Publish at October 09 2024 Updated October 09 2024
The decade of 2010 marked a turning point for schools: it was absolutely essential to go digital. Gone were the binders weighed down by endless textbooks and paper, and it was time to make way for laptops and tablets. Digital tools demonstrated their didactic potential and seemed far more suited to the 21st century world. As a result, public bodies in many countries were investing in hardware, such as François Hollande's €1 billion plan in 2015.
Nearly 10 years later, however, it's quite a different story for school systems who realize that they may have been fooled by "the screen mirage" and let a wolf into the sheepfold. Is this the case?
The first to sound the alarm were the teachers themselves, who saw the potential distractions of digital tools. Parents, too, who have to deal with the issue of screen time with their children, have voiced their skepticism at the approach of some schools to offering time in front of the tablet or computer as a reward to students. Isn't this the perfect recipe for creating a dependency on these devices?
Early childhood specialists can see the effects of early digitalization and what it can do to too many children:
Screen use is also said to have deleterious repercussions on young people's mental equilibrium, especially the use of social networks.
In the winter of 2024, the Institut national de la Santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) published a report summarizing the knowledge acquired on the effects of digital devices in a school context among under-25s. Multitasking in the classroom is more harmful than anything else, and reading on screens is far less effective than reading on paper. Even note-taking is said to be more functional by hand than by keyboard.
And yet, while former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spoke of a "health catastrophe" when discussing screens in schools, the fact remains that the French school system continues to force its way into the digital age. Wasn't it the same government that promoted its MIA tool, an artificial intelligence designed to help with math and French? Digital work environments have become mandatory for teachers and students alike, to access and submit documents, check schedule changes and more. Hide these screens that I can't see... but keep using them.
In this context, it's easy to feel the school paradox when it comes to screens. Parents are demanding that screen time be regulated. Public opinion is calling for schools to set an example of healthy screen use that can be transposed into home life. However, this does not say what should be done with all this computer equipment. Should we ban it or not?
In September 2024, Quebec launched a commission on the effects of screens and social networks on young people. The idea is to find out what instructions need to be given in order to be relevant. As this discussion between two specialists reminds us, learning how to use digital tools is an essential part of training, since they will have to use them in the workplace. This is self-evident, and banning screens outright would ultimately amount to doing the opposite of what has been achieved over the past decade.
That's why the OECD, among others, is proposing a middle ground. It seems obvious that we need to reduce screen time and say goodbye to the myth that "digital technology can do everything". However, as the Canopé network reminds us, falling into the trap of alarmist headlines would be harmful. In their view, there are a lot of unproven stories and anecdotes being told in the scientific press. Studies are not as categorical as the media seem to claim. Reality lies more in the nuances.
Ideally, technology should be used in the classroom in an educational and meaningful way. This means not letting students spend all their free time on screens, and stimulating them to do other things. On the other hand, using digital tools in a learning environment still seems to make sense. Even the INSPQ distinguishes between didactic and other uses.
To throw out and banish screens completely from the school is as foolish as thinking of education in an "all-digital" framework. More than ever, we need to return to the meaning of use. Electronic devices are like all human tools: they have potential but negative effects. Consequently, the solution seems to be to avoid uninteresting and distracting uses, and to use IT resources for educational purposes.
Image: natureaddict from Pixabay
References:
"Banish screens from classrooms?" Agence Science-Presse. Last updated: October 18, 2023. https://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/vote-pour-science/2023/10/18/bannir-ecrans-salles-classe.
Bourgeois, Pascale. "Bannir les écrans à l'école: cultiver l'attention et non la fascination." Le Journal de Montréal. Last updated: September 17, 2024. https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2024/09/17/bannir-les-ecrans-a-lecole-cultiver-lattention-et-non-la-fascination.
Corbier, Marie-Christine. "On the place of screens in school, the OECD calls for 'finding a happy medium'." Les Echos. Last updated: May 9, 2024. https://www.lesechos.fr/politique-societe/societe/sur-la-place-des-ecrans-a-lecole-locde-appelle-a-trouver-un-juste-milieu-2093934.
"Parents call for regulation of student screen time in PEI." Radio-Canada. Last updated: April 10, 2024. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2063836/temps-ecran-eleves.
Dionne, Stéphanie, Audrey Miller, and Martine Rioux. "Débat sur " les écrans " : La mission de l'école est liée à la compétence numérique." L'École Branchée. Last updated: April 18, 2024. https://ecolebranchee.com/debat-ecrans-mission-ecole-liee-competence-numerique/.
Dion-Viens, Daphnée. "Schools must favor paper and pencil." Le Journal de Québec. Last updated: February 8, 2024. https://www.journaldequebec.com/2024/02/08/halte-aux-ecrans-a-lecole.
Gagnon, Karine. "Schools must set an example on screens." Le Journal De Québec. Last updated: May 11, 2024. https://www.journaldequebec.com/2024/05/11/lecole-doit-donner-lexemple-sur-les-ecrans.
Gissot, Frédérique. "Ecrans à l'école, une "catastrophe sanitaire et éducative"?" Ici Par France Bleu Et France 3. Last updated: February 6, 2024. https://www.francebleu.fr/emissions/a-votre-service-par-france-bleu-poitou/ecrans-a-l-ecole-une-catastrophe-sanitaire-et-educative-5051954.
Hienard, Sophie. "Écrans à l'école : entre " catastrophe sanitaire " et généralisation des outils numériques." Le Point. Last updated: April 15, 2024. https://www.lepoint.fr/education/le-paradoxe-des-ecrans-a-l-ecole-entre-catastrophe-sanitaire-et-generalisation-des-outils-numeriques-15-04-2024-2557647_3584.php.
Lagacé, Patrick. "Sur la place des écrans à l'école." La Presse. Last updated: April 1, 2024. https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/chroniques/2024-04-01/sur-la-place-des-ecrans-a-l-ecole.php.
Langlois, Natacha. "Pour ou contre l'utilisation des écrans comme récompense à l'école?" Belles Combines. Last updated: January 4, 2024. https://lesbellescombines.com/blogs/education/pour-ou-contre-lutilisation-des-ecrans-comme-recompense-a-lecole
Lara, Hoareau, Mazerolle Marie, Pasco Denis, and Picard Laurence. ""Les écrans": un réel danger pour les apprentissages des élèves?" Canopé. Last updated March 2024. https://www.reseau-canope.fr/agence-des-usages/les-ecrans-un-reel-danger-pour-les-apprentissages-des-eleves.html.
"Screens at school." Institut National De Santé Publique Du Québec. Last updated August 26, 2024. https://www.inspq.qc.ca/ecrans-hyperconnectivite/ecole.
Mozayan-Verschaeve, Emmanuelle. "Écrans à l'école: des effets néfastes sur l'apprentissage." Health Verdict. Last updated: February 22, 2024. https://verdictsante.protegez-vous.ca/nouvelles/sante/ecrans-a-l-ecole-des-effets-nefastes-sur-l-apprentissage.
Tafforeau, Salomée. "DECRYPTAGE. Is the use of screens at school dangerous?" Ladepeche.fr. Last updated: May 2, 2024. https://www.ladepeche.fr/2024/05/02/decryptage-lusage-des-ecrans-a-lecole-est-il-dangereux-11923907.php.
You might also like:
I don't buy, I contribute to an adventure
How to create an economic activity, to live of its creations when the barriers to entry accumulate. Finding a publisher, a distribution channel, convincing intermediaries to associate their efforts with yours seem like insurmountable activities. An economic model built on relationships, storytelling techniques and participation.
Wim Hof has turned his practice of ice baths and exposure to the cold into a philosophy of healthy living, and although the method may seem controversial, several authors emphasize the benefits of exposure to the cold.
Skeuomorphism and meaning in e-learning platform interfaces
So we have decorative buttons on clothes that close with a zipper or Velcro. Metaphor is not a substitute for reality, nor is it universal. It's often appropriate for generalities and the welcome, but as soon as we come to more specialized, original or infrequent functions, it's abandoned in favor of icons and headings, which is what most platforms choose.
Develop the skills needed for the jobs of the future
Today's jobs will not be tomorrow's jobs. How can we reinvent the skills and professions that will make the world of work? How to face the urgent and complex challenges related to the future of employment. This article explores the essential factors for developing tomorrow's skills and the collaborations needed to achieve them.
Publish more multilingual children books from Africa
How many books about other countries or translated books did you read as a child? In Africa, the majority of response will refer to foreign books for children while in other continent, the answers will most likely refer to an indigenously produced children book. This first article, in a serie, present the need of multi-lingual publishing of books for children, the next will present how to overcome existing challenges to it.
