When the entrepreneurial community supports the school environment: a webinar to review

How can the entrepreneurial community support the school environment? This question was at the heart of a webinar presented by Investissement Québec recently. Its objective was to promote links between Franco-Canadian schools and entrepreneurs in the educational technology sector (edtech) members of the association of Enterprises for the development of educational technologies in Quebec (Edteq).

For Marc Gauthier, of the Conseil scolaire du Grand-Nord de l'Ontario (CSGNO), private companies have a duty to help schools stay technologically up to date. "These companies can help us think outside the box, approach the problems we face from different angles and go beyond disciplinary content." 

Armand Doucet, French immersion teacher at Riverview High School in New Brunswick, adds: “Technologies support student learning and engagement. We have every interest in working in collaboration with theedtech to develop different educational strategies ”.

Around the virtual round table, five entrepreneurs who are members of Edteq shared examples of projects carried out with school boards and schools. They were in the same vein: collaboration and sharing are the keywords that guide their relationship with the school environment. "It is our duty to understand what schools are going through", says Luc Goudreault of Scolab (Netmath).

The pandemic and the future of education

During the roundtable, the Edteqs underlined the need to review certain ways of doing things in education. “For the first time ever, because of the pandemic, the entire planet is experiencing the same educational issues. This is a unique opportunity to reflect together on the future of education, ”says Shawn Young of Classcraft.

For Florence Lefebvre of Krispii, the opportunity is ideal to rethink distance learning. “Let's bring pedagogy back into online education, stop using platforms that are not dedicated to learning. "

According to Bill Gagnon of Robotel, online platforms offer the possibility of fostering the engagement of young people by allowing them to complete learning paths in a more personalized and independent manner.

“What if technology platforms could enable students to have more positive learning experiences? »Mentions Marc Suys of Nanomonx - The Constellation of the Bear.

The webinar “Educational Technologies to Support Teaching, Learning and Engagement” can be reviewed in click here.