May '97	January '99	January 2000	Internal networks January '99	Internal networks January 2000
Lycée	12	7	7	73%	82%
Vocational lycée	8	5	5	51%	64%
Collège	26	17	15	42%	73%
Primary school	100	30	Estimate: 25	_	-

Source: National Education Ministry

Helping the Internet generation

Moving into the information society is just as important as the transition from a rural to an industrial economy was in the past. Even though it is difficult today to assess the long-term impact, there is no doubt that a worldwide movement has been set in motion and that France now has the resources she needs to avoid being left behind by this technological revolution. For this reason, priority has been given to schools. The young generations need to be trained to use the new tools and new working methods. As access to home computers is closely linked to family income, the children of the poorest families obviously do not have ready access to this technology, whereas children from better-off families may already be experienced Internet surfers. This is why the government's policy is to reduce this inequality of access to multimedia resources so that everyone can join the information society. The digital gap is a particular risk for problem neighborhoods and many rural populations. Yet the new ICT can now help people break out of their cultural and geographical isolation.

The growing use of networks means that existing documentation can be pooled. The new media make problem neighborhoods and schools in rural areas less isolated by offering them an opportunity to present and exchange projects and programs and to work together with other schools. Resources of the video-conferencing type provide small rural collèges with exactly the same options as large urban schools. These technologies can also be used to meet personal needs, for instance helping pupils keep in touch with the rest of their class if they are in hospital.

Areas ill-served by terrestrial communication networks have not been forgotten: the new services which satellite systems have made possible offer an alternative to the Internet allowing, in particular, remote education, teamwork and forums. A pilot experiment in this area involved over one hundred institutions (schools, teacher-training colleges, universities, resource centres, etc.) which were provided with access, in the most user-friendly way possible, to broadband services.

Embarking on this Internet adventure would be somewhat futile, however, if we could not assess the impact of ICT on education. The change that is under way can be accurately measured only from detailed data on improvements in teaching practices, on disparities between regional education authorities, in the use of ICT by the different teachers and at different education levels, and on the organization of work in the classroom (time management, importance of project work). A watchdog is to be set up to collate the data provided by classroom teachers.

Developing teaching resources

It will not be possible to disseminate the NITC successfully without the design and provision of the requisite teaching tools and high-quality teaching products. For this purpose, a support system for the development of multimedia and audiovisual teaching resources was set up during 2000. Within this system, the National Education Ministry has specified goals for each subject and level of education, and a multimedia commission has been created to decide on levels of support for the various projects. Moreover, to identify and disseminate high-quality teaching products, a mark, which is almost a quality label, has been registered: RIP (reconnu d’intérêt pédagogique) for products of "recognized educational value". The educasource site also provides teachers with an opportunity to find out about resources of educational interest both online and offline. On this site, teachers and trainers can chat and exchange views about the various media or resources they use or are thinking of using. With the same aim in mind, the Ministry is encouraging enterprises that digitize documents which are useful for educational purposes, for instance theses, scientific work, the sound heritage and also reference books. One result of this is the digitization program for education and research. Its remit is to provide an online software or multimedia resource adaptation platform for educational or university research purposes. The many partners involved in this program have already started work and will shortly be providing these online resources.

The National Education Ministry is currently seeking to reach an agreement with authors' societies under which the rights to audiovisual documents of recognized educational value would be released. The aim is to extend the resources available to pupils in the various types of school. This stock of copyright-free programs will then be made available to schools, first through the CNDP (National Centre for Educational Documentation) and subsequently via the program and services bank of a public television channel, La Cinquième, which has already digitized some 2,000 hours of audiovisual programs.

The government has also decided to support the creation and development of innovative enterprises in the educational and cultural multimedia sector. This enables teacher-researchers to work for private firms specializing in this kind of application.

	Primary schools	Collèges	Lycées
1997	0.60%	11%	32%
1998	25%	53%	85%
2000	30%	89%	98%

Source: Ministry of Education

Teachers in the front line

Although pupils are the end users of these new digital and multimedia resources, effective progress will be made only with the teachers' genuine support. And this will be gained only if they are fully aware of and understand not only the challenges involved, but also the new resources and working methods. Hence the launch of an emergency plan for the development of NICT in teacher-training colleges in December 1997. The chief aim of this plan, which has been very successful, is to provide the various teacher-training colleges with the requisite equipment, network them, train their teaching staff, integrate NICT into their courses and set up appropriate resource centres.

The general public often find it hard to imagine the enormous challenge which the advent of NICT represents for teachers. Their lives are being turned upside down: as well as changing working methods, ITC is changing teachers' relationships with pupils, and other members of staff as well as the way they acquire and impart knowledge. Teachers therefore need help and support. The work done in the area of continuing training can be seen from the national training plans (PNF) over the last two years. Aimed at trainers of teachers in both initial education and training [primary, secondary and tertiary], and continuing training sectors, the purpose of these plans is to ensure the acquisition of computing, Internet and also teaching skills.

During the 2000/01 academic year, national seminars and seminars organized by groups of regional education authorities have been organized for the teaching staff of teacher-training colleges. There has also been training for non-teaching staff (technicians and office staff): a national steering programme provides such staff with the skills they need to coordinate, set up and conduct projects integrating the new technologies. All new teachers are now being made aware of and trained in the use of these new tools. Similarly, all continuing training programmes now include these subjects.

Teachers are at the heart of the programme to develop multimedia use in education. Furthermore, the aim is for every establishment ultimately to have a resource manager (in most cases a teacher or librarian) to help teachers coordinating projects to integrate the NICT. So these resource managers require special training since theirs is such a key role. Young people on the emplois-jeunes youth employment scheme (3), who often act as IT assistants in collèges and primary schools, can help them with their work. "Teach yourself" and help programs for teachers are already available online on specialist sites and there are also many multidisciplinary and single-subject seminars helping teachers enhance their expertise in ITC and its concrete applications.

Overall, ICT is giving teachers a new dimension. Linked to colleagues in other establishments, taking part in local, regional or even European and international projects, more and more of them are being given an opportunity to enter the "world village". At the same time, because of the increasing number of projects in the curriculum, teachers are working more closely with their pupils and can therefore provide them with individual support.

Progress through evaluation

The effectiveness of this vast undertaking must be evaluated at regular intervals in order to prevent any pupils falling behind, misunderstanding things, or ending up with gaps in their knowledge. With this in mind, provision has been made for validating pupils’ knowledge. The idea behind the brevet informatique et Internet ["computing and Internet" diploma] is not to use it for selection purposes, but more to measure the knowledge pupils have acquired. It is easy to understand its importance when you consider that nowadays IT and Internet skills will be needed to enter any training throughout life. The new diploma's introduction will obviously have to be gradual, taking place as schools obtain sufficient computers and Internet connections, and their teachers learn to use them. Nevertheless, all collèges should have brought it in by the end of the 2000/01 academic year.

Teachers are quite obviously being motivated and stimulated by the new dimension being added to their jobs. This is borne out by the number of visitors logging on to the "educnet" site: over 150,000 per month, with an average increase of 20% per month outside the school holidays. This growth is bound to continue, given the new developments scheduled in 2001: new online forums, creation of a database for detailed document and information searches, improved communications with academic networks, development of the "Canal Educnet" education channel, completion of the adaptation of the site for the visually handicapped and, lastly, updating of the site’s English and Spanish versions.

The Salon de l’éducation [Education Fair] was set up with the support of the National Education Ministry to inform people about these far-reaching changes and to help increase the use of multimedia in the education world. Since 1999, it has showcased all the teaching and professional applications of IT from nursery to higher education: multimedia and audiovisual resources whose educational value has been recognized by the Ministry and the latest online services offered by central and local government authorities, libraries, museums, voluntary organizations and publishers. Visitors – 500,000 to the 2000 version – can also find details of suppliers of teaching tools and material and hardware, as well as education, school management and continuing training services.

France’s integration of ITC in education is continuing apace. The resources which schools need to use it have been provided. The next stage will very probably be the appearance of the "electronic satchel". This portable multimedia device, containing all the textbooks that pupils need, will make their daily lives easier and make them become better prepared for the demands of our contemporary world.

(1) Lycée - school catering for pupils aged between 15 and 19 years (approx.).
(2) Collège - school catering for pupils aged between 11 and 15 years (approx.).
(3) Emplois-jeunes - programme to create new local services to address specific local community and social needs, employing young people.