INTERACTIVE LEARNING INTRODUCED IN MONACO PRIMARY SCHOOLS

In 2014, the Government of Monaco launched a project of upgrading its schools, with an estimated €2.2 billion investment spread over the next five years. At the start of 2016, six elementary schools in Monaco were to be equipped with interactive facilities.

Interactive boards and video will replace traditional blackboards and chalk. Something the students and teachers will have to get used to. According to Emmanuel Asso, the pedagogical advisor for the Office of Education, Youth and Sports, the new equipment “will make a valuable contribution to the learning process, making it more fun.”

Mr. Asso personally made a demonstration of various possibilities of the learning equipment. The interactive recording of the lesson, with illustrations and comments from the teacher and the class, was particularly applauded. All the students got its copy of the software at the end of class. This option will give the young students of the Principality a better understanding of the material and will serve as a basis for further study of topics by a teacher. Interactive geometric lines, a historical footage and a collective correction of dictations – the learning process in the Principality is becoming more and more fun.

Director of the primary school in Fontvieille, Veronique Casel, fully supports the introduction of new technologies. She said: “children memorize new material better thanks to the interactive whiteboard. Their level of concentration has also increased. Our teachers who already tested the equipment are sure that it will improve the learning process.”

Before installing the interactive learning equipment in Monegasque schools, the Government of the Principality did a general teacher training course necessary for launching the innovation program. According to Nicolas Rodier, deputy director of the Office of Education: “we were not going to make the new equipment compulsory. To start with, we did the tests in different classes. The feedback was very positive. That is when we launched the project into operation”.

Ninety-one interactive video projectors and nine interactive whiteboards were installed. The classrooms also got equipped with digital tablets – 10 tablets per two classes. This equipment will be used for the workshops, allowing students to work in groups and for the previously rehearsed interactive lessons. By the start of the academic year 2016, a total of €540,000 will be spent across six primary schools.