No 3, April 2020

At a time when the world is going through a health crisis that is transforming human relations and the relationship to training, this special issue proposes to question distance learning and more specifically telepresence in higher education. The authors offer new insights by placing at the heart of their concerns the human dimension of synchronous and distant teaching and learning activities.

Given the polysemic nature of the term telepresence, this article proposes various definitions of the concept and identifies various uses of digital devices in a training context in order to be « present at a distance.» The telepresence devices are listed using a systematic literature review process and are defined as immersive videoconferencing rooms, telepresence robots, virtual reality and holograms. This overview of telepresence helps us to better define the parameters of a concept that allows us to approach training in the digital age often offered online.

Do synchronous online classrooms modify teacher professionality, and what are the resulting transformations? This research conducted with teachers at Forse digital campus at the University of Rouen illustrates that media-based communication devices make possible new ways of intervening for evening classes and teleworking. It is thus the professional teaching act that is questioned in its institutional, epistemic dimensions and the foundation of the expression of professional teaching action such as the absence of the instituting body of the teacher.

Technopedagogical devices such as video conferencing are emerging technologies that are increasingly in use in higher education. Some educational institutions invest heavily in their implementation and deployment for distance learning education. However, little is known about the uses that trainers make of them and about the role of educational advisors in this context. This paper presents a study carried out as part of the TOPIC project (Téléprésence comme OPportunité d’Innovation dans la Conception de formation) a joint project between the University of Sherbrooke (Canada) and the Université Bretagne Loire (France). An online survey was sent to 174 trainers from the two partner universities using the following questions "What are the current uses, the level of ease and the expectations of teachers vis-à-vis technopedagogical (videoconference) devices? ". Survey findings show that video conferencing devices are not widely used, that there is little use of videoconferencing devices, and that trainers are poorly trained (or receive little training) to use them. Nevertheless, a majority of respondents to the online survey indicated that they were confident in their ability to teach using digital technology. In terms of training, the online survey findings show that trainers favour the use of self-training resources, personalized accompaniment support or a combination of resources and support.

Annie Jézégou is Professor of Education and Training Sciences at the University of Lille (France) at the CIREL laboratory (Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherche en Education de Lille) and at the SEFA department (Sciences of Adult Education and Training). The general aim of her work is to address the technical-pedagogical and socio-pedagogical dimensions that promote the self-direction of learners in e-learning. Her research on e-Learning has, in particular, made it possible to provide theoretical support for the concept of opening up digital learning environments. It has also contributed to modelling the phenomenon of distance presence in an e-learning context.

Directed by Jean-Luc Rinaudo, "La téléprésence en formation (Telepresence in Training)" is the result of a symposium held in 2017 that brought together researchers from four different countries (France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada) and that took place during the meetings of the International Network for Research in Education and Training (Réseau international de recherche en éducation et formation - RÉF). Comprising nine chapters divided into three themes, the book is based on various research studies on telepresence, thus providing a broad overview of this crucial topic for e-learning.