Fact-finding mission to the EHTL by MEP André Bauler

As part of the coordination of legislative work on the draft State budget for 2019, Mr André Bauler, MP, as rapporteur for the said draft, visited the Luxembourg School of Hotel Management and Tourism (EHTL) in Diekirch on 8 February in order to learn more about the ins and outs of the introduction of a new IT tool in teaching and learning.

The EHTL was able to take advantage of the political initiative to generalise the introduction of mobile devices such as iPads in schools and to use them as a production and learning tool for teaching. As part of the one2one project, all EHTL pupils were given iPads as textbooks at the beginning of the year, so that the vast majority of theoretical and practical lessons can now take place without the use of paper.

An exchange with teachers and students of the 2nd year class in Hospitality Management highlighted some of the pedagogical benefits of the iPad. It also helped to put into perspective preconceived ideas about the negative effects, such as a reduction in fine motor skills in writing. Practice has shown that the opposite is true, since when it comes to taking notes on the iPad, pupils often use the stylus, which is similar to a traditional pen or pencil, rather than the keyboard.

There was finally a broad convergence of views between the EHTL leaders and the rapporteur André Bauler, who stated that “we need to ensure a clear and comprehensive reading of the impact of technology on our lives and anticipate how it is reconditioning our school, social and cultural environment“.