Guest speaker

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Tuesday November 3, 2020

Digital technology in educational institutions

13:30–14:15PM

New responsibilities for education

The Conseil supérieur de l’éducation recently examined issues related to digital technology, two of which have permeated the transformative capacity of educational institutions.

The first of these is the social constructs associated with digital technology, which vacillate between “technophilia” and technophobia. The gap between these two extremes reflects the values to be factored in, so as to better understand the challenges of integrating digital technology into education, since they serve as guides for action and pave the way for uptake or refusal by teaching staff.

The other issue is artificial intelligence (AI), which entails new responsibilities for the education system – in particular, keeping abreast of labour market transformation. AI will change the way people learn, and teaching staff will now take on the role of counsellor, guide and coach. A number of existing applications could be used to improve learning; the main challenges are: making choices based on their relevance to teaching, rethinking courses accordingly, adapting learning evaluations and developing appropriate teaching scenarios. Education also has a role in helping the population better understand how AI works in order to limit the downward spiral.