Philippe Roederer, National Education Inspector for the Cluses district in Haute-Savoie and head of the departmental digital group, introduces this four-part series on the Haute-Savoie region, with a particular focus on the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains district.
A « Contrasted » Territory
With its 450 schools, the Haute-Savoie department is highly contrasted. Although the overall population is increasing, some districts suffer from land pressure, leading to young residents leaving the area.
With 13 districts and thus 13 eRUNs (Reference Teachers for Digital Uses), digital tools have also found their place in schools, including rural schools that are often single-class or grouped.
As with its demographics, the digital dynamics in Haute-Savoie schools are varied, as is the case everywhere! However, one constant throughout the region is the proactive engagement and commitment of local authorities.
For instance, in Saint-Gervais, the mayor spares no effort to support schools, both in maintaining active classes and providing the best services, such as digital tools, to ensure equal opportunities for all students. This will be explored further in the second episode.
« We work closely with local authorities. I have been in the department for eight years, and compared to my past experiences, particularly in the Créteil academy where I served as a Digital Academic Delegate (DAN), I can say that schools here are very well-equipped, » he explains.
Nonetheless, as everyone knows, success does not rely solely on equipment. Support and training are equally crucial to ensure that digital tools become genuine aids to student learning.
« In our region, the digital group works closely with the French and mathematics groups, for example, and this cross-disciplinary approach is very effective, » he adds.
Digital tools should no longer be the concern of specialists alone but should instead become a cross-disciplinary initiative.
From Virtual Learning Environments to Artificial Intelligence…
Although the region initially lagged in adopting Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), they are now firmly embedded in the school landscape, with the COVID period accelerating their adoption.
« What has emerged over the past three or four years is the arrival of Artificial Intelligence, » he emphasizes.
Philippe Roederer discusses the role of AI in schools as a support tool for designing teaching sequences.
In January, a seminar was held to raise teachers’ awareness of AI, featuring contributions from Didier Roy of INRIA and Franck Bodin from the National Directorate for Digital Education (DNE).
« With support from the DRANE in Grenoble, through a program called ‘Les Heures du Numérique’ (Digital Hours), our eRUNs are working on integrating AI into the pedagogical design process, » he explains.
This initiative is currently materializing around the GENIAL project, which focuses on written production and generative AI « in service of written production. »
The next step is to organize an « AI Café » because « we want the debate around AI to continue within the department across different categories and to bring the entire educational community together with specialists, » he concludes.
More information:
About the departmental seminar on AI: portail-ressources-education-dsden74.web.ac-grenoble.fr
On the GENIAL project: primabord.eduscol.education.fr/genial
On the DRANE’s ‘Les Heures du Numérique’ projects:
- From Primàbord: primabord.eduscol.education.fr
- From the DRANE website: dane.web.ac-grenoble.fr/heures-numeriques
- The 74 digital resource portal: portail-ressources-education-dsden74
