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Eighth-grade teachers make extensive use of digital tools in the classroom. However, they have reservations about their impact on students' academic performance

Twelve countries, including France, conducted a survey in 2018 to assess the performance of eighth graders in digital literacy as well as computational thinking. This international survey, named ICILS (International Computer and Information Litteracy Study) was organized by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement).In France, more than 1,400 fourth grade teachers from 122 public and private secondary schools under contract in metropolitan France and the French overseas departments (excluding Mayotte) took part in the survey.The Department of Evaluation, Forecasting and Performance (DEPP-DVE) of the Ministry of National Education has just published a analysis note which outlines the main findings of this survey. 57% of French teachers are satisfied with the computer equipment in their schools 66% of teachers surveyed in France believe that information and communication technologies (ICT) are considered a priority in education. This is the lowest proportion among the participating countries, after Germany and Luxembourg, according to the authors of the Ministry's analysis note.In terms of digital equipment in schools, 57% of French teachers say their school has suffisufficient equipment and 53% say they are satisfied with the Internet connection: much less than in Denmark or Luxembourg.66% report that their institution has access to suffisant digital educational resources, among the highest percentages.Few teachers say they have enough time to prepare lessons that integrate ICT: the proportion in France (38%) is one of the highest in Europe. The use of digital technology in the classroom for learning remains limited 53% of teachers surveyed said they use digital tools every day in their teaching, "one of the highest percentages in Europe, behind Denmark (72%)," the authors of the analysis note.In terms of usage, word processing is by far the most used of the 17 tools proposed in the questionnaire: 56% of French teachers say they have used it in most or almost every course. This is followed by presentation software (36%), digital content related to educational manuals (22%) and computerized information resources (18%).Other tools are also used regularly during lessons, such as presentation software (by 36% of teachers) and digital content linked to teaching manuals (22%). " Regarding the use of these tools, French teachers occupy a median position among the countries participating in the survey."The use of more specific digital learning tools is less widespread: 6% report using collaborative software or interactive digital learning resources, and only 1% use online learning platforms.12% report somewhat limited use of digital for helping students collaborate and 13% for providing feedback on student work. Digital training still largely oriented towards general purpose tools and subject matter content During their initial teacher training, 35% of French teachers report having received generalized learning on the use of digital technology: slightly more than in most other participating European countries.In the context of professional training, in the two years preceding the survey, 43% of French teachers received training in general-purpose digital applications (word processing, spreadsheet, Internet use).Less than a third of French teachers had, in the two years preceding the survey, received training in the use of digital technology to facilitate personalized student learning. French teachers lag behind in their ability to get students to use digital tools More than 90% of French teachers, as in other countries, use digital tools to " search for useful educational resources on the Internet ". Three quarters of French teachers feel able to "prepare lessons involving the use of ICT by students" or to "create presentations with simple animation functions ". This is slightly less than in most of the other participating countries, where the proportion is generally above 80%.Two-thirds of French teachers also feel they are able to use digital technology to " assess student learning. This is more than in Germany (49%) but less than in all other participating countries.Less than half of French teachers say they are able to use digital technology to "collaborate with others through shared resources.Only 19% of French teachers, however, feel able to " use an online learning platform . This is the lowest percentage among the participating countries. French teachers among the least critical in Europe regarding the negative effects of digital use by students Nearly eight out of ten teachers consider that the use of digital technology "increases students' interest in learning", "allows students to access better sources of information" and "allows students to work at a level appropriate to their learning needs ". These percentages are of the same order of magnitude as in other European countries.Only one in two French teachers believe that using digital technology "helps students develop problem-solving skills" (53%), and "helps students develop skills in planning and self-regulating their work " (47%).France stands out from all other countries on one point: only 28% of French teachers agree that the use of digital technology "improves students' academic performance . This is the lowest rate among all participating countries."French teachers are less likely to point out the negative effects of digital technology than their counterparts in other European countries," say the authors of the report. However, 73% believe that digital technology can "encourage students to plagiarize resources available on the Internet" and 53% consider that the use of ICT "degrades the quality of students' written expression ".

• Inclusion

Published on 20/02/20



[File] Digital education: "What do we know today about the place and use of digital in schools?"

The Department of Evaluation, Forecasting and Performance (DEPP) of the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports has undertaken to take stock of "what is known today about the place and use of digital technology in schools".This summary is based on a decade of studies, on recent publications by the DEPP and on evaluations of several schemes set up to develop the role of digital technology in education (D'COL, the Collèges connectés, and more recently the Plan numérique). The evolution of digital equipment in schools The number of students per computer has declined sharply over the past decade in the first grade and in college: in kindergarten, the number of students per computer decreased from 25.3 to 15.9 students per computer between 2009 and 2019 ; Over the same period, it dropped from 11.6 to 6.9 in elementary school and from 8.1 to 3 in middle school; In high school, the indicator has remained relatively stable since 2010, due to an already high equipment rate (it went from 3.1 to 2.3 between 2010 and 2019). Digital technology is becoming more and more important for schools, which are increasingly equipped: computers but also tablets, interactive digital boards, overhead projectors, etc. The number of interactive digital boards has increased, for example, from 2 per 1000 students in elementary schools in 2009 to 17 per 1000 students in 2019. In middle schools, it has increased from 3 per 1,000 students to 17.7 per 1,000 students over the same period.In addition, the DEPP observes a strong increase in the percentage of establishments and schools whose project makes reference to information and communication technologies. Digital-related teaching practices: frequency, sense of effectiveness, and training needs While teachers largely use digital tools to prepare their lessons (94% for primary and 88% for secondary education), fewer use them to guide classroom sessions (50% and 70% respectively) and even fewer let students use ICT for projects or class work (14% and 36% respectively).A survey had specifically focused in 2019 on the pedagogical practices implemented in the teaching of mathematics. In 2019, the digital tool most used by 9th graders in mathematics was the calculator: 56% of teachers said that they "very often" had their students work with a calculator, while only 3 to 5% said that they "very often" used dynamic geometry software, a spreadsheet or even an online exercise bank. Less pedagogical integration of digital tools by teachers Periodic Survey of Education (PSDE) data indicate that "the pedagogical use of digital technology is considered the lowest priority and least feasible practice by college professors, and also stands out as the least widespread pedagogical practice." The use of digital technology by teachers in primary schools is even lower than in secondary schools; however, the degree of priority is comparable in both schools. Teachers are increasingly trained in digital technology as part of their initial training In 2018, 53% of elementary classroom teachers (and 51% of middle school teachers) reported that their pre-service training addressed the use of ICTThis finding masks, however, disparities according to the date of graduation: Only 21% of school teachers who graduated before 1996 report having dealt with digital technology as part of their initial training, compared to 85% of those who graduated after 2008; In secondary education, only 18% of teachers who graduated before 1996 indicate that they had dealt with digital technology during their initial training, whereas 74% of those who graduated after 2008 did so. But often dissatisfied with this training The DEPP also observes differences in teacher satisfaction with their initial training, depending on the date of graduation, seniority and territory of practice. "Thus, teachers with less seniority (less than 5 years) are more likely than those with more seniority to feel very satisfied with their initial training in terms of content related to digital education (in both primary and secondary education), but also more likely to attend in-service training in this area in primary education.Despite the changes that have taken place in initial training, only 25% of those who said they had dealt with the use of ICTE in this way were satisfied with their preparation for this subject in primary education, compared with 47% in secondary education.In-service digital training can compensate for the limitations of initial training: only 34% of French primary school teachers and 50% of secondary school teachers had participated in ICTE-related training in the past 12 months, according to a survey conducted in 2018."The limitations mentioned in terms of training may explain why pedagogical practices using digital technology for learning are underdeveloped. [....] It could be that the use of ICT in the classroom, as a new teaching method, is held back by the low level of feeling of preparation in this field . Students' digital skills Students today are clearly "connected" students with a significant likelihood of having their own cell phone (smartphone many times) and/or digital tablet.83% of parents of middle and high school students said that their child had his/her own phone at the time of the lockdown, 45% had his/her own computer and 24% had his/her own tablet.However, the possession of personal digital tools by students seems to differ according to the social origin of the parents and their school. For example, 34% of students in private schools have their own computer, compared to 26% of students in priority education schools. French students' digital skills are average compared to international surveys According to the International Computer and Information Literacy Study ( ICILS ) 2018 assessment by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), France scores an average of 499 in digital literacy, just slightly above the international average of countries participating in the survey."This score means that, on average, students know how to use a computer for the basic tasks of collecting and managing information. However, it is important to note that only 40% of French students reach this level. They know how to make simple changes and add content to existing digital documents. They also know how to create simple information documents by respecting the rules of page-setting. They demonstrate knowledge of information protection mechanisms. These results undermine the "digital native" myth that students from recent generations who grew up in an environment marked by the development of the Internet and new technologies would find it easier to use digital technology. The ICILS assessment also looks at computational thinking. "France obtains an average score of 501, one point above the international average. This means that, on average, French students are able to implement simple solutions to real problems on the computer. The greater presence of digital tools in the daily lives of young people is not always associated with progress in learning, comments the DEPP: "This is due in particular to the fact that the tasks required in school learning differ from the tasks performed by students in their personal use of tools. Indeed, they use digital tools (phone, tablet, computer) mainly to send messages, connect to social networks, play or watch videos. In a school setting, if digital tools are used at all, it is more for research, creating written documents or oral presentations, or for computer programming. In both first and second grades, girls score better, on average, than boys. On the other hand, vocational education students are over-represented in the lowest performing groups and under-represented in the highest performing groups. The same is true for students from schools with a low social position index. (These results are confirmed by the international ICILS assessment). A nuanced assessment of three recent schemes Several studies in the international literature suggest that the use of digital technology in the classroom promotes the development of cross-curricular skills (perseverance, self-confidence, autonomy, curiosity, etc.) identified as assets for academic success but also for future "success.The DEPP relies here on the results of three schemes set up with the aim of developing the place of digital technology in teaching and learning: D'COL, the Collèges connectés, and the 2015 Digital Plan. D'COL, a digital aid system for students in difficulty in the sixth grade, deployed in vocational schools: "Although the system does not have an overall effect on the learning of students as a whole, D'COL does seem to improve the results of the weakest students, mainly in math and English. The teaching teams, as well as the students involved in the program, believe that it fosters autonomy, self-confidence and motivation in the students. The "Connected Colleges" program was implemented in September 2013. At the national level, 72 colleges were selected to benefit from specific investments and support to enable them to integrate digital technology more widely into their teaching and school life. "The integration of digital technology into teaching and school life seems to be closely linked to the actual equipment of the colleges, the actions of the head teacher, the support that teachers receive, and their perception of digital technology in general and its use in their profession. "More teachers in the first phase of connected middle schools have their students use digital tools in class. This regular use of digital tools in class by students goes hand in hand with a more frequent implementation of "active" teaching practices, emphasizing experimental activities, promoting group work or differentiation. 2015 Digital Plan for Education: the main component of this plan was the distribution, via calls for projects, of mobile digital equipment (mainly tablets) to secondary schools for individual or collective use, in class and/or at home. These tablets were distributed individually to students (individual mobile equipment - EIM) or collectively to schools in the form of mobile classes (CM). At the end of the 5th grade, we observed a positive effect of the individual mobile equipment on the students' results in oral comprehension of French and on their digital skills. At the end of the fourth grade, the results of the students benefiting from the MIS also show a positive evolution in written comprehension of French and in mathematics compared to the non-equipped students. A positive impact of the Mobile Classrooms can also be observed on the mathematical and numerical skills of 4th grade students at the end of the school year. The availability of individual mobile equipment leads teachers to integrate digital technology more into their professional practices, while the availability of a mobile classroom has no effect.   The DEPP note provides a very detailed bibliography in the appendix. The datasets on which it is based are in open data on data.education.gouv.fr.

• Inclusion

Published on 20/01/22



[File] Digital education at the start of the 2022 school year: an overview of current projects and new initiatives

ForewordAs every year, the back-to-school circular of the Minister of National Education describes the priorities and new features that will come into effect in September. With regard to digital education, the circular states that each school or institution must "update the educational continuity plans developed and implemented since 2020" . It announces, in this regard, that a " permanent and sovereign solution of virtual classrooms accessible to all teachers will now be guaranteed throughout the year". "Faced with the challenge for our students to understand the digital world, and in particular to know how to analyze, sort, and distinguish between information that everyone can now be the sender as well as the receiver ", the circular provides for strengthening the effort in media and information education: "All teachers, especially those in charge of documentation, who are the pivotal point in secondary education, must sensitize and train students in this necessary distance, the first quality of an informed citizen. In this spirit, an experiment will be implemented in the sixth grade as of next fall via a digital awareness certificate.The health crisis and the implementation of educational continuity have made it necessary to set up a "basic digital foundation for schools, colleges and high schools". Within the framework of a "partners' committee" associating representatives of associations representing local authorities and the State "in the respect of the competences of each one", three guidelines for basic digital equipment in schools, colleges and high schools were discussed and then made public.This fall, we have a first evaluation of the program " Digital educational territories (TNE), launched in 2020, which should allow for large-scale testing of the implementation of educational continuity.As part of the " Numérique Inclusif, Numérique Éducatif" program launched in June 2021, 80 selected projects support the fight against digital and educational divides.As part of France 2030 (which takes over from the stimulus plan), a considerable investment effort (594 million euros) is devoted to the "Education and Digital" acceleration strategy. Contents State and local authorities agree on digital equipment bases for schools, colleges and high schools Digital education and inclusion: 80 projects to "reshuffle the deck What lessons can be learned from the "digital education territories" experiment? France 2030's education and digital strategy Towards a generalization of media and information literacy in schools The General Assembly on Digital Education, one year later, what is the interim assessment? "What do we know today about the place and use of digital in schools?" State and local authorities agree on digital equipment bases for schools, colleges and high schools Despite significant combined financial efforts, the deployment of the digital education public service has been very disparate and uneven across the country. " To remedy the persistent inequalities in access to the public digital service," the Cour des Comptes in its July 2019 report To remedy the persistent inequalities in access to digital public services," the Cour des Comptes recommended "providing schools, colleges and high schools with a basic digital foundation.The health crisis and the implementation of educational continuity have made it necessary to set up a "basic digital base for schools, colleges and high schools".Within the framework of a "partners' committee" associating representatives of associations representing local authorities and the State, "while respecting the competences of each", three guidelines for basic digital equipment in schools, middle schools and high schools were discussed and then made public.These guidelines detail, for each type of establishment (school, college and high school) a basic foundation: basic classroom equipment: a group viewing system and a classroom workstation; mobile equipment that can be shared for each school pack of touchscreen tablets (middle and high schools); equipment allowing the hybridization of courses in schools (high schools); equipment for "specific" classrooms (middle and high schools); the equipment of the establishment (documentation and information center, multimedia room, space for a media studio, duty room, teachers' room, "free" Internet access points for students (middle and high schools); support and training for teachers and educational teams in the use of new materials; the computer network ; access to the internet. These guidelines " are intended to help local authorities make their investments according to the level of equipment expected in their schools, colleges and high schools. They are not intended to be prescriptive, but rather to serve as a reference that can be adapted to the educational projects of the schools and the realities of the field. It is understood that the State, in its own areas of competence, will ensure, in particular, the training of teachers in the pedagogical uses of, and through, digital technology. Digital education and inclusion: 80 projects to "reshuffle the educational deckThe call for projects "Numérique Inclusif, Numérique Éducatif" (Inclusive Digital, Educational Digital) was launched by the Banque des Territoires in June 2021 to support projects to fight against these two divides: digital and educational. After two selection rounds, one in the fall of 2021 and the second in the spring of 2022, the 80 selected projects now cover the entire country.80 selected projectsTwo-thirds of the selected projects are led by associations, and a quarter by EdTech companies and local authorities. When the SSE structures are not themselves carriers of these projects, they are most of the time partners.40% of the target audiences are students, including 20% of disadvantaged youth. Parents and education professionals represent 19% and 16% of the target audiences respectively.In addition to providing financial support for these projects, the Banque des Territoires is also setting up a system of close support for the winners, which aims to assist the projects in their transition to a larger scale.Three convictions at the origin of the call for projectsThe Banque des Territoires emphasizes three beliefs that underlie this scheme. The first is that " the solutions already exist and, above all, that they come from the territories. France stands out because of the heterogeneity of its territory, and therefore the plurality of its challenges. It is often useless, or even counterproductive, to model a solution on a territory. The second is that "the players in the ecosystem are already working together. (...) . The players want to pool and create synergies, to have a better visibility of what exists so as not to reinvent but rather to act in a complementary manner. The call for projects was also intended to bring the players together and have them talk to each other - whether it be to carry out projects together or to share their good practices. The third is that " without working on the issues of inclusion, it is not possible to build effective and sustainable educational solutions. What lessons can be learned from the experimentation of the "educational digital territories" for pedagogical continuity?The program " Educational digital territories" program (TNE), launched in 2020 by the Ministry of National Education and the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI) and implemented by the Banque des Territoires with partner local authorities, in association with the Réseau Canopé and the GIP Trousse à Projets, was intended to allow for large-scale testing of the implementation of educational continuity, the need for which had been revealed by the COVID-19 health crisis.The TNE evaluation report draws the first lessons from the experiments conducted in the departments of Aisne and Val-d'Oise during the 2020-2021 school year.Read more France 2030's education and digital strategyFrance 2030 is in line with the France Recovery Plan. This 30 billion euro investment plan is designed to make up for France's lag in certain historical sectors. It also aims to create new industrial and technological sectors.Endowed with 594 million euros as part of France 2030, the "Education and Digital" acceleration strategy must meet two imperatives: strengthen the skills and competencies needed to prepare for lifelong learning foster the development of a high-performance French digital education ecosystem It has several objectives: Increasing the efficiency of our education system by strengthening guidance tools, skills portfolios, labelled educational resources, assistance in personalising courses, and actions to reduce digital divides, strengthening the "Education and Digital" acceleration strategy. Transforming and strengthening the EdTech economy: "EdTech (Educational technology) represents a dynamic economic sector with a strong competitive edge in which major countries are investing massively (...) The health crisis has confirmed the need for many players to scale up to meet future demand. Provide a framework that preserves sovereignty and the ability to influence: "Beyond the immediate economic impact for French EdTech, the use of foreign digital solutions is synonymous with data capture. The protection of personal data and the sovereignty of our national education system are essential issues that must be preserved with sustainable and secure solutions. Actions launchedA "Priority Equipment and Research Program" (PEPR) for "Education and Digital Technology" with a budget of €77 million over 10 years will make it possible to create an educational data warehouse (Education Data Hub) capable of contributing to the data-driven management of schools and academies, as well as to the fine-tuning of teaching based on learning records and EdTech for existing and future resourcesDemonstrators that will test, accelerate and identify best practices to accelerate the use of digital in education: Territorial digital demonstrators" have been deployed for three years in schools (12 Educational Digital Territories) and in higher education (17 demonstrators covering 70 French higher education establishments) Demonstrators common to both school and higher education, such as Avenir(s) with a budget of €30 million, piloted by the ONISEP and the Savoie-Mont-Blanc University Educational solutions based on digital tools through Educational Challenges and Innovation Partnerships in Artificial Intelligence, or support for the deployment of E-FRAN projects. Initial and ongoing training in digital technology for teachers and staff who are accompanying the educational transformation with innovative training courses as part of the Skills and Professions of the Future call. Towards a generalization of media and information literacy in schoolsInscribed in the July 8, 2013 orientation and programming law, included in the Common Base of Knowledge and Skills and Culture in 2015, media and information literacy (MIE) has officially entered as such in the new National Education programs, after having long camped in its margins.In a analysis notethe Conseil national d'évaluation du système scolaire (Cnesco) observed, however, that the educational institution does not seem to " fully support young people in a changing information universe marked by strong debates around social networks and the infoxes that are propagated there. Thus, media education, as an object of study, is only addressed in half of the middle and high schools. This seems to be limited, most often, to education through the media (using information supports such as newspaper articles or television documentaries), even if, at school, students largely consider that moral and civic education courses (EMC) allow them to better understand current events.The Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports announces new initiatives to strengthen and generalize media and information literacy.Read more The General Assembly on Digital Education, one year later, what is the interim assessment?The Ministry of Education organized on November 4 and 5, 2020 the "Etats Généraux du Numérique pour l'éducation" (EGNé).These Estates General had been prepared in three stages: Development of feedback (from lockdown to end of regular school year); Organization of an online consultation (from mid-June to mid-September); States General in the territories (mid-September to mid-October). The digital education strategy defined at the end of the Etats généraux was based on three pillars: training, equipping and tools.Read more [Feature] "What do we know today about the place and use of digital in schools?"The Department of Evaluation, Forecasting and Performance (DEPP) of the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports has undertaken to take stock of "what is known today about the place and use of digital technology in schools ".This summary is based on a decade of studies, on recent publications by the DEPP and on evaluations of several schemes set up to develop the role of digital technology in education (D'COL, the Collèges connectés, and more recently the Plan numérique).Read more

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• Innovation

Published on 15/09/22