Publish at October 18 2023 Updated October 18 2023
This fall, I went to a class reunion for my son and also for my daughter.
My daughter's teacher explained that she had to prepare 5 or 7 different versions of exams for her class to accommodate the special needs of some of her students, who were in fact entitled to accommodations and adaptations. Quite an organization, I imagine, juggling the various considerations linked to each student's particularities. This lady uses "Teams" software, enabling her to create a computer link with her students and make individual updates.
My son's teacher told us at the outset that she didn't want to use IT for anything other than standard duties, and that she was more interested in human relations and nature. This sentence frightened me because my son, who is dyslexic, is "cyber-augmented", with accommodations and adaptations in languages. For example, he's not allowed to see "wrong" words written down, otherwise he'll remember them wrongly, and the computer makes it possible to give him multiple-choice suggestions.
"Key Competency 8 - Integrate information and communication technologies for the preparation and management of teaching and learning activities, educational management and professional development The potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) for teaching and learning has made them an essential tool for schools. Computer networks and tools offer unlimited access to countless sources of information and knowledge. However, the plethora and uneven quality of the data available means that it needs to be critically analyzed and treated with caution. For teachers and students alike, access to networks is changing the way we learn, communicate and work. Therefore, to integrate ICT wisely into their teaching practice, teachers must adopt a thoughtful approach to this tool.
8.1 Demonstrate a critical and nuanced approach to the advantages and limitations of technology as a support for teaching and learning, and to the issues at stake for society. The teacher is committed to assessing the real added value of ICT for teaching. He or she assesses the value of ICT in terms of the pedagogical, didactic, cultural and social issues it can convey.
8.2 Evaluate the didactic potential of technologies in relation to the development of competencies set out in the syllabus. The teacher explores different sites to identify educational resources and checks whether the tools have been designed for pedagogical purposes. He or she selects those that are relevant to the development of competencies in his or her teaching field, and those that will enable students to exercise greater autonomy in the construction of their learning.
8.3 Choose and use technology wisely to seek, process and communicate information. ICT offers children and adults alike new opportunities to explore content that is sometimes difficult to access. Nevertheless, the teacher must support students in their research and show them how to be selective and strategic in finding relevant information, converting it into usable resources, storing it and passing it on to different interlocutors.
8.4 Select and make good use of technologies to build networks for exchange and continuing education in one's own field of teaching and pedagogical practice. [...] the teacher sets precise criteria for selecting valid data to enrich his or her teaching. He or she takes an interest in teacher networks, which, at a distance, enable them to exchange ideas on common themes in order to share and develop their expertise.
8.5 Help students to appropriate technologies, use them in learning activities, evaluate their use and critically assess the data collected. [...] The teacher's role is to initiate students to a critical analysis of the real contribution of these resources to the performance of learning tasks, and to guide them in the relevant use of the information."
Source: Haute École Pédagogique du Canton de Vaud - Teacher training
Teacher training Référentiel de compétences professionnelles
https://candidat.hepl.ch/files/live/sites/files-site/files/interfilieres/referentiel-competences-2016-hep-vaud.pdf
It's the new norm, the new standard of the last decade. However, an imposed standard is not yet a norm when it's in transition and when managers of teaching teams are looking for which tools to use.
Already, there are the old ones who may have difficulty adapting, but above all, there is a problem with the instructions and the tools, which means that the tools quickly become "Gas Machines".
Let's take a look at the related field of hospital medicine. Everyone agrees, it's a tremendous plus for patients to have computerized records, and for the science of optimizing medicine.
"The computerization of patient records is a constantly evolving process, which began over 20 years ago. Computerization has taken place in stages, and has now reached a significant turning point in its development. Hospitals in Luxembourg are financed according to the PRN method, which determines 70% of their budgets. In 2013, faced with a significant loss of staff due to inadequate documentation of care, management decided to computerize the care file. It launched a project to computerize care documentation, with the declared aim of going "paperless".
It was against this backdrop that I was asked to manage the project. The strategy, which had been initiated at the time, consisted firstly in carrying out a study of the existing situation. Then, in a second phase, to parameterize the tool so as to improve all our care processes. The results of the care computerization project have been very positive: computerization has enabled us to structure the entire care department and secure the workforce. As early as 2017, the hospital was able to significantly increase its workforce. At the end of 2019, during the JCI assessment, the auditors noted great progress in care. They emphasized that the organization and documentation of care largely met all the criteria of the standard".
Source : Impact du Dossier Patient Informatisé sur la qualité des soins - L'expérience d'un center hospitalier au Luxembourg - Anissa Torki - In Projectics / Proyéctica / Projectique 2022/HS (Hors Série), pages 57 to 79
https://www.cairn.info/revue-projectique-2022-HS-page-57.htm
But when data entry becomes tedious and time-consuming, and you have to fit in a productivity agenda, it can quickly turn out to be a hassle for very little, or even a disservice to the patient.
"Deploying a CIO is a considerable challenge for hospitals undergoing organizational upheaval, as they come up against technical and cultural difficulties and resistance to change. The computerization of patient records is not simply a matter of switching from paper to digital media; it is above all a fundamental change in professional practices, touching the very heart of the profession.
In a constantly evolving, profit-driven sector, healthcare professionals must constantly adapt to the multiple tools, new documentation rules and operating procedures imposed by the obligation to record all their actions. This results in the emergence of conflicts between a professional culture and an administrative culture (M.-P. Gagnon et al, 2012). They have to acquire new IT skills, which, if not mastered, can have serious consequences for patients".
Source Idem : Impact du Dossier Patient Informatisé sur la qualité des soins
I've regularly visited hospitals over the past few years, and nurses regularly complain about the over-computerization of their profession. These days, they spend half their time doing data entry instead of providing care. This is to the detriment of human relations, which are already being undermined by the drive to make medicine more profitable.
Yesterday, a specialist doctor at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois was trying to enter information about one of my children, and she couldn't connect to the duty computer. After several minutes, she remembered that she might have left her session open in another office. And, indeed, she had. When she returned, she explained that the IT administration required them to change their password every 15 days.
When it comes to IT, there are three words to keep in mind: model, efficiency and visible results:
When a teacher refuses to computerize, it's a personal choice, but it's also a social stance with the strong message to students that IT is not an important subject. Yet we live in a computerized world. An old lady who doesn't know how to use her credit card becomes disabled. A young person who refuses to learn will find himself having to ask for help to send out a CV or to fill in his tax return. These are the first signs of social exclusion and exclusion from the world of work.
Efficiency is the watchword everywhere, and it's catching up with education as much as any other field. All the more so as we are in transition, between the reluctant, those who are not used to it and who can be a little slow, and the super computer professionals. Huge gaps are opening up, with many teachers finding themselves overworked as a result. We're still a long way from the optimization phase.
If the only results can be summed up as work overload, then it's far from motivating for teachers, who may spend less time on essential subjects and, above all, infuse their students with their IT discontent. It's important to think in positive terms about milestones, successes and sources of motivation. As MOOCs can award badges, this is an avenue worth exploring for educational management.
Computerization is affecting everyone, and in 30 years' time the educational landscape will undoubtedly be very different from today's. Give teaching and administrative staff the chance to evolve and enjoy it, by structuring or choosing tools that are more user-friendly and felt positively rather than through a sense of constraint.
Pixabay image : Alexandra_Koch
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