How can we ensure digital confidence in the French education system?

 Testimonial from the Académie de Versailles seminar day on 24 November 2016

With the deployment of touch-screen tablets and the mobility of their use, the protection of minors is a major issue.

The State is responsible and, by delegation, so are school heads.

The protection of minors and the security of information systems in secondary schools and colleges has always been a priority for the Académie de Versailles.

The D.S.I. académique has therefore put in place appropriate services to strengthen digital security and offers them in its catalogue of services for business lines and catalogue for local authorities.

In addition to these technical measures, a 'security governance' body is being set up, comprising at least a 'digital confidence and security' project director, an R.S.S.I. (Information System Security Manager) and a CIL (Correspondant Informatique et Liberté). The P.S.S.I.E. is also being drawn up by the central administration with the help of the Versailles academy.

Clarification of responsibilities and a framework of rules relating to safety.

The large number of players in the establishment - manufacturers, service providers, operators, local authorities, academic departments and service providers - means that responsibilities need to be clarified and a framework of safety rules shared by all partners, and that staff need to be given a sense of responsibility through safety training and awareness-raising initiatives.

An academic seminar was held on 24 November 2016, chaired by Daniel Filâtre, Rector of the Versailles academy, on the theme of security and legal responsibilities. This seminar organised by the academic D.S.I. was made up of 2 sessions:

• in the morning for school heads as part of the digital environment in the 2nd level of education;
• in the afternoon for I.E.N. and school headmasters on digital technology in primary education.

More than 95 % of the respondents to the satisfaction survey carried out at the end of the seminar for 2nd level teachers said they were satisfied, or even very satisfied, with the seminar overall, which they felt was too short given the interest shown in the subjects covered and the quality of the presentations. New sessions were approved and will be scheduled.

Digital literacy, innovation and security

At the event, Daniel Filâtre emphasised his desire to strengthen the academy's place in a "digital culture" and an inventive "Fablab*" spirit. He called on staff to be in a position of "continuous learning".

The Rector invited schools not to limit themselves, to innovate in digital uses and to promote young talent. The Académie de Versailles has set up a young talent incubator with a digital hub. The aim is to identify young people with innovative ideas and a desire to take action in all the academy's collèges and lycées, and then to support them in carrying out their projects. The incubator offers academic, technical and logistical support, with the backing of private companies and the law firm POGGI Avocats IT. Such a nursery can entail risks, which are borne by school heads.

The aim of the safety and legal responsibility seminar is to support schools in this process. The Rector stressed that "safety is everyone's business".

For further information:

Seminar programme, survey results and slideshows presented at the seminar : https://edu-nuage.ac-versailles.fr/index.php/s/BQ73M3W91aMxUVD
* Fablab": contraction of "fabrication laboratory": sharing of skills and knowledge