A look back at the 4th edition of the iPad and Digital Education Summit

On May 5 and 6, 2016, the IPad and digital education summit to Montreal. Since its first edition, bringing together a few hundred school representatives in a room for one day, this international event as well as the workshops and conferences offered there have evolved well.

Indeed, if the some 1,200 participants this year (including those of the International Colloquium on Education, which is being held at the same time), coming from some forty countries, proudly demonstrate their openness to the use of technology in the classroom, the speeches are more nuanced, the workshops and conferences carry a deeper and more insistent message. The change towards digital pedagogy is necessary and urgent to prepare our students for the realities of today and tomorrow, and it must take into account the main stakeholders, the students, while considering the impact of new educational tools on life. family and therefore, on the parents.

I had the pleasure of interacting with a few participants who have been experiencing this shift for several years. Most of them mentioned to me that they had noticed this evolution in their respective circles and this was reflected in several conferences.

The future… Future speakers, who knows? Students of the Etchemins secondary school. #ipad16 #crifpe16 pic.twitter.com/Xogdl0o8eD

- Rachel Chavannes (@rachelchavannes) May 6, 2016

Panel of students from Les Etchemins high school.

Indeed, after unpacking the device, the training offered to teachers, the hiring of a resource in the school, the establishment of a policy and rules, what remains of the starting momentum? Where are we going? What is the next step? How to keep the momentum of the change train going?

First, we must keep in mind that the substitution (first stage of SAMR model) or the masterful approach paired with a digital device does not make the use of the tools profitable. To go further, the teacher and the whole school team must stay the course towards redefinition (last step of the SAMR model) to feel a real transformation in the practices and the benefits of these “pedagogical” instruments. The obstruction can come from a breathless, resistant, poorly equipped educator, etc. Whatever happens, the team must be strong and ready to support its members in all circumstances.

Extract of Thinking outside the box goes beyond taking out the digital tool !,
by Marie-Andrée Croteau

We should not be afraid to consult parents and students to ensure that their needs are met and that they receive their support and collaboration in certain projects. The presence of students at the Summit, as pointed out by its organizer, is a growing trend in this type of gathering and testifies to the importance they must have in the process. Indeed, their involvement, as well as that of parents, in the development of projects, rules, etc. reminds us that these are our local data source to consider before external data governs our environment.

Extract of Digital citizenship to educate about digital presence,
by Sébastien Stasse

The content of the workshops for this 2016 edition was intended to be concrete and varied: collaboration, co-creation, creativity, commitment are just a few skills that they have targeted. Multiple ways of integrating the tablet or the laptop in a classroom redesigned for today's world were suggested by the hundreds of speakers present. We can also consult some of the presentations speakers on the Summit website or from links posted on the Twitter feed via the hashtag #ipad16.