No 19, December 2024

This issue includes two articles synthesizing knowledge, seven empirical studies, a discussion text and an interview. The focus of this issue is on eight articles exploring how current technologies can be mobilized for ever more precise adaptation to learner diversity, whether in initial or continuing training, regardless of their age or the challenges they face, and in a variety of contexts. This varia also highlights that, alongside the techno-pedagogical devices designed by institutions and teachers, learner practices and uses, particularly for young people, are largely influenced by their family and social environment.

This article examines how learning analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain technology are transforming the personalization of education. By exploring recent literature, it identifies the contributions and challenges of these technologies to enhancing educational pathways. The analysis suggests that the integration of these technologies offers unique opportunities for learning personalization, while raising important questions about security, privacy, and equity. The convergence of AI, learning analytics, and blockchain technology promises a revolution in the way education is delivered and received, allowing for precise adaptation to each learner's profile. However, this technological integration requires deep reflection on ethical and regulatory frameworks to ensure that education personalization benefits everyone, without compromising data security or exacerbating inequalities. The article advocates for close collaboration between technological developers, educators, and policymakers to address these challenges and fully exploit the potential of these emerging technologies in education.

Teacher shortage is an international issue that does not spare Quebec (Desmeules et Hamel, 2017; Mukamurera et al., 2023; Portelance et al., 2008; Létourneau, 2014). Quality continuing education is one of the ways to retain and attract teachersbecause it equips them for the new realities of their profession and fosters their professional commitment (Homsy et al., 2019; OCDE, 2018). The current situation has a direct impact on the quality of teaching and the future of students. This leads us to question the solutions to be considered to promote the attraction and retention of teaching staff and the documented issues that link the shortage of teaching staff to the training that is currently on offer. The aim of this literature review is to examine how the development of teaching skills can contribute to improving the attraction and retention of teaching staff in Quebec. The analysis of existing work has led us to explore a new angle that could be useful both in Quebec and internationally: the integration of concepts from educational technology as courses of action to support the implementation of a professional development approach.

As part of a collaborative research project investigating the effects of a tablet distribution program and the encouragement of digital usage in the classroom on the learning of eighth-grade students, we sought to counter the initial objective by considering the impact of social backgrounds on students' relationship with digital culture. Using a sociocritical approach to digital education and the concept of digital capital, modeled with data from a survey administered to eighth-grade students, the dispositional hypothesis was tested on students' self-reported uses (reading, writing, information practices) and their Pix test evaluations. The results allow us to conclude on the influence of digital dispositions acquired within the family environment and to question the incentive program implemented in the school.

Students have the opportunity to use different digital tools for collaboration purposes, particularly when they engage in research activities or investigations. But these tools can be part of distinct contexts, official or unofficial, depending on those used. Hence the interest in examining the interactive processes at work in both cases, just as the gradual transition from one to the other is likely to explain why the players distance themselves somewhat from the official bodies in order to work together. It is then hypothesized that such transition is capable of giving collective activity an heuristic dimension, notably a propensity for discovery. In this paper, it is put to the test in support of a theoretical field (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) and data (qualitative/quantitative) from recent studies, bearing in mind that another factor (the size of the groups formed by the students) seems to play a significant role in this matter.

More and more Canadian businesses are changing their work organization to include people with cognitive disabilities (PCDs) in their workforces to reduce the impact of the current labour shortage in the West. However, these workers have specific needs, particularly with respect to on-the-job training. This research looks at the specific features of PLC that need to be promoted when creating and validating online training. Taking a user-centered approach (UCA), a training platform was developed for a Quebec-based adapted enterprise. In addition to contributing to the limited scientific literature in the field, this process identified some recommendations for managers who wish to establish workplace training for this population.

Online learning in asynchronous courses is an essential component of lifelong learning. However, seniors are one of the most excluded groups. It's important to consider them because, in the near term, they may be faced with the need for this type of training. One can think of experienced workers who are obligated to take asynchronous training provided by their professional associations to continue practicing. The Centre collégial d'expertise en gérontologie has teamed up with Le-Cours, a company specializing in online educational solutions, to test and adapt asynchronous training designed for workers and make it accessible to seniors. The results show that training accessibility remains a challenge. Of the nine people in Quebec aged between 71 and 83, only two were able to complete the training on their own. This article describes the action research study that led to the development of a framework to synthesize the design principles which should be considered when developing user-friendly interfaces for seniors. Two conceptual frameworks were used to support the adaptation of asynchronous training and develop the framework: user-centered design and user interface design for an aging population.

Various digital integration models make it possible to consider the integration of digital tools in education from the perspective of improving teaching and learning practices (Fiévez, 2017). However, only two models focus on both the innovative nature of digital tools use and the improvement of student learning in an integrated way: the SAMR (Puentedura, 2010) and ASPID (Karsenti & Bugmann, 2018) models. As these models have certain shortcomings, particularly of a methodological nature, we decided to propose a new one that would make it possible to understand the relationship between the transformation of teaching practices through the integration of digital technology and the improvement in learners' learning. Based on this model, 56 practice analyses were carried out. Preliminary interviews with the teachers, recordings of the sequence and debriefing interviews were used to gather the data required for these analyses. This article presents the methodology used to develop the model, the model itself and the results of the practice analyses carried out to verify its usability.

This article addresses the relationship between self-efficacy (SE), self-regulated learning (SRL), and the hybrid learning context experience at the University of Paris Cité. The study, motivated by the hybridization of learning due to the increase in student numbers and logistical challenges, explores the correlation between these two variables and students' experience in a hybrid learning context. Using a quantitative approach, we analyzed the responses of 110 students, concluding that SE and SRL evolve based on students' experience, suggesting important implications for optimizing teaching strategies in hybrid environments.

This article presents the results of a mixed methods study carried out at Université Côte d'Azur (France) in the context of the introduction of digital syllabi. As tools for student learning, syllabi (or course plans) are likely to encourage a convergent representation of lecturers' pedagogical intentions and students' perceptions. This study reports on the questioned students and lecturers’ perceptions of syllabi (by means of questionnaires and semi-directive interviews) and on their perceptions of the system put in place in their university. The results highlight a divergence between lecturers' projections and students' expectations. They highlight the need for a better understanding of students' needs and the development of a shared representation of the learning environment to promote a successful learning experience.

The pandemic was an opportunity for many teachers to discover or deepen their knowledge and skills in distance education (DE). Whether they already had experience or not, they had to make the urgent transition from face-to-face to distance teaching to adapt to the demands of public health measures. In the process, representations and opinions about DE evolved. While the urgency with which the transition to DE was made could have worsened teachers' views of this mode of education, on the opposite some data collected during a survey tend to show an increase in appreciation of it at all levels of education. However, opinions are not consistent, and it is possible to question the representativeness of the respondent sample as well as the links between representations and practices. This article merely opens a discussion that deserves to be continued in light of other data.

Professor Joao Mattar has been involved in e-learning and in the development of distance education for many years and recently became President of the Brazilian Association of Distance Education (ABED). He explains that Brazil now has more distance students than face-to-face students. However, the quality of distance education is being questioned by the current government, which is holding back its development, as highlighted by a comparison with the situation in other countries.