Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 10
Posts 1 - 10

«Genève veut être une référence»

("Geneva wants to be a reference")

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 11.9.2017
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | computer programming, digitized education, school
Summary | Some cantons introduced computer programming as part of their school curricula, but Geneva is not one of them. It seems that they're focusing on digital equipment. Introducing digital culture to students is not enough; what about teaching them to be "critical" and talking to them about the dangers that they can face? Anne Emery- Torracinta and Marie- Claude Sawerschel answer some questions.
Image Description | Photograph of a teacher and a student working on an interactive board.
Image Tags | male(s), school

SVP-Nationalrat Addor wegen Rassismus verurteilt

(SVP parlamentarian Addor sentenced because of racism)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 17.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | diversity, Facebook, law, politics, Twitter
Summary | National councillor Jean-Luc Addor (Schweizerische Volkspartei) was sentenced in court under the anti-racism law. After a fatal shooting in a Swiss mosque, he posted the following on Twitter and Facebook: "We want more of it!" The court decided that this post stripped Muslim residents and citizens of Switzerland of the right to live without any detectable sarcasm which is why he was found guilty of breaking the anti-racism law and will have to pay a hefty fine.
Image Description | Keystone image of Jean-Luc Addor.
Image Tags | male(s)

Zeit der Handy-Verbote geht zu Ende

(The time of cell phone bans is over)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 8.3.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, school
Summary | Bernese city schools want to purchase one laptop or tablet for each student. The new cantonal curriculum wants new technologies to be integrated in class work projects. It is important that students learn to work with new technologies from an early age because they are becoming increasingly important. The only problem is that such a renewal would be hugely expensive.
Image Description | Keystone image of two pairs of students using one laptop each.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, female(s), male(s)

Studenten können nicht mehr richtig schreiben

(Students cannot write properly anymore)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 21.1.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, school, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | Students' writing skills are poorer than in previous years. It may be due to the fact that elementary schools no longer correct every spelling mistake in first and second grade but rather value content over form. Another reason that can explain students' lower writing skills is new media use. Most of young people's writing and reading is done through new media nowadays, and informal writing is prevalent in those digital spheres. The increasing informalization of language on social media is seen as a threat to our language.
Image Description | Photograph taken from behind of an elementary classroom with children.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), school

Schüler ärgern sich über offizielles Handyverbot

(Students are upset about official mobile phone prohibition)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 14.8.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | school, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | Several schools in Switzerland have prohibited the use of mobile phones inside their buildings. Educators would like the students to interact with each other face-to-face rather than stare at their smartphones. Students are very upset, and media experts claim that schools need to adapt to changing times and teach a pragmatic use of new media.
Image Description | Photograph of a school playground where young people/students are walking.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), school

Schulen verbieten Handys – sogar während Pausen

(Schools prohibit mobile phones – even during recess)

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Newspaper | 20 Minuten
Date | 11.9.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | digitized education, school, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | Several Swiss schools are prohibiting smartphone use at school, even outside of classes. Apparently, teachers think that students are no longer interacting with one another. This ban clearly clashes with the Swiss German curriculum reform “Lehrplan 21” which plans to occasionally introduce smartphone use in the classroom for school assignments. It does not make sense for a few schools to refuse to acknowledge what is now a reality, namely that people now frequently use their smartphones to communicate rather than talking face-to-face.
Image Description | Series of four photographs: group of teenagers sitting together and using their smartphone, and three portraits of male interviewees.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

C'est la rentrée à l'école numérisée

(It's the start of the digital school year)

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Newspaper | Le Temps
Date | 30.8.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, digitized education, school, smartphone, youth
Summary | A school principal explains how digital devices can help children learn. He wants to progressively digitize 50% of the school material. Smartphones and laptops don't ruin the school system; we just need to know how to use them. At his private school, everyone has a an iPad where they can find their class material. Now, the school provides each child with an iPad, but soon everyone will bring their own device. Our digitized society has the advantage of tightening social relationships between people, which is something not everyone agrees with.
Image Description | Photograph of a child using a tablet.
Image Tags | chart, female(s), male(s), school, tablet

Des écoles banissent le portable des préaux

(Schools prohibit cell phones on their playgrounds)

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Newspaper | 20 minutes
Date | 12.9.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | school, smartphone, technology-free, threat, youth
Summary | Several schools in Switzerland have prohibited the use of smartphones during recess. Students do not learn as well as before, and interactions in the classrooms are not as good. Other people don't agree with this new rule. Schools need to accept the fact that everyone owns a smartphone nowadays. People communicate, which is a huge advantage of smartphones. Also, students should be able to be "free" during recess. They might want to be alone, and this is okay. Finally, a school principal thinks that prohibiting smartphones during recess is better for students; smartphones hinder the development of intercommunication.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of young male teenagers smiling and looking at their smartphones.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Sklaven des Smartphones

(Slaves to smartphones)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 5.3.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | school, smartphone, threat
Summary | Japan and South Korea – both highly digitized nations – experience the negative effects of omnipresent internet access. The article infers that conversations have become a rarity because smartphones and the need to update social media profiles distract people. A South Korean literature scholar states that students hardly read books anymore; therefore, government incentives for reading have been established. The article even predicts a return to analphebetization in these nations.
Image Description | Photograph of a young man's face half-hidden by his iPhone.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Il faut archiver nos vies pour que l’histoire vivante ne s’arrête pas

(We need to archive our lives so that history does not stop)

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Newspaper | La Tribune de Genève
Date | 26.3.2014
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | language threat, research/study, school, spelling, texting, youth
Summary | Some people claim that writing with abbreviations is harmful for standard language. Others claim that it does not; some studies demonstrate that students can perfectly write abbreviations and their "standard" equivalent. Moreover, a study showed that students who are skilled in text message language have also better spelling skills in general. Writing is part of our culture; we write more and more. Thus, our practices resemble our forefathers’. The only difference is that nowadays it is more difficult to save and record our texts, whereas in the past people used to keep their letters and messages.
Image Description | Photograph of Benjamin Chaix, the author of the opinion piece.
Image Tags | male(s)

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