How to create an ICT class?

This is a question that many teachers ask themselves, especially in a context where we feel that ICTs are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Here are some tips to get you started. Dear readers, you are also invited to submit your ideas!

At the start of the year, Ms. Louise Gagnon, teacher in 6^e year, asked the question on the popular Facebook group " ICT in education ". She said “I would like to know how to go about setting up an ICT class. What is the necessary equipment, what are the classroom management models that work, how to finance everything… ”.

Teacher Geneviève Henry, 6^e year too, shared with her her own ICT class experience. His classroom is equipped with 3 permanent computers and a IWB. For the rest, his students share 28 laptops with the entire school floor. She explains that “to have an ICT class, you have to start by identifying your educational priorities. ICT is ONE way to achieve its educational goal. To remedy the lack of equipment, she suggests asking parents to let their child bring their iPod, iPad etc. at school. “I am in a disadvantaged environment and, despite everything, many students have access to these technologies. She considers that with this, it will be possible to carry out several ICT projects this year.

Continuing the discussion, a few people also suggested taking a tour of the training site. iClass. We find among others a very good article which describes in detail how life goes in this very special class at Wilfrid-Bastien Elementary School in Montreal (CS de la Pointe-de-l'Île). We learn in particular that at the level of the organization of the class, exit the rows of desks, we favor round tables and wheelchairs and we set up different corners in the class: sofa, high tables, and no restrictions on where young people can move to work.

In terms of technological equipment, ideally enough devices are needed so that there is at least one for two students: laptops, mobile tablets, smart phones… or a happy mix of all of that. Then, students can choose which device they prefer to use, or vary according to the task. It's expensive? No, at the beginning, you can ask those who want to bring their own device. The winning condition is to have stable and reliable access to the Internet because everything is stored and transmitted "in the cloud", that is to say in dedicated virtual spaces. After a little practice, the students learn to handle the files as they did before with the “Canada notebooks”.

The TIC class is a class where there is a lot of movement! The recommended philosophy is that of discovery by the students rather than teaching by the prof. It can go as far as a period that begins with: "You will have to find the rule of agreement of the past participle with being and explain it in your own words, while preparing two examples proving that you have understood correctly." And that is the teacher's only instruction. At the end, we come back in a large group to listen to the different findings of each team and share ...

And you, how is your ICT class going?