Education and Technology

In partnership with Professor Caroline Lequesne-Roth, University of Nice

This research project investigates the ethical, social, and legal implications of technology use on university campuses during the pandemic. Virtual teaching and examinations are at the heart of the project.

While the pandemic has forced much of the world's population to remote work, universities are no exception. With classrooms moving into their bedrooms, students are now forced to learn alone in their homes. This situation leads universities to equip themselves with the technology necessary for them to pursue their primary mission of teaching, as well as enable students to graduate. Some of these new technological tools are based on large data collection, or even on artificial intelligence systems such as facial recognition. Clearly, the use of such tools raises many questions for students concerned with their own protection, as well as for universities that are responsible for maintaining their physical and mental health, as well as the security and confidentiality of their personal data. The risk of technological hyper-surveillance of students is clearly emerging today. Another issue is the difficulty of maintaining a healthy learning environment where ideas can be expressed in a way that respects freedoms, especially academic freedom and freedom of expression. This is a renewed challenge in a digital environment, controlled by mostly American private companies.

In this context, we are investigating several technological practices or intrusions, in particular :

1. Virtual courses, recorded classes and platforms 
2. Automated evaluation of students
3. Examination monitoring tools 

This content has been updated on 26 November 2022 at 15 h 37 min.