Digital Pact successfully implemented: 57 schools in the district digitally modernised
Over 1,000 displays, 120 projectors, 600 tablets and much more: in recent years, the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg has equipped 1,400 rooms in its 57 schools with state-of-the-art technology as part of the "DigitalPakt" project - a project with a total investment volume of around 10.3 million euros.
State-of-the-art digital infrastructure
This enables the school communities to provide modern teaching with multimedia teaching and learning methods, individualised learning opportunities, the promotion of media skills and access to a wide range of learning resources. In order to upgrade or retrofit all the premises at the school sites accordingly, some minor and some major (remodelling) construction work was necessary, which began in 2019.
Comprehensive expansion of the network environment for good WLAN
The network cabling was comprehensively expanded in all classrooms - with around 170 km of data cable. A total of 1,761 rooms were rewired and equipped with standardised media columns. Over four kilometres of cable ducts were laid for the power, data and communication cables. All classrooms are now technically connected with around 15,000 network connections and the server and network components have also been renewed. To set up a stable WLAN network, 1,843 rooms were professionally illuminated and 1,787 access points and 336 switches including software licences and accessories were installed - all to strengthen the WLAN connection.
The latest presentation technology Classrooms
The rooms were also equipped with digital presentation technology across the board: 1,176 rooms were completely refitted, while the existing technology was replaced in 228 rooms. Among other things, 1,069 displays, 117 projectors, 45 interactive boards, 605 tablets as control units, 1,321 AppleTVs and 1,084 Miracasts, 55 document cameras, 74 soundbars and 31 projector active loudspeakers were installed. In addition, appropriate construction work was carried out to optimally integrate the new technology.
Successful implementation of the Digital Pact for Schools
"The successful implementation of the Digital Pact in Waldeck-Frankenberg is a milestone for the education of our children and young people," emphasises District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst. "With an investment of 10.3 million euros, we have made our schools fit for the digital age." This is not only a technical achievement, but above all an investment in the future of the pupils. "They can now develop digital skills in a modern learning environment, which are essential in our increasingly digitalised world. At the same time, we are supporting teachers in using innovative teaching methods and fully exploiting the potential of digitalisation. I am convinced that we have set the course for future-orientated and equal opportunities education in our district."
A total of around 10.3 million euros has been channelled into the project from the DigitalPakt - around 7.7 million euros of this as grants from the federal government and 2.6 million euros as loans from the state, half of which the state is repaying. The other half - around 1.3 million euros plus interest expenses - is borne by the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg. The project was realised in close cooperation with the schools involved. This ensured that customised and practical standards were created, which are essential for the realisation of a project of this scope. The district would also like to thank the companies and specialist planning services involved in the network expansion, whose support enabled the large-scale project to be realised on schedule.
Caption: Presenting the implementation of the DigitalPakt in Waldeck-Frankenberg using the example of the Burgwaldschule in Frankenberg (from left to right): District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst, Mayor Barbara Eckes, Christian Arnold (Head of IT Information Technology and Digital Administration Department, district), Stefan Beckmann (Electrical Engineer, Building Management Department, district), Bettina Wilhelmi (Deputy Head of Schools and Education Department, district), Jens Freisen (Deputy Head of Information Technology and Digital Administration Department, district), Dirk Wilke (Deputy Head of Building Management Department, district), Headmaster Marcel Himmelmann, Deputy Headmaster René Koch.
Background: The Digital Pact for Schools
The digitalisation of schools is a joint task for the federal government, federal states and local authorities. In March 2019, the federal and state governments agreed to work together in the so-called "Digital Pact" to drive forward the equipping of schools with digital technology. Nationwide, 5.5 billion euros are available for this purpose. In Hesse, the Digital Pact is being implemented as part of the "Digital School Hesse" strategy.