Blog

Last Tuesday, eLycée hold its first team meeting on Marratech.
The agenda was to get everyone to meet the other ones, as the eLycée team is spreading from Sam Francisco to Tokyo via Philadelphia, Paris and Marseille.
Some were just awakening, other were ready to go to bed…but we did it !
Another objective was to test the capacity of Marratech, and the problems everyone could meet, depending on everyone’s equipment or Internet connection.
We were all surprised by the quality of the transmissions, both audio and video. We even used the white board to take some notes and describe everyone’s job.

Next meeting is scheduled in two weeks, and we are all looking forward to it.

Belle de Mai asked Michel and Christine to participate at a workshop about Fundraising.
With two Business Angels and two Venture Capitalists and in front of more than 30 project leaders, the eLycée tandem told its adventure.
The regular way of funding a start-up is 1. Founders 2. Friends & family 3. Business Angels 4.VC and 5.Banks.
eLycée has followed this scheme, standing now at level 3, VC intervening only when the company has started to get a turnover.
In France, there are 10 times less Business Angels than in any other English-speaking country. They can be reached either individually, or through Business Angels Clubs.
The project must meet a few criteria : is there a concept ? Is there a market ? What is the true advantage against competitor ? Is the team strong enough to lead the project to its term ?
Then, they key to success is the trust and confidence in the relationship between the project leading team and the investor.

We are happy to introduce Julian who is going to be from June 1st in Philadelphia to open our French East Coast office. He is going to be in charge of promoting eLycée in the US.

This is how he chose to introduce himself :

I am mostly British, part Italian, and as French as it is possible for an Englishman to be…
I graduated from Oxford University in 1995 with a degree in French and Linguistics and, after working in journalism, television and publishing in London, I moved to Marseille in 1999. I was Marketing & Communications Manager for Gemplus International until 2004 when I started work as a freelance communications and business development consultant, and then set up my own company in 2005.

I met Christine earlier this year and we talked briefly about eLycee; it’s the kind of brilliantly simple concept that you hear about and immediately say to yourself “I wish I’d thought of that!” I was immediately hooked… and it’s great to be on board.

I’ll be in Philadelphia - a city that I know and love - from 1 June… and I can’t wait to get started.
If you need/want to get in touch: julian.hirst@elycee.com.. See you soon…

Last week, eLycée attended the “Forum de l’Innovation” in Marseille, where François Loos, French Industry Minister, expressed some relevant points.

The Minister remarks that France has a good international levels regarding its multinational companies, and that the small industry business is healthy. However, these small industries have trouble expanding themselves, and a lot of them just disappear. Why ? Because money doesn’t flow in.. Not enough Business Angels, banks playing shy…This Forum, who allowed very small businesses to meet investors. Was there to fill this lack.
The other interesting topic raised by the Minister was that these very small business not only are interested by new technologies, but most of all, by the ways people do use them and make them their own…

If you wish to send us any questions regarding this blog, or any subject you would like eLycée to raise, or if you have ay point of view you aould like to share with eLycée, please feel free to write at : blog@elycee.net.

eLycée recherche des enseignants diplômés de l’Education nationale française pour enseigner le français à des enfants et adolescents francophones scolarisés dans le système éducatif américain, ceci pour l’année scolaire 2006-2007. Il s’agit de cours extra scolaires à distance et l’enseignement est dispensé de la maison. Temps plein ou partiel.
Contact :christine.frin@elycee.com

Two new members just joined the eLycee team : Alain and Nadia !

Alain and Nadia will be moving to San Francisco this summer.

Nadia will be our Educational director and Alain one of eLycée teachers, even more…

Alain and Nadia are Professeurs des Ecoles (primary school teachers), and director and IUFM Formateurs from the French National Education. Alain and Nadia worked at the Lycée Français de New York from 1999 to 2002.

This is how they chose to introduce themselves:

Nadia Vuong Mollet :

I am thrilled to be part of eLycee team as the Educational Director, to aim at innovation with literature lovers, education leaders and technology specialists. Together, we are building an unique type of school, offering new ways of teaching, creating a dynamic learning structure via Internet… What a fascinating project !
Mother of two young adults (Léa and Théo), I have been a teacher for 22 years and a trainer (Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres) in France and in the United States. The last seven years I developed specific skills regarding bilingualism and biculturalism as I taught French Language to students from beginners to native speakers, in a French school in NewYork City. I plan to use this experience to assure each student a special and adapted attention, giving him the ability to appreciate French culture by expressing his creativity.
Discovering San Francisco, another legendary city, will be delightful!

Alain Vuong

After eighteen years of teaching in the Parisian Suburbs, I chose to discover new horizon by leaving to the USA in 1999, to teach at the Lycee Francais de New York until 2005. This experience was very enlightening from a family, professional and personal point of view.
I am an immigrant’s son (my father was Vietnamese), and I always wanted to follow my father’s footsteps. That is why I am proud to have given my two children (Lea, 20 years old, Theo 17) the opportunity to be multi-cultural and bilingual. I feel they are now more prepared to face challenges; they easily adapt themselves and are more open-minded.
Therefore, I am very happy to join the eLycee team as a teacher, to share and bring my bicultural experience. I am also quite happy to be back in the US, to discover the West Coast.

Many the same story will happen one day to your child…

A beautiful friendship story…through the years…and around the world.

Nicolas, Christine’s son, almost 27, got his “Baccalaureat” in the French International School La Pérouse in San Francisco, in 1996.
At this time, his best friend was Pablo, from Argentine.
Now, Nicolas lives in Wuhan, China, where he works as an expatriate for the French car manufacturer PSA.
Pablo, commercial manager for Boeing, working in London, has been sent for one month to China.
The two friends met for twice on weekends, once in Hong Kong, once in Shanghai, as if they had never been separated….

Conseils de lecture de Paul Fournel

“Blanche”
de Hervé Joubert
chez Albin Michel

vient de sortir et est un bon petit thriller situé en 1870 à Paris.
Avec de l’atmosphère !

Le livre pour Adultes et Lycéens

“Un Petit Homme de Dos”
de Richard Morgièvre
Livre de Poche

vient de ressortir en Poche.
Un petit chef d’oeuvre !

Collaboration renforcée avec le Laboratoire Liris CNRS

Le projet de recherche qui nous lie au Laboratoire d’Alain Mille porte sur la ‘traçabilité’. Il s’agit d’utiliser le grand avantage de ces environnements intelligents, la possiblité de conserver toutes les traces des actions mises en oeuvre par les élèves.
Si l’expérience sensible de chacun est inaccessible car incorporée et qu’en conséquence, il s’agit toujours de tenter de rendre compte de nos connaissances dans des inscriptions accessibles aux autres ainsi qu’à nous-mêmes, alors nous pouvons considérer qu’un utilisateur traçant ses interactions à des fins de partage de son expérience procède également d’une inscriptions de ses connaissances. Alain Mille.

Grâce au dynamisme d’Alain, une autre équipe de chercheurs s’associe à la recherche : L’unité Tefca, Technologies de la Formation et de l’Apprentissage, est une unité de recherche rattachée à la faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l’Education de l’Université de Genève.
eLycée apporte au groupe l’observation des usages, usages réflexifs et métacognitifs des traces.

http://liris.cnrs.fr