As of this current school year 2020/2021 Schule Schloss Salem has enabled students to earn the ICDL Certification. ICDL stands for “International Certification of Digital Literacy” and is a kind of “driving licence.” In various modules, participants in the programme learn about computer programs for word processing, spreadsheets, and making presentations as well as the basics of IT security. Two students who successfully passed the final test gave the following reports:

”In Year 9 we students learned how to use Excel, the Microsoft spreadsheet program. Working through modules gave us lots of space to play around. Often we could transfer the skills we acquired directly into real life. For example, we created a digital method to calculate school marks, an automated process to create order lists, and digitalised cookbooks. Our goal was to earn the ICDL Certification as evidence that we can confidently work with Excel and other programs.

The IDCL course took place during our school period called “Studium”. In the German curriculum this is the only class time in the week where students have the possibility to explore their own creative ideas. I have to say that devoting a half-year of “Studium” to the Excel unit lasted too long and sometimes there wasn’t enough time for fun and creativity. Nonetheless I look back on the time positively because I really know a lot about Excel now. At first, the program seemed like an exotic animal, but that changed completely once we got started.”

Ben Jagasia, 9D2

”I used the ICDL course to get a more structured understanding of Excel, a program that I was already familiar with. Our teachers created their own how-to videos and texts for our online lessons. I was able to move on at my own pace. Ben and I volunteered to be the first students to take the examination. I prepared myself intensively with the help of an online learning platform. Although I worked too fast at the beginning of the exam and made four mistakes, in the end I was able to complete 89 percent of the tasks correctly in only half the time available. I can definitely recommend ICDL because I learned a lot about Excel and know that some things can also be helpful with other computer programs.”

Jonas Kottmann, 9D3