In tech, there is unanimity on all continents, except perhaps Antarctica: Quebec is a breeding ground for talented and inexpensive workers. Water carriers adapted to the digital economy. However, the province creates few new businesses. Even less new technologies. And certainly not new industries. It all starts on the school benches …
It is difficult to imagine that the next Google or the next Netflix will emerge in Quebec. Yet these giants of the digital economy have opened offices in the province. They validate the notion that what is done in Quebec is good. Maybe just not good enough for a locally owned giant to step in for them.
However, and whatever some foreign short sellers may say, Quebec technologies are very successful these days. CGI, Coveo, Lightspeed and other Stingrays are doing quite well on the Toronto Stock Exchange and commercially, in both domestic and international markets.
“At zero cost”
The most frequently used performance indicator to illustrate Quebec’s success in technology is the number of workers in the industry. The contribution to the GDP, the profits repatriated from abroad to the province and the relative size of Quebec companies vis-à-vis their foreign counterparts are generally left muted.
Despite herself, the school has its role to play in this. Over the course of the announcements of public and private investments in techno as elsewhere, the impression is created that the main function of the Quebec school system is to train the workforce of tomorrow, rather than citizens and decision-makers ready to take on challenges that go beyond the good old nine to five.
For a parent, knowing that their child will leave school with “a job steady and a good boss », As Yvon Deschamps quipped at another time, is always reassuring. For the government too: a good employee will pay more than his share of taxes. This tax is also part of the calculation used by Quebec to justify investments that are not always unanimous.
When we speak of a public investment “at zero cost”, it is because we compare the sum invested in the private sector with the revenues which will then return to the State. These revenues are mainly drawn from the wages of the jobs that will be created as a result of these investments.
At the right school
Last week was the 2021 edition of Computer Science Education Week. The event takes place in both Canada and the United States. It is particularly celebrated by the tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft, who obviously preach for their parish. They emphasize the interest for students to familiarize themselves from an early age with digital technology in general and computer programming in particular.
The message sent during this week does not resonate very strongly in Quebec. He should. This message is simple: digital technologies are not an end in themselves, but another tool to help young people grow up better.
François Lake-Héon is an elementary school teacher in Sainte-Julie, on the South Shore in the Montreal region. For several years now, he has introduced his students to programming using the Apple iPad tablet. Nothing very complicated, just what it takes to hook young people who have a certain interest in digital. “At home, we tend to think of the iPad as an entertainment device, but it’s also a very effective educational tool. “
“For me, the beauty of the school is that there are teachers there who come from all walks of life and who have different interests. Each will interest students who will develop these same interests. You have to allow the students to have fun, and I have students who have fun with programming. “
The society of tomorrow
More and more Quebec teachers are taking advantage of the free programs offered to them by the tech giants to put their students in contact with digital environments that can give rise to the most interested in the desire to go further in technology. We can criticize the presence of these multinationals in schools, but they only fill a void.
Their goal is not to exchange the Canada notebook and the lead pencil for a screen in front of which the child will spend most of his day. This is an opportunity to approach technologies from a positive angle and in a controlled framework, which will then prepare young people to face more complex reflections themselves: the consequences of content shared on Instagram, the risks associated with digital economy, confidentiality of personal data, etc.
François Lake-Héon’s school shares the same tablets from one class to another. This has an unexpected advantage: students care a little more about privacy. At the very least, theirs. They are responsible for the photos and other documents they create and save on the device. They must ensure that the student who takes possession of it subsequently does not inherit this content. It is also a first step towards learning about the risk associated with digital photography in this era of cyberbullying …
In short, it is a very normal preparation for a society which will be more and more digital. We are obviously far from having a master’s degree in business management. But it is also broader than training for future employees. After all, school is more than a job. It is a creative framework where crazy ideas can be born, such as creating an online bookstore (Amazon) or a public student directory (Facebook) …
“For me, programming is used to prepare students for the society of tomorrow. It allows you to do it in a context of learning and fun, ”concludes François Lake-Héon. The Julien teacher is obviously passionate. Passionate teachers are often the ones who also leave the most inspiring memory in the minds of students.