Bonnie Brady

November 8, 2015
EDTC 645
Country Case Study Interview Report: Germany

Introduction
The purpose of this interview report was to gather information
from educators in Germany to gain insight into the world of education
and technology in another country and analyze the technology
integration and policies. I wanted to specifically find out about the
integration of technology into K-12 classrooms around the world and
the ideas behind how it supports and enhances students engagement
and understanding of the skill or concept. Since my country I chose to
learn more about was Germany, I created my interview questions so
that the responses could reflect the important aspects of an education
system different than the one I grew up in.
Interview Questions and Rationale
1. What technology has been provided for classrooms in your
country to use?
Rationale: This question relates directly to the main purpose of
the interview and finding out what technology is used in
classrooms in Germany.

2. What technology has been provided for your classroom

specifically?
Rationale: Again, this question relates directly to the main
purpose of the interview and finding out what technology is used
in classrooms in Germany and helps give insight about specific
classrooms the interviewees work in.

3. How does your classroom attain technology (district funding,

donations, scholarships, etc.)?
Rationale: This question helps me understand how teachers and
students get their technology devices that they have in their
classrooms, whether the government or another outside resource
provides it, or if they must find a way to get it themselves.

4. What training(s) have you been provided on these technologies?

a. Have they been effective? Why or why not?
Rationale: This question and paired follow-up question are
needed to tell me what kind of professional development is
offered (or not offered) in Germany to teachers and if it is
actually useful or not.

5. What training(s) have the students been provided on these

technologies?
a. Have they been effective? Why or why not?
b. If none have been provided to them, how do you teach
them to use the technologies?
Rationale: This question is needed in order to know the trainings
that may or may not be offered to students in addition to
teachers. It is also important to include because the responses
will tell me how students learn how to operate and effectively
use the technology that is in their classrooms.

6. How often does the curriculum require you to implement

technology into your teaching?
Rationale: This question is needed because it is important to
know the requirements of the curriculum in order to understand
the integration of technology at the classroom level.
7. How often do you implement technology into your teaching?
Rationale: This question is included to help me understand how
often each interviewee actually uses technology in their teaching
and will be used for comparisons.
8. Is your room equipped with one-to-one technology devices for
students?
Rationale: This question is important to help me get a better idea
of how much technology is incorporated in German classrooms
and to understand the level of importance of technology
integration in Germany.
9. Do students bring their own devices to school to use for learning?
Rationale: This question is important to help me gain a better
idea of the technologies that are used in German K-12
classrooms.
10.

Do you believe that you have been provided proper

supports (computer lab, interactive whiteboard, laptops,

Chromebooks, tablets, Internet connection, etc.) in implementing
technology into your lessons (more or less) as much as the
curriculum requires?
a. Why or why not?

Rationale: This question is essential for generating a sense of

climate regarding how educators in Germany feel about the
technology that is provided and what they are expected to achieve,
as well as learning reasons why.

11.

Is there a policy for technology implementation into your

classroom within your school district?

a. How was this policy created?
Rationale: This question is important to help understand the
technology integration policies in education in Germany.
12.

Do you believe the technology integration in your

curriculum has had a positive effect on your students learning?

a. Why or why not?
Rationale: This question is very important in order to understand
the teachers perspective on technology integration within their
respective curriculum and how they think it has affected student
learning.
13.

Would you make any changes to the way technology is

implemented into the curriculum?

a. If yes, what changes would you make?
Rationale: This question is included to gain an understanding of
what educators in Germany would change about technology
implementation in their curriculums. It is important to know what
they would change, if anything, because they are the ones who
are expected to teach with their curriculums and they will have a

deeper understanding of what works and what is effective or not

than any research I would be able to find.
14.

Do you believe technology enhances student learning?

a. If yes, how?
Rationale: This question is essential because it is the final key
point in understanding how educators in Germany feel about
technology implementation, regardless of the curriculum.

Strategy Used
To gather this information, I created a Google Form with all of my
interview questions so that it would be easy to share with educators in
Germany because all I would need to share is the link. I used Google
Forms also because it would be easy for me to compare and analyze
the responses afterwards since they would all be in the same place. In
the Google Forms, document, I also created a section for background
information so that I would be able to place who was responding to the
interview, where in Germany they were, and what age and content
areas they taught.
My initial contact in Germany was my sister, Laura Brady, who is
there for the entire school year on a Fulbright Scholarship as a
teaching assistant in a German high school. I asked her informally if
she would be willing to complete an interview questionnaire regarding
technology implementation and use in the classroom. I also asked if
she had any colleagues at her school that would be willing to
participate in the interview or other Fulbright recipients that would

mind providing some insight into the German education system. For
interviewees other than my sister, I drafted a formal cover letter
explaining who I was and the purpose of the interview for her to post to
the Germany Fulbright group Facebook page. I also explained who I
was and the purpose of the interview on the actual Google Forms
interview questionnaire.
After my sister shared the interview form, I waited about a week
and received a total of six responses to the interview questions,
including her own. All interviewees that participated were Fulbright
recipients.
Persons Interviewed

Laura Brady- Laura Brady is my sister who is in Germany on a

Fulbright Scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in
Germany. She is a teaching assistant with a full-time educator at
a German high school in Hamburg. She also teaches adults at the
local university. Laura graduated from the University of Maryland
with a bachelors degree in both Art History and Germanic

Studies.
Sophie (first name only)- Sophie is a Fulbright recipient teaching
in Hamburg, Germany. Sophie is a teaching assistant and works
with the middle school age group, ages 12-15. Sophie teaches
English to students in aspects including reading, writing,

speaking, grammar, and listening.

Shaydon (first name only)- Shaydon is another Fulbright recipient
teaching in Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Shaydon is a teaching assistant and works with elementary,

middle, and high school age students. Shaydon teaches English,
French, and German to students involving reading and writing
with native speakers.
Other Persons Involved
As I stated previously, there were a total of six interview
responses I received back from various Fulbright Scholarship recipients
in Germany. To name all of the interviewees, they were Laura, Sophie,
Shaydon, Mikayla, Sydney, and Al. For the purposes of analysis, I will
only be referring to the first three interviewees, Laura, Sophie, and
Shaydon.
Findings and Reflections
In my initial research before conducting any interviews, I found
that there was no uniform education system in Germany, much less a
specific curriculum for implementing technology. (Rasinen et al., 2009)
I had learned that the amount of technology integration was basically
up to the individual teachers within each school district and that
integrating technology into their lessons was not required. From the
responses to my interview questions, I learned that this was true for
the people I interviewed as well. While technology is not required,
Laura and Shaydon both noted that it is helpful to use technology with
instruction and helps open up the possibilities for learning. As for the
actual implementation of technology into teaching for each of the

interviewees, the amount of technology that is used during instruction

varies. There are several factors to take into account when analyzing
this, such as the student ages, the course content, as well as the
possible uses of technology for the course.
I was also curious about the technology devices available as well
as the professional development provided to teachers and students to
accompany those technologies. From the interview responses, I learned
that there was some technology available in each of the classrooms.
However, the technology that was available in the classrooms was
sadly unreliable and lacking in number of devices per student.
Interviewees noted that the technology that is available in their
classrooms is often undependable and teachers are left to use the
chalkboard. Sometimes the technology is not even available because it
is shared within their school and someone else is using the desired
device. None of the classrooms are equipped with one-to-one devices,
however students are allowed to bring their own personal devices at
some schools, but not others. In Lauras classroom in Hamburg,
students bring their own personal devices and use them every day as
dictionaries and language translators. On the other hand, in Sophie
and Shaydons classrooms, students are either not allowed to use
personal devices at all, or there are only a select number of students
who are allowed to use them.

In regards to professional development, I learned that none of

the Fulbright teaching assistants or the students had been provided
any professional development on the available technologies. Granted
that there are actually only a few technologies available, students and
staff may not need extensive training or professional development. The
common technologies mentioned in the interview responses that are
available to teachers are over-head projectors, screen projectors, smart
boards, and desktop computers. However, if there were more
technologies available to use for instructional purposes, then the
school districts should absolutely provide the necessary and
appropriate trainings that correspond with the technologies.
Conclusion
After reviewing the responses to my interview questions, I
realized that Germany has a ways to go before I would personally
consider the country to be a leader in the educational technology
integration movement. There is still a lack of support from the German
government and individual school systems to implement technology
and provide the desired devices and programs to teachers and
students. The lack of support shows through the limited technology
that is available to educators in classrooms throughout Germany. I still
wonder why Germany does not have a uniform education system, but I
also question what their technology policies might be if they did and if
technology integration in schools might be different then. It is difficult

for my interviewees to be 21st century educators in a classroom that

does not have updated 21st century technology, and in turn puts their
students at a disadvantage in the modern world. Among the
interviewees, there was a resounding yes in response to my question
Do you believe technology enhances student learning? I believe that
in order for educators in Germany to give the most effective instruction
possible, their school districts will need to take technology integration
as a more serious benefit to students and look at it the same way that
its teachers do.

Cover Letter to Interviewees

Greetings!
My name is Bonnie Brady and I am a graduate student enrolled at the
University of Maryland, University College. I am pursuing the degree of
Master of Education in Instructional Technology. I am currently enrolled
in a class titled EDTC 645 Integration of Technology: Global
Perspectives, and we are working on an assignment where we are to
research another countrys education system and their use and views
on technology implementation. My sister is currently teaching abroad
in your school, and I am interested in learning more about the German
education system and how technology is used in your classrooms.

If you are willing to participate in this project and answer some

questions about teaching in Germany and technology, I would greatly
appreciate your help. All you need to do is click on the appropriate link
below, and it will take you directly to the interview questionnaire form.
When you are finished, just click "submit" at the end and you are done!
I look forward to reading your responses!

Thank you,
Bonnie Brady
Second Grade Teacher
Rolling Terrace Elementary School

Attachments
Google Forms Interview Questionnaire
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13BYID_8ZzYEysbxZS_nMwbCKrtRAux
ddhuYMXJC_YiE/viewform?usp=send_form

Google Forms Teacher Interview Responses

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ak8kMlNxDXZPYKhmmUsrUZ
kswCBj5pdjsJ4fQ7rJgvw/edit?usp=sharing

References
Rasinen, A., Virtanen, S., Endepohls-Ulpe, M., Ikonen, P., Ebach, J., & Stahl-von Zabern,
J. (2009). Technology education for children in primary schools in Finland and
Germany: different school systems, similar problems and how to overcome them.
International Journal Of Technology & Design Education, 19(4), 367-379.
doi:10.1007/s10798-009-9097-5