As a subject in its own right information and computer technology is still very much a work-in-progress. We designate it in this way to distinguish it from “computer science”, as done in other types of school. Their aims only partially overlap with ours, which tend to be more comprehensive.

Also, the term information technology does not only apply to laptops and computers, for this kind of technology figures nowadays in almost all electrical devices. A modern television set, for instance, is very like a computer, while a laptop can easily be made to function as a TV set. Smart-phones are actually tiny computers, which happen to be usable also as telephones. Household appliances are also becoming more and more computerised. Thus increasingly miniaturised digital information technology is gradually pervading our whole technical environment, with a notable tendency towards diminishing materiality. It would seem almost as if technology were striving towards “bodilessness”.

Now, the intention behind Waldorf schools is that teaching be done with the nature of the whole human being in mind. What is taught should contribute to the healthy development of the rising generation. The fact is, however, that over-use of the computer produces consequences which are everything other than healthy in their effects upon human beings, if not downright dangerous. It is nonetheless necessary to give the students access to this technological product of human culture, especially as they have a legitimate need to be part of this cultural stream. It is similar to the situation with the technologies of writing and reading, which we simply need in order to make our way in the modern world. One main aim of the high school is to engender in the students as broad a faculty of judgment as possible, which will enable them to come to terms with widely varying spheres of life.

The subject of information and computer technology, therefore, is to be seen as a component of “life-skills”, which thus distinguishes it from “character-forming” subjects, such as painting, eurythmy and music. The acquisition of sound judgment is the main thing. To this end it is essential that young people have a well-founded knowledge of how to use the most common applications and devices, and that they leave school with the feeling they can cope with whatever challenges emerge from this direction in the future. The goal is full, operational competence.

Well-founded judgment, however, also involves a thorough understanding of how computers and other devices that contain such technology actually work. Acquiring this entails, in turn, consideration of the relationship between the human being and the machine. In the history of technological invention it has been a common occurrence for processes which are part of our human make-up to be externalised in the workings of particular machines. This then reflects back upon our image of ourselves, in that we compare ourselves to the technology in question, identify with it and define the way we function in terms of it. Thus in previous centuries the human being has been seen as a steam engine, or more recently as a biochemical system, and today there is a very strong intellectual tendency to view ourselves as information-processing machines (trans- or post-humanism).

The teaching of this subject, then, aims to equip the students with competence on three levels: firstly, that of operational knowledge, secondly that of background understanding, and, arising out of these two, that of well-informed judgment in relation to the constantly expanding world of information technology.

Given the breadth of the range of topics to be dealt with, it is a good idea to check which areas can be covered – and that reliably – within the context of other subjects, and which must form the content of the separate, compulsory subject of information and computer technology. The guidelines to be met in each case can be clearly formulated and used as the basis upon which each particular high school faculty decides how this is to be organised.

The subject of information and computer technology is composed of three main thematic areas:

• Grounding in the operation of particular applications: text processing, internet research, graphics, data-management etc. (operational competence)
• Technical understanding: how does a computer work? Interplay between hardware and software. Historical perspectives: who invented what, when? What were the driving impulses, and what human needs are thereby served? (competence in background understanding)
• Engagement with the social implications of the technology: e.g. addiction to computer games and internet, changes in modes of communication, social manipulation and control, effects upon economic life, the question of the machine analogy of human life, the future of technology and the future of humanity etc. (competence in the exercise of well-informed judgment)

It is clear that particularly the last of these thematic areas is very much in tune with the principle of relating all teaching and lesson content to the nature of the whole human being. A further topic of relevance here is that of so-called artificial intelligence. The development of methods of predicting and, therefore, simulating human behaviour is in full swing, and its first fruits are fulfilling their purpose of increasing the turnover of big companies, tracing suspects, anticipating undesirable behaviour and detecting crimes. Handling the issue of artificial intelligence properly, of course, depends upon a prior knowledge of the technology involved together with a rudimentary idea of the nature of human intelligence.

Even though computer and digital technology are not yet on the timetable, learning to type in the middle school is to be highly recommended. The reason for this is that through the use of computers outside school at this age habits can form which will render learning to type at a later stage either difficult or impossible. Ideas on how such lessons can be organised are available at a german web-site: www.waldorf-it.de.

In view of the highly-charged nature of the topics to be covered and with an eye to adolescent development, lessons in this subject need to be a regular feature throughout the whole high school. Otherwise Waldorf schools stand in danger of being left behind by the pace of development. In addition to equipping students with the basic skills for using the ubiquitous personal computer and a number of other applications, the main endeavour is to ensure that they have the knowledge which will enable them to make informed judgments. Only in this way can young people have the confident discernment required to make up their own minds as to how they will deal with the enticements and potentialities of the new media and the world of high tech. Society is also dependent on people of sound judgment, who can advance social and cultural development in a beneficial way.

The number of lessons devoted to this subject and its placement among the canon of other high school subjects varies from school to school. Many, for purely practical reasons, place it in parallel with art and handwork/craft lessons – each for half the class at a time – even though it has a completely different character. On account of the widely differing previous knowledge of the students, practical computer work with a whole class is scarcely possible, more likely impossible.

Nowadays almost all Waldorf schools offer information technology as a subject, albeit sometimes under different names. The teacher education seminars are currently working out suitable training courses for this subject (those in Kiel and Berlin have already had one on offer for some time).

Methodological considerations

The topics suggested in this chapter as lesson content are mostly concerned with the technical side of the subject. The whole question of the effects of media should, however, be a major feature in the structuring of lessons.

It is well known (and has been documented in many studies) that young people of this age spend a lot of their free time in media consumption both off- and on-line (see Hübner 2015: p. 21ff.)

A start can be made by telling the students in narrative form about the origins of modern technology. By way of an antidote to addiction, the psychological effects of a wide variety of media should be discussed as the opportunity arises. Creating an understanding of the technical basics can be begun through setting concrete tasks, such as using a PC to construct a main lesson book.

Suggested lesson content

A more detailed account of possible lesson form and content can be found at a german web-site: www.waldorf-it.de. The points given here provide an initial orientation:

• Biography of an important figure in the history of computers, e.g. Konrad Zuse, inventor of the Z1 computer, Alan Turing etc.
• Explanation of basic concepts, such as bit, byte and clock rate
• Presentation of the composition of a computer: input devices – electronic data-processing – output devices. What direction is development going in?
• Presentation of the components of a computer: a look inside the outer casing, naming and short description of the visible parts and their functions
• More detailed description of the keyboard as an example of an input device
• More detailed description of the screen as an example of an output device
• As a practical exercise: construction of main lesson book, including illustrations, on a computer

Methodological considerations

The main thing for this year is to give, in generally comprehensible terms, a thoroughgoing presentation of the structure and functioning of the modern computer. Due to increasing miniaturisation and the loss of any visible relation between components on account of modern wireless connections (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc.)   computers are tending towards being less and less perceptible by their users as logical machines. This being the case, in the lessons these connections must somehow be made visible again, so that the technology can be demystified. The radical restriction of the logical connections behind the working of all digital machines to the values “true” or “false” is something close to the hearts of class 10 students, and is therefore a topic that they take up with relish.

In view of the fact that most students of this age are already spending a lot of time on their computers or smart-phones (computer games, chatting, excessive internet surfing (cf. Frake 2003 etc.), these matters need to be made objects for discussion. The question of the relationship between virtual and actual violence also belongs here (cf. Grossmann/De Gaetano 2003).

In addition, current events and developments with a bearing on our digitalised world should also be a regular feature of the lessons.

Suggested lesson content

A more detailed account of possible lesson form and content can be found at a german web-site: www.waldorf-it.de.

Consideration of the historical development of computers (following on from grade 9)

• The development of today’s technology from relays and tubes to modern semi-conductors
• Introduction to semi-conductor technology
• Function and circuit diagram of a half- and full-adder and other logical components of a computer.
• Description of networks, why protocols are necessary, history of the internet, first exercises in using it sensibly
• Continuation of the introduction to various software applications, with a view to correct and artistic processing of texts, pictures, graphics etc.
• A critical look at sensible ways of using presentation software (Powerpoint etc.)

Methodological considerations

The students should be familiarised with the perspectives they need to come to a competent assessment of the relationship between human beings and machines, particularly in connection with the quality of our experience while using digital technologies, and with the question of artificial intelligence in relation to the prediction and simulation of human behaviour. Whereas in class 10 the lessons concentrated on hardware and its logical functioning, in class 11 the spotlight is turned upon software – the functions and algorithms of computer programmes and their effects upon society. To develop the students’ powers of judgment in these matters we explore the question of whether the various applications, programmes and social networks actually fulfil their purpose adequately. Consideration is also given to the likelihood of undesirable or dangerous side-effects arising, such as secret surveillance or mobbing.

Suggested lesson content

A more detailed account of possible lesson form and content can be found at a german web-site: www.waldorf-it.de.

Programme structures and methods of programming

• Assessing the reliability, limits and dangers of the new technologies
• Pinpointing the technical operations and the consequences involved in attempting to digitally reproduce real processes and situations
• How do I make the world accessible to a machine (the computer) that only processes numbers? Scaling and profile formation
• Effect of the virtual upon the real, as seen in the programming of robots or 3D printers
• Mobile phones and satellite navigation; presentation of proven and posited effects of electro-magnetic fields upon living organisms
• Consequences of increasing digitalisation. The data-trail of a modern human being, data-security and data-protection, viruses, worms, Trojan horses
• Opening the discussion on the relation between human being and machine: who controls whom? Which processes can safely be placed in the hands of machines?

Methodological considerations

In grade 12 the main thing is to arrive at an overview of the subject matter and with that at a correspondingly broad faculty of judgment. In addition to more detailed technical explorations, a critical light is thrown upon the effects of technological development upon society and the individual. To this end it is best to take current real-life problems and issues in order to make it easier for the students to join in on the discussion. There is currently much public debate around ethical questions and young people need to be sensitised to such issues. It should be made clear to them, the extent to which they are responsible for social changes through their daily behaviour, for instance, in relation to piracy, banned games and bank cards.

Suggested lesson content

A more detailed account of possible lesson form and content can be found at a german web-site: www.waldorf-it.de.

Essays on current issues, individually researched, compiled, composed and orally presented

• identification of various kinds of manipulation in the way data is processed (diagrams, pictures etc.)
• comparison between mental arithmetic and machine calculation: observing-internalising-remembering versus recording-storing-reproducing
• what is artificial intelligence in comparison to human intelligence? Can computers think? (Plato, Descartes, Turing, Weizenbaum, Brooks etc.)
• Virtual reality: how advanced is it, where is it heading?
• Robotics and implant technology: how far advanced are they, where are they heading, what moral implications do they carry?

Economic and legal processes in relation to IT; changes in the stock market, patenting rights, copyright, computer criminality                                                    

Frake, G. (2003): Online-Sucht. Wenn Mailen und Chatten zum Zwang werden. Stuttgart

Grossmann, D./DeGaetano, G. (2003) Wer hat unseren Kindern das Töten beigebracht? Ein Aufruf gegen Gewalt in Fernsehen, Film und Videospielen. Stuttgart

Hübner, E. (2015): Medien und Pädagogik. Stuttgart

Ropohl, G. (1979): Eine Systemtheorie der Technik. München