What you need to know in 30 seconds
In August 2026, Quebec's Ministry of Education published seven "contents" for building digital competency in elementary school. For the next two years, they are optional. From 2028-2029, they become mandatory in every elementary class. They are not a subject and there is no grade. But your school will need to show that your students have covered them. The good news: three of the seven already happen through your class portfolio and your messages to parents. The only condition is that the tool you use respects Law 25, the Quebec law that says where your students' personal information (first name, work, photos) is allowed to go.
A quick note before we start
This article is not official guidance from the Ministry and not legal advice. The seven contents are quoted as they appear on quebec.ca. What we say about each tool comes from its own privacy policy, read on April 28, 2026. These policies change. Before you pick a tool, talk to your principal or the person in charge of personal information at your school service centre (your "CSS", from the French name).
The 7 contents on one page
The Ministry published one fact sheet per content. All seven are for every elementary student, grades 1 to 6. Nothing is split by cycle: that part is up to you. Here are the seven, with an example of what each one looks like in a real classroom.
| # | Content (official French name) | In class, it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Comprendre les effets de l'usage du numérique (understand the effects of digital use) | Talking about screen time, sleep, attention. Naming how you feel after 30 minutes on a tablet. |
| 2 | Comprendre l'identité numérique (understand digital identity) | Knowing that a photo or a piece of work posted with your first name leaves a trace. Telling apart what stays in class and what leaves it. |
| 3 | Comprendre son environnement numérique (understand your digital environment) | Recognizing devices, the wifi, accounts. Knowing what a password is and why you don't give it out. |
| 4 | S'organiser à l'aide du numérique (get organized with digital tools) | Finding your files, giving a document a name, following a to-do list on screen. |
| 5 | S'initier à la collaboration à l'aide du numérique (get started with digital collaboration) | Working together in the same document, commenting on a friend's work, following a group rule online. |
| 6 | Communiquer à l'aide du numérique (communicate with digital tools) | Writing a clear message to a real person. Showing a piece of work to your family through a digital tool. |
| 7 | Utiliser des ressources numériques proposées (use suggested digital resources) | Using an app or website chosen by the teacher to learn, not just to play. |
Two reassuring things. None of the contents asks you to teach coding or any specific program. And the Ministry talks about "routines" that make students a little more independent each time. These are habits to build, not lessons to add.
Not a subject, not graded. But a trace.
The Ministry is clear: the contents are not a subject, so there is no evaluation. You can give students feedback, but nothing goes on the report card.
On the other hand, the school has to be able to show that the contents were presented and understood. Nobody tells you how. In practice, it will look like a question from your principal in June: "What did you do this year for digital competency?"
The easiest answer is something you already do. If your students put their work in a digital portfolio, send a message to their parents with a class tool, or comment on a friend's work, you are already covering digital identity, collaboration and communication. No need to add a period to the timetable. You just have to write it down somewhere.
The effects of digital use, the digital environment and getting organized (contents 1, 3 and 4) are covered in class discussions or in the morning routine. The last one, suggested resources, depends on which apps your CSS has approved.
Which tool covers what, and on what condition
This is where digital competency meets Law 25. To work on digital identity, collaboration and communication, students have to make something, share it, write to someone. So a tool keeps their first name, their work, sometimes their photo. That is exactly what Law 25 is about. A tool that sends your students' information to the United States without your CSS having checked it first is a bad example for teaching digital identity.
One phrase comes back often in the next few lines: "approved by your CSS". It means your school service centre did a privacy check on the tool before allowing it. You don't have to do that check yourself. You just have to ask your principal whether it was done.
Here are the tools most common in Quebec elementary classrooms, what they let you work on, and what their own policies say. Sources are at the bottom of the page.
1. ClassDojo (free version)
Good for: digital identity, communication, a bit of collaboration Information kept in the United StatesWhat Law 25 says
Everything is kept on servers in the United States. There is no Canada option, even if you pay. The CSS des Samares removed it from all its schools in March 2025 [4].
In short
Handy for talking to parents, but your CSS has to have approved it before you put student first names in it. Without approval, don't use it to teach digital identity. The message would contradict itself.
2. Seesaw (free version)
Good for: digital identity, organizing the portfolio, collaboration, communication Information kept in the United States, even when you payWhat Law 25 says
Seesaw itself says the information goes to the United States. The Canada option only exists if the school pays for a subscription, and even then a copy stays in the United States [5][6].
In short
Of the American tools, it covers the most contents, four out of seven. But the free version has the same problem as ClassDojo. Ask your principal whether the paid version was approved by the CSS.
3. Google Workspace for Education
Good for: digital environment, getting organized, collaboration No Canada optionIt is the most natural tool for working together (shared documents) and getting organized (Drive).
What Law 25 says
Google lets schools choose where information is kept, but Canada is not on the list. And that choice doesn't even exist in the free version [8].
In short
If your CSS set up Workspace and approved it, it is your best tool for collaboration. Just ask your principal which version the school chose.
4. Padlet (public boards)
Good for: collaboration, suggested resources Boards visible to everyone, information in the United StatesWhat Law 25 says
A board created without changing the settings is public: anyone can find it on Google. The information is kept in the United States [7].
In short
Keep it for work with no names on it, with the "Secret" option turned on for every board. It also makes a great example for talking about digital identity: show students a public board and ask them who can see it.
5. Remind
Good for: communication, but only for you, not for the student Nothing for the student, information in the United StatesWhat Law 25 says
The information is kept in the United States and can be shared with other companies for advertising [1].
In short
Students don't do anything in it themselves. Don't count it in your digital competency trace.
6. LinoClass
Good for: digital identity (each piece of work is published with the student's first name, visible only to their family), communication to parents, and collaboration if the class shares a common portfolio Information kept in CanadaWhat Law 25 says
The information stays in Canada, with nothing to set up. No copy in the United States. No check to ask your CSS for about where the data is kept.
In short
Does not cover the digital environment, getting organized or suggested resources. For those, keep Workspace if your CSS approved it, or do activities with no student account.
The summary table
The numbers refer to the seven contents in the first table.
| Tool | Contents covered | Where student information is kept | Before you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClassDojo free | 2, 6 | United States only | Ask if the CSS approved it |
| Seesaw free | 2, 4, 5, 6 | United States (Canada if you pay, with a copy in the US) | Ask if the CSS approved it |
| Google Workspace | 3, 4, 5 | US or Europe, not Canada | Ask which version and if the CSS approved it |
| Padlet public | 5, 7 | United States, public boards | Turn on "Secret", no first names |
| Remind | 6 (teacher only) | United States | Don't count it as a trace |
| LinoClass | 2, 5, 6 | Canada | Nothing for where the data is kept |
No tool covers all seven. That's normal. The effects of digital use and the digital environment are mostly covered in discussion, without a screen.
How to make the most of the two optional years
2026-2027 and 2027-2028 are there to get comfortable with all this. Nobody will ask you for a report this year. Here is what takes the least effort now and saves you the most stress in 2028.
- List what you already use. One line per tool: which content it touches, and whether your CSS approved it. The table above is a good starting point.
- Name what you already do. A portfolio post is digital identity. A message to parents written by the student is communication. Write it in your planning. One line is enough.
- Pick one content per term. Three terms, three contents. The next year, the other four. You reach 2028-2029 with a full cycle already tried out.
- Settle the Law 25 question now. If the tool you want to use has not been approved by your CSS, this is the time to talk to your principal. Not in 2028.
Our Law 25 guide for elementary teachers explains, in plain words, the 10 things to check.
Ready to try LinoClass?
LinoClass brings the digital portfolio and messages to parents together in one app, with your students' information kept in Canada. Every piece of work a student publishes with their first name is a chance to talk about digital identity, with nothing to get checked for where the data is kept.
Try LinoClass for free