the interest of the students and can usually convey the facts better. We can quickly get all the information that we need and move on faster. Again, we saved time. 

However, in Germany not every school uses the same level of technology. In fact, some are not advanced at all. Some schools don’t even have WLAN access yet. Luckily my school is very advanced. We are regularly using iPads for projects and presentations.

Change is coming nationwide because, on March 15th, 2019 the Federal Council’s approved a 5.5 billion contribution for the digital infrastructure of schools in Germany. 

I am curious to find out how advanced the Netherlands are. I heard that in the Netherlands more and more „Steve Jobs schools“ are emerging. Each child learns independently on the computer and becomes master of his own school day. 

Hello,

my name is Nelson. In 9 days I am going to Arnhem, NL, to do an international internship at HEMA supported through the European commission. Mr. Denis from Max-Weber-Berufskolleg Düsseldorf asked me a couple of question which I would like to answer in my first blog:

 – I am doing an internship abroad, because ….

I am doing an internship abroad because, later in my professional life, I would like to orientate myself internationally. I am American and European therefore it is definitely an advantage for me to work in another European country. I think, international companies would appreciate it. It also shows commitment because it is a scholarship through the European Commission. You have to show enthusiasm in order to get it.

– I hope that my internship will be like …

I hope my internship abroad will open up interesting ways of working on an international level. I am looking forward to learn things that I never even knew before. The Dutch are technically very advanced, so maybe there are high-tech ways of working in the retail sector on the topic 4.0. I am also excited about to speak lots of English, like when I grew up. I would also like to improve my Dutch, which will definitely happen within two weeks.

– For my internship abroad, I imagine …

For my internship abroad I plan to spend a great time with Kassim and to benefit from the life and work experience for a long time. Maybe I will meet nice people, make new friends or company contacts for later applications. Last but not least I will turn 18 and that’s on the last day of my internship and will be a big day.

– During the preparation for the internship the following happened to me …

I filmed my application video with my mother (as a camera woman) in Venlo. Where else, when my desired internship is located in the Netherlands? Before, I quickly learned how to introduce myself in Dutch, which was very funny. Then I switched to English … then back to German. It was fun and, in the end, I was accepted for this internship. Now, I am counting the days…it is almost here! I will keep you updated…