- For students who cannot return to class because of the risk of contagion to the coronavirus, a "pedagogical continuity" is implemented.
- A free educational platform of the Cned, called "My class at home", offers the possibility of holding virtual classes, from the large section of kindergarten to the final year.
- But this educational device poses a few questions, because some students may experience connection problems and not all will benefit from parental support.
No question of letting students skip school because of the coronavirus. The Ministry of Education has made special provision for children who are prevented from coming to class because their school is closed due to the risk of contagion of the virus, or who are subject to confinement because they show symptoms of disease.
An educational continuity system is then planned. “It is a question for the pupil's teacher (s) of communicating to him the lessons and the work to be done at home, via electronic messaging or the digital workspace. And this, to ensure continuity of learning, "said Edouard Jeffray, director general of school education (Dgesco) this Monday, presenting the device. A service made possible by the educational platform of the National Center for Distance Education (Cned) "My class at home", available from the large section from kindergarten to bac. “This system has already been used by 2,000 French students in China for at least two weeks. And in the academy of Amiens, the first virtual classes were opened this Monday due to the closure of certain establishments in the Oise, and this will be the case for certain establishments in the Morbihan as of Tuesday, "indicates Edouard Jeffray. This educational continuity system could affect around 20,000 students in the coming weeks.
What does this virtual education consist of?
The head teacher sends an URL to families by email so that the student can connect to the platform. If he is in kindergarten or primary, the presence of an adult is required alongside the child, to help him connect and navigate the platform. “About 3 or 4 hours of activities per day in different subjects. A college student in 5th grade, for example, will one day work on math, French and physics. At the start of each activity, a quiz will test the student's level in the area addressed, ”explains Jean-Michel Leclerc, director of cabinet at Cned. Depending on the route, they will be given a route, green (simple level) or red (more elaborate). Example: a session concerning the DB and its characteristics. After discovering extracts from Tintin d'Hergé, the student answers questions about the place of action, the characters, the danger faced by Tintin. "If he is wrong, the platform will invite him to check his answers until he answers correctly," says Jean-Michel Leclerc. "In math, he will have mental arithmetic exercises to do, or will be able to watch a video to learn how to simplify fractional writing before practicing," he continues.
But alongside these activities to be done independently, "a continuity of the human bond will be ensured via a virtual classroom device," says Edouard Jeffray. These beaches are planned by the school heads. “The student can ask his teacher to speak, who will then open his microphone to him. The teacher can also interview students. Another feature: sharing a whiteboard with the possibility for the teacher to draw, integrate shapes, text ”, describes Jean-Michel Leclerc. A device that has already proven itself, since the Cned uses it daily with its 75,000 students.
Have teachers been trained in distance education?
"For virtual classes, we have set up distance training for teachers who want to familiarize themselves with the system," says Michel Reverchon-Billot, director general of Cned. And according to him, teachers do not have to be afraid of technical bugs: "We have calibrated the platform for 6 million simultaneous connections", he reassures, knowing that France has 12 million kindergarten students in high school.
What are the limits of this distance education?
The “My class at home” platform is accessible via a computer, tablet or smartphone. Without the need to install software. Even if the majority of homes are equipped with at least one of these devices, it is not excluded that some are deprived of it or that they do not have internet connection.
We can also wonder about the educational effectiveness of the system for all students, "because it is more complicated to work when you are alone", recognizes Michel Reverchon-Billot. And teachers don't have the ability to force them to follow these online courses. Another concern: not all children will benefit from the help of an adult. Conversely, some parents may be tempted to answer the exercises instead of their child.
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