Social media: guide and training for students and their parents

After a year of reflection, the François-de-Laval College, a private high school in Quebec City, concluded that it was better to educate students than to ban social media.

“We didn't want to bully young people, that's their reality. It is better to supervise them, educate them and raise their awareness, ”says Marc Dallaire, Managing Director. Last week, a first group of junior high school students attended a prevention program conference. “We realized, for example, that young people had misconfigured their security settings. This confirms that we are in the right direction, ”says Marc Dallaire, General Manager.

Students from other levels will also receive training, then it will be the parents' turn. “The parents told us that they felt deprived, they did not know how to supervise the young people in the face of this at home. This is another of the reasons why we went ahead, ”notes Mr. Dallaire. He also believes that knowing and using these tools will be an important asset for young people when they enter the labor market.

A guide for young people and parents with a particular interest in Facebook was also produced. It was set up with the help of Pierre-Thomas Choquette, a social media specialist, Stéphane Dion, from the National firm, and Pierre-Luc Pouliot, one of the college's teachers. “Subsequently, we submitted it to people in the field for their feedback,” says Mr. Dallaire.

Since then, the story has been picked up in the Quebec media and has snowballed. Some CEGEPs have contacted Mr. Dallaire for more information and to obtain a copy of the guide.

For now, the school has created its Facebook page, but there are no educational projects carried out using social media. Mr. Dallaire believes, however, that it could come. “A few years ago, if I had been told that a teacher would film the correction of a student's math exam to put it on their portal and give them feedback, I would have thought it was impossible and that's what we do at home now, he notes. I encourage our teachers to be innovative. "

Moreover, technology will occupy an increasingly important place at the Collège François-de-Laval. The school already has computer labs, including a mobile, and 17 interactive whiteboards, some of which are connected to cameras and microscopes. In addition, from next year, first year secondary classes will be equipped with laptops for certain subjects: mathematics, science, the social world and English (in part). The school will pay for the equipment. Then, in 2013, a one-student, one-laptop program will be set up. It is not yet clear whether students will need to acquire their own computers or whether the school will buy them and then rent them.

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