Distance learning in AFLEC schools

In the current circumstances, the use of distance learning is undoubtedly necessary to avoid breaks in the continuity of pupils’ schooling, as periods out of school are highly detrimental to the acquisition of knowledge and skills.
The teams at AFLEC schools have an excellent command of this mode of teaching. During the Covid-19 pandemic, they were able to set it up and run it in both primary and secondary education, from nursery school through to the final year of secondary school and in every subject, with an effectiveness recognised as remarkable, without jolts or turbulence.

This head start is due to the fact that, as early as the end of the last century, our association developed an in-depth reflection on the educational uses of digital technology, in conjunction with specialists from the Versailles education authority (académie de Versailles), a reflection complemented by very high-quality practical training, which made it possible to meet the specific needs of new recruits or of those whose skills might have been somewhat shaky. The lead we had in terms of reflection and implementation enabled pupils at AFLEC schools to achieve, during the “COVID years”, successes as remarkable as those of their predecessors. Digital applications and tools, in the hands of teachers who knew how to make the most of them, made it possible to compensate for the distance between teachers and pupils and even, better still, to recreate, thanks to the commitment of the teachers and their attention to the pupils’ progress or difficulties, a form of genuine shared presence.

In the medium term, distance learning could also make it possible to support pupils’ work at home, thereby giving real effect to the “devoirs faits” (supervised homework) scheme, and to implement genuine differentiation outside the classroom: with the help of artificial intelligence, it would be possible to adapt exercises and assignments so as to take account of pupils’ needs and any difficulties they may have.

I am certain that the unwavering commitment of the teachers and of all the teams in our lycées, together with their sense of mission, will enable them to do as well as they ordinarily do in person, in front of their classes. On site or at a distance, their teaching qualities are evident, and I thank them for the remarkable professional dedication they show.

On behalf of the steering
group, Paul Raucy,
President of AFLEC.