A new diagnostic tool is made available to educational establishments in order to measure the integration of digital technology into study and training programs. It is designed so that it can be used for any vocational, college or university training program in Quebec.
This may seem unusual, because it is theInstitut national des mines du Québec (INMQ) who developed the new tool. The explanation is simple: while this industry is in the midst of a technological transition, the lack of qualified personnel leads to inappropriate or inefficient use of technology which is nevertheless deployed at great expense. The expected benefits are therefore reduced.
"Integrating a new technology into its operations requires having a staff sufficiently qualified to use it properly, to know its limits and to be able to face any technical problems that it could cause, in order to be able to draw from it. fully benefit. This is why digital training for staff is essential for their employability and for a successful digital shift ”, we read in the report published by the INMQ on the occasion of the launch of the diagnostic tool.
Faced with this finding, the INMQ undertook to develop a tool to measure the integration of digital technology in programs. In doing so, it meets certain objectives of the Digital education action plan, such as "supporting people and organizations in the transition to a digital culture" and "promoting the deployment of the distance training offer according to the needs of the different levels of education".
5 axes
The proposed diagnostic tool is broken down into five main areas: study program, technological resources, digital teaching methods, digital skills developed and digital strategy implemented by the departments.
In order to constitute the benchmark of skills to be measured for each axis, a correlation was made between the Reference framework for digital competence of the Quebec Ministry of Education and the INMQ reference framework. A new framework structured around 30 skills has been developed. A questionnaire was then prepared in order to allow effective measurement.
This was then validated on two study programs leading to the mining sector in Quebec in the fall of 2020, namely the DEP in Heavy Machinery Operation in Forest Roads and the DEC in Mineral Technology. These are offered at several educational institutions that participated in the exercise.
The full validation analysis can be found in the INMQ report.
Findings about the programs and the people who administer them
Beyond measuring the integration of digital technology in the two study programs, the validation of the tool made it possible to make certain observations about these programs and the people who administer them (teachers and directors).
We observe in particular "a significant need for information, popularization and awareness of the educational community not only on the principles underlying the 4th industrial revolution, but also on the digital transformation initiated by companies in several sectors, including the mining sector ”.
The four key findings are as follows:
- The importance of carrying out a digital 4.0 diagnosis in order to adequately plan the transition not only of a program, of a training offer and of resources (human, material, financial, etc.), but also of management strategies, governance, and digital interoperability between educational levels.
- The need to develop the digital skills of learners but also of all categories of staff in educational institutions.
- The need for greater agility in the process of updating or revising programs.
- The important place to be given to people, in particular to added value for people and to change management, in the 4.0 transformation process of a course, program, establishment, and more generally of the education system.
Now that it has been successfully validated, the diagnostic tool can be made available to other organizations, educational establishments and study program managers who wish to use it.
Educational institutions participating in the research:
• Cégep de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue
• James Bay Vocational Training Center
• Estuary vocational training center | Forestville
• Pays-des-Bleuets vocational training center
• Mont-Laurier vocational training center
• Sept-Îles vocational training center
Study or training programs tested with the tool:
DEP:
• Driving heavy machinery on forest roads
DEC :
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