Last updated on 24 June 2024
What if sharing was the key to enriching and stimulating digital education? This is the Forge of Educational Digital Commons. This unique platform shakes up codes by inviting teachers, pedagogical communities and partners to join forces.
The idea is to create together, share and bring to life open source software and educational resources. A platform and a movement that gain to be known. This article modestly proposes to do so. Do not be afraid! Immerse yourself in this abundant ecosystem that puts collaboration at the heart of pedagogical innovation. You'll be in good company.
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The Forge of Educational Digital Commons: much more than a platform
Born of the will of the Digital for Education Directorate To pool energies and different actions, the Forge is positioned as a crossroads of free educational initiatives.
Its ambition is to catalyse synergies between education stakeholders in order to bring about useful and innovative digital projects. Teachers from primary to higher education, trainers, developers, … associations
A pool of free educational resources
La Forge is full of educational nuggets, carefully designed and shared by its contributors. Software, web applications, course materials, interactive exercises … Resources cover a wide range of disciplines and levels. Key projects include PrimTux, a comprehensive IT environment for primary education, MathALEA that revolutionises mathematics learning, e-comBox, application platform to develop digital skills, and the Great Night of the Code. Enough to feed his pedagogical practice.
Resources available on the Forge of Educational Digital Commons
The diversity of resources available from the Forge is impressive with open educational resources, complete courses, exercises and teaching materials in various disciplines.
You will also find many tutorials and templates to help you create your own digital resources. Finally you will have access to many free educational software.
Five free software programs that are part of the Forge of Educational Digital Commons
Here is a very small selection from the beautiful list of free software resources available as part of the Forge.
MathALEA
MathALEA is a platform offering Open Resources in Mathematics. It offers more than 2000 random data exercises, with a parameterization of didactic variables. The exercises are suitable for use on video projector, smartphone and paper.
Classroom interest: MathALEA is a powerful tool for mathematics teachers. They can generate various exercises to work automatisms, print different homework for each student, evaluate students on computer and provide revision links with corrections. This personalisation facilitates differentiation and individualisation of learning.
QCMCam
QCMCam is an online tool that provides instant feedback from students during an assessment, survey or vote. Each student has a unique printed marker. By orienting the marker, four answers are possible.
Classroom interest: QCMCam promotes student interactivity and engagement. Teachers can quickly assess class understanding, identify bottlenecks, and adapt their teaching accordingly. It is also a fun way to boost lessons and keep students’ attention.
myMarkmap
myMarkmap is an online tool that allows you to create mind maps easily and without registration. It offers an intuitive interface to organize your ideas visually.
Classroom interest: Mind maps are an excellent tool for developing students’ organisational and synthesis skills. With myMarkmap, they can structure their thinking, memorize more effectively and develop their creativity. This tool is easily integrated into different school contexts (planning a writing, revising a chapter, etc.).
Flipbook
Flipbook is a tool for Easily create an e-book available online. It reproduces the experience of reading a paper book, with an animation of turning pages.
Classroom interest: With Flipbook, teachers can create attractive and interactive course materials. It is also a way for students to present their written productions in an original way. The book format brings a touch of tangibility and commitment to reading on screen.
Mon-oral.net
Mon-oral.net is a free platform dedicated to speaking in primary and secondary school. It offers resources and activities to train in speaking and oral exams.
Classroom interest: Fluency in oral language is a key skill in the academic and professional career. With mon-oral.net, teachers have access to a comprehensive tool to work on this all too often overlooked skill. Students can register, listen to each other again and receive feedback. It is a valuable accompaniment to develop their fluency and confidence in speaking.
These five softwares, among others, testify to the richness and potential of educational digital commons. Whether it is generating adapted math exercises, getting immediate feedback from students, visually structuring one’s thinking, reading interactively or progressing orally, La Forge is full of nuggets that are just waiting to be used pedagogically.
Join the adventure of the Forge
Seduced by the potential of the Forge? Nothing is easier to contribute! If you are a French teacher, your apps account gives you access to the platform. Other educational actors may apply to register. You are then free to consult the resources, submit your own productions, join an existing project or initiate a new one.
Exchange spaces and documentation will guide you in your first steps. It won't be too much.
We see it as a great initiative that can only be supported. I said it when I started it would benefit from being better known and more used.
This would also require addressing a few recurring weaknesses.
Ergonomics and intuitiveness. Accessibility of Forge tools for teachers who do not have extensive experience in IT remains a problem. This is a challenge for the democratisation of digital educational commons. It must be recognized that some resources of the Forge may require a minimum of technical skills to be taken in hand.
Visibility. With a rich and varied offer, it can be difficult for a teacher to quickly find the resource that exactly fits their need. Without effective referencing and advanced search tools, the discovery of rare Forge pearls can be time-consuming.
Recognition of investment. Contributing to the development of the Forge's resources represents a significant investment for a teacher. Without an institutional recognition of this time, whether in terms of remuneration or professional development, how can we avoid shortness of breath?
In the meantime, let's not waste our pleasure. Immerse yourself in educational digital commons and long life to the project.
English
Thank you for helping us discover the Forge! It is still under construction, and we are working to ensure that the documentation will soon allow everyone to join it without too much difficulty.
Do not hesitate to also discover the portals that several teachers have started to make to present their applications. I am thinking in particular of that of Arnaud Champollion for primary school: https://educajou.forge.apps.education.fr
Hello,
Thank you for these shares always rich.
On the other hand, I have just tried to access monoral.net and Flipbook and unless I am mistaken, both require a National Education ID. In my view, this is a major limitation to be pointed out and emphasised unambiguously from the introduction (‘teacher-e’ is not synonymous with National Education).
But in any case, thank you again for this important work of monitoring and dissemination.
CodEx, the code by exercises, is present on the Forge of Educational Digital Commons. It is a platform for autonomous learning to program in Python, with interactive exercises.
https://codex.forge.apps.education.fr/
I would like to reply to Elisa Bert’s comment above: no, the applications cited do not require a National Education ID.
As for Flipbook, of which I am the developer, the application works with several possible sources for its Markdown file: you can use CodiMD, which is actually reserved for teachers of national education, but you can also use other services, open to everyone!