Main Focus Art and Digital

All Klax Schools have an artistic focus. The students not only have more hours of art classes than at other schools, they can also pursue their own projects at any time during the open learning phases in the studio. In the afternoon there are creative clubs. In addition, the artistic-design aspects are not limited to the subject of art, but also permeate many other areas of learning within the framework of the interdisciplinary work.

Students learn about and from artists. They are joined by sculptors, painters, film-makers and other creative people to collaborate on projects with them. Every year, the Klax Schools organize interdisciplinary and multi-grade-level projects with an artistic focus. For internships, the school establishes long-term contacts with companies with a creative focus and regularly interacts with artists outside the school. The Klax Children's Art Gallery organizes an annual exhibition with artistic works from both schools.

Right from the start, our students learn to use computers and digital media to their best advantage. To achieve this, we have introduced the "Technology, Innovation and Information Competence" education area and developed a curriculum for educational work in the digital age.

In Grades 1 to 4 the children learn the technology behind the computer in the subject Maker and build their own small robots. In the subject Coding, young people in Grades 5 and 6 learn simple programming languages so that they can tell computers what to do. They program small animations, interactive objects and games. Starting in Grades 7, these skills are deepened in the subject of Business, Work & Technology.

The intensive study of technology and programs promotes forward-thinking and digital competence. Our graduates are able to use technical devices professionally and privately as tools for implementing their own ideas.

Our motto in dealing with digital media and modern technology is "from the consumer to the producer". We use tablets and computers as tools that help us learn. That's why we do not have any extra computer rooms at the Klax schools. Instead, we include every type of digital tool in our daily work and continually test new materials. For this purpose, we have set up a high-performance Internet access where the pupils can log in with their own devices in order to be able to work digitally in the classroom.

A common question that parents have is, "Which apps are suitable for children and adolescents?" This question is best answered by looking at the students' actual learning needs. Apps are useful when they support learning, activate students' autonomy and foster a sense of community among the students. We only use apps that we have reviewed and which are available in our in-school app library.

We use a simple rule of thumb: "replacement is nonsense". Therefore, we do not use apps that replace social relationships or are intended to convey a learning field which is much better when experienced in "reality". For example, we do not use read-aloud apps. We tell each other our stories ourselves. We prefer to choose apps that support communication, such as translation apps and apps that give children the opportunity to develop or create something on their own.

We document the students' learning success with the help of photo and video recordings. These are an integral part of the portfolio and are always related to learning steps which are important for the student. The students are actively involved in this documentation.