The visit of the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sport of Quebec, Ms. Marie Malavoy, marked the conclusion of the 31e edition of the AQUOPS annual conference, which was held from March 26 to 28, 2013 in Quebec City.
About a hundred delegates gathered to welcome him and hear him during the closing activity of the event. His visit had only been arranged the day before. Despite this, she delivered a speech that did not fail to delight many of the people present.
His message mainly focused on 3 axes: free software in education, his decision to interrupt the program to massively equip Quebec's classes with interactive whiteboards and the promotion of a new online dictionary emphasizing Quebec culture.
From the outset, she expressed her support for the integration of technologies in education. "They are wonderful, but they can be dangerous." Hence the importance that must be given to digital citizenship education. She recalls these disastrous cases related to cyberbullying. She remembers: “In my time, we used to shout names and curse each other, but it ended there. Today, with digital technology and social networks, it can go much further. Many young people struggle to survive because of this. »She took the opportunity to greet the digital citizenship program of the Lester-B.-Pearson School Board. She is also in favor of free software, which offers accessibility to all and promotes collaboration, an orientation that AQUOPS shares.
Secondly, she took the time to explain that the technological equipment of schools should not be done by considering that all needs are the same everywhere. According to her, the interactive whiteboard is a very interesting tool, but not necessarily the right one for all environments. This is why she advocates a reflection to arrive at another solution. On this, all seem to agree, provided that this solution comes quickly!
Finally, she invited to discover Usito, a new online dictionary adapted to Quebec culture, which has been produced since 2001 by teams from the University of Sherbrooke and various partners, mainly from the public sector. According to the website of the tool, the content base comes, among other things, from Computerized treasury of the French language and Large terminological dictionary, both accessible free of charge. The annual subscription to Usito is calculated according to the number of students in the establishment.
Ms. Malavoy then left the delegates for a short meeting with various players in free software in education in Quebec.
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