Schaffhausen pilots adaptive learning programs in everyday school life
05 November, 2026
Fabian Graf explains why Schaffhausen is trialling Calcularis, Grafari and the Writing Lab in the classroom, and how the canton-supported pilot is set up.
Fabian Graf
The Canton of Schaffhausen is launching a pilot project with Calcularis, Grafari and the Writing Lab together with Constructor Tech. Several classes are trialling the adaptive learning programs in their lessons over an extended period. Fabian Graf from the cantonal ICT support (KPICTS) is overseeing the project on behalf of the canton.
In this conversation, he explains why the canton is taking the initiative despite decentralised procurement, why adaptive learning is of particular interest – and why a pilot should not simply end after a few months.
"We want to find out what added value digital learning programs really offer."
The canton pools experience and groundwork
Fabian, in the Canton of Schaffhausen, municipalities and school authorities are generally responsible for procuring teaching materials and digital learning programs. So why is the canton getting involved in a pilot project like this?
For conventional mandatory and recommended teaching materials, we have cantonal structures and a teaching materials commission. For pure learning software, however, there is no central procurement. At the same time, as digitalisation advances, one question is becoming ever more pressing: what actually counts as a teaching material today? And what role do digital learning programs play in that?
That is why we want to gather experience and find out what digital learning programs can offer – especially where they do more than conventional teaching materials with digital add-ons.
In your view, would stronger cantonal coordination of digital learning programs make sense?
It is certainly worth considering. Data protection is a concrete example. It is not very efficient if every single municipality has to carry out the same checks for the same digital tool. Here, the canton could review certain solutions and give schools guidance, without necessarily taking away their freedom of choice.
The same applies to pedagogical quality. If every school tries out and evaluates a product on its own, a lot of effort is duplicated. A canton-supported pilot project, by contrast, generates knowledge that can then be used across the whole canton.
Joint procurement can also have financial advantages. Digital products often come with volume licences. At the same time, central organisation could reduce administrative effort. Today, however, some of the cantonal structures and resources needed for this are still missing.
Adaptivity should add pedagogical value
In your view, what should a good digital learning program deliver?
What matters is that the possibilities of digital technology are actually used in a pedagogically meaningful way. A PDF on a screen is not yet digital learning.
One of the frameworks we use is the SAMR model: it helps us distinguish whether technology merely replaces analogue forms of learning or makes real additional pedagogical value possible.
That is why adaptive systems are particularly interesting – systems that respond to a child's learning level, use data meaningfully and steer the further learning process individually.
At the same time, we may need to think about digital teaching materials in a more modular way. Not every program has to do everything. It can make more sense to cover one specific learning area in a targeted way and to do it really well – provided the different elements can be combined sensibly.
Why did you choose Calcularis, Grafari and the Writing Lab from Constructor Tech?
Adaptivity was an important point. Many products call themselves adaptive these days, but they do not really adjust learning to each child continuously and in real time.
With Constructor Tech's programs, each child's learning process comes first. On top of that come the multisensory approaches, the scientific foundation and the expertise built up over many years. Calcularis, for example, has been known in schools for quite some time.
It is precisely this combination that interests us: it is not simply about offering all children the same interactive exercises, but about genuinely using the possibilities of digital systems for individual learning.
It was also by no means a given that we could use cantonal funds for this pilot. Especially at a time when additional spending is scrutinised very closely, the project had to be properly justified. The arguments for this pilot were convincing.
In the pilot, what counts is real classroom use
Screen time in schools is increasingly viewed critically. How does a digital learning program fit into this debate for you?
We need to differentiate here. Not all screen time is the same.
It makes a difference whether a child is consuming, playing, writing a text or working purposefully with a digital learning medium. That is why the blanket debate about whether screens are good or bad is not nuanced enough.
This is exactly why digital learning media are interesting when you can examine whether learning is really taking place and whether pupils are being supported and helped to progress individually.
The distinction between private and school devices also matters. At school, a digital device can be used deliberately as a tool for working and learning. So the key question is not only how long a screen is used, but what for and how.
What specifically do you want to find out with this pilot project?
As a first step, we are very interested in how the programs are received by teachers and pupils and how they hold up in everyday school life.
This also includes how children respond when a system accompanies their learning progress and helps steer the learning process.
Another important area is self-directed learning. Particularly in open learning environments, we see that some pupils can work very independently, while others need considerably more guidance and support. Here it is interesting to observe what role adaptive learning programs can play.
Ultimately, the decisive question for us is this: is a digital system mainly about monitoring and control – or does it really support the child's learning process and individual progress? That is exactly what we now want to observe in practice, learning from the experiences of pupils and teachers.
A pilot should not interrupt the learning process
You chose an unusual format for the pilot: after the kick-off, an interim reflection and the evaluation, classes can keep using the programs until the end of the following calendar year. Why?
I have experienced various pilot projects myself where, at the end, you thought: that was actually very good – but that was exactly when access to the product ended.
We wanted to avoid that.
If a class has good experiences with a learning program, it should not have to stop in the middle of the learning process. At the same time, municipal budget processes do not work overnight. A school cannot simply decide in August that it needs additional funds for a program straight away if they have not been budgeted.
That is why classes can continue working seamlessly after the actual evaluation phase. This prevents an interruption and gives schools enough time, if their experience is positive, to include funding for continued use in their regular budget process.
In our view, this also increases the chance that a successful pilot project turns into lasting use in everyday school life.
When would this pilot be a success for you personally?
If, at the end, a majority of those involved say: “That was helpful, it made a difference for us and we would like to keep working with it”, then an important goal would be achieved for me.
At the same time, as a canton we want to learn from the pilot: what is needed if such digital learning programs are to be used more widely later on? How should teachers be supported during the introduction? Where do difficulties or obstacles arise at the start? And what does it take for the programs to really take root in teaching for the long term?
Experiences like these can help us make future decisions about digital learning materials on a sounder basis.
Explore a pilot project for your school
Would you like to trial Calcularis, Grafari or the Writing Lab at your school, in your municipality or in your canton? Talk to our school team about a possible pilot project.