Since the start of the 2019 school year, paper notebooks are no longer mandatory in French schools. The Pronote platform records over 15 million active users each year, including both parents and students.
Families must now juggle between integrated messaging, educational portals, and mobile applications to keep track of their children’s education. However, a quarter of households are not fully equipped with suitable digital tools, according to INSEE. This upheaval raises questions as much as it facilitates the relationship between school and home.
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Digital in school: what changes for families and students?
The explosion of digital in schools is anything but trivial. In classrooms, methods are evolving, teachers are drawing on a variety of digital tools, and the pedagogical dynamic is being transformed. For students, it’s no longer just about learning to read or count: acquiring digital skills has become a necessary step, useful both in school and beyond. Exchanges between families and teachers are intended to be faster and more direct, but they require new reflexes and a certain agility in using the platforms.
However, the reality on the ground is far from uniform. Some children benefit from a stable connection and efficient tools, whether at home or in class. Others, on the contrary, face very concrete obstacles: insufficient equipment, unreliable connections, or a lack of support to adapt to these new practices. Disparities persist, especially since access to digital technology still often depends on where one lives or family income. Schools, aware of this gap, are investing in digital equipment and multiplying projects to strengthen equality. Yet, without active support from families, the move towards real digital inclusion remains fragile.
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Some platforms, like MonCollège Val d’Oise, illustrate this movement. They gather in one place everything that matters for tracking education: messaging, educational resources, homework calendars… Digital workspaces open the door to more regular monitoring, promote anticipation, and facilitate dialogue with teachers. But beyond the tools, a collective goal is emerging: to enable every family to adopt these digital practices, an essential condition for ensuring that school remains a level playing field.
Applications, platforms, and digital parenting: how to support academic success in the digital age
The massive arrival of educational applications and school platforms is disrupting family habits. Parents can now follow their child’s homework, grades, and progress in real time. This digital monitoring comes with a new vigilance: digital parenting is no longer just about monitoring screen time; it invites dialogue, setting boundaries, and supporting the child in their learning.
Here are some concrete uses that illustrate this transformation:
- Tracking results and absences from a digital workspace
- Easy access to educational resources to deepen learning
- Direct communication with teachers via secure messaging
Adopting these tools requires families to develop new habits and responsibilities. Supporting academic success is no longer just about checking homework on the table: it involves finding the right balance between trust and guidance. The issue of screen time occupies a central place, as does the need to educate about online safety. Parents decode usage, learn to better understand social networks, and stay informed about risks and best practices.
Access to technology is not enough. Education for digital citizenship is becoming essential. Guiding the child to navigate the Internet wisely, to distinguish reliable information from the rest, and to protect their privacy: these are challenges that enter daily family life. Platforms strengthen the link between school and home, but it is in the shared learning of digital skills that collective success is determined.
Tomorrow, the boundary between notebook and keyboard will continue to blur. It remains to be seen whether each household will turn this transition into a strength, or if digital technology will widen the gaps further. The challenge is no longer about choosing between screen and paper, but about inventing new balances so that digital education fulfills its promises.