Yesterday morning, at the Lycée des Eucalyptus, the start of the Press and Media Week was launched as part of an operation around structures entirely designed by the students of the institution accompanied by their teachers. Interview with the initiator of this project, the principal of the lycée, Hervé Beauvais.
A digital totem is a metallic structure in the form of a square post on which there is a series of QR codes that you just need to tag with your smartphone to display the destination URL. In simpler terms, you pass your internet-connected phone in front of this logo and are automatically directed to the site linked to it.
In the school courtyard, there are six totems with their specific themes such as media, local authorities, or the institution. Therefore, you find all the local authorities, all physically represented yesterday, but also local media like Nice Matin, France Bleu Azur, or Nice Premium, and national ones like Le Monde, the Huffington Post, or L’Equipe.
An excellent initiative to kick off this Press and Media Week at school, as evidenced by the numerous events organized over the coming days.
Nice Premium: Hervé Beauvais, this Monday marked the launch of the Digital Totems at your institution, can you explain the concept to us?
Hervé Beauvais: It involves using the students’ smartphone habits to propose adding those relating to the information necessary for their success as high school students. This information pertains to their schooling, orientation, health, internship, employment, and cultural offers… but also, as citizens, access to immediate information from various media partners in audio, print, and visual press. The information is delivered through the application of QR codes generated by the lycée.
NP: How did this project come about, and how did it unfold?
HB: The lycée has been benefiting from a significant renovation for four years. It is interesting to adapt to these new spaces equipped with innovative supports providing immediate thematic information. These totems were designed using software in the first term by sophomore students in EDPI (Study and Definition of Industrial Products), then built by CAP bodywork students in the second term. Meanwhile, contacts were made regarding the thematic contents.
NP: Will there be any follow-ups to this project?
HB: Regarding the digital totems, other complementary themes will be deployed to meet the needs expressed by students (creation of an information totem for the activities and projects of the Maison des Lycéens) or teachers (a totem located near the BTS classes dedicated to information on professional articles and job offers). A heritage totem on the history of Lycée Les Eucalyptus is being developed, as well as another on sustainable development resources…
Moreover, educational projects have taken place using QR codes at the general lycée as a reference tool in English courses, at the vocational lycée for following safety instructions or for an enriched resume.
NP: Any other projects within your dynamic institution?
HB: The inauguration of the Maison des Lycéens, the opening of an Industrial Science and Technology Space for elementary and middle school students in the Nice area, access for high school students to blue bikes as part of sustainable energy training, and the intention to create and animate a network of industrial alumni from the lycée are part of upcoming projects that are going to take shape.
NP: Finally, what does the Press and Media Week represent for an institution like yours?
HB: The civic dimension is evident. Training enlightened citizens is a mission of national education: it allows for the learning of opinion pluralism, democratic values, and the role that various media play as filters and means of access to knowledge. Media education also focuses on the challenges of new media practices among young people. It is important to reflect with our students on the realities of digital identity and responsible Internet use. Furthermore, high school students also greatly appreciate meeting and asking questions to media professionals who visit the institution.
