The University of Montpellier commits to civic education with the creation of a Mooc

The search for and communication of information is a subject that concerns everyone. Against a backdrop of an overabundance of more or less controlled information on networks, cross-disciplinary skills are more necessary than ever for citizens wishing to find their way around, exercise their critical faculties judiciously and find relevant information on a subject objectively. To meet these requirements, the University of Montpellier has created an online course (Mooc) on the theme of "se former pour mieux s'informer, relever le défi de l'information", which will run from February 19 to April 20, 2024. It will be freely accessible on the France Université Numérique platform.

Why create the Mooc?

Today, information plays a major role in the political and economic sphere, as well as in people's private lives. Choosing your sources of information, searching effectively, assessing the reliability of a document or website, keeping a critical mind: thanks to its targeted yet global nature, this Mooc enables you to acquire fundamental skills, whatever the constantly changing technical and technological environment in which we study, work and live on a daily basis.

Designed by the shared documentation service, this Mooc gives everyone the keys to finding their way in a context of overabundance of more or less controlled information on websites and social networks. It enables you to acquire the information skills that are more than ever necessary for any citizen wishing to find their way around, exercise their critical faculties judiciously and find relevant information on a subject objectively. It invites you to reflect on your own practices, and offers methodological tools, exercises and activities, summary sheets and various supports to help you go further. The course is divided into 6 parts, each of which will open up as the weeks progress. Through introductory and summary videos, interactive presentations and quizzes, students will be able to discover best practices in information research. The teaching team will host a forum several times a week.

The Mooc is open to the general public and requires no prerequisites. Skills acquisition is validated at the end of the six-week training course by a certificate of successful completion in the form of an openbadge. Registration is open until March 20, 2024.

A Mooc in line with the values of the University of Montpellier

The University of Montpellier is committed to excellence in both research and student training, in order to meet tomorrow's societal challenges. The profound changes taking place in society and the economy, driven by concerns about climate, health and working conditions, will require everyone to be able to train and inform themselves independently, in order to meet immediate work needs, acquire the ability to adapt to lifelong employment, or maintain an essential link between science and society. The University of Montpellier was naturally keen to promote this project, and make it a real subject, due to its originality, on a topic that is still very little dealt with, and the fact that it is aimed at all publics with a civic dimension. This Mooc is part of the strategic management dialogue (2022), and is co-financed by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.