The Digital
Leadership & vision
When I took over the management of Notre-Dame du Lac in 2019, I had a clear ambition for the School: to preserve what makes NDL unique while fully preparing it for the world of tomorrow.
The challenge has always been, for me, to find the right balance between tradition and innovation, academic excellence and the evolving needs of a global and increasingly digital society.
Notre-Dame du Lac has a strong identity, a long educational tradition, and a deeply rooted pedagogical philosophy. My role is not to replace this heritage, but to ensure that it continues to evolve and remain relevant for future generations.
Nicolas Nové-Josserand, General Director
Technology must serve pedagogy
One of the principles that guides our strategy is simple: technology must never be used for its own sake.
I had previously been able to observe environments in which digital tools were very present, but without a real educational framework or structured vision. The risk is then to have a lot of technology without any real impact on learning.
At Notre-Dame du Lac, we have therefore made another choice: to give each digital tool a clear educational purpose.
The iPad, for example, is not considered a gadget or a substitute for traditional learning. It becomes relevant when it helps to promote differentiation, creativity, collaboration or the personalisation of learning.
The question we systematically ask ourselves is the following:
Does this tool merely replace an existing practice or does it actually improve and transform the way students learn?
A structured digital strategy
Our approach is based in particular on the model SAMR, which allows for a gradual reflection on the use of digital tools:
- Substitution
- Augmentation
- Modification
- Redefinition
This framework helps us to assess the relevance of each tool and to integrate digital technology in a thoughtful rather than systematic way.
Our goal is not to create a fully digital school. On the contrary: we wish to preserve the essential place of books, handwriting, oral communication, human relationships, physical activity and concrete experimentation, while teaching students to use digital tools intelligently and responsibly.
Creative students, not just consumers
Another essential principle is that our students should not only consume digital content.
We want them to be able to create, organise, collaborate, solve problems and communicate.
Technology can thus enable them to produce a scientific documentary, design an interactive presentation, create a awareness campaign, programme a robot, produce a digital comic or collaborate on a collective project.
Used in this way, digital technology becomes a true lever for creativity, autonomy and deepening learning.
Our ambition is to train students who understand technology, rather than simply knowing how to use it.
Preparing students for a digital world and artificial intelligence
Today, this reflection naturally extends to artificial intelligence.
AI is already transforming education, work and society. The school therefore has the responsibility to help students understand these technologies and develop the critical thinking necessary to use them responsibly.
Our approach is not to replace learning with artificial intelligence, but to teach students to question information, understand how digital tools work and preserve their own capacity for judgment, creativity and reflection.
Technology must remain a tool at the service of the student, and not to replace their thinking.
Supporting teachers
No digital strategy can succeed without teachers.
That is why supporting teaching teams is one of the pillars of our approach.
We have developed :
- regular training in partnership with ART Computer ;
- a dedicated digital reference working alongside teachers ;
- opportunities for co-teaching and experimentation ;
- practical workshops tailored to different levels of mastery ;
- a culture of sharing best practices among colleagues.
Change cannot simply be imposed. It must be supported.
Teachers need time, support, training, and trust to progress at their own pace.
Our goal is not only the mastery of digital tools: it is primarily to strengthen pedagogy and to enable each teacher to choose the right tool for the right learning objective.
A deeply human approach to innovation
Ultimately, our digital strategy reflects the broader educational philosophy of Notre-Dame du Lac.
We want our students to grow fully rooted in their time, without becoming dependent on it.
They must understand technology, know how to use it creatively and responsibly, and be prepared for the world in which they will evolve. But they must also develop everything that technology can never replace: human relationship, empathy, discernment, curiosity, culture, language and the ability to think for oneself.
In my eyes, this is the whole issue of innovation in education: not to follow every new technological trend, but to choose with discernment what truly helps us to accomplish our mission as a School.
