A teacher guides a tabby cat across the screen using the MIT software program Scratch. Thierry Viéville, an Inria researcher specialized in popular science, comments, "Now you can say that you've worked with your first algorithms."
Viéville is part of Class'Code, a hybrid MOOC on technology skills that combines online and in-person class sessions. He explains, "The program fills a need: training teachers to help their students better understand technology." The French government's Investments for the Future program has contributed €1 million and other public and private partners have doubled the sum. Class'Code made its grand debut in the fall of 2016.
Mixed-Format MOOC
Class'Code has adopted a holistic approach to teaching technology skills. The free class favors learning by doing and features applications like Scratch. "The class unpacks coding and digital technology, including the history of IT. The goal is to help teachers use these tools in an informed way," says Viéville.
10,000 people have already signed up for the first of Class'Code's five units, launched in the fall of 2016. Each unit includes at least ten hours of coursework and in-person sessions that help participants to feel less isolated. At these sessions, IT engineers, researchers and teachers serve as volunteer class facilitators. Teachers who attend the regional sessions have a 75% success rate, as compared with 5% for online-only students.
Teach the Teachers
Whether they are controlling robots, animating Legos or learning about networks, teachers can receive teaching certification credits for the skills that they learn through Class'Code. At the end of the course, participants receive certificates that they can present to the French teacher training authority, Cerpep.
The credits serve as a strong incentive for teachers to take the Inria class. Over the next five years, Class'Code aims to reach 300,000 teachers, most of whom work at the middle and high school levels. Since the class is open to the public, the sky is the limit.
